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owners or management types with allegiances to Kuhn and lingering disdain for Miller.
Said Tom Seaver: "It's sad if people allowed their personal feelings to override the historical importance and the magnitude of Marvin and the impact he had on the game."Republicans Are NOT Supporting Our Troops!
They Killed a Crucial Veterans Bill in the Senate Yesterday!
I subscribe to, and receive literally over 100 e-mails every morning and about as many throughout the day, I was really shocked and astounded to not see even one that addressed what the Republicans did in the Senate yesterday.
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced S 1982 the Comprehensive Veterans Health and Benefits and Military Retirement Pay Restoration Act of 2014 on February 3, 2014. Senator Sanders chairs the Veterans Affairs Committee. The vote on the motion to move it to committee needed 60 votes to pass. Only two (2) Republicans voted “Aye” or for it’s passage, the motion failed.
2/27/2014 Senate floor actions. Status: Motion by Senator Reid to commit to Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs with instructions to report back forthwith with amendment (SA 2767) fell when the bill was committed in Senate. Printer friendly version of S 1982.
S 1982 – The Comprehensive Veterans Health and Benefits and Military Retirement Pay Restoration Act of 2014
This is a summary of what the bill would do:
Comprehensive Veterans Health and Benefits and Military Retirement Pay Restoration Act of 2014 – Amends federal veterans provisions to revise or add provisions concerning medical services and other benefits provided to veterans and/or their dependents through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) relating to the following areas:
survivor and dependent matters, including benefits for children of certain veterans born with spina bifida;
education matters, including the approval of courses for purposes of the All-Volunteer Force and the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance programs;
the expansion and extension of certain health care benefits, including immunizations, chiropractic care, treatment for traumatic brain injury, and wellness promotion;
health care administration, including extension of the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Professional Scholarship Program, and
complementary and alternative medicine;
mental health care, including an education program and peer support program for family members and caregivers of veterans with mental health disorders;
dental care eligibility and expansion, including a program of education to promote dental health in veterans;
health care related to sexual trauma, including appropriate counseling and treatment and a screening mechanism to detect incidents of domestic abuse;
reproductive treatment and services, including fertility counseling as well as adoption assistance for severely wounded veterans;
major medical facility leases;
veterans’ employment training and related services;
veterans’ employment, including within the federal government and as first responders;
career transition services;
employment and reemployment rights of members of the Armed Forces after active duty service;
small business matters, including contracting and subcontracting participation goals with federal departments and agencies;
administrative matters, including regional support centers for Veterans Integrated Service Networks;
the revision of claims based on military sexual trauma as well as claims for dependency and indemnity compensation;
jurisdictional matters, including with respect to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals and the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims;
the revision of certain rights under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, including protections with respect to the expiration of professional licenses, a prohibition on the denial of credit or the termination of residential leases due to military service, and the temporary protection of surviving spouses under mortgage foreclosures; and
outreach and miscellaneous matters, including: (1) repeal of the provision of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 that reduces the cost-of-living adjustment to the retirement pay of members of the Armed Forces under age 62, and (2) the accounting for discretionary accounts designated for overseas contingency operations/global war on terrorism.
Republicans Block Veterans Bill – The legislation failed to overcome a Republican parliamentary maneuver that required 60 votes to keep the bill alive. American Legion national commander Daniel M. Dellinger called the Senate action “inexcusable.” He was equally blunt in an interview with The Washington Post. “I don’t know how anyone who voted ‘no’ today can look a veteran in the eye and justify that vote.” Read More on Sen. Sanders “This Week in Review” on his website.
The cost of the bill would be approximately $21B” and the TeaPublicans demanded that it be paid for before they would take any action on it. That requirement was met when Democrats proposed using an account, the OCO (Overseas Contingency,) where money is sitting since President Barack Obama ended the Iraq War. The fund was used to finance (on the credit card, the deficit) the Iraq war. The Iraq war, which you should remember former President George W. Bush absolutely and unequivocally lied about the reasons to start that war, ended and the funds are sitting idle in the OCO account. The Republicans don’t want to use these funds to “support” the troops that fought the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, they want to use them to start another war, this time with Iran. That’s why they tried to attach an amendment onto this Veterans benefits bill, to impose more, and stricter, sanctions on Iran, and destroy the diplomatic process which is showing promising signs of working. They would much rather start another war than support our veterans.
That’s Outrageous’ Do you remember what happened near the end of the State of the Union address in January? Members of Congress rose to their feet for a standing ovation when President Obama introduced Sgt. 1st Class Cory Remsburg, an Army Ranger who was wounded in a roadside bombing in Afghanistan. On CNN on Friday, New Day host Chris Cuomo showed video of congressmen applauding and contrasted that show of support for Americans who serve their country with what happened in the Senate on Thursday. “Republicans did what they do best these days. They just blocked. But blocking our veterans? I don’t have to tell you that that’s outrageous,” Cuomo said.
Watch CNN
What’s Iran Got to Do With It? Republicans insisted on adding a provision to the veterans bill that would slap sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program. Regardless of the merits of the sanction proposal, Sanders called it “disrespectful” to veterans to insist on putting the unrelated provision in his bill. “Whatever your views are it just does not belong in a veterans bill,” he said.
Watch the floor speech
War Hawks and Deficit Hawks The Senate Republicans, “apparently believe it’s O.K. to give tax breaks to the largest corporations, the wealthiest families in this country, to spend trillions of dollars on war without figuring out how to pay for it, but when it comes to $21 billion over a 10-year period to take care of veterans and their families, apparently they have difficulty with that.”
Listen to the Ed Schultz radio interview
Who can forget when Tea Party member Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) led the entire Republican party to shut down the government, which they deeply regretted later, and all the media coverage at the War Veterans Memorial with Stupid Palin, Ted Cruz, and many others blamed President Obama for using veterans as pawns in a political agenda. Video on Ted Cruz and Veterans at the War Memorial during the shutdown of the government.
Please help stop the madness. Share this with every veteran that you know, everyone that you feel needs to know what their Republican and Tea Party members are actually doing AGAINST their better interest. If we don’t get the vote out we are going to suffer even worse. The TeaPublicans, with all the state governments that they control, thanks to the 2010 midterm elections, have gerrymandered (redrew district lines to favor Republican and Tea Party members,) and imposed voter ID (suppression) laws which are going to make it very hard to keep the U.S. Senate, and much harder to take the house. The Koch brothers (America for Prosperity), Karl Rove (USA Crossroads) and the other SuperPACS have already started and it will be much worse than the 2010 midterms if we don’t get involved, especially if the SCOTUS rules for Shaun McCutcheon in McCutcheon v FEC (Federal Election Commission) which will lift the limits on individuals campaign contributions like Citizens United did for corporations, unions, and organizations such as the SuperPACS listed above.
Read the American Legion statement
Read The Washington Post
Watch Sanders’ news conference
AdvertisementsThose incidents range from mundane, mostly harmless infractions like parking violations to much more serious — and potentially unlawful — activities.
While serious allegations of workplace wrongdoing have surfaced at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and have long plagued the RCMP, CSE said there have only been 53 incidents resulting in formal discipline between 2005 and 2015.
The documents, stamped “Top Secret” and obtained under access to information law, give context to the relatively few formal reprimands issued by CSE, the agency responsible for electronic espionage and defending government networks from attack or infiltration.
The 2014 incident was included in more than 100 pages of heavily-censored labour relations documents — detailing everything from CSE staff snooping on each other, to employees watching pornography at work, to pranks that went too far.
An employee at the Communications Security Establishment was suspended after unauthorized and potentially unlawful research that created a security risk for the spy agency.
Unauthorized access
The CSE analyst involved in the 2014 incident gave an ominous warning to labour relations investigators.
“(If) this ‘story’ was to come out in the newspapers, he would not be the one with his face on the front page,” the report reads.
“It would be the chief.”
The documents are too heavily censored to know precisely what “this story” is. But two details are clear — the analyst was using tools he wasn’t authorized to use, and his actions risked exposing the agency’s operations to “outsiders.”
Investigators likened the analyst’s infraction to cases where employees were “involved (in) the gathering, selling and accessing of personal information through departmental assets,” but said those cases were “not fully relevant” to his specific actions.
But investigators did worry the analyst may have left behind “a trail potentially leading back to CSE,” and “the suspicious activities could be uncovered by outsiders and this would have been extremely problematic for CSE in respect to its mandate.”
“CSE’s own existence is based on lawfulness and the understanding of the restrictions and limitations imposed on the organization,” the report reads.
“This misconduct is, with respect to the environment we are in, more serious than parking fraud, light pornography, insubordination or even some cases of harassment.”
For his part, the analyst said his actions were motivated by curiosity rather than malice. The agency told the Star the incident did not involve CSE’s powerful cyber espionage capabilities, but the employee was still suspended without pay.
“The employee in question did not follow the appropriate approval process for this kind of research and engaged in activities which exceeded the scope of what CSE considered acceptable,” wrote Christopher Williams, an agency spokesperson, in an emailed statement.
“These activities did not involve any of CSE’s classified technology or capabilities, nor were they put at risk.”
Williams said the case was not referred to external investigators.
Pornography at work
The reference to “light pornography” in the 2014 report initially seems jarring, but other documents suggest there’s a reason adult content popped into investigators’ minds.
CSE has dealt with at least five instances of employees watching pornography at work, according to one 2016 document.
One employee watched pornography at his workstation in an open concept office over a period of six to eight months, the report reads. Labour investigators wrote that the employee also left a digital trail suggesting the spy agency was accessing pornographic content.
Punishments in these cases ranged from three-day suspensions to the “termination” of one employee.
Spy vs. spy
Perhaps unsurprisingly for an espionage agency, CSE also dealt with employees snooping around where they shouldn’t be — namely, the private personnel files of their colleagues.
Several incidents in the documents detail CSE employees accessing corporate records about their colleagues, including security screening documents. In one 2015 case, an employee searched classified personnel records on herself and five colleagues. Three had consented to the search, while two had no knowledge of her actions.
And even CSE is not immune to the office prankster.
In a 2015 incident, a CSE employee accessed his colleague’s computer and fired off a quick chat message.
“That (censored) guy is so awesome and I am so lame,” the analyst inventively quipped.
The employee seemed surprised by the severity of CSE’s response to this “unauthorized access” to his colleague’s computer, calling management’s response to the incident “out of control” — including separate security and labour relations investigations and interviews with witnesses and his supervisor.
Investigators recommended a 10-day suspension.
Previous ethical concerns
In 2014, the Canadian Press reported a whistleblower had raised concerns about “serious breaches” of CSE’s ethics code.
CSE refused to disclose many details about an internal report into the allegations, except that it led to recommended changes to how the agency purchases and manages assets, as well as financial controls and accountability. The agency said that it had also increased the training and oversight of employees in the wake of the incident.
The agency was thrust into the spotlight a year earlier, through the disclosures of U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden about the so-called “Five Eyes” — a group of allied countries and spy agencies in Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Australia and New Zealand.
Since then, the agency has increased security and training about so-called “insider threats” to prevent more secrets from slipping out.
This Article Was Originally Published In Toronto StarThe Ottawa Senators got a big win but lost a player in the process.
Kyle Turris and Bobby Ryan scored in a shootout as the Senators beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 on Thursday night. They appear to have lost defenseman Marc Methot for perhaps an extended period of time, though, after he took a slash from Sidney Crosby in the first period.
Ottawa played the final 45 minutes without Methot, who left the game with a bloodied and mangled finger on his left hand following a two-handed slash from Crosby, who didn't receive a penalty on the play.
Methot grabbed Crosby by the jersey after the whistle and had a few words for the Penguins captain before leaving the ice.
"His finger is destroyed. It's shattered and he's out for weeks," Senators coach Guy Boucher said.
Crosby will not face discipline for the play, as NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN the league is not looking into the incident.
While not referencing Crosby by name, Senators owner Eugene Melnyk went off about the incident on Friday and called for a suspension.
"We all know who he is. The guy is just beyond belief," Melnyk told TSN 1200 radio in Ottawa. "You do this kind of stuff, I don't care who you are in the league, I don't care if you're the No. 1 player in the league, you need to sit out a long time for this kind of crap."
Senators captain Erik Karlsson said it was an unfortunate play but one that happens all the time. This one just went bad.
"[Crosby] puts his stick in as [Methot] is trying to shoot the puck in, and unfortunately, it hits his finger," Karlsson said. "It turns out worse than most other times. Plays like that happen all the time, but I don't think it was intentional or dirty."
Crosby echoed those sentiments, saying he wasn't looking to injure Methot.
"I was just trying to get his stick, and I think I caught his finger, judging by his reaction and their reaction," Crosby said. "I've gotten those before. They don't feel good."
ESPN's Pierre LeBrun and The Associated Press contributed to this report.If you’re a beginner with a Raspberry Pi, things just got a whole lot easier.
We started this project with the premise that throwing people in at the deep end and making them jump hurdles, to mix my sporting metaphors, is a good way to get them to learn stuff. It is: but it can also put some people off, sometimes terminally. And we don’t want people to put their Raspberry Pi down in horror after five minutes. So with this in mind, we’d like to introduce you to NOOBS.
NOOBS is a way to make setting up a Raspberry Pi for the first time much, much easier. You won’t need network access, and you won’t need to download any special imaging software. Just head to the downloads page, grab a copy of the NOOBS zip file, and unpack it onto a freshly formatted 4GB (or larger) SD card. When you boot up for the first time, you’ll see a menu prompting you to install one of several operating systems into the free space on the card. The choice means you can boot the Pi with a regular operating system like Raspbian, or with a media-centre specific OS like RaspBMC.
Once you’ve installed an operating system, your Pi will boot as normal. However, NOOBS stays resident on your card, so by holding shift down during boot you can return to the recovery interface. This allows you to switch to a different operating system, or overwrite a corrupted card with a fresh install of the current one; it also provides a handy tool to let you edit the config.txt configuration file for the currently installed operating system, and even a web browser so you can visit the forums or Google for pointers if you get stuck.
Thanks to Rob, Gordon, Dom and Floris (of BerryBoot fame), who together developed NOOBS from scratch in less than a month. Also, thanks to our army of volunteer translators for the localisation; and to the operating system maintainers, most notably Alex, for producing updated images in time for integration into the final zip file.
Our partners will be offering SD cards pre-installed with NOOBS in the near future, but until then please download, have a play, and let us know what you think.
Update, June 4: Carrie Anne Philbin from Geek Gurl Diaries has recorded a tutorial video showing you how to set up your own installation of NOOBS. Thanks Carrie Anne!ESPN radio personality Colin Cowherd has made a history of criticizing Wizards guard John Wall, and on Friday John Calipari finally told him to stop.
Calipari, Wall's former coach at Kentucky, went on Cowherd's radio show The Herd and defended the young NBA player. Things didn't get as heated as coach Cal's appearance on the Dan Patrick Show on Thursday, but he had a strong defense.
MORE: Does Cal regret turning down the Cavs job? | 15 best coaches in recent history
Cowherd often brings up the fact that Wall did a dance called "The Dougie" in 2010. The Washington Post has a great history of all the times Cowherd brought up his dissatisfaction over Wall performing this dance. Here's just one example from December 2014:
“In like his first home game, he went out, and the Dougie was a popular song — and I’m telling the back story because a lot of people don’t know the back story — and he came out and he did this 30-second dance. And I just thought it was the stupidest thing I’d ever seen in my life. And I said at the time this kid has amazing talent, but man that is idiotic. He just lacks judgment. I’ve seen enough. He’s not gonna win a title. Leaders don’t do that. Jeter doesn’t do that. You can do it after you win titles, you do whatever you want after you retire. Ray Lewis, as great as he was, didn’t do that first game in the NFL. I just hated it.”
Cowherd has made plenty of other comments about Wall. He also discussed the recent report that Wall was thrown off of an airplane. Calipari didn't deny it, but said it was one of his friends who acted rowdy and caused the disturbance, not Wall.
"You're like that guy that's hooked on this thing about the Dougie so it's driving you crazy," Calipari said to Cowherd. "You got to go to church, ask for forgiveness, let it go by. Let it go. Forgive."“ The Star Father can free our minds of all restraints. We will be like gods, able to do unimaginable things. Then we will return to Earth to rule over mankind. It is a glorious task the Star Father has given us. ” Nuka-World — The final mystery as spoken by Dara Hubbell
The Church of Hubology[1] is a cult based in San Francisco around 2241 and has spread as far as the East Coast by 2287.[2]
Hubology was founded before the Great War by Dick Hubbell. Seeing the failure of the modern government, religion and medicine, he was inspired by music of the time and his own personal experience with extraterrestrial beings, the Zetans.[3] He set out to help humanity understand existence through the "Great Wheel of Life".[4] To his followers, he was The Hub, entrusted by the Star Father with the key to delivering them to Quetzel,[5] and the inventor of a Zeta ray emitter that allowed them to cleanse their brain of neurodynes and unlock their inner potential.[6]
Opponents of the cult and the media dubbed his beliefs "pseudo-science" and "dangerous dribble that can only hurt its adherents," and was driven underground for a time. Hubologists responded by infiltrating organizations that sought to destroy them and created television shows that sought to expose the lies the government had fed the people.[4] The fact that the cult survived the "Great Deluge" (the Hubologist's name for the Great War) is proof enough to the Hubologists that the Great Wheel favors the Hub's teachings. All of Hubbell's writings are treated as holy texts regardless of what they are, from legitimate science-fiction books to the Hub's grocery list.[7][8]
Creation myth [ edit | edit source ]
Hubology holds that aeons ago, all lived peacefully and in harmony with one another. Body, mind, and spirit were joined in all creatures, and the technology that existed boggled the imaginations. It was a time of peace, creativity, and alignment - and then the Dark Days came. Thrakazog the Pot Hole began to teach mind-body dualism and the sundering of the spirit, and war arose. The Great War destroyed souls and bodies and scattered their remnants across the universe. The Great Wheel came close to separating from the axle of existence, its spokes broken in the rut Thrakazog had created. A new life had to arise and arise it did, on the planet Terra (Earth), as on other planets across the universe. This new life was polluted by the soul-pieces of the dead. This led to hate and misunderstanding, and wars raged across Terra's surface until one day a visionary realized that the only way to create peace, understanding, and enlightenment was to cleanse these soul-pieces from the spirits of humanity. That visionary was The Hub.[4]
Hubology teaches that life exists on the Great Wheel of Life, also called simply the Great Wheel. Dick "The Hub" Hubbell rests in the center of the Wheel, followers of Hubology are positioned on the spokes and those who do not follow The Hub's teachings are the rim. Hubologists call these individuals "rim meat," for the Wheel turns over them and grinds them, and they do not appreciate its workings.[4] The existence of extraterrestrial life plays a role in Hubology, and as a part of this, the Hubologists in San Francisco are trying to repair a pre-War space shuttle to leave Earth and live with the "Star Father" on the planet Quetzel.[5] The ultimate goal of this mission is to achieve effective godhood through the erasure of all restraints placed on the mind, then return to Earth to rule over mankind[9] and end the scourge of neurodynes. Human race would then be able to reach its full potential... Under Hubologist guidance, of course.[10]
Central to the philosophy of the Hubologists are neurodynes, the psychic centers of the body (called chakras in other religions). The Hubologsts hold that they are polluted by the spiritual remnants of the people who died in the War, their psi-energies imprinting into neurodynes at birth and holding the denizens of the wasteland in an oppressive state. Alignment (a controlled emission of Zeta radiation into the subject's brain) erases these imprints, freeing up the spiritual potential.[4][11][12] People who remain in an uncleansed state are frequently so full of negative energy and polluted soul-pieces that they drag down those who seek enlightenment by their very presence. Oppressives should thus be avoided and shunned. Through a cleansing process offered at Hubology centers called 'alignment', zeta scans remove these negative influences from members, allowing them to gain greater powers as an 'Aligned Hub Seeker' (or AHS).[4][13]
The ultimate goal is the aforementioned journey to Quetzel, known as the "Uplifting," when the Star Father calls all Hubologists home. There they meet their extraterrestrial brethren and move closer to the Hub of the Great Wheel.[14] Those who have made an effort to understand and embrace the words of the Hub, no matter their AHS levels, will be invited to join the Star Father on Quetzel.[4]
The degree to which a member has devoted their time and efforts to Hubology accords him or her a numerical rank; the Hubologist leader, AHS-9, holds the highest rank of any living cult member, with his second in command typically chosen from among the highest ranks privy to the innermost secrets of the cult, such as AHS-7.[15][16]
Guards are typically AHS-4s. When the seeker has gained so much knowledge that they become an integral part of the Great Wheel, they ascend beyond AHS-9 and become Enlightened.[17] Some Enlightened leave material existence behind, but some of the Enlightened remain on Earth to guide the rest of us to a state of grace, to show us how to get behind the Wheel of our own lives. It is important to note that if one believes they are enlightened, then they are truly unenlightened.[18]
Behind the scenes [ edit | edit source ]
While the developers of Fallout 2 insist that any relation between Hubology and real-world persons and organizations is coincidental, [19] [20] Hubology is an obvious parody of Scientology. This may be partially due to the aggressive legal approach of the Church of Scientology towards those it considers threatening. Some similarities include: Dick Hubbell, the founder of Hubology, bears several resemblances to L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology. In early game files, the Hubologists are called the Elron, a pun on the name of "L. Ron" Hubbard. Juan Cruz and Vikki Goldman, the New Reno porn stars encountered by the Chosen One in San Francisco, are a reference to Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, who, at the time of the game's release, were both outspoken Scientologists (although Kidman has since left the religion). The belief in neurodynes, alignment, and the AHS ranking system mirror Scientology beliefs in thetans, auditing, and the OT system. The "Space Culture" doctrine of Hubology is similar to the advanced Scientology doctrine known as "Space Opera", which presents the belief that Earth (then known as "Teegeeack") was invaded thousands of years ago by an evil spacefaring alien named Lord Xenu who exterminated humanity's predecessors with nuclear bombs. The Hubologist holodisc includes a glossary, as does every religious document in Scientology. "Oppressives" in Hubology are similar to "Suppressives" in Scientology, the "scapegoat" of all woes to those within the cult. The aggressive tactics of Hubologists towards their enemies bear some resemblance to those of the actual Church of Scientology (such as the "Fair Game" policy which authorizes members to "destroy" enemies of the organization).
insist that any relation between Hubology and real-world persons and organizations is coincidental, Hubology is an obvious parody of Scientology. This may be partially due to the aggressive legal approach of the Church of Scientology towards those it considers threatening. Some similarities include:It happens all the time at the lower limits, so I'd guess you've done it a few times yourself.
If you're being honest with yourself, it might even be your standard play.
I don't blame you. Some poker theorists claim the chance to see a free river is a big reason for betting the flop.
I couldn't agree less.
What Does Checking Say About Your Hand?
When you're in position, you take the initiative on the flop and then you check the turn, you're basically telling your opponent exactly what you have.
This is the worst thing you can do in poker.
You're also not selling a story that you're particularly strong. If you have a strong pair or better, you'd bet to protect it - especially if the turn is a blank.
When you check your opponent can be 99% certain you're on some sort of draw and will know how to play against you later in the hand.
You Give up 4/5 of the Pots
When you take the passive route, you basically give up on 80% of the hands and only play for the remaining 20% - the times you hit your draw.
And every fifth time, when you hit your draw, your opponent can be quite sure what's going on and you'll have a hard time extracting any value.
You can call this a lose-lose situation.
What Will Happen on the River?
Let's assume your opponent is a competent player and understands what's going on. Then these scenarios are likely to happen:
The river is a blank and your opponent bets out on a bluff (he may also have been drawing). You'll have a hard time calling and you might not even beat the bluff if you do.
The river is a blank and your opponent has a semi-strong hand like second or third pair. He checks with the intention of calling if you bet out.
The river is a blank and your opponent bets out for value.
You hit your draw and your opponent check-folds. (An exception to this is when you have a double gutshot. This draw is less obvious than open-enders and flush draws and you might get called.)
More Semi-Bluffs on the Turn = Higher Win Rate
Since continuation betting is the standard play nowadays, betting on the flop says very little about a player's range.
In this situation, an opponent who sits with any pair is very likely to call.
On the turn, however, you will be able to chase away a large portion of the hands your opponent automatically calls with on the flop.
And there's a lot of value in taking that opportunity.
When you hit your draw, you'll be able to extract some value. Compared to checking, your range is now a lot wider and you might get your opponent to call with a semi-strong hand.
Betting the turn also makes you a lot tougher to play against.
People will think twice before calling you with questionable hands in the future - they know you have another bullet just waiting to be fired.
Further Reading:
The Most Repeated Lie in Poker
The Most Unfairly Maligned Move in PokerPhoto via Flickr user worldtotable
If there were ever a dish more ingrained in contemporary British food culture than, say, fish and chips or shepherd's pie, it's curry.
Although the history of chicken tikka masala in the UK remains somewhat contentious—Glasgow was once believed to be the birthplace of the dish, though Birmingham, London, and Newcastle have all thrown their hats in the ring—the ubiquity of it is a testament to its popularity. It became a point of pride, even, when in 2001, British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook claimed that "chicken tikka masala is now a true British national dish, not only because it is the most popular, but because it is a perfect illustration of the way Britain absorbs and adapts external influences."
Well, that also has something to do with colonialism, but let's leave aside that messy business for now.
Point is, chicken tikka masala runs through the UK's veins. So imagine the surprise that took hold of one Tania Rahman when she was told that the curry she brought to a St George's Day celebration was "not English enough."
Indeed, Rahman felt "shocked and upset" when her chicken tikka masala was refused for St. George's Day (thus named in remembrance of that dude who slew a dragon and later became England's patron saint) by Salisbury City Council.
The council noted in an email to Rahman, who owns a street food company called Chit Chaat Chai, that the festivities should include "English-themed food only." Apparently, they had forgotten Secretary Cook's declaration, and preferred a medieval outlook for their medieval celebration.
On her Facebook page, Rahman blasted the council for its close-minded approach to British cuisine. "St George's Day is a celebration of all things English, yet much of English culture (tea drinking, for instance) was adopted from India," she wrote. "In the multicultural hotbed that is modern Britain, it is inconceivable to not celebrate the impact of Indian culture to British life and what better way to do so than by exploring the culinary delights of the former British Empire."
For her coup de grace, Rahman pointed out that St. George himself was of Palestinian heritage, not English.
The council has apologized to Rahman and invited her to return—along with her masala—and claimed that it "never intended to be racist."After the experiences of the Dieppe Raid in August 1942, planners had come to the conclusion that it would be impossible to secure an existing functioning Port on the Normandy Coast. Therefore, in planning and preparing for D-Day, the allies included the pre-fabrication of two floating harbours – one for the American Landings to be situated off St Laurent and the other in support of British & Canadian Landings off Arromanches. It was partly their awareness of the lack of harbouring which led the German High Command to be sceptical of an attack on the Normandy coast. For the allied plan to be free to ignore the need to capture a working harbour, allowed much more room for manoeuvre in planning. The design concept had a number of roots. The codename ‘Mulberry’ was simply the next available in a long list of possible code-names, so this has no significance. In 1917, when Winston Churchill was First Sea Lord during the Great War, there had been a plan for the capture of two small islands of the Dutch coastline and to use flat bottomed barges mixed with manufactured caissons to form an artificial harbour. Events moved on quickly and the idea was abandoned, yet no doubt still kept in mind for a future demand.
Investigations were started in deep secrecy as far back as 1941, looking at various ways to construct such a moveable harbour. In common with the wide and varied development of the D-Day idea, it was the civilian population and engineering capabilities in Britain which rose to the challenge of such a grand construction. As theories grew and ideas came forward, there are stories of dispute and argument between the Allies, with British and American plans differing wildly. Amongst the oddest of these is the ‘Queen Mary Demonstration’: Whilst crossing the Atlantic to a meeting with the Americans in Quebec, Admiral Mountbatten called his team into a bathroom on board where a bath had been part filled. Floating on the bath water were 40 or so ships made out of newspaper. The most junior officer present, Lt Commander Grant RN, was directed to make waves using the back of a bath brush. Of course the paper vessels all sank as a result. The demonstration was then repeated with the paper warships placed inside the protective ring of a ‘Mae West’ lifebelt. Mountbatten then gave the command: “More waves please Lieutenant Grant.” All the senior naval onlookers were then pleased to see that all ships remained afloat! Once the allied commanders had reached agreement, the order was given to Mountbatten’s Combined Operations to deal with practicalities the idea and bring it to fruition. As the task proved too big for the limited resources available, the project was contracted out to the War Department to get the attention needed. Prototypes and much of the early fabrication work was carried out at ‘the Morfa’ in Conway, North Wales. Over 1,000 men were employed to make progress with the immense construction task. Once enough sections were prepared, these were floated up the coast to Garlieston in Wigtown Bay, near Dumfries in Scotland. This harbour and bay area had been identified as a suitable test beach given that it offered characteristics similar to those of Normandy – flat, sandy, remote and quite sparsely populated. A security cordon had been established, with local inhabitants moved away. The whole area from Garlieston through to the Isle of Whithorn was declared off limits. A military camp was constructed nearby at Cairnhead to accommodate the hundreds of engineers and support workers needed to construct, test and develop the Mulberry Harbour.
Once designs were agreed, the final scale of construction was in danger of over-stretching industrial capacity, especially with so many other demands placed upon resources. From the summer of 1943, construction began in earnest employing up to 45,000 personnel. The bulk of this work was carried out on the River Thames & River Clyde, using existing dry dock facilities. Pier heads and buffers (roadways) were built at the Conway Morfa site and trials continued at Garlieston as the project developed and grew. Each of the two harbours would feature two breakwaters made from hollow steel reinforced concrete. To fill the gaps, up to seventy obsolete merchant vessels and warships would be sunk strategically as blockships (codenamed “gooseberries”) for extra protection against storm damage. The military requirement was for a mile long pier which could withstand gale force winds and be capable of berthing large freighters and troop carriers. To achieve this, each artificial harbour would need to be the size of Dover which had taken more than seven years to build. The same would have to be built off the Normandy coast in just seven days, whilst under heavy enemy fire! Each quay would have to be linked to the beaches by floating roadways in order to allow rapid offloading of material needed to maintain momentum at the front. It was calculated that each of the two harbours would have a capacity to handle 7,000 tons of supplies each day. Sea going tugs were used to tow the ‘mulberries’ from their assembly point near Lee-on-Solent over to the French coast. This cross Channel movement was designated as “Operation Corncob” and commenced on 4th June. As a result of the postponement, the transit was held up for 24 hours and tugs were forced to hold |
will be steep.
Last month the state Office of Fiscal Analysis reduced its two-year revenue forecast by $1.46 billion. Since January the agency has downgraded income-tax revenue for 2017 and 2018 by $1.1 billion (6%). Sales- and corporate-tax revenue are projected to fall by $385 million (9%) and $67 million (7%), respectively, this year. Pension contributions, which have doubled since 2010, will increase by a third over the next two years. The result: a $5.1 billion deficit and three recent credit downgrades.
According to the fiscal analyst, income-tax collections declined this year for the first time since the recession due to lower earnings at the top. Many wealthy residents decamped for lower-tax states after Mr. Malloy and his Republican predecessor Jodi Rell raised the top individual rate on more than $500,000 of income to 6.99% from 5%. In the past five years 27,400 Connecticut residents, including Ms. Rell, have moved to no-income-tax Florida, and seven of the state’s eight counties have lost population since 2010. Population flight has depressed economic growth—Connecticut’s real GDP has shrunk by 0.1% since 2010—as well as home values and sales-tax revenues.
Corporate revenues also took a hit after General Electric relocated to Boston. Mr. Malloy then offered tax breaks to hedge funds and companies to stay in Connecticut, which has further eroded revenue.
The Governor—a slow learner—seems finally to have accepted that raising taxes on the wealthy is a dead fiscal end. Democrats are now proposing higher taxes on tobacco, expanding casinos and eliminating some tax breaks, though they don’t want to touch an exemption for teacher pensions. The state teachers union warns that axing the exemption would impel retired teachers to relocate. A quarter of pension checks are currently sent out of state.
Mr. Malloy is also seeking $1.6 billion in concessions from unions, which would be easier to achieve if collective bargaining weren’t mandated by law. He’s suggested increasing municipal pension contributions and cutting state-revenue sharing, both of which could drive up property taxes and imperil insolvent cities like Hartford. Mr. Malloy’s budget includes a $50 million bailout for Hartford to prevent bankruptcy, which might occur in any case if Aetna—its fourth largest taxpayer—leaves.
The state treasurer has advocated “credit bonds” securitized by income-tax revenues to reduce the state’s borrowing costs. Investors beware: Puerto Rico tried something similar with its sales tax, and bondholders might not get back a penny. Maybe Democrats should follow Jerry Seinfeld’s advice to George Costanza and do the opposite of the instinct that has brought the state so low: Cut taxes.
Appeared in the June 3, 2017, print edition.It's time for part 3 of getting your e-mail server up and running! We have six main tasks with this segment, each of which has its own chunk of subtasks. We'll go through them in roughly this order:
Install OpenDKIM so that we can use DomainKeys Identified Mail to help recipient domains validate that the e-mail we send actually comes from us
Install SpamAssassin for spam filtering
Install ClamAV for virus scanning (though this is somewhat optional, as we'll discuss when we get there)
Configure SpamAssassin and ClamAV and talk a bit about spam filtering
Configure our external DNS and talk a bit about how to handle internal DNS as well (as part of this, we'll set up DKIM and SPF records and also talk about reverse-lookups)
Set up some server-side mail filters with Sieve to toss spam and do some other neat tricks
After completing part 2, our e-mail server has an almost fully configured Postfix and Dovecot stack. However, there is additional functionality that we need to bolt on to Postfix in order to make it behave like a big-boy SMTP server. We need it to be able to filter out spam and viruses, and we need to be able to tag our outgoing e-mails with a cryptographic hash to help prove that they're legit e-mails that we're actually sending.
To add this functionality to Postfix, we're going to be installing a number of milters—mail filter applications. You might have noticed a commented-out line in Postfix's main.cf config file in part 2 that mentioned milters. Once we have them all installed, we'll uncomment that line to get them working.
The first thing we need to get operational is DKIM: DomainKeys Identified Mail. But before we do that, a quick note on virtual users: several readers have written in asking if the folder structure required for the virtual users we created back in part 2 needs to be manually created. The answer, fortunately, is no. The first time a virtual user receives mail, Dovecot will automatically create everything the virtual user needs under /var/mail/vmail/*.
Now, let's get to it!
OpenDKIM
OpenDKIM is one of the methods we'll use to help legitimize our mail server. When you send an e-mail with OpenDKIM, your mail server first generates a hash of the message's contents, then encrypts that hash with a private key and stores it in the e-mail's headers. On receipt of the e-mail, the recipient's mail server checks your domain's public DNS records for a specially constructed TXT record containing your private key's public counterpart; the recipient server then uses that public key to decrypt the encrypted message hash. Finally, the recipient server hashes the message and compares the value to the decrypted hash your server attached. If the two hashes are the same, then the recipient can have some degree of assurance that the message was indeed sent by an authorized sender from your domain.
We'll be using the OpenDKIM package to provide DKIM functionality to Postfix. It's a quick install with apt-get or aptitude :
aptitude install opendkim opendkim-tools
(I'm going to stop mentioning that most of this needs to be done with root privilege; either preface your commands with sudo or open a root shell via the method of your choice.)
The OpenDKIM package creates the accounts and Upstart jobs we need, but we're also going to create a directory to hold our OpenDKIM config files and private keys (hat tip to Drew Crawford and his excellent, in-depth tutorial for this bit). First, create the directory and set its ownership to the OpenDKIM user and group:
mkdir /etc/opendkim chown opendkim:opendkim /etc/opendkim
Next, we'll chdir into the directory and create our DKIM private/public keypair there with one of the OpenDKIM utilities:
cd /etc/opendkim opendkim-genkey -r -h sha256 -d mail.yourdomain.com -s mail
The command line parameters we're using with opendkim-genkey restrict the key we're generating so that it can only be used to sign mail, specify SHA256 as our hashing algorithm, and tell opendkim-genkey the hostname to use and the output file names to generate.
After you run this command, you'll have a pair of files in your directory: the private key in mail.private, and the public key in mail.txt. Note also that the public key file is actually structured as a DNS TXT record—this is super handy since we need to set just such a TXT record on our public DNS server. Keep this file around, and we'll come back to it shortly.
The next step is to rename the private key file from mail.private to just mail, and then we'll create a number of lookup tables so that OpenDKIM knows who's allowed to use the private key to sign its messages. Then we'll edit the OpenDKIM configuration file to get all our changes integrated.
First, that bit of renaming:
mv mail.private mail
Now create a file named /etc/opendkim/KeyTable and make its contents look like the following:
mail.yourdomain.com mail.yourdomain.com:mail:/etc/opendkim/mail
This table will be used to associate mail.yourdomain.com with the specific private key for that domain. You can also do this directly in the OpenDKIM configuration file, but using a table gives you the flexibility to manage multiple e-mail domains. If that's a future goal, you can just add the additional domains and keys below the first.
Next, create /etc/opendkim/SigningTable and set its contents thusly:
*@yourdomain.com mail.yourdomain.com
This table will tell OpenDKIM which signature to attach to which messages—in this case, sign all e-mails from all addresses ending in @yourdomain.com with the signature for mail.yourdomain.com. Again, the use of a table here lets you easily add additional domains if needed.
The last file to create is /etc/opendkim/TrustedHosts, which just needs to contain the standard link local IP address:
127.0.0.1
This table will serve a couple of different purposes: it will be used to tell OpenDKIM the list of servers for which it should sign mail rather than verify mail and also which servers it will allow to send signed mail without providing credentials. Once again, using a table here rather than hard-coding values directly into OpenDKIM's config file gives you room to add additional domains if needed.
That's it for our tables and key files. However, before we leave this directory and move on to OpenDKIM's main configuration file, we need to set their owners and groups so that the OpenDKIM user can access them (since they're probably owned by root or by your account right now):
chown -R opendkim:opendkim /etc/opendkim
The last OpenDKIM step is to modify the configuration file and plug in our tables, as well as set a few other options to make OpenDKIM do what we want. That file is at /etc/opendkim.conf, and it should already have a few uncommented parameters in it. Leave the file's existing contents alone and append the following at the bottom:
## OpenDKIM conf stuff that I'm adding Canonicalization relaxed/relaxed ExternalIgnoreList refile:/etc/opendkim/TrustedHosts InternalHosts refile:/etc/opendkim/TrustedHosts KeyTable refile:/etc/opendkim/KeyTable SigningTable refile:/etc/opendkim/SigningTable LogWhy Yes PidFile /var/run/opendkim/opendkim.pid Socket local:/var/spool/postfix/opendkim/opendkim.sock SyslogSuccess Yes TemporaryDirectory /var/tmp UserID opendkim:opendkim
From the top down, we're setting Canonicalization to relaxed to deal with the ways that e-mail headers occasionally get changed in transit. The next two entries tell OpenDKIM to use our TrustedHosts file (containing just the link local IP address) in the fashion described above—saying mail coming from addresses listed in that file should actually be signed and so on. KeyTable points to our KeyTable file, and SigningTable points to the SigningTable file. LogWhy tells OpenDKIM to be more verbose when explaining its signing and verification decisions. Next, we specify a pidfile for the OpenDKIM daemon and then a socket within Postfix's chroot jail in order to receive connections from Postfix. Finally, we tell OpenDKIM to log successful signatures and verifications, set our temp directory, and set the UID/GID under which OpenDKIM will run.
Now, about that socket: there isn't a /var/spool/postfix/opendkim directory yet, so we're going to create it and then set it to be owned by the OpenDKIM user and root group to match how the rest of the directories under /var/spool/postfix are permissioned:
mkdir /var/spool/postfix/opendkim chown opendkim:root /var/spool/postfix/opendkim
Restart the OpenDKIM daemon to make our config changes live:
service opendkim restart
We face one final issue with OpenDKIM. Currently, the unix socket at /var/spool/postfix/opendkim/opendkim.sock won't allow public writes—only its owner and group can write to it. But we need Postfix to be able to write to the socket in order to communicate with OpenDKIM, and we don't have a lot of crazy granularity with Unix permission bits. The quickest way to overcome this problem is to add the Postfix user to the OpenDKIM group, like this:
usermod -G opendkim postfix
What are the potential security implications of this? An attacker compromising the Postfix account wouldn't have access to the OpenDKIM private key (since the permissions on that file only allow read and write by its owner, the OpenDKIM user), but anything that bridges account privilege separation barriers is a less-than-desirable thing. Still, this is a small workaround. One other way to handle this situation would be to abandon unix sockets and have OpenDKIM listen on a TCP port instead (and, indeed, that's what Drew Crawford's walkthrough suggests).I’ve been thinking for a while about how supporters of SENS and rejuvenation science can help beyond donating money and talking to friends and family about our cause to end ageing. Even persuading one person to join the cause is great, but getting the message to millions of people would be much better.There’s a tiny chance we could make it.
Have you heard of the YouTube channels SciShow and VSauce? If not, you should really check them out. SciShow focuses on bringing science to the masses through extremely informative and fun videos where a host (usually, but not exclusively, Hank Green) talks about a certain scientific topic, either because they’re interested in the topic themselves or because their fans asked for it. VSauce isn’t strictly about science, but rather about what its host, Michael Stevens, finds interesting—i.e. pretty much anything in the universe. I think they’re both awesome channels, definitely among my favourite ones on YouTube. Do you know how many subscribers they have? 3.5 and 10 millions, respectively. If they did a video about SENS, or even better, if they interviewed Aubrey, the exposure the rejuvenation cause could get would be enormous.
I’m quite sure Hank would be interested; as shown in this video, he’d appreciate the extra nerd time he’d get thanks to rejuvenation biotechnologies. I’m not super sure VSauce has made any videos about ageing, but I think Michael may very well be interested in the subject. It’s the kind of stuff whose implications, twists, and details he could go on about for days, probably. Additionally, both channels interview scientists in some of their episodes, and I’d love to see Aubrey on one of those.
I’m not the only one to think this could be a good idea; Keith Comito of Lifespan.io talks about it in this video, and apparently he’s in touch with the host of VSauce 3 (there’s more than one VSauce channel), who seems to be very interested.
I talked about this with Jerri Barrett, SENS’s vice president of outreach, and she seems to agree as well. She said she’ll look into it, but also that these channels pay a lot of attention to their fan base, and she’s right. If enough people emailed or tweeted to SciShow, VSauce, and/or their hosts suggesting to interview Aubrey or talk about SENS/rejuvenation biotechnologies on one of their episodes, they might just listen to us.
You can get in touch with SciShow and/or its hosts through their YouTube channel, their website, their Twitter, Tumblr, and their Facebook page; Hank Green can be reached via Twitter or Facebook. Same goes for host Michael Aranda; you’ll find him on Twitter and Facebook.
Similarly, you’ll find VSauce of course on Youtube, Twitter, and Facebook.
By all means, if you want to help, do not stop at these two channels; there are many others that may be interested in talking about rejuvenation. I’m giving a few more suggestions here, but feel free to get in touch with any channels or websites you deem appropriate. You can also leave your suggestions in the comments below.
DNews: Another science-related YouTube channel. You’ll find them also on Facebook and Twitter; here you’ll find information to get in touch with individual hosts, if you like.
Singularity 1 on 1: These chaps like to interview prominent scientists and thinkers for their podcasts. You’ll find them on their website, and on Twitter and Facebook among others. (UPDATE: They’ve actually interviewed Aubrey twice already.)
Wait but why: WBW is a very popular technology blog dealing with a variety of different topics. You can get in touch with them via their website, their Facebook, and their Twitter.
TED talks: TED hosts speakers with ‘ideas worth spreading.’ Aubrey was there quite some time ago, and it is perhaps time we suggested him for another talk.
The skeptic’s guide to the universe: They’re into science-related podcasts, and I’m sure their million followers could use one about rejuvenation. Find them on their website, on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
In order for this to work, though, we need to gain some momentum. If just a couple of people tweet to Hank Green, it probably won’t work. What we need is many people getting in touch with them and let them know their fan base would really like to see a video about SENS, rejuvenation, Lifespan.io, Aubrey de Grey, and all that is going on in the rejuvenation world.
I’m sharing this post on relevant subreddits, facebook groups, and all supporters of the cause I know; if you do the same, it might just work. Thanks!Rep. Charlie Dent said that his parties leaders set "arbitrary deadlines" for their Obamacare repeal-and-replace efforts. | AP Photo Rep. Dent: GOP is 'probably a little short' on health care votes
With House Republican leadership looking at last-minute alterations to its health care legislation geared toward pacifying more conservative House members, a co-chairman of the House GOP’s moderate Tuesday Group said Thursday that his party bosses are still short of the votes they need.
“Well, I don't know. I haven't done a whip count,” Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “I suspect if you looked at the numbers now, they are probably a little short. I can't tell you how many votes.”
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Although House Speaker Paul Ryan and President Donald Trump have both expressed confidence that legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare will pass its scheduled vote on Thursday, they and other GOP leaders have been forced to scramble to shore up support for the bill. In a move to appease members of the conservative Freedom Caucus, who have opposed the bill, Ryan and Trump have offered to consider stripping certain regulations mandating “essential health benefits” in insurance plans.
Such a move would likely make the legislation, dubbed the American Health Care Act, a tougher pill to swallow for more moderate Republicans like Dent, who announced after a Wednesday meeting with Ryan that “after careful deliberation, I cannot support the bill and will oppose it.”
The GOP health care proposal, Dent said in his Wednesday statement, “will lead to the loss of coverage and make insurance unaffordable for too many Americans, particularly for low-to-moderate income and older individuals.” Thursday morning on MSNBC, he said the proposed cuts to essential health benefits would represent a big policy change introduced very close to the vote, adding: “I don't know what those impacts are, to be perfectly candid with you right now.”
Even with the concessions to the GOP’s conservative wing, it remains unclear whether there is enough support from members of the Republican rank and file to pass the legislation out of the House. Asked Thursday morning on CNN’s “New Day” whether the cuts to essential health benefit requirements would move the Freedom Caucus closer to a deal, one of its members, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), said only that “we’ll see.”
Asked whether he still expected a vote Thursday night on the legislation, Jordan again said “we’ll see.”
Dent complained that there has been too much focus by the leaders of his party on “arbitrary deadlines.” That Thursday’s vote on the repeal-and-replace measure falls on Obamacare’s seven-year anniversary is “more symbolism, to me, over substance, and we ought to get back to the substance of this issue.”
The Pennsylvania lawmaker also said that there is a prevalent but false notion among House members that the Senate would pass the House’s version of the bill without significant change. Dent called such thinking “ridiculous.”
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“If I have one more senator tell me this bill is dead on arrival, I think my head’s going to explode,” Dent said. “The Senate, let's face it, it's a very slow-moving body. They have two speeds, slow and glacial. And on rare occasions, they can move at lightning speed. You know, every day is the same over there: They start slowly, then they wind down from there. So if anybody thinks that they’re going to move super quickly on this thing, I just don't buy it.”
.Brandon Jennings Says He’d Have ‘Two Or Three Rings’ If He Played...
One of the biggest fans of Kobe Bryant that is currently playing in the NBA today is Brandon Jennings. Although everyone in the league is starting to sing Kobe’s praises with his career potentially coming to an end after next season, Jennings has been an avid admirer of Kobe’s for quite some time and has been very open about his respect for the face of the Los Angeles Lakers franchise.
— Have You Seen These LIMITED EDITION “Bleed Purple and Gold” T-Shirts? —
On Wednesday, before taking on the Washington Wizards, Jennings continued to express his admiration for Kobe, according to Adi Joseph of USA Today’s For The Win:
“Growing up in Los Angeles, being around that dynasty that the Lakers had growing up, I just grew up being a Kobe fan.”
After witnessing Kobe go through his workout routine back in high school, there was no turning back for Jennings, via Joseph:
“I got a chance to watch him work out when I was in high school, and after that, I just became a Kobe fanatic, a big fan.”
Throughout his entire career in the NBA, Kobe has been praised for his drive and work ethic. Although some teammates have found the superstar shooting guard difficult to work with, his resume and ability to continue playing at a high level at 36 speaks for itself.
Jennings doesn’t hide the fact that he would’ve loved to have been Kobe’s teammate. The Pistons point guard said the following about what could’ve been if he were wearing purple and gold to start his career, via Joseph:
“If I came into the league playing with Kobe, I’d probably have two or three rings right now,” Jennings said, his grin turning into a full smile.
With Jennings set to become a free agent in 2016, it isn’t beyond the realm of possibility that he land in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, Kobe may have already announced his retirement at the time.
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Kobe On Michael Jordan Comparison, Late In Career
Please enable Javascript to watch this videoToronto-area teachers continue to call in sick at record rates — and in Peel, many are falling ill on Mondays and Fridays, creating long weekends as boards struggle to cope with new policies imposed by the province. In the Toronto board alone, absences are up as high as 24 per cent over the same period last year, before the changes came in.
Mehrad Khodai Booran says he's enjoyed the last few days of school because it's been fun, without a lot of homework. ( MELINDA MALDONADO / TORONTO STAR ) Savannah Stewart said she enjoyed end-of-year activities with her Grade 4 class at Market Lane Public School. ( MELINDA MALDONADO / Toronto Star ) Rashawn Stewart enjoyed the end-of-year activities with his class at Market Lane Public School. ( MELINDA MALDONADO / Toronto Star )
In the wake of a Star report showing an increase in absenteeism since teachers were told their sick-day banks were being eliminated, the numbers show the trend continues despite a warning from the education minister that sick days should only be used when they are actually sick. MORE ON THESTAR.COM Teacher sick days rising as end of school year nears
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Teacher sick days only for illness, Liz Sandals warns Tories crack down on civil servant sick days And that has left Ontario school boards scrambling to cover a record number of teachers taking time off.
The new data on absences comes on the heels of a controversial Queen’s Park decision to take away teachers’ right to bank unused sick days, and slashed them from 20 to 11 per year. Teachers with the Toronto District School Board took more sick days in May 2013 than that month the year before, with elementary teachers jumping 24 per per cent year over year, and high school teachers at 18 per cent. There appears to be a pattern to when teachers take those sick days, as numbers from the Peel District School Board show teachers taking more sick days on Mondays and Fridays.
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On Friday May 31, 1,104 Peel teachers took sick days for “illness and family responsibility.” On Monday June 3, 820 teachers were sick, followed by 788 teachers on Monday, June 10. In the midst of a year of labour turmoil, many teachers boycotted extracurricular activities, which angered parents whose children lost out on after-school programs. As summer approaches, a lax pace during the school day has some parents concerned. Zahra Nasseri’s son, Mehrad Khodai Booran, is in Grade 4 at Market Lane Public School, and she isn’t impressed that he hasn’t been bringing home a lot of homework lately. “In June, (it’s the) same as summer, as July,” said Nasseri, noting that there have been parties and barbecues. If you ask Mehrad what he did in school today, he breaks into a big smile. “We mostly had fun. We played our video games, we watched videos,” he said. They also had a party with cake, drinks and other snacks. “We’ve had less work for, like, two weeks, because it’s the end.” Mehrad, 9, says the last time he handed in homework was two weeks ago. Nasseri, who is from Iran, says she thinks students work harder in her native country. “Everything was a party. It’s just fun. If it’s nothing, why is the school open?” Many parents at Market Lane said that they’ve noticed a wind down in schoolwork over the last two weeks, however, other parents gave a nod of approval, saying bring on the ice cream, freezies and water parks of summer. “It’s the end of the year. There’s really not much left to cover,” said Sonya Stewart, whose daughter Savannah is in Grade 4 at Market Lane and had a party at school on Wednesday. “We got to have a water balloon fight,” said 9-year-old Savannah. Her older brother Rashawn, 13, is in Grade 7, and said he had a typical day of class — until his teacher surprised them with a party. “We all got to have fun, hanging out,” said Rashawn. “My teacher brought in his Wii and we played Mario Kart.” Students at Market Lane received report cards Tuesday, and Thursday is the last day of the TDSB school year.Get the biggest Manchester 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
Louis van Gaal has hinted that Daley Blind’s days as a midfielder could be numbered.
Blind arrived at Old Trafford from Ajax last summer with Van Gaal insisting he had signed the Dutchman to play in midfield.
He made 29 appearances in his first season, predominately as a holding midfielder and occasionally as a left-back.
But he started at centre-back in a back four alongside Phil Jones in the 1-0 win over Club America in Seattle on Friday.
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And Van Gaal suggested afterwards that the 25-year-old could play more games in that position next season.
United have significantly strengthened their midfield this summer with the signings of Bastian Schweinsteiger from Bayern Munich and Morgan Schneiderlin from Southampton.
The pair are set to compete with Michael Carrick, Marouane Fellaini and Ander Herrera for places next season and opportunities for Blind to play in midfield are likely to be significantly reduced.
Speaking after the win over Club America in their first game of the United States tour, Van Gaal said Blind and Marcos Rojo, who will join up with the squad on July 25 after taking part in the Copa America, could compete to play on the left side of his preferred centre-half pairing.
Click through United's summer targets in pictures.
Van Gaal is keen to add another centre-back to his squad before the transfer deadline but so far United’s approaches for Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos have been knocked back.
Asked whether Blind would play more games at centre-back next season, Van Gaal replied: “It could be, it could be.
“Marcos Rojo is not here, he shall come on July 25. I want to play always with a left-footed central defender and he can do the job. Maybe he shall play. But other players can play there.
“Last year I played with Jones and Smalling in that position. Even McNair has played there. But my preference is always a left-footed central defender.
“In Rojo and Blind, we have two players who can play there.”
United kept a clean sheet against Club America with Blind and Jones at centre-back and Van Gaal insisted afterwards the most pleasing aspect of the performance was the ‘defensive organisation’ they have been working on in training.
He added: “I wanted to see our defensive organisation, that was the main aspect.
“We don’t give any goals away and only one or two chances so I’m satisfied about that.
“We played like a team and America was very handy with the ball, very aggressive, very quick so it was not so easy.
“All the players have a function that we have given them to do. I’m happy and satisfied.”There’s an innovative new light technology that’s trying to shake up the way people think about “artificial light.” In Italian company called CoeLux has developed a new light source that recreates the look of sunlight through a skylight so well that it can trick both human brains and cameras.
It’s a high tech LED skylight that’s designed to provide “sunlight” for interior spaces cut off from the outdoors. One of the main ideas behind it is that to create realistic sunlight, you can’t just simulate the sun… you need to recreate the atmosphere as well.
The scientists who invented the light figured out how to use a thin coating of nanoparticles to accurately simulate sunlight through Earth’s atmosphere and the effect known as Rayleigh scattering. It’s not just the color temperature thats the same — the quality of the light feels the same as well.
People who have had a chance to experience the skylight so far have been fooled into believing that there was an actual hole in the ceiling, and the sample photos on the CoeLux website come with a cautionary note: “The photographs on this site are real and unretouched. They are not computer renderings.”
Here are a few more photos of interior spaces illuminated by this faux sunlight:
The technology is designed for providing the appearance of sunlight to spaces that could use it (e.g. hospitals, gyms, offices, underground parking structures), but it seems photographers could also make use of it as well for an artificial sunlight source in a studio — especially people who work in places with unpredictable or limited sunlight. However, the price would need to come down first: CoeLux currently costs £40,000 (~$61,000) to buy and up to £5,000 (~$7,600) for installation.
CoeLux says future improvements will include the ability to change the position of the sun in the frame and dynamic color temperature of the sunlight.(CNN) -- Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara called for calm Monday after forces stormed the president's residence and arrested Laurent Gbagbo, whose refusal to accept the results of a presidential election last year plunged the West African nation into civil war.
"Finally, we have reached the dawn of a new era of hope," Ouattara said in a televised address. "We had hoped this transfer had been different, but we have to focus on today."
He urged his countrymen to lay down their weapons and said he has asked the justice minister to start legal proceedings against Gbagbo, his wife and his colleagues. Gbagbo is being held at the Golf Hotel, the headquarters of both Ouattara and the United Nations.
Fighting appeared to quickly end after Gbagbo's arrest, said Alain Le Roy, under-secretary-general of the United Nations' Department of Peacekeeping Operations.
"To my knowledge, most of the fighting has stopped," he said, adding that "there are pockets of resistance here and there."
Gbagbo asked for and is receiving U.N. protection, according to Le Roy, who said forces are also ensuring the security of the former leader's wife.
"I understand from President Ouattara that he wants President Gbagbo to go on trial in Ivory Coast," said the U.N. official.
The former president "is well and alive and will be brought to justice," said the country's ambassador to the United Nations, Youssoufou Bamba. He and the French Embassy said forces loyal to Ouattara made the arrest.
But a Gbagbo adviser, Ahoua Don Mello, said earlier that the French military had stormed Gbagbo's residence. The French Ministry of Defense rejected Don Mello's claim, saying no French troops entered the residence.
Authorities are trying to move carefully and follow legal procedures to bring Gbagbo to trial, said a senior U.S. official with knowledge of the events, declining to be named because of the sensitivity of the situation.
The arrest is a "step in the right direction to return Ivory Coast to normality," the source said, adding that the city of Abidjan is a wreck, with "death squads, militias roaming (and) burning bodies on the streets, which is posing a major humanitarian challenge."
Speaking from inside the Golf Hotel, Gbagbo told his supporters to stop fighting.
"I hope that people lay down their weapons and return to a normal state of civil rule so that the crisis can conclude as quickly as possible," he said.
U.S. President Barack Obama cheered news of the latest developments in the Ivory Coast.
"This represents a victory for the democratic will of the Ivorian people, who have suffered for far too long through the instability that followed their election," he said in a statement.
Obama urged Ouattara and the people of the Ivory Coast to begin now the "hard work of reconciliation and rebuilding."
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Gbagbo's capture "sends a strong signal to dictators and tyrants.... They may not disregard the voice of their own people.
"There will be consequences for those who cling to power," Clinton warned.
United Nations forces were not involved in the raid on Gbagbo's residence, said U.N. spokesman Hamadoun Toure.
He had earlier said the United Nations' mission did not extend to extracting the former president from his stronghold.
But United Nations and French troops have pounded Gbagbo's forces, citing their mission to protect civilians in the country.
The fighting left Abidjan with sporadic power and sanitation, and residents said dead bodies were left on the streets.
At least tens of thousands of people have fled into neighboring Liberia to escape the fighting, according to Oxfam, the international aid organization.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said that 800 people had been shot dead in the western cocoa-producing town of Duekoue during the conflict. A U.N. official put the death toll at 330 in the incident.
In his televised address, Ouattara said he would set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate allegations of human rights violations.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last week predicted that the outcome of the crisis in Ivory Coast would set the tone for other nations in Africa.
"What happens in Cote d'Ivoire has huge implications for the continent that will have 16 presidential elections this year," he said, using the French name for the country.
CNN's Jack Maddox, Sarita Harilela, Carol Jordan, Mariano Castillo, Niki Cook, Matthew Hoye, Alan Silverleib and Zain Verjee contributed to this reportA Fremont electric bike and scooter company is teaming up with DoorDash in an experimental venture to reduce vehicle emissions while speeding up on-demand food deliveries.
GenZe, based in Fremont’s Innovation District about a mile south of the Tesla factory in Warm Springs, produces a bike that can travel as far as 18 miles propelled by an electric throttle.
DoorDash, founded in Palo Alto and headquartered in San Francisco, will provide GenZe bikes to “dashers” who don’t have cars or prefer bikes over scooters when delivering food.
DoorDash said the bikes will allow dashers to avoid the hassle and time of having to find parking in crowded metro areas where it plans to debut the pilot program, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Vancouver.
For the experiment, dashers can use one of the bikes free for a little over a month. Usman Cheema from DoorDash said in an interview this week that if the program gets expanded beyond the initial cities, the bikes will be available on a day-by-day basis.
From a dasher’s perspective, time is money, Cheema said. “The more dashes they can complete in a given day or a given shift, the more they’re able to take home.”
Cheema said DoorDash has seen that bikes and scooters tend to be more efficient in getting food from point A to B. The company hopes adding the electric boost will increase efficiency even more, resulting in more money for dashers and faster food delivery for customers.
Tom Valasek, GenZe’s chief marketing officer, said the location in Fremont’s Innovation District has been helpful, especially since the Warm Springs BART station opened, making it easier to bring in employees.
Fremont has tried to attract cleantech and biotech firms as well as hardware and software tech companies to the roughly 850-acre area in its south end, where thousands of housing units and more retail are planned.
Valasek said GenZe also will partner with the city for a Bike to Work Week ceremony in May.
GenZe’s mission is to expand awareness of electric bikes and scooters as viable, clean transportation options, and Val |
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Genetic Characteristics
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Insecticide Link
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Literature Review
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Male Fertility Issues
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Musculoskeletal Sequelae
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Neurologic Manifestations
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Yuan L, Huang XY, Liu ZY, et al. A single mutation in the prM protein of Zika virus contributes to fetal microcephaly. Science 2017 (published online Sep 28)
Non-Human Primate Infections
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George J, Valiant WG, Mattapallil MJ, et al. Prior exposure to Zika virus significantly enhances peak dengue-2 viremia in rhesus macaques. Sci Rep 2017 (published online Sep 5)
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Non-Mosquito Vectors
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Ragan IK, Blizzard EL, Gordy P, et al. Investigating the potential role of North American animals as hosts for Zika virus. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 2017 (published online Feb 1)
Ophthalmologic Manifestations
Aleman TS, Ventura CV, Cavalcanti MM, et al. Quantitative assessment of microstructural changes of the retina in infants with congenital Zika syndrome. JAMA Opthalmol 2017 (published online Sep 7)
Fernandez MP, Saad EP, Martinez MO, et al. Ocular histopathologic features of congenital Zika syndrome. JAMA Ophthalmol 2017 (published online Sep 21)
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Outbreak Dynamics, Control
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Metsky HC, Matranga CB, Wohl S, et al. Zika virus evolution and spread in the Americas. (Letter) Nature 2017 (published online May 24)
Mordecai EA, Cohen JM, Evans MV, et al. Detecting the impact of temperature on transmission of Zika, dengue, and chikungunya using mechanistic models. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2017 Apr 27;11(4):e0005568
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Osorio-de-Castro CGS, Miranda ES, Machado de Freitas C, et al. The Zika virus outbreak in Brazil: knowledge gaps and challenges for risk reduction. Am J Public Health 2017 (published online Apr 20)
Pompon J, Morales-Vargas R, Manuel M, et al. A Zika virus from America is more efficiently transmitted than an Asian virus by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes from Asia. Sci Rep 2017 (published online Apr 27)
Ryan SJ, Carlson CJ, Stewart-Ibarra AM, et al. Outbreak of Zika virus infections, Dominica, 2016. Emerg Infect Dis 2017 (published online Oct 11)
Shacham E, Nelson EJ, Hoft DF, et al. Potential high-risk areas for
Zika virus transmission in the contiguous United States. Am J Public Health 2017 (published online Mar 21)
Teng Y, Bi D, Xie G, et al. Dynamic forecasting of Zika epidemics using Google Trends. PLoS One 2017 Jan 6;12(1):e0165085
Zhang Q, Sun K, Chinazzi M, et al. Spread of Zika virus in the Americas. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2017 (published online Apr 25)
Pregnancy
Adhikari EH, Nelson DB, Johnson KA, et al.Infant outcomes among women with ZIka virus infection during pregnancy: results of a large prenatal Zika screening program. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2017 (published online Jan 30)
BlLDLC.com have announced that they have completed the signing of the team known as Mercenary.
LDLC opted to disband their previous CS:GO division earlier in the week as a response to losing three of their players, Dan "apEX" Madesclaire, Hovik "KQLY" Tovmassian and Mathieu "Maniac" Quiquerez, who were lured by an offer from Titan.
From the previous lineup, only Vincent "Happy" Schopenhauer remains, with LDLC buying Richard "shox" Papillon and Fabien "kioShiMa" Fiey out of their contracts with Epsilon. The last two players, Nathan "NBK-" Schmitt and Edouard "SmithZz" Dubourdeaux, join LDLC after being released by Titan.
NBK is LDLC's new leader
The future is already looking bright for the new LDLC team, who are already at the summit in FACEIT's $50,000 League after beating dignitas and HellRaisers in their first two matches in the tournament.
"Here is a fresh start for this team, and a second chapter for LDLC,” Nathan "NBK" Schmitt told LDLC's website. "We trust that this collaboration will please both parties and that it will allow us to evolve as a team. "Speaking to [LDLC chief] Anthony, we could tell how much LDLC are motivated and how much they trust our team. "We have only practiced two days, and we already feel a natural chemistry between the players, which is indispensable for having good results in the long-run when you are playing at a high level. "We are making thousands of mistakes and we still need to learn how to play with each other. I will also also have to work on how to lead a team, a role that is new for me.”
Meanwhile, LDLC.com have confirmed that Emmanuel "MoMaN" Marquez, a former 1.6 and Starcraft II player, will remain as the team's coach.
Next week, LDLC will be taking part in the online qualifiers for ESWC France, in which they will face competition from teams like Adil "ScreaM" Benrlitom's BST and webSPELL.
LDLC now have the following CS:GO division:By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm –
Casey Anthony was sentenced today to four years for lying to authorities with credit for the substantial time she has already served. Instead of facing life, or possibly death, for the murder of her daughter Caylee, she will be free as of next Sunday (July 17th), though it is hard to use the word “freedom” in connection with the life she has ahead of her. After three years in the national spotlight, to say this outcome is not popular is the understatement of the year. Current polling shows that more than 80% of the public disagrees with the verdict. For this post, I am not writing about whether the jury was wrong or right, and definitely not writing about whether Casey Anthony did it or not. There is no shortage of that kind of commentary already. Instead, I want to focus on the lessons litigators – especially those on the civil side who aren’t trying “crime of the century” cases – can draw from this very public and very contentious verdict. Based on what we know so far, I believe the main lesson comes down to the role of narrative: jurors, and the public at large, are reacting to a mixture of evidence and story. Effective attorneys need to take that into account.
In the immediate aftermath of the reading of the verdict on Tuesday, the hopes of hundreds of media organizations were dashed when court personnel announced jurors would not be speaking to the press. Since then, one alternate and two jurors have spoken out, and if you believe the media reports, juror number #6 has offered his story in exchange for cash. As we learn more, there may be additional lessons, but these are the most important takeaways on my mind.
Lesson One: Gaps Matter
While most of the jurors still aren’t talking at the time of writing, the focus from juror #2 (whose name is still withheld), from juror Jennifer Ford and from alternate juror Russell Hueker comes down to a belief the state did not prove its case because it could not prove how Caylee died. As Ford told ABC News, “I have no idea what happened to that child,” and “If you cannot prove what the crime was, you cannot determine what the punishment should be…” Juror #2 also emphasized, “I wish we had more evidence to put her away.” It turns out the prosecution’s main barrier was neither a credible defendant nor in a wily defense team, but in the forces of nature. Human decomposition made it impossible to prove the mode of Caylee’s death with certainty, a gap the jury couldn’t live with in a capital case. While the jury could have, like the public, drawn reasonable inferences from circumstantial evidence (the 31 days of partying before authorities were alerted, the lies during the investigation, the duct tape, and the chloroform), the jury wanted to connect all the dots.
In all cases, gaps matter. Any litigant who is trying to convince jurors to accept a general narrative favoring their case (which is every litigant) needs to focus on whether a missing element to the story prevents a clear conclusion, whether that missing element bears on a required legal element or not. It is the story and not just the evidence that jurors need to understand in the end.
Lesson Two: An Alternate Story in Opening Can Look A Lot Like Evidence
Of course, we know the judge will always instruct the jury that the statements of attorneys, including opening and closing, are not evidence. This is true in a legal sense, but not in a narrative sense. In his opening statement, Defense attorney Jose Baez told the story which became the centerpiece of the defense: Caylee Anthony drowned in her pool, and in a twisted response to years of abuse, Casey conspired with her father George to hide the accident. Aside from the opening statement, what testimony was actually presented in favor of Baez’s theory? It didn’t come from George — he denied every point of the story. It didn’t come from Casey, because she didn’t testify. The closest we came to testimonial support for this theory came from Krystal Holloway, aka River Cruz, who claimed to be George Anthony’s mistress. She testified George had tearfully told her that Caylee’s death was an “accident that snowballed out of control.” It was left unclear, however, whether she actually was George’s mistress (again, George denied it), whether this was an expressed belief (rather than knowledge) in the days prior to Caylee’s body being found, or whether Krystal Holloway is a credible witness to begin with. Before testifying, she had already sold her story to the National Enquirer, and had earlier denied some key elements of her testimony when speaking to investigators.
The probability is the jury didn’t so much believe Krystal Holloway (none of the jurors speaking so far have mentioned her in their comments), as much as they believed the possibility of an alternate story, which itself created some reasonable doubt. Narrative plays a quasi-evidentiary role: Huekler believes that “it was probably a horrific accident, that Dad and Casey covered up. And unfortunately it did snowball, and got away from them.” When the interviewer directly asked what evidence there was in favor of the theory, Huekler stammers and then simply turns back to the story: “well, from what we understand, through the testimony – was that there was — ah, well, it was such a horrific accident, that they didn’t know how to deal with it. The family appeared to be very dysfunctional, and instead of admitting ‘look, there was an accident,’ they chose to hide it, for whatever reason.” Juror Ford was more direct in saying that she didn’t feel this defense theory was proven, but still she relies on the story: “it’s easier for me logically to get from point A to point B” via the defense argument. The structure of this rival narrative came not from George, from Casey, or from Holloway, or from other evidence, but from defense attorney Jose Baez in opening statement – a fact that doesn’t prevent the jury from relying on it as a way to see reasonable doubt.
Lesson Three: The Story Extends Beyond the Jury
In Casey Anthony’s case, the jury’s verdict in defiance of public opinion might turn out to be a Pyrrhic victory. She could change her name and probably her look and live quietly, or she could embrace the notoriety, but it will still be hard to live a semblance of a normal life in the aftermath. In this case, there is a broad and deep public story that does not end neatly with the reading of the jury’s verdict. There are clear parallels in civil litigation. Think, for example, of BP’s defense in thousands of lawsuits stemming from the Deepwater Horizon spill in the gulf or Mexico, or more recently of ExxonMobil’s ruptured pipeline that has contaminated miles of the Yellowstone River. In cases like that, convincing a jury is one thing, and convincing the public is quite another.
For high profile cases like these, the clear need is for an integrated approach focusing on both public relations and trial preparation. Instead of separate teams with different and potentially hostile goals, the PR and trial teams need to work on common messages that will resonate consistently for these different audiences. The purpose of the PR is not to influence the jury pool. After all, if a juror can be found (Ford) who had not heard of the Casey Anthony trial prior to being selected, then a juror can be found who is immune to just about any prior communication. Instead, the PR is directed at the court of public opinion and can be more important than any jury’s verdict. Ultimately, it is the big story that matters, not just the evidence in court.
As this story plays out in the media and on the blogosphere, those are the main lessons for litigators I see so far. I can’t end this post without mentioning one other part of the story: the particular courage of the Casey Anthony jury to reach a deeply unpopular verdict. In response, a lot of rage has been directed against members of the jury. In particular, Nancy Grace has emphasized the jury has tossed Caylee Anthony away like she was garbage, and that “devil is dancing” over the verdict. Ford was even asked on camera how she sleeps at night by Nightline anchor Terry Moran. Reasonable minds can differ on whether the jury had the ingredients for proof beyond a reasonable doubt or not. Whether we would agree or disagree with that verdict is beside the point. No one else — not the public, the media, the bloggers and tweeters, Nancy Grace, or anyone else — was in the same role as the jurors who believed after hearing both sides that the state had not met its high burden of proof.
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Photo Credit: The.Comedian, Flickr Creative CommonsSTRANGE though it seems, a typical microwave oven consumes more electricity powering its digital clock than it does heating food. For while heating food requires more than 100 times as much power as running the clock, most microwave ovens stand idle—in “standby” mode—more than 99% of the time. And they are not alone: many other devices, such as televisions, DVD players, stereos and computers also spend much of their lives in standby mode, collectively consuming a huge amount of energy. Moves are being made around the world to reduce this unnecessary power consumption, called “standby power”.
As in many other areas of environmental policy, the state of California is leading the way. On January 1st the California Energy Commission introduced mandatory standby requirements for various electronic devices—the first such obligatory regulations in the world. This is due in no small part to the efforts of Alan Meier, a staff scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) in Berkeley, California. In the 1990s he noticed a proliferation in the number of household appliances that are never fully switched off, but spend most of the time in a standby mode, ready to spring into action when needed. The convenience of being able to switch on your television from the sofa using a remote control, in short, has a cost, since some circuits in the television must remain active, watching for signals from the remote control. Added up on a nationwide or global scale, Dr Meier realised, the wasted energy must be staggering. “We're moving from an electromechanical world that's on and off to an electronic world that's never off,” he says.
He and his colleagues at LBNL set out to quantify the scale of the problem. In 1998 they released an initial study which estimated that standby power accounted for approximately 5% of total residential electricity consumption in America, “adding up to more than $3 billion in annual energy costs”. According to America's Department of Energy, national residential electricity consumption in 2004 was 1.29 billion megawatt hours (MWh)—5% of which is 64m MWh. The wasted energy, in other words, is equivalent to the output of 18 typical power stations.
This figure, however, was based on estimates. So Dr Meier and his team went on to measure standby-power consumption directly, in an empirical study. Their results, published in 2000, revealed that standby power accounted for as much as 10% of household power-consumption in some cases. That same year, a similar study in France found that standby power accounted for 7% of total residential consumption. Further studies have since come to similar conclusions in other developed countries, including the Netherlands, Australia and Japan. Some estimates put the proportion of consumption due to standby power as high as 13%.
J.P. Ross, who took part in the 2000 study while a graduate student at the University of California in Berkeley, was particularly surprised by the variation in standby-power consumption between similar devices (see chart). “One television that I looked at had a minuscule amount, and one had a high standby load,” he says. This shows, he says, that “you can still have the functionality without the electricity loss.” The problem, as Dr Meier noted way back in 1998, is that there is very little incentive for manufacturers to make devices with low standby-power consumption. And even when they do, there is no easy way for consumers to distinguish between power-hungry devices and more abstemious ones.
Dr Meier and other researchers argue that there is no technical reason why all electronic devices cannot use the more efficient electrical |
lifetime a ‘déjà vu’ experience, that mysterious feeling where time seems to pass by in slow-motion, where you perceive information in such a way as if you had already experienced the current situation sometime in the distant past.
Ranging from paranormal disturbances and neurological disorders, researchers have been trying to explain the mysterious phenomenon for decades, yet no one has been able to understand fully how we can live the ‘déjà vu’ phenomenon so inanely.
‘Déjà Vu,’ which originates from the French languages and means ‘already seen’ is a rather common occurrence that we know very little of. When you come to experience a ‘déjà vu’ moment you feel mysteriously overtaken by a mysterious force which unconsciously tells you ‘this already happened before.’
The ‘déjà vu’ phenomenon is reported occurring on an occasional basis in 60-80% of people around the world. It is an experience almost always transient and occurs randomly.
Many researchers propose that the phenomenon is an experience based on memory and assume that the memory centers in the brain are responsible for the ‘déjà vu’ phenomenon. However, there are those who associate the ‘déjà vu’ phenomenon with prophecies, past life experiences or memories, clairvoyance, or a mystic signpost which could indicate a sense of fulfillment of a ‘predetermined’ condition in life.
A Déjà vu experience occurs quickly, without warning and has no physical manifestation apart from the announcement: “I just had a déjà vu”.
But if all of the above cannot explain this mysterious feeling that nearly everyone experience once in a lifetime, then what can?
There are some who have connected the ‘déjà vu’ phenomenon with the existence of parallel universes.
Parallel universes? But… do they exist?
Well actually, Scientists might have spotted another universe sitting next to our own. According to astronomers, light spotted in outer space might have ‘spilled through’ from another universe very close to our own.
The bright patches could be in fact leftovers from another universe that began in the vicinity of our own according to scientific study. Scientists believe that they can actually get a peek at one if the said universe started out close enough to our universe, so the two were able to ‘touch’ which would then leave a viewable signature in our universe.
In order to find these signatures, scientists have compared a map of the cosmic microwave background (which are leftovers from the early universe) with a picture of the entire sky taken by the European Space Agency’s Planck telescope. What they found after left researchers mesmerized. After they had subtracted one from the other, they saw an eerie patch of light in the sky, a patch of light that could be explained as being the remains of collisions with other universes.
But can a Parallel Universe explain a ‘déjà vu’ experience?
According to Dr. Michio Kaku, an American futurist, theoretical physicist and popularizer of science, Parallel universes can explain the mysterious phenomenon and states that quantum physics actually provide the necessary details which suggest déjà vu might be caused by your ability to “flip between different universes.”
The idea that other universes (multiverse theory) exist has been supported by several scientists, among them Professor Steve Weinberg, a theoretical physicist and Nobel Prize winner. According to Professor Weinberg, it is possible that in the same room an infinite number of parallel realities coexist with us.
“Nobel laureate Steven Weinberg likens this multiple universe theory to radio. All around you, there are hundreds of different radio waves being broadcast from distant stations.
At any given instant, your office or car or living room is full of these radio waves. However, if you turn on a radio, you can listen to only one frequency at a time; these other frequencies have decohered and are no longer in phase with each other. Each station has a different energy, a different frequency. As a result, your radio can only be turned to one broadcast at a time. Likewise, in our universe, we are “tuned” into the frequency that corresponds to physical reality. But there are an infinite number of parallel realities coexisting with us in the same room, although we cannot “tune into” them.
Although these worlds are very much alike, each has a different energy. And because each world consists of trillions upon trillions of atoms, this means that the energy difference can be quite significant. Since the frequency of these waves is proportional to their energy (by Planck’s law), this means that the waves of each world vibrate at different frequencies and cannot interact anymore. For all intents and purposes, the waves of these various worlds do not interact or influence each other.”― Michio Kaku, Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos (source)
All of this means that it is quite possible that, at the exact moment you experienced a ‘déjà vu,’ you are in fact ‘vibrating in unison’ with another parallel universe in the cosmos.Image caption They got there in the end: Croatia's Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic, left, with president of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso
Some 20 years ago, as Croats broke away from the former Yugoslavia in bloody fashion, it is estimated that perhaps three-quarters of all Croats yearned to join the European Union, or European Community as it then was.
Today, in the run-up to Croatia's admission to the EU in July, the number of those who approve of the move is just 45%. Boris Pavelic, a reporter with the Balkan Insight website, asks why.
Go into the streets of the capital Zagreb, ask about joining the EU and you will get a range of views.
"Croatia's legal system would become better, more efficient and hopefully more credible," says pensioner Veljko Jovanovic.
Zagreb academic, Borka Lugaric, echoes this view on the EU "fixing" the legal system and eradicating Croatia's "omnipresent corruption".
But he is generally against his country joining the EU, as it would "burden Croatia with a lot of financial obligations".
Worries about the economy are shared by Antonija Letinic, a cultural manager, who hopes that "some kind of economic prosperity could emerge from Croatia's EU membership", but fears that the EU's own economic problems could undermine that.
Fear of expansion
Other reasons cited by those in favour are the freedom to study or travel abroad, or to find a job more easily.
These sentiments reflect the general idea that EU membership could both broaden opportunities for Croats in Europe and that Brussels will keep their government institutions on the straight and narrow.
Those against membership worry more about the cost of living. They fret that prices will rocket and that other EU citizens will arrive in numbers and occupy well-paid jobs. While it is unlikely thousands will make a bee line for Croatia, the country will face challenges from the moment it becomes a member.
Image caption Anger over high unemployment has spilled over into confrontation on the streets of Zagreb
Sandra Svaljek, an analyst with the Zagreb-based Economy Institute, predicts "creative destruction" in the private sector once Croatia joins the EU.
Croatia, she says, already has a "hard time" competing in the EU market. It exports little in any case, and for many exports its natural market is not even in the EU.
"Generally, EU competition is too strong for the Croatian economy," Ms Svaljek says.
Furthermore, Croatia's economy is already on its knees.
Around 120,000 people have lost their jobs in the last five years, with unemployment rising from 14 to 20%. Whole sectors like construction have collapsed.
Meanwhile, Croatia's credit rating has been cut twice in recent months. Foreign investors are turning their back on the country. According to official data, foreign direct investment has fallen 80% since 2008 and last year was back to 1999 levels.
Since 2008 the country's GDP has fallen 11% and keeps falling, "with no light at the end of the tunnel", according to economics journalist Ivo Jakovljevic.
When Croatia struck out on its own as the former Yugoslavia fell apart, any talk of joining the EU seemed a little contradictory, especially to those nationalists who drove the separation from the former communist federation.
Yes, the EC, together with the UN, had helped extinguish the war in Croatia. But why, after struggling to become fully independent for the very first time, would Croatia want to join a "Euroslavia"?
In the post-war years the issue of joining the European bloc did not arise. Croatia was internationally isolated by then, pressured by the EU and others to give up those of its citizens who were accused of war crimes.
Unknowns
When a raft of other former eastern bloc nations, including the former Yugoslav republic of Slovenia, joined the EU in 2004 Croatia was only just beginning its own accession talks.
Seeing Slovenia, its near neighbour, block Croatia's accession talks over a border dispute depressed support for joining the EU to just 29% in opinion polls. It has risen since to 45%, but those against or undecided are in the clear majority.
Croatia's Foreign Minister, Vesna Pusic, is confident that the true numbers are those reflected in the outcome of the country referendum on joining. Held in January 2012, a full 66% of those who voted were in favour.
Image caption A museum display depicting a scene from Croatia's war of independence
The key to understanding this, she says, is the stability that membership offers. After a conflict that killed 10,000 of its citizens, Croatia has been left with its own scars, as well as atoning for the wounds it inflicted on others in region.
"Durable political stability is a key objective for Croatia, since in the last hundred years every state in the Balkans has lasted no longer than an average human life," she says.
Yet there remains widespread suspicion and ignorance about the EU.
In March a man who erected an EU flag on his newly-built house was quizzed by neighbours as to "which Muslim country" the flag belonged to. A local newspaper even investigated whether it was legal to raise the EU's ring of stars. It discovered that it was.
But if some Croats are not very knowledgeable about the EU, officials in Zagreb worry that the EU is not too clued-up on Croatia.
The country's national football team, which has been among the 10 best in the world, is well known among sports fans. But few are familiar with Croatia's rich cultural, historical and arts heritage.
To correct this, Croatia's ministry of culture is busy promoting the country in key EU capitals in a series of festivals. Paris hosted one last year. Germany has done so this year.
Currently, it is London's turn. Highlights include lectures on Croatia's place in history, contemporary Croatian drama and how to set up a business in Croatia.
It is all an attempt to overcome the association of Croatia with either sun and blue sea or, less sympathetically, nationalism and bigotry.It was a trip that almost didn't happen.
Just days ahead of a planned trip to two of the best known baseball stadiums in the U.S., David Kelly sat confined to the walls of the neurological ICU, at the Saint John Regional hospital.
Kelly, the Saint John Sea Dogs head equipment manager, has been battling cancer for four years. While in the neuro-ICU, doctors discovered new cancer spots on his brain and treated him with radiation.
Quality of life
During that time, he kept thinking of the trip he'd already booked to see his baseball heroes.
"When I was in neuro-ICU I didn't think there was any chance it was going to happen," said Kelly.
Kelly on Yawkey way outside Fenway Park. (David Kelly )
But determined, Kelly asked his neurosurgeon if he could still travel to see his favourite Boston baseball team play against their New York rivals at Yankee Stadium.
Kelly's neurosurgeon told him to go and enjoy himself.
"He said if it was him, he would go," said Kelly. "He's all about quality of life and that's [part] of quality of life."
Kelly, Andrew Benintendi and Nathan Belliveau on the field at Yankee stadium. (David Kelly )
Within a week of being released from the neuro-ICU, Kelly was there, in the stands, watching a batting practice.
Meeting his baseball heroes
He met pretty much every member of the Boston Red Sox.
"They have a great set up for batting practice, you stand right in front of the dugout," he said. "Basically every player that had to go on or off the field had to walk right by me."
He spent some time chatting with Jackie Bradley Jr, a 27-year old center fielder for the Boston Red Sox.
"Just a first class individual, it was just a blast, especially after the week we had," said Kelly.
Jackie Bradley Jr, left, on the field at Yankee stadium with Kelly, right. (David Kelly )
Now back in Canada, Kelly is continuing his work with the Saint John Sea Dogs hockey team.
While his job is in hockey, he says he's just as passionate about the sport of baseball.
"I'm a diehard Red Sox fan," he said. "Hockey is my life, baseball is kind of my getaway from life."Preseason is the time when we all overreact to the new tool that an NBA player has supposedly added to his game. "He's working on a corner three" is the new "I've gained 10 pounds of muscle." These things so often don't carry over to when the games actually matter.
Still: Watching Blake Griffin stroke jumper after jumper in the Clippers' preseason opener against the Warriors was eye-opening. The same man who hasn't cracked even 38 percent from mid-range in his NBA career nailed his first six shots, including... yes, a corner three. Watch them all here.
Afterward, Griffin explained the resurgence with typical platitudes. "[I'm] just trying to be confident, take the shot and, miss or make, try to keep that aggressive mentality," he said, via Fox Sports West. Confidence is the perfect shorthand term -- it's an essential trait in every good shooter, yet it explains little for those trying to analyze said shooters.
Actually improving a jump shot requires more than mental tricks. Shooting coaches walk a tight balance. Tinker too little with a player's shot, and the same issues remain. Tinker too much, though, and the player has no frame of reference and loses their precious confidence. (Unless you're coaching Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who needs loooots of tinkering).
Upon close examination, Griffin has struck this balance. On the left is one of the six shots he made in the first quarter on Tuesday night. On the right is a missed jumper from last February from the same spot with the same kind of pass delivered to him.
The difference is verrrrrrrrryyyyyyyy slight at full speed, but it's clear when you slow both clips down. On the left, Griffin gets into his motion sooner and thus fires the shot sooner. On the right, his stance is open, his motion is slower and the release is choppier. The shot on the left looks like one shot. The shot on the right looks like a step-by-step guide for how to attempt one shot.
If you prefer, here's all that in picture form:
The key to the improvement begins at the start. On the left, Griffin's feet are already set. He's ready to shoot, as coaches love to say. On the right, he's still yet to step into the shot, which takes additional time and slows the entire process down. Your grade school coach may have told you to position your feet like Griffin did on the right, but in the NBA, where rhythm, fluidity and time are at a premium, a shooter has to be significantly faster in his delivery.
Like many players, Griffin's shooting motion incorporate an element called "the dip," where he brings the ball below his right hip before firing away. Some coaches don't believe in the dip at all, preferring that a player catch the ball and go directly to his shoulder, but that's faulty, especially once players get to the highest level. Rhythm is essential in the NBA, where the game moves so fast. Players naturally want to wind up for their shot, so telling them not to is often counterproductive.
Instead, the key is speeding up the dip so it becomes second nature. The slower a player's dip, the choppier the shot. That's why it's noteworthy that Left Griffin is already at the bottom of his dip when Right Griffin is just starting.
This has an immediate effect. Because Left Griffin has dipped quicker, he's already about to shoot with plenty of time before his defender closes out. Right Griffin, on the other hand, is only now finishing his dip. And thus, Left Griffin is able to actually release his shot much quicker than Right Griffin.
Left Griffin's smooth, efficient release results in a bucket. Right Griffin's mechanical motion leads to a miss on a less-contested attempt.
It's important to note that one doesn't develop this fluidity overnight. It takes years of practice to fine-tune a shooting motion, and that's only if the precious confidence that Griffin noted after Tuesday's game isn't shattered by all the misses. Griffin's mid-range shooting has steadily improved over the course of his career. If the more fluid motion he flashed in Tuesday's preseason game carries over, expect another jump this season.
Blake Griffin with a consistent mid-range jumper? The thought should freak opponents out.IT'S the city of opulence - a sweeping desert dotted with luxurious hotels.
But that's just not enough for glamorous Dubai - it's set to build a $US1 billion ($976 million) replica of the Taj Mahal.
Dubbed "Taj Arabia", the massive complex will house a 300-room five-star hotel, apartments, restaurants, shops and offices.
The developers hope it will be a destination for weddings.
"The Taj is made as a monument of love and we hope to promote this in Dubai as a major wedding destination," developer Arun Mehra said.
It will sit within the 227-square kilometre Dubailand, which the city hopes will be "the world's greatest theme park". Home to mock versions of the seven wonders of the world, it will be twice the size of all the Disneyland and Disney World resorts combined.
The Taj will be part of the Falcon City section, a large area of land designed to resemble a falcon spreading its wings. It's due for completion in 2014.
The Taj Mahal, in Agra, India, was built in the 17th century and is known as "a teardrop on the cheek of time".
Living it up: Outrageous hotel pampering0
Spoilers for Star Wars: The Last Jedi follow below. If you haven’t seen the movie, turn back now.
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That’s all the warning you’re going to get! From here on out, we’re talking about Star Wars: The Last Jedi and all its numerous story developments, plot turns, and narrative twists. Many of the questions that were left after watching The Force Awakens inform the many turns of The Last Jedi and perhaps none has been more contentious (while also cloaked in total mystery) than the origins of Rey and her parents. The revelation that Ewan McGregor provided the voice for the single gasp of “Rey!” when Daisy Ridley‘s jedi-in-training first touched the lightsaber in Force Awakens made me buy into the Kenobi theory but as we all now know, that’s not where she comes from. Or is it?
In a climactic scene toward the end of The Last Jedi, while deciding her future with Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), Rey is faced with what seems like a devastating answer to the question of who her parents were. Kylo seemingly allows her to envision her past and pushes her to come to terms with her heritage, and she comes to admit that her parents were nobodies, junk traders who traded her for money, food, booze, or who knows what. It’s a good answer but the obvious question here is whether or not Kylo had overwhelmed Rey and projected that answer into her mind to trick her or if that is truly her origin story.
Speaking with EW at a Q&A following an AMPAS screening, director Rian Johnson said that he was not given a rulebook to follow regarding Rey, that he was able to answer that question the way he wanted to answer it. And as far as he sees it, it’s legit, though he acknowledges that he can’t speak for what J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio are doing with the next film:
“I can’t speak to what they’re going to do. And there’s always, in these movies, a question of ‘a certain point of view,’…But for me, in that moment, Kylo believes it’s the truth. I don’t think he’s purely playing chess. I think that’s what he saw when they touched fingers and that’s what he believes. And when he tells her that in that moment, she believes it.”
The director also spoke to how he came to the decision to make Rey’s parents seemingly unimportant in the established universe of the movies:
“I was thinking, what’s the most powerful answer to that question? Powerful meaning: what’s the hardest thing that Rey could hear? That’s what you’re after with challenging your characters,” “The easiest thing for Rey and the audience to hear is, Oh yeah, you’re so-and-so’s daughter. That would be wish fulfillment and instantly hand her a place in this story on a silver platter…The hardest thing for her is to hear she’s not going to get that easy answer. Not only that, but Kylo is going to use the fact that you don’t get that answer to try and weaken you so you have to lean on him,”
That’s certainly the feeling you get from watching the movie, which makes the question of the importance of established mythology and legacy at the center of its drama. For all the numerous red flags that went up while watching Johnson’s movie, The Last Jedi is marked by a refusal to be guided by the sacred lambs of its predecessors. Yoda burns down the sacred texts of the Jedi order, Luke disappears himself, and Kylo usurps Snoke by the end of the movie, allowing the figures of the new class take hold of the narrative. For Rey to realize that she’s not an extension of a legendary resistance fighter or a high-ranking lord of the Empire but rather a talented fighter who can make her own mythology is completely in line with that rebellious tone.RELATED CONTENT:
Is Zendaya playing Mary Jane Watson in Spider-Man: Homecoming? Or is she playing Michelle Gonzales? Back in August, The Wrap and Vulture both reported that Zendaya would actually be playing Tom Holland's love interest in the Jon Watts directed pic, and it was said Watson's role was meant to be a major reveal/plot twist in the film. However, the actress/singer has given a recent interview to The Hollywood Reporter, seemingly debunking that report. ", 'Oh they must be so and so.''Whatever you want to think. You’ll find out.'In examining her statement, it appears that Watts applied a little subterfuge to the call sheet, listing different characters each day just in cast the information ever leaked [which it did - see reports on the Shocke r]. So could rumors that Zendaya is playing MJW be attributed to the fact that she was apparently listed as a different character on each daily call sheet?Zendaya would go on to add, "'My brain is so far ahead of you that you’re just not really on my level.'."Spider-Man: Homecoming will be released on July 7, 2017.While Steve Jobs has touted the iPad as a'magical and revolutionary' device, consumers have had mixed feelings on what they'll actually do with the thing.
Play games? Read books? Watch movies?
Like the iPhone, the iPad's value is likely to be defined to a considerable extent by the apps developers create for the device.
In advance of the iPad's official release, we've put together a guide to the best forthcoming iPad apps. From racing games to DJ tools, you'll want to give these a try.
Are there other terrific iPad apps you're excited about? Send them to us!
Wondering whether to spring for the iPad? The Huffington Post has a guide to '13 Things You Need To Know About The iPad,' as well as rundown of the '9 Worst Things About The iPad.' See some 'iPad killers'--nine alternatives to the iPad--on HuffPost here.The liberals may be right to be worried about all of those “Russia connections.” However, instead of focusing their time and energy on President Donald Trump and his campaign team, liberal conspiracy theorists should be vetting their own team for these Russia ties, specifically Clinton campaign CEO John Podesta. And special prosecutor Mueller is on their trail.
The Democrats keep pointing to Paul Manafort’s lobbying work for pro-Russian leaders in Ukraine as evidence of team/Trump Russia collision. They also point to the fact that at first Manfort didn’t register as a foreign agent of Ukraine. Well. if Manafort is guilty of collusion so is John Podesta, because Podesta’s firm worked on the same project as the Manafort team and they too forgot to register as a foreign agent.
Two of the firms, Podesta Group and Mercury LLC, worked in Washington with Manafort partner Rick Gates, according to lobbying disclosure records. Three other firms worked in Europe, the executive said. NBC News could not confirm the identity of those three. take our poll - story continues below Will the media learn anything from their biased reporting of the Jussie Smollett story? Will the media learn anything from their biased reporting of the Jussie Smollett story?
Will the media learn anything from their biased reporting of the Jussie Smollett story? * Yes, they've gotten so much wrong recently that they're bound to be on their best behavior. No, they suffer from a bad case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. Jussie who?
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Phone This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Completing this poll grants you access to The Lid updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to this site's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Trending: Harry Reid Bashes Trump. Trump Returns Fire. Left Goes Ballistic As Reid Dying Of Cancer At the time, Ukraine was run by a pro-Russian political party that had paid Manafort $17 million for consulting in 2013 and 2014, according to Manafort’s latest foreign lobbying disclosure filing, which he filed belatedly under Justice Department pressure.
They finally registered in August:
The Podesta Group belatedly filed several new disclosures with the Justice Department on Aug. 17 related to work the firm completed between 2012 and 2014 on behalf of a pro-Russia Ukrainian think tank. Back in April, the powerful Washington lobbying firm run by Clinton ally Tony Podesta filed a document admitting its work for the pro-Russia European Centre for a Modern Ukraine may have principally benefited a foreign government. New disclosures revealed dozens of previously unreported interactions the firm made with influential government offices, including Hillary Clinton’s State Department and the office of former Vice President Joe Biden, while lobbying on behalf of the center. Embattled ex-Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort failed to disclose his extensive lobbying efforts on behalf of the center at the time as well.
Now we learn the special prosecutor has invited members of the Podesta group to testify. Well, the news is kind of buried. For example, NBC News roaring headline is, “Mueller Seeks Grand Jury Testimony from PR Execs Who Worked With Manafort” You have to get down near the end of the article to learn that some of those PR Execs Mueller want to speak to, worked for Podesta. Any accusations against Manafort also apply to Podesta.
And this is not the first time Podesta’s relationship with the Russians have been outed. Back in March, we learned Hillary’s campaign head failed to disclose that he got 75 thousand shares in stock from a Kremlin-financed company that he was the director of from 2010 to 2014 when he left to join the Obama Administration. Nothing to hide, except that in 2013 Podesta started a shell company and transferred the shares into it so he would not have to report them as a foreign interest before he went to Obama’s regime. Nothing to see here, right?
Oh, and John’s brother Tom was paid over $24 million as a lobbyist for Sberbank. It seems this Russian bank was looking to have sanctions lifted that were placed on Russia by the Obama Administration. Both Podestas were lobbying for relief and believing Mrs. Clinton would make things happen. A little curious?
Here’s the real truth…there is no proof that anyone on the Trump Campaign had an improper relationship with Russia, perhaps though, Hillary’s campaign did. Perhaps Russia…at least Russian supporting Ukrainians were trying to interfere with the election to elect Hillary. Sounds crazy? Maybe not.HOUSTON - A 17-year-old mother has been found guilty of felony child endangerment after her 1-year-old daughter suffered acute alcohol poisoning, reports CBS affiliate KHOU.
According to the station, the child's paternal grandmother said the mother and a friend dropped the baby off at her apartment in February 2014. The grandmother said the child was not able to stand and started to vomit. The grandmother called 911.
The baby was taken to the hospital where she was found to have a blood alcohol content of 0.26 - more than three times the legal limit for adults in Texas.
According to the police report obtained by KHOU, Batiste admitted to giving the child some of her vodka mixed drink. The friend reportedly told police the toddler had about six shots of vodka.
The mother was sentenced to three years deferred adjudication and her friend was sentenced to two years probation.STOP. Before continuing, click here for important Internet security information about browsing this site.
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White nationalist Pat Buchanan is more anti-war than U.S. liberals and so-called leftists, because of Obama
As this writer anticipated he would,(1) Amerikan outspoken white-nationalist Patrick Buchanan has written a strong statement(2) against the United States’ direct, high-profile attack on a Syrian base on April 7.
An anti-Korea-war Buchanan blog post was published a week earlier. “Why is Kim Jong Un our problem?” has been been viewed far fewer times than the Syria column. Trump hasn’t yet launched a missile at Korea, though.
Considered a “paleoconservative” by many in the Amerikan political context, Buchanan disagrees with U.S. liberals on many cultural/social questions while supposedly believing Western culture is superior. With almost 150K views at the time of this writing according to buchanan.org, Buchanan’s latest post is his most-read in several weeks at least, read more than some of Buchanan’s articles with more problems.
Buchanan opposed the Iraq War no less than Barack Obama did when Obama was a senator and a political candidate, and Buchanan supported the Afghanistan war no more than Obama did. Obama ended up taking the U.S. troop level in Afghanistan to a record high and leading invasions of multiple countries. Though Buchanan has contributed and still contributes to warmongering in some ways, including some that aren’t obvious, Buchanan has opposed most of these invasions.
Whether they know and admit it or not, Obama, Bernie Sanders and most U.$. liberals, pseudo-feminists and pseudo-leftists also believe Western culture is superior. They aren’t always as obvious as Buchanan.
Buchanan is skeptical of migrants’ ability to assimilate into AmeriKKKa. On the other hand, Buchanan has criticized some aspects of Amerikan culture and Amerikan influence in other countries. Though Buchanan’s interest in the moral aspect of cultural purity and cohesion is arguably related to fascism, Buchanan isn’t enthusiastic about the idea of U.S. soldiers bringing pornography, strip clubs and abortion rights to Muslim countries, for example, countries that aren’t imperialist and so cannot be fascist on their own. Buchanan may want to return to an irretrievable or mythical past, but U.S. liberals often extol “American values” and support spreading them as they are.
Regardless of what one thinks about any of those things – pornography and the other items – it simply cannot be denied that former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week in New York supported destroying all of Syria’s airfields and then, in Texas, supported abortion rights and told Trump to follow through after he had already carried out the outrageous attack on the al-Shayrat air base. That is what Trump’s former election opponent, still viewed relatively favorably by liberals and even some supposed radical leftists, did. The day after Trump’s inauguration, thousands of Women’s Marchers supported abortion rights and opposed Trump on many different things but war.
It can’t be blamed on ISIS, because Trump’s views on the Iran nuclear agreement, for example – views leading to war against Iran – were well-known, and the United States came close to war on Iran under Bush with the help of liberal pseudo-feminists. Obama got the Iran nuclear deal after threatening Iran, but Buchanan has opposed an Iran war more than some supposed leftist feminists have opposed it.
Buchanan illustrates the inverse of the connection, between the “pro-choice” movement and warmongering, that exists at this time. Supporting war isn’t inherent in supporting abortion rights, but there is a sense in which this connection became necessary in the United States.
A connection between liberal positions and support for war against Muslim countries existed even during the George W. Bush presidency and shortly after 9/11, but an unprecedented coincidence of eight years of Democratic pro-choice presidency and two full terms of war have obviously made things worse. It has had a detrimental impact on the U.S. anti-war movement. Only the most delusional people are incapable of understanding that. Given this and the other comparisons or considerations mentioned, the question arises as to what really makes Buchanan different and the significance, if any, that Buchanan’s opposition to U.S. war in Syria has in terms of assessing prospects for anti-war movement growth and success going forward.
It seems the negative dynamic that developed during Obama’s presidency is unlikely to be reversed until Trump has done most of what pro-choice Democratic warmongers want him to do in Syria. U.S. abortion rights campaigns had anti-war potential when there was a Soviet Union less restrictive on abortion than the United States,(3) but in addition to the situation in Muslim countries we also have to consider the fact that Russian leaders are often portrayed in the West as extreme conservatives on gender and sexuality-related questions. For example, there are stories about alleged deadly gay-bashing in Russia in Amerikan media right now, which, though fighting for gay rights is necessary in other contexts, makes Buchanan’s skeptical remark about fighting for “LGBT rights” in Syria look good. Buchanan is opposing the misuse of LGBT rights rhetoric war for purposes more than most U.S. liberals are opposing such abuse.
Some congressional Republicans are unsurprisingly supporting the Republican president’s Syria strike order more than some Democrats are, after Syrian aircraft has already been destroyed, but Buchanan refers to “the war drums of John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio” as if Clinton hadn’t been supporting war against Syria, other Democrats hadn’t been leading anti-Russia warmongering, and the Democratic rank and file and liberals hadn’t been much more anti-Russia in their views lately than Republican and conservative Trump supporters prior to the Syria strike. That is the only major problem with Buchanan’s article. But, most of Buchanan’s readers may view even those neoconservative war hawk Republicans too favorably relative to Clinton. Buchanan may have had a particular need to focus on and oppose the idea of supporting pro-war Republicans. Democrats talk about driving out Trump as a fascist (something they never accused Obama of being) – without acknowledging that the Democrats may have the most responsibility for the Syria strike at least indirectly – but Buchanan has his own context.
Buchanan raises several lines of argument. One is about whether Amerikans really want to expand their already-extensive involvement in Syria regardless of other questions. The allegation that somebody launched a chemical attack from some area of land allegedly controlled by Syria could be true, and yet many Amerikans may have reasons to not want to attack Syria.
Another line of argument has to do with who is responsible for deaths of children in Syria in general. Syria is responsible for the deaths of babies, Buchanan says, but so are the United States and many other actors. Most of them are operating in Syria without Syria’s consent.
Buchanan raises the question of who carried out a chemical attack. Whereas “socialist” Bernie Sanders has generally supported chemical weapons use allegations against Syria, Buchanan suggests the Ghouta chemical attack in 2013 also could have been a false flag operation. Not too much unlike the Iraq WMD question, it’s a type of question that involves CIA, NSA etc. intelligence and could lead to war that must be opposed even if an allegation is true. No doubt there are people in the Washington, D.C., area who advise Buchanan on intelligence and foreign policy matters to the extent that can be done without divulging classified information. Buchanan sidesteps the question, however, by asking who benefits.
“For it makes no sense. Why would Assad, who is winning the war and had been told America was no longer demanding his removal, order a nerve gas attack on children, certain to ignite America’s rage, for no military gain?” It seems to Buchanan that, whoever benefited, it wasn’t Syria’s president.
Some have argued that somebody in the Syrian military or government had reasons to want a chemical attack, but Buchanan is talking about who ultimately benefits overall. Such a question can be answered independently of the U.S. government and independently of journalism that might be U.S.-government-influenced.
Sadly, many U.S. liberals and so-called leftists, including people calling themselves revolutionaries, have been quick to repeat U.S. claims about the alleged Syrian chemical attack or other justifications for the air base strike. They seem far away from the level even this motherfucking racist and evolution-skeptic Pat Buchanan is at in thinking about the Syria strike. While referring to Syrian officials’ self-interest and also taking for granted “that gas attack” and describing it as “a war crime” itself, not once does Buchanan in his April 10 post accuse al-Assad in particular of any crime, for example; yet, Buchanan’s article may be more influential than combined hundreds of opportunist posts failing to challenge, in fact encouraging, the assumptions of people who think Middle East countries are particularly dangerous to the world or think Arab and Muslim leaders are generally worse than Amerikan leaders.
As much as they claim to be against Goldman Sachs, the viewpoint of many U.$. liberals and supposed leftists is that of the most narrow interests of finance capital. That is why it is so easy |
of that strange and troubled city, the internet.
The article itself contains lots more detail, but the above is more or less the message behind it all. If interested, then here is a link.
So what should you do when faced with the silly claim about him being strident and intolerant? Well, since it comes from the Christian Creationist Right who loathe him for the power of his advocacy of the idea that Darwinian natural selection is the sole creator of our living world, then perhaps the best idea is to simply suggest reading his books. The science is solid, the data is well presented, it successfully convinced Kevin that Dawkins is indeed right, and so other open minded folks should indeed experience the same.
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Like this: Like Loading...Though the number of deals are few and far between in the distressed assets space in India, it remains one of the most attractive opportunities in India, said Sanjay Nayar, member and chief executive officer, KKR India, speaking at the Mint’s Annual Mint Private Equity Conclave 2017.
“In the distressed assets market, not too many or a real deal has happened so far… It is also very difficult for government banks to take a hit," Nayar said.
Indian banks are sitting on a bad loan pile of at least Rs6.8 trillion and while a lot of private equity firms have expressed interest in the stressed assets sector, there haven’t been too many deals because of valuation issues and the reluctance of lenders to take a haircut.
While praising the government for its efforts to improve the macroeconomic situation in the country by introducing reforms, Nayar said that big capital gaps are being addressed and despite all the challenges, India is still one of the biggest opportunities and can still invite a lot of capital today.
“Distressed (assets) is a very good opportunity at present," he said, adding that there has to be a tripartite agreement with the government, the way countries like Italy have done in the past.
Improved market sentiment and the passing of the new bankruptcy code are among the key factors that have encouraged foreign and domestic fund managers to bet big on the growing investment opportunity in the private credit space, especially in distressed assets in India, industry experts told Mint earlier.
Talking about the role of private equity industry in India at present, Nayar said that the PE landscape has changed over the past few years and has matured a bit, which is a big change.
“Private equity is being accepted by the government and companies as a form of capital that can have a lot more value and it is a good sign for the industry," said Nayar.
“For PE industry, there is no better time than this to be in this market. One needs to go out and figure out the opportunity... We are not a very deep capital market. You don’t have to chase every deal n the market, you have to be thematic," he said.
He added that it was okay for PE funds to wait for the bankers to bring the deals on the table.
“PE team has to be very focused, flexible and creative and try to figure out what all are the opportunities they can be created. Our team (PE industry in general) has to be proactive and focused… Large conglomerates are looking for capital efficiency," he added.
Nayar also noted that the there is a need to depend upon different kinds of capital, and that the opportunity for investing in the current scenario in India for stable returns is massive.
Nayar, however, added that exits are not going to be easy in near future.
KKR has been an active investor in India. The buyout firm is upbeat on India and sees a big potential in private credit in the region. It has invested close to $3.5 billion through structured financing in about 62 firms in India, including GMR Holdings Pvt. Ltd, Avantha Group and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd.
KKR is also in the process of raising its second credit fund worth Rs1,500 crore. It has invested about $1.4 billion in India through its private equity vehicle. The company is also setting up an asset reconstruction company, or ARC, to acquire debt-ridden companies and assets.Share. Along with a Challenge Mode. Along with a Challenge Mode.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor's Season Pass has been unveiled, offering early access to challenge modes, new story missions and access to future content.
Costing £19.99 / $24.99, anyone who opts to purchase the Season Pass before the game's launch later this year will manage to get access to some unique missions.
The first of these is the ‘Guardians of the Flaming Eye’ Orc Warband mission, which gives players an opportunity to unlock the Rising Flame rune. Two new story missions have also been announced: 'Lord of the Hunt', which makes you hunt Mordor's beasts and explore the landscape, and 'The Bright Lord', which allows you to play as the great Elven smith Celebrimbor.
Other benefits of the Season Pass include early access to the 'Trials of War' challenge series, which allows you to face off against legions of Sauron's forces before posting on a global leaderboard, and the usual promise of access to future runes, skins and new add-on content.
We'll have much more on the game soon but for now you can check out our preview in which Talion hunts down Ratbag, a goblin slaver, and also read about why Lord of the Rings fans would be mistaken to write it off.
Luke Karmali is IGN UK News Editor. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on Twitter.By increasing blood flow to the eyes using increased nitrate intake researchers said the risk for primary open-angle glaucoma goes down significantly. Photo by ARZTSAMUI/Shutterstock
BOSTON, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Eating more leafy green vegetables -- such as lettuce, kale and spinach -- can significantly lower the risk of developing primary open-angle glaucoma, or POAG, according to a new study.
Researchers at the Harvard Medical School found increasing dietary nitrate intake, specifically with leafy greens, improves blood flow in the eyes and can help decrease risk for the condition.
POAG is characterized by slow pressure building in the eye, to which the cornea adjusts, leaving no swelling or other symptoms indicating a problem. Roughly one percent of Americans have the the condition, according to The Glaucoma Foundation, but do not know until their vision is impaired, when damage is generally irreversible.
For the study, published in JAMA Ophthalmology, researchers followed up with 63,893 women in the Nurses Health Study and 41,094 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study who did not have POAG at two-year intervals during the course of the studies.
During the follow-up period, researchers identified 1,483 cases of POAG. Study participants were divided into five groups based on nitrate intake. Those reporting greater consumption of leafy green vegetables resulting in higher nitrate intake were 20 to 30 percent less likely to develop POAG.
Participants with higher nitrate intake also were 40 to 50 percent less likely to develop a sub-type of the condition called early paracentral visual field loss, caused by dysfunction of blood flow autoregulation.
"These findings could have important implications for POAG if the association of higher dietary nitrate and green leafy vegetable intake with a lower POAG risk is confirmed in observational or intervention studies," researchers wrote.Link of the day - I will pay you $25, if you come up with a cool domain name for me.
1. Canned worms (ok, technically, silkworm pupae)
2. Pizza-flavored SPAM (sorry, KAM)
3. A can of croc
4. Canned bacon (should be considered a crime)
5. Corn smut (huitlacoche)
6. Frog Legs. Must be hot in France
7. Canned armadillo meat
8. Canned Cheesburger (Germany). Here is a little video, in case you are wondering, how the f.ck do you can a cheeseburger (yes, buns, meat, cheese and sauce together)
9. Scorpions in a can
10. Canned whole squid (doesn't look too tasty)
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Link of the day - I will pay you $25, if you come up with a cool domain name for me.Ben Carson. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post)
This story has been updated.
PAHRUMP, Nev. — Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson on Monday walked back the claim that he had seen highly disputed footage showing thousands of Muslims in northern New Jersey celebrating the collapse of the twin towers following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, releasing a statement just hours after his initial remarks to clarify what his campaign called a mistaken reference.
"He doesn't stand behind his comments to New Jersey and American Muslims," Carson spokesperson Doug Watts told ABC News. "He was rather thinking of the protests going on in the Middle East and some of the demonstrations that were going on in celebration of the towers going down."
GOP front-runner Donald Trump has made the same claim, but no such video has emerged and fact checkers and news anchors on assignment at the time have said such footage does not exist.
“I saw the film of it, yes,” the retired neurosurgeon told reporters Monday during a news conference at the Pahrump Nugget casino and hotel. Another reporter followed up immediately to clarify: "In New Jersey?" Carson responded affirmatively; he later repeated that he saw the celebrations in "the newsreels" at the time.
“There are going to be people who respond inappropriately to virtually everything. I think that was an inappropriate response,” Carson added. “I don’t know if on the basis of that you can say all Muslims are bad people — I really think that would be a stretch.”
An extensive review by The Washington Post following Trump’s claims did not turn up any evidence of mass celebrations within the United States. The Carson campaign did not immediately respond to a request for related footage.
"He doesn't stand behind his references and apologizes for the mistaken references. It was a mistake on his part and he clearly wasn't really thinking about New Jersey, he was thinking about the Middle East," Watts told ABC.
The misstep comes as Carson and Trump have both faced mounting criticism for calling on expanded surveillance of Muslim Americans in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris that left more than 100 people dead and hundreds more injured. On Monday, Carson elaborated on his calls for closer monitoring of mosques.
“If we have evidence that there is radicalization going on — and the point that I’m making is that it doesn’t have to be specific to a mosque; it can be anything. It can be this place where we are right now,” he said. “If there are multiple reports and indications that radicalization is going on there, we shouldn’t just turn a blind eye to that.”
During the media availability, Carson also repeated previous calls for the government to expand the FBI’s surveillance capabilities to monitor for potential terrorist activity. When asked about his recent claim that the FBI can only monitor between 30 and 60 people at a time, Carson qualified the statement by saying that’s the number of people the FBI “can follow 24/7, not just people on their watch list.”
When asked where he received that information, he said: “From television. The same place the president seems to get most of his information,” Carson said. He then turned the question on reporters: “So you guys better be accurate.”
Carson did not elaborate on what the monitoring would entail. He dismissed a question regarding privacy rights.
“No, I don’t worry about that,” he said. “The thing that will destroy our country is if we are overly concerned about violating somebody’s sensibilities while we allow blatant activity to occur that will violate all of our sensibilities.”
Carson added that he holds “the Constitution to very high regard. I think that everybody is protected by it. It’s there to outline what our rights and protections are as citizens, but it’s also there to constrain the government.”A Victorian man, Anthony James Pit, also known as "monster" has been jailed for 16 years after committing a string of violent sexual assaults and raping two teenagers. Courtesy: Seven News
A VICTORIAN man dubbed a “monster” for showing no remorse after committing a string of violent sexual assaults has been jailed for 16 years for raping two teenagers.
Anthony James Pitt, 59, on Wednesday was sentenced to 16 and half years in prison, with a non-parole period of 13 years, for the rape of two teenagers in the late 1980s.
Pitt was found guilty in August of the attack in 1987 and 1988.
The victims, then aged 15 and 17, were set upon in Mildura and Frankston as they were walking on the street and dragged into bushes.
According to the Herald Sun, he was jailed for 17 years over a separate incident in December 1999 for luring a Ballarat schoolgirl, 16, into an underground dungeon and repeatedly raping her over 19 hours in November 1998.
Police interviewed his housemates and discovered he had fantasised about imprisoning a woman in a cave.
They found the man and the girl- who had been handcuffed, gagged and bound- after crawling through 70 metres of tunnels in Black Hill.
He was jailed in 1990 for locking another teenage girl in the boot of his car.
It was not until 2013 that Pitt’s DNA was linked to forensic samples taken from the victims’ clothing after cold-case detectives reopened the investigations.
One of the teens suffered a fractured cheekbone after Pitt punched her in the face.
“The seriousness of this offending cannot be overstated,” Judge Mark Dean said on Wednesday.
“Each incident was opportunistic, brazen and accompanied by serious violence over and above the sexual violence you inflicted on your victims.”
Anthony Pitt sentenced to maximum 16.5 years behind bars over rape of two girls dating back to the 1980s. #9News https://t.co/194bpIiQkg — Nine News Melbourne (@9NewsMelb) November 2, 2016
Pitt was charged with the girls’ rapes in 2015 and at his trial in August this year he claimed the semen found in the victims’ underwear was the result of a consensual sex act.
“You have exhibited no remorse whatsoever for your offending,” Judge Dean said.
Pitt was on bail for obscene exposure when he attacked the first teen — whom he also threatened to kill — in Mildura in 1987.
After raping the second teen in Frankston in 1988 Pitt raped a 16-year-old girl whom he held captive in a disused Ballarat mine in November 1998.
“You continued to prey on defenceless young women in order to satisfy your violent and predatory sexual desires,” the judge said when sentencing the man.
Pitt served a 17-year jail sentence for the Ballarat rape and was still in custody when he was charged with the Mildura and Frankston rapes.
He previously went by the name Lesley Norman Pitt, and was also jailed in 1992 for the sexual penetration of a child under the age of 16 involving a teen who was babysitting his kids.
Two psychiatrists and a psychologist believe Pitt is at high risk of sexual reoffending, the court was told on Wednesday.
“It’s not possible to be certain that ageing will reduce the risk of your offending until you are so frail that it becomes impossible,” Judge Dean said, adding Pitt’s prospects of rehabilitation were “negligible”.
Additional reporting by the Herald Sun.Reunification has found its way into political speeches on both sides of the 38th parallel. At a speech to mark the first anniversary since she took office, South Korean President Park Geun-hye raised eyebrows with her talk of reunification.
Park described the potential "jackpot" that the dawn of a new era on the peninsula would bring about, uniting South Korean technology and North Korean natural resources. A special committee, reporting directly to the president, has been set up to work on "systematic and constructive" proposals for the future.
In the past, South Korea has been worried about the concept of reunification, preferring to put the idea on hold because of the enormous wealth gap between the two countries. However, Seoul would now prefer to see reunification take place sooner rather than later, according to Ian Bremmer, founder of the political risk research and consultancy company Eurasia Group.
The "elections" were a rubber-stamping process for approved candidates who ran unopposed
The catalysts for Seoul's new way of thinking have, according to Bremmer, been the changes that took place at the top of the leadership in North Korea, as well as a change in its stance towards the South.
In December, Jang Song Thaek, who had been the de facto second-in-command under the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, was suddenly arrested and executed.
That development was welcomed by current leader Kim Jong Un in his New Year speech, who went on to stress his openness to the idea of Korean reunification. "We will join hands with anyone who opts to give priority to the nation and wishes for its reunification, regardless of his or her past, and continue to strive for better inter-Korean relations," he said.
The speech was followed shortly after by the first reunions for divided families from the two countries in more than three years. They took place despite the staging of annual joint military maneuvers between the US and South Korea - and the consternation these caused in the North.
Meanwhile, the South has been intently following the situation in the North, to see how the regime consolidates itself after the execution of Jang.
Some say the demise of Kim's uncle strengthens the leader's position, others think quite the opposite
North Korea's "elections" for the Supreme People's Assembly, which took place in March this year, serve as both a census and a rubber stamping process for candidates approved by the regime.
"There will be new delegates elected, between the ages of 30 and 50," said Park Young-ho, of the Korean Institute for Reunification. Since the death of Kim Jong Il, and the coming to power of Kim Jong Un, roughly half of the top 280 party cadres and officials have been removed.
Young Kim as a puppet
The crucial question being asked in Seoul and abroad is, however, whether the young Kim, who is thought to be aged 31, really does hold the reins of power in Pyongyang. Since the shock execution of his uncle, there have been two theories.
According to one of them, Kim has become stronger without his mentor and erstwhile protector. "He has created a coalition, " writes researcher Park Young-ja from the Center for North Korean Studies in Seoul. "He has disciplined the military and brought about a generational change."
The other theory is that the regime has become even more unstable, with the execution of Kim's uncle raising doubts about the new leader's absolute power.
A group of North Korea exiles who run the New Focus International website in Seoul claim that, according to information from Pyongyang, Kim is only leader for the sake of appearances.
In reality, he is a figurehead and a stooge for a collective group that serves as the power behind the throne, writes former North Korean propagandist Jang Jin-sung. Shocking as it may be for North Koreans, says Jang, "our country is no longer ruled by a Kim." According to Jang, who fled the North in 2004, Kim is nothing more than the puppet of a secret junta.
The all-powerful ones
Jang claims that it is now the Organization and Guidance Department of the Korean Workers' Party that truly wields the power in Pyongyang. Belonging to the inner circle of power are Kim Kyong-ok, believed to be the most powerful of them, Minister for State Security Kim Won Hong and the recently-elected Hwang Pyong So, who recently appeared in public with Kim Jong Un.
Members of the Kim family and descendants of the "partisan generation," meanwhile, are not among the powerful few. Even Korean Peoples' Army general Chong Ryong Hae, perhaps Kim's closest confidante, must answer to the department.
After taking power in the early nineties, Kim Jong Il built up the department as a secret powerbase through which to exert absolute power, circumventing the official institutions.
It is the department, for example, that appointed all of the highest party cadres and officials. Then, as now, lower officials must submit their regulations, policies and programs to the department for approval. A more recent development, however, is that they are said to report personally - and show their utmost respect.
Coup from the back room
According to New Focus International, Kim Jong Un is no more than a figurehead
The Organization and Guidance Department's members are also said to be responsible for Jang Song Thaek's fall from grace, as well as his execution, the defectors claim. Having seen his confession on video, Kim Jong Un reportedly wanted his uncle to be spared, and "only" sent to one of North Korea's labor camps.
In an official statement by the politburo, Jang was accused of not accepting the policies and direction of the party. Tellingly, what was missing in that document was the additional clause "under the direction of the Great Leader," which had previously been obligatory.
For New Focus International, there is one clear conclusion; a coup d'etat has taken place. The masterminds of the all-powerful Organization and Guidance Department no longer take orders from Kim Jong Un. While they may tolerate Kim Jong Un as leader, say the defectors, they only do so to consolidate power for themselves.I used to work in politics, and back in 2002 I met a guy named Reed Millar who was a young Democratic campaign worker doing the hard work of knocking on doors, calling voters, and organizing campaign volunteers. Reed and I became friends and kept in touch over the years, and today I’m a largely-ineffectual political pundit while Reed has gone on to do lots of great work on the ground game to mobilize voters for Democratic candidates and progressive causes.
Today Reed Millar is running his own business, Bespoke Consulting, a campaign and advocacy strategy firm focused on planning and managing organizing programs. He has worked in politics for more than 17 years on dozens of campaigns and organizing projects in most of the 50 states. He is from Pennsylvania and currently lives in Minnesota, and has worked with the Democratic parties of Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, giving him special insight into the Upper Midwest region that unexpectedly drove Trump’s electoral college victory.
Reed’s expertise is in GOTV (get out the vote) organizing, a discipline of campaign tactics that is focused on identifying and building relationships with voters and mobilizing them to get to the polls. He has managed GOTV efforts in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan, among others. In 2012, he led a team that won a Pollie Award for a GOTV canvass in Milwaukee, WI, which helped drive turnout for Obama’s re-election and the election of Senator Tammy Baldwin, America’s first openly gay Senator.
During the 2016 election, Reed worked for Bernie Sanders in four states during the primary, and then volunteered at the Democratic National Convention in July to help the Clinton campaign and the DNC reach out to Bernie supporters. He was in Michigan doing GOTV work in November and was in Flint, Michigan on Election Night. Reed has a keen strategic mind and is one of the best-informed, biggest-hearted people that I’ve met during my time working in politics. I talked with Reed about what went wrong for the Democrats in this election, especially as it relates to the Upper Midwest white working class voters who went for Trump, and how progressives can move forward for 2018, 2020 and beyond.
You were on the ground in Michigan in November, which was one of the “blue wall” states that everyone thought would be likely to go Dem, and instead Trump won it. What was the experience like in Michigan leading up to Election Day? Did you feel it coming, like maybe this was going to be a loss? Or was it a huge shock?
On a number of occasions, since Clinton won the nomination, my heart had been filled with dread and I thought, “Oh no, we are going to lose this thing.” That included the first day of the convention, which should have been about unification, but was scripted like it was written by people that had never met a Bernie voter; when FBI Director Comey revived the email scandal; when I heard how late resources were coming to some vital states; and when on Election Night after 6 p.m. I wasn’t hearing any reports of long lines at the polls—indicating that turnout was going to be lower than we had expected.
But like most everyone, I had largely convinced myself that defeat was nearly impossible. Trump’s campaign was a long series of train wrecks and they just seemed dedicated to doing everything wrong. I saw signs of trouble but I figured someone must have this all figured out. It turned out they didn’t.
I was watching CNN on Election Night and a reporter said someone on the Trump campaign had said that it would take a miracle for them to win. Even they were convinced Trump was going to lose right up to the minutes before they won.
So no, it wasn’t a shock. I had convinced myself Clinton would win but I knew enough to see this as a real possibility, and the moment I saw some county-by-county results in Pennsylvania on election night…I knew this election had gone off script.
Obviously there’s been a lot of analysis and postmortem, but from your immediate perspective, as someone who lives in Minnesota and has worked in Iowa and other Upper Midwest states, why did Trump win Michigan and so many of these other Midwestern states?
Well, given that Hillary won the popular vote by a healthy margin, I think we first have to acknowledge a degree of strategic incompetence in losing the electoral college by such a margin. When you hear that Hillary Clinton never did an event in a state like Wisconsin and only came to Michigan in the final weeks, and didn’t fund robust organizing and persuasion campaigns in a number of these states, you have to acknowledge that the outcome would likely have been different if a number of mistakes hadn’t been made. Without on-the-ground feedback on volunteerism—like feedback on how many volunteers were ready to work or how many were defecting to Trump—the Clinton campaign was in the dark about the growing problems on the ground until the final weeks. Without spending the summer developing relationships with volunteers and updating voter lists, they were underprepared to address issues once they could see them.
There seems to have been this assumption that with Trump’s negatives, the Democratic base voters had nowhere else to go. Some of the early analysis of the election I have seen pointed to us losing votes from three groups: working class white voters that moved to the Republican Party, young voters (millennials) and African American voters not turning out in the same way they did four and eight years earlier for Obama. Those three groups have been a large part of the Democratic base since the 1960s. None of them seem to have been inspired by Democrats this year and all three are feeling economic pressure even as the economy recovers.
I am no expert on message, but I have talked to a lot of voters over the years and it seems that part of why the Clinton campaign lost votes all over the country was that they failed to connect with these core constituencies that had real concerns about our economy, our politics, and our involvement in the wars of the last 13 years. The persuasion message was focused on Trump’s negatives and talking points about Secretary Clinton’s experience, which didn’t seem to address any of that.
In the upper midwest the lack of campaign resources and the lack of a populist message combined with an economy that has been particularly bad for all three of these key voter groups, along with shifting demographics in the Upper Midwest that are leaving the region older and whiter as the young and the poor leave to find work.
Why did Donald Trump win? I think it boils down to establishment politicians not listening to people and assuming they knew how they would vote.
What has changed in those states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa in the past few years that went for Obama twice, but went with Trump? Is this a regional phenomenon and if so what is driving it?
A lot more research needs to be done to give a definitive answer on that, but there are a few trends that probably contributed. Some of it was national, where Clinton received nearly 5 million fewer votes in 2016 than Obama did in 2008. In terms of the region, it seems that the Upper Midwest’s economic struggles have effects on who votes: 1. Economic hardship seems to both increase political volatility and depress turnout, 2. Young and poor people move away, leaving older populations in regions with little growth, and 3. Without economic growth, immigrants don’t come to your region. All said, you end up with an older, whiter voting population.
How much of a “fluke” is Trump? Is he a political mastermind who has reshaped politics forever, or is this more of a Black Swan event where he faced a badly flawed opponent and got the most out of a dwindling, unlikely coalition, but probably cannot repeat this result in 2020? Do you feel like Trump now has an entrenched base of hardened loyalists in the Upper Midwest, or is it bad to read too much into such a close, shocking result? How winnable do you feel these states could be for the Democrats in 2020?
Trump is neither a fluke, nor a genius. But rather the two parties have avoided populist messages for so long that the back door of our political system was wide open and pie was on the table. It didn’t take a genius to wander in and make himself at home. With Hillary’s popular vote victory, it’s also hard to pin this on her unpopularity. It’s more about her campaign’s lack of understanding of which voters needed extra attention and motivation to support her and what they were concerned about.
The anti-establishment mood of American voters, especially in the Upper Midwest, is nothing new. If you look at the candidacies of Pat Buchanan, Bill Bradley, Howard Dean, Barack Obama, Ron Paul, Bernie Sanders, and now Donald Trump, you see larger and larger blocks of voters looking to get outside the political establishment to find a voice for their concerns about the government and the economy. Since Richard Nixon, virtually every candidate with more Washington experience has lost. The Clinton team seemed to have missed that trend entirely and ran on “experience” in an anti-experience climate, all while assuming the Democratic base would be safely in their column despite the evidence to the contrary.
I have seen evidence of this trend firsthand. In late 2008 I was eating breakfast in a spot in rural Pennsylvania and the conversation next to me was about how the U.S. should drop a nuclear weapon on the Middle East. I know, wow! But despite their troubling foreign policy views, when the conversation shifted to whom they had voted for, they had voted for Obama. They described why they voted that way by saying: “I think we just have to keep voting them out and putting new people in until somebody gets it right.”
My lesson from that is that unless things start looking better, voters are going to keep voting for the outsider that speaks to their needs. That worked against us this year, but unless Trump is way better at governing than he is at tweeting or casino management, in four years he will be a sitting president that hasn’t really made much of anything better and probably has the Democratic base really ready to vote against him. What we need to have in place is a Democratic party that effectively speaks to voters’ concerns all over the country, but specifically in regions like the Upper Midwest.
Without underplaying the openly racist, misogynist campaign that Trump ran, do you feel like it’s wrong to ascribe “racism” or “sexism” as the only motivator of why people voted for Trump?
For some voters racism or sexism were the primary reason for their votes. I don’t suggest we try to win them over. They weren’t the late-breaking votes that swung this election.
That said, I think the art of persuasion in politics is about finding common ground with people and there is evidence that for a significant number of folks, racism or sexism wasn’t the driver. If we want to reach those voters, we need to have a conversation, and labeling them racist, sexist, or insulting them intellectually is just going to end the conversation. Instead, it’s important that we engage these voters in a discussion of the issues that are central to what really drives them to vote. Mainly I think these voters want to hear more about an economy where they get an ever-reducing share of the rewards for an ever-increasing amount of work, and a government that seems to never take their side in their struggle to maintain their standard of living.
How should the Democrats reconnect with the (predominantly white) voters of the Upper Midwest that they lost to Trump? How much of it is about re-energizing the Democratic base (who stayed home instead of voting for Clinton) vs. persuading the “reachable” Trump voters?
There isn’t a definitive answer to what the right mix is until you know who the candidates are or what the swing states are, and other factors that fluctuate from one election to the next. Like I have said, I think the failure this year was primarily about our base. And some of those working class white folks who voted for Trump used to be part of the Democratic base, and I think we do need to reconnect with them on economics. They should get the sense the Democrats owe their base more than they owe Wall Street.
I also think it’s odd that we haven’t seen polling to test for voters’ “Trump regret” post election. The media, the Clinton campaign, and the Trump campaign all seemed sure Hillary would win so it’s pretty likely a lot of voters cast their vote for Trump as a protest, but assumed that Trump would never take office. They won’t be able to ignore the possibility in four years.
Is there anything else that you wish more people understood about the Upper Midwest voters and the climate of talking with these voters on the ground?
For liberal white democrats who have good educations and good jobs and who live in big, prosperous cities, I wish they understood just how radically different life is in some parts of the country. I had thought I was prepared to see poverty, but everywhere I go it surprises me in how severe and commonplace it is, and this is in many parts of America that just a generation ago used to think of themselves as solidly middle class.
In what we call the “Rust Belt” there are many places where it’s hard to find a job, a restaurant that isn’t a chain, a grocery store, or even clean drinking water. Lives are being wasted to abject poverty, addiction epidemics, and pointless incarceration. If you don’t see that, then it’s hard to understand why just telling people “things are good!” is such a bad message for getting votes out of those regions.
When we are oblivious to that struggle and then we call George W. Bush or Donald Trump idiots for talking in rather “working class” ways, folks that have just an underfunded high school education assume that we are looking down on them too.
What should Democratic voters and liberal activists (not “party leaders” but everyday people who are worried about politics and Life Under Trump) do now? How can people get more involved at the national, state or local level? What do you recommend that people do starting today?
Vote every chance you get, in presidential, midterm, state and local elections. The more votes there are, the less each big money donation means. Donate to candidates that share your values. Demand that the Democrats provide a populist alternative to the far right. We just saw what happens when the people want populism and they aren’t getting it from the left; the vacuum can create a real monster on the right. Support organizations and media outlets that fight the narrative that racism serves any people other than the powerful.
We’re going to be in for a tough fight during these next few years, but liberal white people, especially the ones who have education and income, need to do more to get out of their comfortable bubbles. It’s not constructive for liberal whites to abandon and write off all of Trump’s white working class voters because we’re mad at them for voting for a racist; we need to understand the challenges in their communities and find common ground so we can win their votes next time.CenturyLink Inc., the main provider of land-line phone service in the Twin Cities, said Tuesday it is juicing the speed of its metro Internet service, aiming for the 1,000-megabits-per-second rate already seen in densely populated Asian cities.
That speed, also known as 1 gigabit per second, is available immediately in selected residential areas and for some small businesses, the company said.
For “proprietary reasons,” Century Link declined to identify those neighborhoods and business districts. Tyler Middleton, Twin Cities general manager for CenturyLink, said the fiber-optic service would be available in most of the metro area within a year.
The 1 gigabit speed is 25 times faster than the 40 megabits per second that is the fastest rate Century Link previously offered in the market.
“Whether it’s with consumers or businesses, there is an insatiable appetite for [more] bandwidth,” Middleton said.
Cost of the new residential service ranges from $79.95 to $109 per month, depending on bundling packages with other services. The cost for small business customers is based on size. CenturyLink will offer a 40-megabit service for qualified low-income customers starting at $9.95 a month.
traffic counts Vehicles: 50,000 a day Walkers and bikers: 2,000 traveling east-west; 1,500 north-south Transit: 9,000 bus riders per day
The Twin Cities is one of 16 metro areas in which CenturyLink said it was deploying the speedier service. The company previously offered pilot programs in parts of Omaha, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City.
CenturyLink said the Minneapolis-St. Paul area was chosen as an early adapter for high-speed service because of its “local culture around innovation, support from leaders in the community and the quality of the existing CenturyLink fiber architecture.”
The U.S. for more than a decade has lagged countries in Asia and Europe that upgraded their Internet networks to faster speeds. The 1-gigabit speed has been common for several years in cities such as Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong.
The median download speed in the United States is 18.47 megabits per second, 30th among all countries, according to the Internet Society, a forum and advocacy group formed by two of the Internet’s early engineers.
The Federal Communications Commission last year issued a challenge to Century Link and other Internet service providers to upgrade |
ian census of 1930, there were only 204 Jews registered at that time in Albania. The official recognition of the Jewish community was granted on April 2, 1937, while at that time this community consisted in about 300 members. With the rise of Nazi Germany a number of German and Austrian Jews took refuge in Albania. Still in 1938 the Albanian Embassy in Berlin continued to issue visas to Jews, at a time when no other European country was willing to take them.[9] One of the major Albanologists Norbert Jokl asked for Albanian citizenship, which was granted to him immediately; but this could not save him from concentration camps.
World War II [ edit ]
Albania had about 200 Jews at the beginning of the war.[14] It subsequently became a safe haven for several hundred Jewish refugees from other countries.[15][16] At the Wannsee Conference in 1942, Adolf Eichmann, planner of the mass murder of Jews across Europe, estimated the number of Jews in Albania that were to be killed at 200.[17] Nevertheless, Jews in Albania remained protected by the local Christian and Muslim[18] population and this protection continued even after the occupation of Albania by Nazi forces after the capitulation of Italy on September 8, 1943. At the end of the war, Albania had a population of 2,000 Jews.[19][20]
Communist era [ edit ]
The Prime Minister of Albania Sali Berisha meeting with Rabbin Yoel Kaplan in Tirana
Throughout Albania’s communist rule under the dictatorship of Enver Hoxha, the Jewish community was isolated from the Jewish world, though this does not reflect anti-Jewish measures. In order to forge sustainable national unity as well as the new socialism, Hoxha banned confessional loyalties across the religious spectrum. In this manner, the fate of the Jewish community was inextricably linked to the fate of Albanian society as a whole.
Ruins of the ancient synagoge found in Saranda
All religion was strictly banned from the country. After the fall of Communism in 1991, nearly all the Jews of Albania emigrated. They left primarily for economic reasons and not because of anti-Semitism. Some 298 Albanian Jews immigrated to Israel (mostly settling in Ashdod and Karmiel) and about 30 others moved to the United States. About a dozen Jews, most of whom married to non-Jews, chose to remain in Albania.[21]
Present Jews in Albania [ edit ]
Today, there are around 40 to 50 Jews living in Albania, most in the capital,[22] Tirana. An old synagogue was discovered in the city of Saranda[23][24] and a new synagogue known as "Hechal Shlomo" started providing services for the Jewish community in Tirana in December 2010. A synagogue remains in Vlorë, but is no longer in use. Also in December 2010, Rabbi Joel Kaplan was inaugurated as the first chief rabbi of Albania by the Prime Minister Sali Berisha and Chief Rabbi of Israel Shlomo Amar. A Jewish Community Centre named "Moshe Rabbenu" was also inaugurated in Tirana,[25] in total disaccordance with the Jewish community who denies Kaplan's status of chief rabbi.[26]
Notable Jews of Albanian Origin [ edit ]
Robert Shvarc, translator
Action Bronson, American-Albanian rapper, Albanian father and Jewish mother
Further reading [ edit ]Hearts produced a stirring second-half display at Tynecastle to maintain their assault towards the Scottish Championship title.
Osman Sow's left-foot strike in the 53rd minute broke the deadlock before Danny Wilson headed home Billy King's cross 15 minutes later.
And King scored two late goals to underline Hearts's dominance.
The Jambos are 17 points ahead of second-placed Hibernian and have a game in hand over their Edinburgh rivals.
Sam Nicholson and Sow both tested visiting goalkeeper Danny Rogers early on while Adam Eckersley and Callum Paterson blazed efforts over the crossbar.
Sow forced a stunning save from Rogers just before the half-hour mark, with the keeper tipping a long-range effort onto the crossbar before recovering to deny Genero Zeefuik a tap-in.
The hosts went ahead eight minutes after the break when Sow lashed in from close range after Dumbarton failed to deal with a Nicholson corner.
The Sons were denied a leveller when Wilson produced a fine block to thwart Andrew Graham following a corner and Wilson put the result beyond doubt 21 minutes from time when he headed in from King's corner.
King rounded the win off in style, first slaloming his way through a host of challenges and firing past Rogers before racing into the area to slot under the keeper.
Former Hearts players pause to remember the late Dave Mackay, arguably the club's greatest playerGraham Aaronson QC, a partner of commercial and tax litigation firm Joseph Hage Aaronson LLP offers his expert opinion on the Cameron family's Blairmore Holdings fund which was administered in the Bahamas until it was relocated to Ireland in 2012.
From what I have read today and yesterday in the press I understand that Blairmore was a collective investment fund set up in the 1980s and administered in the Bahamas until its administration was relocated in Ireland in 2012.
Collective investment funds, whether technically called unit trusts or investment trusts, were very commonly administered from financial centres in the dollar area, such as The Bahamas or Bermuda, if their purpose was to invest in a portfolio of investments which were primarily in the dollar area (such as shares and bonds in US quoted companies). This was completely normal, and scores if not hundreds of such collective investment funds, managed in such locations, were listed daily in the Financial Times (as many still are today, covering 3 pages of today’s edition).
Likewise, moving the location of the administration to Ireland in 2012 would have been perfectly normal, to come within the terms of EU regulations. Again, you can see from today’s FT that dozens of such collective funds are now administered from Ireland.
Investors in such funds would very often include UK residents, and these UK residents would have been obliged (i) to declare in their UK income tax return all income distributed to them from the funds, and also (ii) to declare all capital gains made from selling their units in the funds.
The funds themselves would usually register with HMRC to confirm annually that they did in fact distribute virtually all of their income to the unit holders.
This was a perfectly normal type of collective investment fund, and it would be quite wrong to describe the establishment of such funds as “tax avoidance’’. It would likewise be quite wrong to describe UK residents who invested in such funds as indulging in "tax avoidance" (assuming of course that the UK resident investors complied fully with their obligations to report in their UK tax returns all their income and gains derived from those investments). And I might add that it would be utterly ridiculous to suggest that establishing or investing in such funds would involve abusive tax avoidance of the sort targeted in the GAAR (General Anti Abuse Rule) that I and my study group of experts recommended to the Coalition Government, and which became part of our tax code in 2013.
* Graham Aaronson QC is a founding partner of commercial and tax litigation firm Joseph Hage Aaronson LLP. He is former chairman of both the Revenue Bar Association and the Tax Law Review CommitteeTULPEHOCKEN TWP., Pa. - They may not be pretty, but they're tasty enough to become potato chips.
Dieffenbach's Potato Chips Inc., based in Tulpehocken Township, Berks County, has launched a new brand of potato chip. called "Uglies."
Why the name?
"This new brand is using potatoes that farmers would likely be throwing away due to minor imperfections," said Nevin Dieffenbach, the company's owner and CEO. "Because of this, we're able to pass on the savings to our customers, and everyone feels like they've done some good."
According to the company, 26 percent of produce in the United States is rejected for cosmetic reasons.
Dieffenbach's introduced the new brand by handing out more than 100,000 bags at the 101st Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg last week.
"The Pennsylvania Farm Show allows us to connect with many of our current customers, as well as many potential new customers," said Dwight Zimmerman, the company's vice president of sales and marketing. "We know that once they try our chips, they'll love them."
But the company said the idea for the new chips started way back when, with its founder, Mark Dieffenbach.
"He just created a plain-labeled bag and he'd put the chips into that bag and then he'd sell it as a discount," said Zimmerman. "Over the years, people became familiar with it and specifically were asking for it, but we never really pushed it."
After just one month of Uglies production, Dieffenbach's has been able to save 45,000 pounds of potatoes, Zimmerman said.
The new Uglies chips -- available in original sea salt, mesquite BB, and salt and vinegar -- will begin appearing on store shelves in the coming weeks, the company said.There’s something happening in the United States in case you haven’t noticed. It has nothing to do with politics, or all the pearl-clutching over the celebrity scandal du jour. It crosses the boundaries of presidential tenures, and is perhaps most evident to those who live outside the country. America is losing its edge to China.
Maybe it’s China’s dramatic growth of output, maybe it’s their desire to clean up after themselves now, or maybe it’s their population migration into the mega cities. It’s probably a bit of all those things, but one thing for certain that contributes to their success is that Chinese people work their asses off. Their work ethic is second to none, and they aren’t constantly looking over their back fearful that they’ll be subject to trial by social media (your “social burden” as one of our local Chinese friends coined it). Maybe that’s because they’ve banned the world’s biggest distraction platform, Facebook, and all that extra time on their hands is being used to create value:
When it comes to working with the Chinese, they’re not as aggressively competitive as the Indians, or at least they don’t show it on the surface. Their calm collectivism makes things operate smoothly, and their strong work ethic and family values keep them localized and productive. It’s almost like America was in the 50s and 60s, with overheated housing markets and financial bubbles thrown in for good measure. Market timing questions aside, China is a very compelling investment thesis that needs to be on every investors’ radar. So how can your average retail investor who doesn’t live in China make “safe” investments in Chinese stocks? The safest investments of course are ETFs.
How to Invest in China
The Top-3 Chinese Exchange Traded Funds
The cookie cutter answer you’ll get from all financial advisers about “how to invest in China” is to simply buy an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF). Usually when it comes to picking a country ETF, we like to look at something called “assets under management” or AUM. We use AUM as a measure here because it shows where the institutional investors are putting their money. They have more resources than we do to analyze what vehicles offer the best risk-vs-reward, all things considered. Here is a look at the top-3 Chinese ETFs by AUM:
Symbol ETF Name Total Assets (billions) YTD Return Avg Volume Price FXI iShares China Large-Cap ETF 3.6 +33% 11603565 $ 45.85 MCHI iShares MSCI China ETF 2.6 +52% 1553153 $ 66.09 KWEB KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF 1.2 +69% 533297 $ 58.57
If we take a closer look at the first two ETFs, they’re dramatically different. The first ETF focuses on the biggest companies in China with 50 stocks in its portfolio. Here is a look at the top-10 stocks in FXI:
When it comes to weightings, the portfolio caps their index members at 9%, meaning that the returns of tech stocks like Alibaba and Tencent are “trimmed” as the companies grow. If we take a look at the second ETF, MCHI, we can see what it looks like when you don’t cap the weights of high-growth technology stocks:
Incredibly we see more than 30% of the portfolio is concentrated in just 2 Internet stocks; Alibaba and Tencent. While this second ETF focuses on the broader Chinese market with 152 constituents, it’s not giving us the sort of diversity that we would expect to see with an 3X increase in the number of stocks. The conclusion is pretty simple.
If you want an ETF that’s concentrated on financials, buy FXI. If you want an ETF that’s more concentrated in technology, buy MCHI. If you want an ETF that’s solely concentrated on technology, in particular Internet technology, buy KWEB. While buying an ETF is nice and safe, we’re more interested in taking a bit of risk and doing some stock picking. Haven’t you ever wondered what the ten biggest companies in China are?
The 10 Biggest Companies in China
This is where things start getting a bit tricky. We’ll spare you a lesson in financial concepts and make this real simple. Typically, you would just go to either of those ETFs we just talked about and take the top-10 index members. You would assume the list to be the same across both ETFs since they are market cap weighted, however the lists are actually different. Why is this? Because FXI actually caps their index members at 9% and MSCI uses “free-float adjusted market caps“. All we want to look at a simple list that just shows us the biggest companies in the world by market cap without complicating things. As it turns out, some MBAs over at PWC put such a list together of the top-100 companies in the world and it’s pretty interesting. Without further ado, the top-10 Chinese companies by market cap and their associated tickers:
Company Ticker Industry MC (billions) Yield Tencent Holdings (HKG:0700) Technology 488 0.15% Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Consumer Services 474 N/A Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (HKG:1398) Financials 316 4.3% China Construction Bank (HKG:0939) Financials 238 4.6% Petrochina (NYSE:PTR) Oil & Gas 213 2.4% China Mobile (NYSE:CHL) Telecommunications 205 3.6% Ping An Insurance Group (HKG:2318) Financials 194 1.6% Bank of China (HKG:3988) Financials 178 4.4% Agricultural Bank of China (HKG:1288) Financials 175 5.4% China Life Insurance (HKG:2628) Financials 129 1.0% China Petroleum & Chemical (NYSE:SNP) Oil & Gas 104 5.6%
Astute readers will notice that we’ve listed 11 companies here. That’s because China Mobile is actually a Hong Kong company, but also the largest mobile company in the world by subscribers (873 million of them).
The tickers we’ve shown you above in bold are all cases where the Chinese company trades their shares on the U.S. market. Those are easy enough for anyone to trade. But what about the stocks which are not traded in the U.S. and consequently have strange numeric tickers? Those require a quick segue into the world’s safest “country”, Hong Kong.
Hong Kong vs. China
Hong Kong, the home of McDull the pig, milk tea, and Dog TV. Hong Kong people are not like those uncouth “mainlanders”. They’re much more civil than that. While most people probably think Hong Kong is part of China, it’s much more complicated than that, and is often described as “one country, two systems”. In Hong Kong there are no Internet restrictions, taxes are among the lowest in the world, and it is considered to be less corrupt than even the United States. Hong Kong has its own companies that you can invest in, one of those being the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK) itself:
Out of the +2,000 stocks that trade on the SEHK, about half are Hong Kong companies and the other half are Chinese companies. Choosing to buy companies on the Hong Kong stock exchange is the best choice for U.S. investors who want to avoid taking on currency risk (the U.S. dollar is pegged to the Hong Kong dollar). With over 800 Chinese companies to choose from, you’ll at least be able to access all the big names we talked about and then some. Here’s how to do it.
How to Buy Stocks in China
There is one platform out there that we use religiously for currency transactions and stock trading. It’s the biggest brokerage firm in the United States, a publicly traded company called Interactive Brokers. We’ve used it to buy everything from weed ETFs to shares in ARCAM on the Swedish stock exchange, an investment that paid off handsomely. Now we can use Interactive Brokers to buy stocks directly on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Here are the steps you need to take:
Open an account with Interactive Brokers
Request access to the Hong Kong Stock exchange
Buy Hong Kong dollars (pegged to U.S. dollar so no currency risk)
Lookup stock using local numeric stock ticker
Buy stock (it will automatically use your HKD funds) and pay extra exchange transaction fees (reasonable)
Take your mistress purse shopping
That’s it. Now you just need to figure out which Chinese stocks you would like to buy. Unless you have boots on the ground, you probably shouldn’t try to stock pick because China is a completely different animal, engrish and all. While you’re probably better off just investing in one of the ETFs we mentioned earlier, be aware of the risks if you decide to start stock picking. While they’re working to stamp out corruption, China has a great deal of pitfalls that you may not have encountered before. Proceed with caution, gweilo.
Are you paying too much in transaction fees to your broker? Check out a brokerage firm called Zacks Trade that's offering $1 trades for U.S. stocks and options until 2019. After that, you'll pay just $3 a trade or a penny a share, whichever is greater. It's one of the cheapest brokers out there and you can also trade stocks on foreign stock exchanges. Trade US stocks and options for as low as $1 per order until July 4, 2019.[This campaign aims to reverse harmful stereotypes about Latinos/YouTube]
Business mogul Donald Trump has faced harsh criticism for a number of controversial statements made since his campaign for the Republican Presidential nomination began. One group that’s faced the blunt of Trump’s harsh criticisms, Mexicans, has decided to fight back with this thought-provoking ad campaign.
Turn Ignorance Around seeks to reverse various harmful stereotypes targeted towards those in the Latino community.
A new YouTube video features numerous Latinos and Latinas proclaiming various negative labels like “dealer,” “trafficker,” “murder,” and “thief” that have been unfairly leveled against their heritage.
The men and women who make up the video’s cast even wear these labels on their shirts, only to reveal even more once they turn around.
On the back of each t-shirt is a story describing the individual in a way that re-frames the harsh labels unfairly thrust upon them.
Examples include: A professional chef turns into a “dealer of flavor,” a director a “trafficker of stories,” and an actor is described as a “thief of emotions.”
The campaign is not only seeking to reverse harmful Latino stereotypes, but is also squarely taking aim at Trump himself.
The social media hashtag #DumpTrump is featured prominently on both the t-shirts being worn and at the end of the advertisement.
According to the CHIRLA Action Fund, who helped sponsor the campaign, this ad campaign is looking to “present a different take on the anti-immigrant hate speech being spewed in this Presidential Election cycle.”Greetings Pioneers!
The release of the experimental branch of multiplayer is imminent! Soon you will be able to play with your friends and host your own servers.
The plan for the next week is as follows;
Release of the Experimental branch via Steam – don’t worry, this will be accessible by everyone who currently has access to Eden Star and we will explain how to access this when launched
Eden Star will require a dedicated server in order to play in multiplayer and therefore we will immediately enable players to host their own dedicated servers with a complete, step by step guide on how to do so
Initially, whilst we test external servers, we do not intend to host our own community servers, but once we are happy with performance tests we can look into spinning up community servers for those of you without the capability of hosting their own
Initially, there will be a cap of 8 players per server but we will be looking to increase this in the future as we optimise the game further
Beyond multiplayer, the experimental branch will have no major new gameplay features added (yet!). There have been a huge amount of changes behind the scenes to optimise the game and get everything ready for a host of updates, including the new map (not yet released), and a host of new enemies that we have planned.
New features to expect beyond multiplayer;
There will be a new enemy spawn system that will help us balance the game specific to how large your base, vs. number of players, vs. number of hives etc. Any feedback on this would be great!
The HP of all buildings has been vastly improved ready for multiplayer
Please note: Saves from v0.0.13 and below will not work when v0.1.0 (Multiplayer) is uploaded to Steam!
These are some of the major features we will add as soon as possible for multiplayer:
Basic Character Customisation – At present all players will look exactly the same, besides the odd Splintermite shard if you’re unlucky 😉
Clans/Teams – In the first release we have angled the game towards co-op play. You will be able to snap-build to each other’s structures as well as sell other player’s structures. Friendly fire is however enabled and so currently players can kill each other and damage each other’s bases either accidentally or on purpose! We have already implemented a huge amount of the Colony system but have not yet activated it.
The Colony system will provide the ability to set up your own Colony with different ownership rules of buildings under an Eden Kit Shield. When it comes to built structures, we also have implemented the ability to assign roles to stop both outsiders and certain team members from being able to sell your structures. Anyone not in your Colony will also be targeted by your turrets as an enemy, currently Turrets will only target AI in the first release.
Multiplayer Smash – Only one player at a time will be able to hold an enemy, we are looking to change this in the future as well as add the ability to smash other players.
Trading – We intend to split out all Eden Kit inventories as well as adding further storage containers for players to stockpile and also trade with other players. Currently the player does not spawn an inventory to access, but this will soon be amended allowing players to loot corpses and other players inventories if you want your server set-up in a PvP manner.
Frontend Server Admin – This will be added to enable simple interaction with the server to issue boot commands and fully access any aspects of the server that you wish to change with ease, currently everything goes through a “black-box” interface, external to the game client.
Communication – To begin with there will be no in-game text chat or voice communication, players can use Steam Voice Chat (see this guide) or another external application of their choice to talk to their friends.
We are still working hard on expanding the player arsenal, with the modular weapon system, including Sniper Rifle, Kinetic Shotgun and various scope attachments etc. In addition to this we have the new 8km map (with mountains, rivers and lakes), and Juggernaut sized enemies that we want to implement as soon as possible in order to start to expand the current game content.
There are many more things planned for future updates; new enemies, new utilities, character customisation, upgrades, combo moves and a full progression system. All of which we hugely value your feedback on, so please check out our Public Trello Board.
Huge thank you to the growing community for all of your support!
See you in the fray!
-Team FlixGet the biggest What's On stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
A three day food event due to take place in Merthyr Tydfil next week has been cancelled due to lack of takers.
Organised by Merthyr council and the Big Heart of Merthyr Tydfil, the Merthyr International Food Market was billed as "a taste of something different," promising amazing food, live music and children's activities in the town centre.
But it's now been announced on social media that insufficient interest has led to it being axed at with just days to go.
Fortunately though, the rest of the varied live line-up planned for the town over the summer months still looks to be going ahead, including the Merthyr Food Festival in July, the Awesome Merthyr Chilli Fiesta in June and August's Merthyr By The Sea, which will see Penderyn Square transformed in a beach with deckchairs, buckets and spades and beach huts.
For more information go to www.welovemerthyr.co.ukThe Land Transport Department has ordered GrabBike to suspend services until it complies with rules. (Grab Thailand photo)
The Department of Land Transport has ordered GrabTaxi Holdings Pte to halt its GrabBike service in Thailand until it complies with local regulations and vowed to fine and arrest drivers who violate the ban.
DLT deputy director-general Nunthapong Cherdchoo said his department informed GrabTaxi of the regulations that its services were violating regulations. The department took particular issue with using private motorcycles to carry passengers, its payment method and fares charged which, he said, did not comply with published rates.
He said the department is not against applying technology to public transit services, but they must comply with current laws. The DLT asked GrabTaxi to suspend its GrabBike service -- launched in August in Bangkok -- until changes were made to meet regulations, Mr Nunthapong said.
He added that soldiers, police and Bangkok authorities would arrest violating drivers and fine them at the highest rates if caught.
Service providers would be fined 2,000 baht for using private motorcycles to carry passengers, 1,000 baht failing to wear taxi motorcyclists' vests and 1,000 baht for failing to present a public-transport driver's licence. Such motorcyclists would also have their driving licences suspended and possibly revoked, Mr Nunthapong said.
He warned that such services were jeopardizing security, safety and local transport systems because they created unfair competition, their motorcycles were not covered with accident insurance for passengers and drivers' criminal records were not checked by the government.
GrabBike is one of two motorbike taxi-hailing services operating in Bangkok. Uber Technologies of the US last month launched its UberMoto service, which has not yet drawn the ire of transport regulators.Hiddyn Exordium is a first person puzzle game for PC that focuses on a thought provoking plot and utilizes unique mechanics never seen before in gaming. Players will use an incredible device called the Tele-swap gun which allows players to switch two objects location with each other, allowing players to solve puzzles.
We have been Greenlit on Steam!
Click on the image above to take a look at our Greenlight page. Thank you everyone who voted for us, we were greenlit in a little over a week! We have both been so blown away by all the support, we can't wait for you guys to play! :D
The player starts the game chained to the floor in a dark room. With great effort, John Rimmer (the protagonist) breaks his bonds and begins to run from where he was imprisoned, down a long dark corridor. Everything is cold and lonely. There is only one problem: he doesn’t know where to exit or how to escape. Infact, he isnt even sure where he is or why he's there. After running from some time, Rimmer is intercepted by a mysterious being who introduces himself as Hiddyn. It is unclear to Rimmer what Hiddyns function is at the “prison,” but it appears that Hiddyn has knowledge of how to leave. Hiddyn makes a deal with Rimmer: he will let him escape, only if he amuses the ever-bored and lonely Hiddyn by outwitting Hiddyn. Rimmer must beat a series of reality bending puzzles that Hiddyn has placed in his path to freedom. All the while Rimmer is figuring these puzzles out, Hiddyn arbitrarily leaves records information surround the events on earth that have left Rimmer in the condition he is in now. Many things are unclear: is Hiddyn trust-worthy? Will he keep his word? There are many questions Rimmer has, but only one choice is apparent: he must continue to play Hiddyns’ game.
Hiddyn: Exordium is the first project at Appropriately Mistitled Studios, which, consists of my brother (Elijah) And I (Isaiah.) We first started working with the Cryengine about four years ago with express interest of creating unique games that we ourselves would enjoy. After a while, it became clear that game creation was our passion and we formed Appropriately Mistitled Studios to continue creating and learning game design. We started development of Hiddyn in August of 2014 and have used the last eleven months to learn and improve our skills as much as to create a game. This is our first release and we are excited for you to experience it.
We only need $5,000 to get Hiddyn released. Let’s face it: this is an extremely low cost to finance a game like this. Well, that’s partly because $5,000 won’t cover all our expenses (time, travel expenses, advertisement, etc.) and just barely covers the software and licensing fees. We felt that $5,000 is the bare minimum we need to get this project off the ground. However, we anticipate this Kickstarter will do more than just finance Hiddyns’ release: we hope it will support our studio as a whole. There are many aspects of the game design we have had to breeze over, such as texturing and animations, due to our limited budget and time. Both Elijah and I study full time at college and don’t have extra money to buy or hire the equipment to improve many aspects of the game. At $5,000 the game will be finished, but nowhere near as polished as it could be. The additional money we raise will allow us to purchase equipment that will improve our game and save us time. Additionally, this money is invested into our studios equipment, not just equipment for Hiddyn. The funds raised for this Kickstarter will increase the quality of all our future projects.
Thank you for backing us! You get a virtual high five from the team.
Thank you in credits
At $10 you will receive a digital copy of Hiddyn: Exordium once it is released.
Thank you in credits
1 steam game key
At $25, you will receive a digital copy of the soundtrack long with a copy of the game.
Thank you in credits
1 steam game key
1 digital soundtrack
At $50, you will receive two digital copies and a prerelease version of the game that only kickstarter supporters will get to participate in.
Thank you in credits
2 steam game keys
1 digital soundtrack
Access to prerelease
At $75, you will be shipped a poster of Hiddyn. You room never looked so stylish!
Thank you in credits
2 steam game keys
1 digital soundtrack
Access to prerelease
1 Hiddyn Poster
At $100, you will recieve the Stylish tier $50 dollars cheaper. There are only ten available, so get it before they are gone!
Thank you in credits
2 steam game keys
1 digital soundtrack
Access to prerelease
1 Hiddyn Poster
Hiddyn t-shirt
At $150, we will add an awesome Hiddyn t-shirt to be sent with the poster. It looks pretty awesome!
Thank you in credits
2 steam game keys
1 digital soundtrack
Access to prerelease
1 Hiddyn Poster
Hiddyn t-shirt
This is the package deal! At $200 you get, along with all previous tiers, a physical copy of the soundtrack and a specialized note from the two of us, thanking you for helping us.
Thank you in credits
2 steam game keys
1 physical soundtrack
Access to prerelease
1 Hiddyn Poster
Hiddyn t-shirt
Personal note written by both developers
At $500 You will get five game keys (total) and an additional t-shirt signed by the two of us. It could be a back up if the first is ruined, or maybe you want to hang it up to show it off (we’re joking!)
Thank you in credits
5 steam game keys
1 physical soundtrack
Access to prerelease
1 Hiddyn Poster
1 Hiddyn t-shirt
1 signed t-shirt
Personal note written by both developers
At $1,000, you get an incredible 3d printed Hiddyn figurine! It could be a paper weight, it could be a companion when you’re working late in the office (albeit a creepy companion…) the choice is yours!
Thank you in credits
5 steam game keys
1 physical soundtrack
Access to prerelease
1 Hiddyn Poster
1 Hiddyn t-shirt
1 signed t-shirt
Personal note written by both developers
1 exclusive Hiddyn figurine
At $2,500, we got so excited, we decided to send a whole other package completely signed by us, along with 10 copies of the game!
Thank you in credits
10 steam game keys
2 physical soundtracks
Access to prerelease
2 Hiddyn Posters
2 Hiddyn t-shirt
1 signed t-shirt
1 Personal note written by both developers
2 exclusive Hiddyn figurines
$10,000!? What!? You just backed doubled our goal! We will list you as our co-producer* in our credits and name a main character (we won’t mention who yet…) after you! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
*Co-producer does not entitle you to any financial aspects of our game or company; it is simply a title.
Thank you in credits
20 steam game keys
2 physical soundtracks Access to prerelease
2 Hiddyn Posters
2 Hiddyn t-shirt
1 signed t-shirt
1 Personal note written by both developers
2 exclusive Hiddyn figurines
You are the co-producer You get a main character named after you!
Ok, lets talk about our stretch goals! The strech goals are very important to us because they outline where we will go with improving the game. It is important to understand that many aspects of these goals we are already implementing on a lesser scale (such as optimization.) If we reach our goals, these task will take priority. If you have any suggestions or comments on what you really want to see, please let us know in the discussion, we are really open to hearing feedback.
If we raise $10,000, we will update the textures and graphics in game. There is a lot more quality we can pull out of our project, but it would cost too much or take too much time to pull off without a little extra funding. At $10,000 we can drastically improve the games graphics overall.
At $20,000 we will update animations and complete our motion capture studio. This goal is extremely exciting because it will effect the quality of all our projects. This goal will drastically increase the quality of our animations and the speed in which we can complete them. Isaiah is so excited about this goal, he said if we reach it, he will post a video in an update of him dancing to any song that the community votes for (yes, we will hold him to this.)
We will upload future goals if we reach the older ones. If we beat our $10,000 goal, we will include our $40,000 goal in updates and so on as we go.
Thank you for all your support, whether it's on or off kickstarter. You all mean a great deal to us! :)Heather Callaghan, Contributor
Waking Times
One of the world’s most common food ingredients is finally being outed as a big, fat fraud. We hope you are sitting down for this one!
This polyunsaturated oil is touted as healthy by the big food industries, fast food industries, the natural health communities (!), and even our regulatory agencies.
We’re talking about canola oil! One of the worst food creations in modern history if you can even call it a food product. A study came out showing that canola oil was like battery acid to the cardiovascular system – and no one listened. Cooked polyunsaturated oils were recently linked to cancer….nothing but crickets.
This oil is everywhere – in most restaurants, in pretty much all fast food items, every packaged snack you can think of, in everything you can store in a cabinet and worst of all – in nearly all natural health snack goods.
Canola oil was recently linked to declining memory, learning deficits and… obesity!
Natasha Longo reports:
After the public health scare in the 1970s over animal fats, sales of vegetable oils of all types increased. It was the established wisdom that those oils high in polyunsaturated fatty acids were especially beneficial. However, more research into vegetable oils continues to surface showing their damaging effects on health. A new study published online in the journal Scientific Reports shows that consumption of canola oil in the diet with worsened memory, worsened learning ability and weight gain. […] ….In the journal Scientific Reports by researchers at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University (LKSOM) associates the consumption of canola oil in the diet with worsened memory, worsened learning ability and weight gain in mice which model Alzheimer’s disease. The study is the first to suggest that canola oil is more harmful than healthful for the brain. Canola oil contains a long-chain fatty acid called erucic acid, which is especially irritating to mucous membranes; canola oil consumption has been correlated with development of fibrotic lesions of the heart, CNS degenerative disorders, lung cancer, and prostate cancer, anemia, and constipation. Not only are canola, soybean and corn oil now coming from genetically modified crops, but their processing is beyond toxic to human metabolism.
Any health claims for the |
. And in terms of the storytelling, everything is sort of in the Crock-Pot, just plugged in. I don’t even know if we have put the lid on the Crock-Pot.
All three said that as for determining if the first season is a success, they aren’t even sure if CBS All Access will be providing them with viewership numbers or metrics, so for them they will judge it by how much fans like the show.
More from Hollywood premiere
Akiva Goldsman On Influence Of JJ Abrams Films On ‘Star Trek: Discovery’
Doug Jones On Saru And Burnham Fighting Over The Captain’s Chair In ‘Star Trek: Discovery’
Mary Chieffo Talks L’Rell And Klingon Episodes Of ‘Star Trek: Discovery’
Ted Sullivan On Canon Challenge Of Fitting ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Between ‘Enterprise’ and TOS
Sonequa Martin-Green On ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Captain’s Chair And Nichelle Nichols Blessing
Neville Page And Glenn Hetrick Talk Designs For Different ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Klingon Houses
Jason Isaacs on how Lorca isn’t like other captains
TrekMovie has more interviews with Discovery cast and crew. These will be posted over the next few days so stay tuned.
Star Trek: Discovery is available exclusive in the US on CBS All Access with new episodes released Sundays at 8:30 pm ET. In Canada Star Trek: Discovery airs on the Space Channel at the same time. Discovery is available on Netflix outside the USA and Canada with new episodes made available Monday at 8 am BST.
Keep up with all the Star Trek: Discovery news at TrekMovie.Democracy has been ignored, wishes of local residents disregarded and taxpayers are on the hook for costs associated with a private company’s real estate deal that will give them access to thousands of acres of Crown land, say Kootenay residents and politicians opposed to plans to build a billion-dollar ski resort deep within the Purcell Mountains.
The 24-year history of Jumbo Glacier Resort is marked by controversy and breathtaking departures from usual government process. As the deadline approaches for the province to decide whether to finally approve an Environmental Assessment Certificate, feelings in nearby communities remain raw.
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In Invermere, the closest community to the site, Mayor Gerry Taft shakes his head trying to explain how an appointed mayor and council of an adjacent municipality — with no residents or buildings — can make decisions about the surrounding backcountry.
There is something inherently wrong with taxpayers picking up the tab for a private-for-profit enterprise while simultaneously all local decision-making power is removed, Taft said.
“It’s all about (the provincial government) bending the process to get to where they are now. They have bent and changed the rules around this. This is a slap in the face for democracy,” he said.
“It’s like trying to get a round peg into a square hole and you keep changing the hole until something fits.”
The history of the proposal, led by Oberto Oberti of Pheidias Project Management Corp. and Glacier Resorts Ltd, stretches back to 1991 when the first formal approach was made to government. In 2004 the province granted an Environmental Assessment Certificate, even though more than 90 per cent of comments expressed concern about issues ranging from grizzly bear habitat to dubious economics. The certificate, with 195 conditions, was renewed in 2009, and will expire on October 12 unless the province finds there has been substantial progress.
Jumbo Has No Residents, But Receives Federal and Provincial Tax Dollars
In 2007, the Master Plan was approved, despite local opposition, and controversy reached a flashpoint in 2012 when the province amended the Local Government Act to allow creation of a municipality without residents. The Master Development Agreement was signed later that year and then minister of community sport and cultural development Bill Bennett approved incorporation of Jumbo Glacier Resort Municipality. Former Radium Hot Springs mayor Greg Deck, who is also chair of the Columbia Basin Trust, was appointed by the province as mayor of the fledgling municipality, together with two councillors.
Previously, communities such as Whistler and Sun Peaks were incorporated as mountain resorts, but Jumbo is the only municipality created in a remote wilderness where the sole residents are grizzly bears and mountain goats.
Not only does the council have no accountability to voters, under the municipality’s Letters Patent, it must adhere to terms of the resort’s Master Plan, said Robyn Duncan of Wildsight, a group that has helped lead the Jumbo fight. It raises the spectre of council approving zoning and increasing land values without public input.
The municipality initially received a $260,000 provincial grant and its five-year plan asks for a further $200,000 a year. About $50,000 in federal gas tax money has also flowed to Jumbo.
Deck, who hopes to be re-appointed in November, said the grants are available to all B.C. municipalities and, so far, much of the funding has gone to building a bridge into the municipality.
East Kootenay Regional District ‘Abrogated Responsibility’
The green light for the province to create the municipality came from a 2009 East Kootenay Regional District resolution asking the provincial government to incorporate Jumbo as a mountain resort municipality. Taft and the area’s regional director Gerry Wilkie said the close 8-7 vote was swung by directors from outside the Columbia Valley.
“There are five Columbia Valley voters and four out of the five voted against it. People from outside the Columbia Valley outvoted the local directors,” Taft said.
Wilkie lists the vote as one of his biggest disappointments.
“I think the regional district abrogated its responsibility because any development in the regional district requires zoning and zoning requires a public hearing. That’s the democratic process,” he said.
Directors were concerned that hearings would become a circus and the process would take too much staff time, said Wilkie, describing that as a specious argument because contractors could be used.
An attempt to reverse the vote resulted in the same numbers and the regional district then received a letter from the province saying the decision was now written in stone.
Regional district directors did unanimously pass a motion asking that the regional district and First Nations be fully consulted.
“But government didn’t consult us one bit,” Wilkie said.
UBCM Passes Resolution Opposing Funding for Municipalities With No Residents
The precedent-setting process raised alarm signals among other municipalities and a 2012 Union of B.C Municipalities resolution asked government not to create municipalities unless there were 200 residents. In September this year, UBCM unanimously passed a resolution opposing funding for municipalities without residents.
For Taft, it is not only the process that creates a massive headache. There are inevitably costs that will land on Invermere with additional wear and tear on roads and other services, plus provincial priority going to Jumbo access when the area has more pressing needs.
“Who’s going to pay for the road? Who’s going to pay for the infrastructure?” he asked.
Initially, Taft — a businessman who has been mayor for six years and was a councillor for six years before that — supported the project.
But, with a closer look, he became increasingly concerned about the economics and effect on Invermere.
Even more important was the realization that the vast majority of residents were against the project, he said.
There has been no public hearing, because the process was taken out of regional hands, but a public meeting in Invermere showed a large majority adamantly opposed. Several polls have been conducted and a 2008 random survey by McAllister Opinion Research is regarded as one of the most solid. It found 63 per cent of Kootenay residents opposed, 19 per cent in favour and 18 per cent undecided, with a margin of error of 3.2 per cent 19 times out of 20.
“There were the environmental and social costs and having high density in the back-country. People saw it as a real estate scam,” Taft said.
Glacier Resorts Gets Crown Land at Half of Current Price
Terms allowing Glacier Resorts to purchase 104 hectares of Crown land for the village site and giving the company access to almost 6,000 hectares of “Controlled Recreation Area” are certainly favourable, apparently because the project fits with the province’s Mountain Resorts Branch policy to encourage new all-seasons resort development in an effort to double tourism revenues by 2015.
Current policy sets the minimum value of undeveloped mountain resort lands at $12,355 per hectare for the first 10 years of resort development, but Jumbo’s agreement is for $6,178 per hectare because the original commitment was made more than 20 years ago under the former pricing policy, said a Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations spokesman.
The rental fee for the 6,000-hectare Controlled Recreation Area is two per cent of gross lift revenues.
“It’s a real estate deal,” retorted Duncan of Wildsight. “The public is just giving away six thousand hectares to a private corporation and funding it through taxpayers’ money.”
It’s also a risky speculation in a remote part of the province, with poor access, at a time when ski hills in less remote areas are already struggling, said Wilkie, who predicts that if the development ever goes ahead it will require government bail-outs.
“In the long run, it is the taxpayers who will pay.”
Next in this series: All questions about the Jumbo Resort lead back to Bill Bennett
Photo credit: Pat MorrowHere’s a look at what’s filming on location on Friday, May 25, 2012:
If you have any scoop about where a movie or TV show is filming, let us know about it at olv@onlocationvacations.com or at Twitter.com/olv! We depend on your tips to keep the site going, all of our info comes from our amazing readers!
Don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter too!
Filming in California:
Face Off is filming at 108 W 2nd St, Los Angeles (6:00 AM – 6:00 PM).
Untitled Rick Howard Project is filming at 700 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles (5:00 PM – 2:00 AM).
Dexter is filming E 2nd St and E Pacific Coast Hwy in Long Beach.
Weeds is filming at 1350 Wentworth Ave in Pasadena.
Californication is filming around W Sunset Blvd and Glendale Blvd in L.A.
Sons of Anarchy is filming at a gas station on Antelope Woods Rd (at crown Valley Rd) in Acton.
Filming in Florida:
Pain and Gain, starring mark Wahlberg, is filming on Biltmore in Coral Gables. (Thanks @MiNena77, @gaby_steph)
Filming in Louisiana:
Beautiful Creatures, starring Emmy Rossum, is filming in studio at 800 Atlantic Ave in NOLA.
Django Unchained is filming in studio in New Orleans.
The Tomb is filming at the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in NOLA.
Filming in Massachusetts:
Grown Ups 2 continues filming in Massachusetts (around Marblehead). They might be filming at Stackpole Field in Saugus, they were suppose to shoot there this week and haven’t as of yet.
Filming in New Mexico:
Breaking Bad is filming at Albuquerque Studios.
The Lone Ranger, starring Johnny Depp, is filming off of I-40 west near Exit 140, west of Albuquerque.
Filming in New York:
The Bitter Pill, starring Jude Law, is filming in studio (Yonkers Studio on Tuckahoe Rd in Yonkers).
White Collar is filming in studio (Silvercup Studios, Long Island City).
Girls is filming around Sullivan St and Prince St in NYC.
Admission, starring Tina Fey and Paul Rudd, is filming at Manhattanville College in Purchase.
Blood Ties, starring Mila Kunis, is filming around Brighton 6th St in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn though Saturday. (Thanks David)
Boardwalk Empire is filming at Little St and Evans St in Brooklyn.
The Americans is filming near Yankees Stadium, around Jerome Ave from 161 to 165 and Anderson Ave from Shakespeare Ave to Jerome Ave.
Royal Pains is filming in studio at Broadway Stages in Brooklyn.
Filming in North Carolina:
Iron Man 3 filming is officially underway in Wilmington! Discuss upcoming filming locations & star sightings in our Iron Man 3 Open Thread!
You Are Here, starring Owen Wilson, is filming on Atkinson Rd in Siloam. (Thanks George)
Filming in Pennsylvania:
Out of the Furnace, starring Christian Bale, is filming in Braddock, PA and Promised Land, starring Matt Damon, is filming near Pittsburgh too. To discuss the shoot with other fans in the Pittsburgh area, visit our Open Thread.
FYI: Out of the Furnace continues filming in near the airport in Imperial.
Filming in Tennessee:
42, starring Harrison Ford and Chris Meloni, is filming at Engel Stadium in Chattanooga.
Filming in Washington D.C.:
Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight is filming around H St and 15th in D.C.
Thanks to @MarkedOut for sharing this photo with Jesse Metcalfe in NYC! If you have a celeb photo to share, let us know at olv@onlocationvacations.com!In August 2014, Nadia Murad was a 21-year-old Yazidi student living in Kocho, northern Iraq, when Islamic State (Isis) fighters seized the town. They rounded up all the Yazidis, and reportedly killed 312 men in an hour. But what then happened to Murad and her sisters – among thousands of women captured and taken by the extremists – was to cause her to long for her own death.
Taken to Mosul, Murad was held for three days before she and other female prisoners were “distributed” to Isis fighters. She was trapped, and she was raped; repeatedly, consistently, constantly. After an escape attempt, she was recaptured, beaten and subjected to a gang rape by six men as “punishment”. In a speech she has since made to the UN, Murad revealed: “They continued to commit crimes to my body until I became unconscious.”
It was genocide with a template. We must seek justice for the Yazidi people Read more
Other women committed suicide in captivity; Murad herself wished her captors would just kill her. Three unimaginable months passed but then Murad made an extraordinary escape. She managed to flee as far Germany, where she was provided safe asylum in Stuttgart. Her advocacy for Isis’s victims has since seen her made a UN Goodwill Ambassador, speaking out against the furtherest extremities of horror that she, a real human being, has survived. “We were not worth the value of animals,” she told a recent audience in Cairo. “They raped girls in groups. They did what a mind could not imagine.”
Her experience, of course, is one of the horrific hallmarks of Isis, whose narcissistic seizure of religious text fuels self-justifying pretexts for committing personal atrocities. They have kidnapped thousands of women and girls like Murad, and they have dedicated infrastructure for the enslavement and trafficking of their prisoners.
Investigations have uncovered networks of warehouses where women are held, inspected, marketed and shipped along, fleets of buses used to transport them, bureaucratic records of the sale and purchase of women. The New York Times and Human Rights Watch have documented their record of sexual violence, their crimes against the Yazidi have been exposed by the UN, and the group themselves have even published “doctrine” that codifies and celebrates their cruel use of sexual slavery.
And yet, while UN resolutions are very clear that sexual violence within armed conflict is a war crime, there exists grey spaces in domestic laws that may allow Isis perpetrators impunity for their organised sexual violence. Of the 30,000 Isis recruits from 89 countries, 100 are estimated to be Australian, and urging the Australian government to commit to the prosecution of sexual violence as war crime is a campaign that local human rights activist Susan Hutchinson has taken to Canberra this week.
“Gendered crimes are often being perpetrated outside the jurisdiction of institutions willing and able to bring the perpetrators to justice,” Hutchinson explains. “In 2014, Angelina Jolie and William Hague launched the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative with projects to aid in the documentation and investigation of sexual violence in conflict, but despite advances at the International Criminal Court, these crimes are often still overlooked.”
Hutchinson’s Prosecute, Don’t Perpetrate campaign has a simple ask: that Australia heed its obligations under UN resolutions to “investigate and prosecute sexual violence perpetrated as war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide by Australians who travelled to Iraq and Syria to fight with Da’esh”.
What sort of justice do survivors of sexual war crimes want? | Erica Hall Read more
“If countries prosecuted their own nationals for these crimes we would finally go some way to achieving justice for the victims and ending impunity for sexual violence in conflict,” Hutchinson explains.
There’s precedent for Australia to follow: in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity are explicitly outlawed in domestic legislation, and similar laws in Finland and Sweden have been used to prosecute Finnish and Swedish nationals engaged in Isis abuses.
In an Australia finally moved to confront violence against women within its own community, our awareness of gendered violence must also extend beyond our own borders and inspire activism against the violence happening to women and girls around the world, and – right now – at the hands of Isis.
Today marks the international commencement of the annual “16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence” campaign, and it’s a timely occasion to commit to the end of impunity for sexual violence in armed conflict, to develop a political will to investigate war crimes against women and to prosecute them.
We owe it to Nadia Murad, her fellow survivors and those who did not survive. We owe it to every human woman, whose body and life is at stake.Toronto took time out Thursday to pay tribute to a bizarre (and possibly unsafe?) fellow denizen of the downtown.
The homage began with a harmless tweet to the city, after Jason Wagar came across a lifeless raccoon on the sidewalk near the intersection of Yonge and Church streets shortly after 9 a.m. ET.
<a href="https://twitter.com/311Toronto">@311Toronto</a> There’s a dead raccoon on the sidewalk outside 819 Yonge (at the SE corner of Church). —@jasonwagar
The city replied promptly, saying animal services had been contacted and the raccoon — some on Twitter dubbed it Conrad — would be whisked away shortly.
However, nobody showed up.
So a memorial began to take shape.
Someone’s having a bit of fun with this poor guy (who’s been there since at least 8:45 this AM). Yonge & Church. <a href="http://t.co/4WshUGX4uM">pic.twitter.com/4WshUGX4uM</a> —@jasonwagar
As Conrad lay on the sidewalk, he caught the attention of Norm Kelly, a Toronto city councillor and Twitter legend.
Please have staff pick up this raccoon at 819 Yonge St, <a href="https://twitter.com/311Toronto">@311Toronto</a>. H/T <a href="https://twitter.com/jasonwagar">@jasonwagar</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TOpoli?src=hash">#TOpoli</a> <a href="http://t.co/iPSlgRfMwr">pic.twitter.com/iPSlgRfMwr</a> —@norm
After hours in the summer sun, the hashtag #DeadRacoonTO drew ever more mourners to the scene, despite the fact dead raccoons can possibly carry diseases such as rabies.
Don't quite know what to say about this sidewalk discovery except that it really brought ppl together. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/deadraccoonto?src=hash">#deadraccoonto</a> <a href="http://t.co/BJ7efipLvq">pic.twitter.com/BJ7efipLvq</a> —@misspollock
The sidewalk memorial is growing, <a href="https://twitter.com/311Toronto">@311Toronto</a>. H/T <a href="https://twitter.com/jasonwagar">@jasonwagar</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DeadRaccoonTO?src=hash">#DeadRaccoonTO</a> <a href="http://t.co/3vTUf9xB7b">pic.twitter.com/3vTUf9xB7b</a> —@norm
Almost 12 hours later, Wagar walked by the scene again and sparked a public shaming of the city's animal services.
<a href="https://twitter.com/norm">@norm</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/311Toronto">@311Toronto</a> 8:20 pm. Come on, Animal Services. <a href="http://t.co/3RPc1XdX50">pic.twitter.com/3RPc1XdX50</a> —@jasonwagar
As darkness descended, candles marked the raccoon's unceremonious deathbed.
Someone has added a donation box beside the dead raccoon. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DeadRaccoonTO?src=hash">#DeadRaccoonTO</a> <a href="http://t.co/fXHzcf9LJu">pic.twitter.com/fXHzcf9LJu</a> —@KrisReports
Leaving some messages for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DeadRaccoonTO?src=hash">#DeadRaccoonTO</a> <a href="http://t.co/xirnynU4qa">pic.twitter.com/xirnynU4qa</a> —@KrisReports
Kelly then urged the people of Toronto to honour Conrad in perhaps the most fitting way possible: to leave their green bins open for the night. The city's green bins are a sort of El Dorado for foraging raccoons.
Residents are being asked to keep their green bins open tonight in honour of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DeadRaccoonTO?src=hash">#DeadRaccoonTO</a>. —@norm
Finally, around 11 p.m. ET, a worker arrived to take Conrad to his final resting place.
The city of Toronto worker is now preparing to remove the raccoon. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DeadRaccoonTO?src=hash">#DeadRaccoonTO</a> <a href="http://t.co/DASkviOkiE">pic.twitter.com/DASkviOkiE</a> —@KrisReports
This is what is left of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DeadRaccoonTO?src=hash">#DeadRaccoonTO</a> <a href="http://t.co/PLnqjQfEyo">pic.twitter.com/PLnqjQfEyo</a> —@KrisReports
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DeadRaccoonTO?src=hash">#DeadRaccoonTO</a> is now gone but will never be forgotten. Picture courtesy of <a href="https://twitter.com/KrisReports">@KrisReports</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RIP?src=hash">#RIP</a> <a href="http://t.co/eWwASq8C5M">pic.twitter.com/eWwASq8C5M</a> —@norm
In typical Norm Kelly fashion, the councillor summed up the moral of the day with a bittersweet thought.The Vancouver Canucks, facing arch rival San Jose Sharks on Thursday night, have recalibrated their power play, which this season again has produced among the fewest goals in the National Hockey League.
The new-look power play is led by a "quarterback," which evokes comments from coach John Tortorella in an interview with The Globe and Mail before the season began, an idea we will get to in a moment.
Viewers of the Vancouver game against Phoenix on Tuesday night have already seen the new first-unit power play in action, successful in their initial deployment. The Canucks have gone to four forwards, and one defenceman, the quarterback, a role played by Dan Hamhuis. The forwards are the Sedins, Ryan Kesler, and Alex Burrows.
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The first unit previously was the twins and Kesler, with the big shots of D-men Alex Edler and Jason Garrison at the point. That configuration produced a lot of shots – but few goals.
In general, there is a strong correlation between shots taken at five-on-four and goals scored. Last year, the reason why the power play was feeble – ranked 22nd in the league and including a run of 11 games without a goal – was clear: the Canucks struggled to put pucks on the net. After several years at the top of the NHL in shots and goals, Vancouver slumped in 2013 to the bottom third.
The peculiarity this season was that the Canucks surged in shots – standing fourth in the league – but goals have not followed, with Vancouver ranked fifth-last, six goals in 17 games, a conversion rate of barely 10 per cent.
Perhaps it is no surprise that head coach Tortorella and assistants Mike Sullivan and Glen Gulutzan haven't found the right recipe, given the power plays on their former teams, New York Rangers and Dallas Stars, were both weak, struggling to generate shots and goals.
For Vancouver, the following chart, compiled with numbers assembled by stats.hockeyanalysis.com from nhl.com, illustrates the ebb and flow of the Canucks power-play potency.
He shoots and... doesn't score
The theory of Garrison and Edler at the point was that slap shots can produce easy-to-pounce-on rebounds, or get tipped, or occasionally go straight in. None of that was happening for Vancouver. You can blame luck and Tortorella had been saying he was happy with the power play – but after a while, the pressure to "do something" mounts.
So even as the old first unit managed one power play goal in the beating-up of the Toronto Maple Leafs last Saturday, the new look made its debut in Phoenix for this important four-game road trip through the southwestern United States against key division rivals. The new configuration clicked on its first attempt, about four minutes into the second period, putting the Canucks up 2-1 in a game they would eventually lose in a shootout.
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Among the things the new look does is free up Kesler, instead of rooting in front of the net, a role that goes now goes to Burrows. A roving Kesler was the reason the Canucks connected in Phoenix. Burrows had the screen on Mike Smith, the Phoenix goalie, and Henrik Sedin delivered a cross-ice pass from his position along the boards to a wide-open Kesler, who had carried the puck in the zone, dropped it to Sedin, and then floated across the front of the net over to the top of the opposite faceoff circle. Kesler delivered an absolute zinger of a one-timer slap shot, rising and clinging off the back of the crossbar inside the net.
"Quarterback" Hamhuis had an erratic start this year but is now his usual top-tier self. Beyond his strong defending, he is feeling some offensive mojo, as he scored his third goal of the year in Phoenix, at even-strength, to tie the game at one.
Tortorella on Wednesday in Phoenix, where the Canucks practised, spoke about the power play being strong this year but "we haven't had the finish. A little change here will spark us," comments carried by the Vancouver Province.
"As far as quarterbacking and settling it down and getting the middle of the ice – which is very important for a power play – [Hamhuis is] one of our best," said the coach. "He's really helped us in getting it set up and puck control."
With San Jose up tonight and Los Angeles and Anaheim on the weekend, a more-potent power play is key. San Jose had beaten Vancouver 11 consecutive times and has not lost at home this year.
Tortorella, in an interview with The Globe on Sept. 6, spoke of the importance of a power play quarterback, and why his work in New York produced a man-advantage that was in the bottom third of the NHL in 2011-12 and 2013.
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"One of the biggest struggles we had, we needed a power play quarterback," said Tortorella. They tried young defenceman Michael Del Zotto and veteran scorer Brad Richards. Nothing really worked.
"We just didn't have a settling influence," continued Tortorella.
"The power play is a fickle thing. We had it going really well for a while and then it just died on us. It was both parties, coaching and players, I felt in New York. I felt both parties deserve the credit of it not working."
Get all the latest Globe and Mail hockey coverage on Twitter: @globehockeyIn 1995, artist Bryan Lewis Saunders decided he would paint a self-portrait every single day for the rest of his life. He’s up to about 10,000 so far – and more than 50 of them are based on different drug experiences. The results are fascinating, and sometimes beautiful. The Guardian said this:
Bryan is an artist. For the past 17 years he’s been sitting in this room – or somewhere like it – drawing a self-portrait or two every day. “I’ve done 8,700,” he says. “Every day is different. Like snowflakes and DNA and fingerprints, no two are the same.”
The thing is, 50 of these 8,700 self-portraits have lately become very famous – celebrated all over the world, with millions of Google hits and a forthcoming exhibition alongside Damien Hirst at the influential Maison Rouge gallery in Paris. They’re the 50 he drew while he was on drugs. Each was created under the influence of a different substance, from marijuana and cocaine through lighter fluid and “bath salts” – “They’re what everybody says are causing people to eat each other’s faces” – to prescription pills with names like Cephalexin and Risperdal. In fact, most of the 50 were prescription pharmaceuticals. “That’s the popular thing today,” Bryan says. He says he hates drugs but feels obliged to try new ones, “just for the drawing”
The exhibition at Paris’ Maison Rouge took place last year. He also recent had an exhibition of his work in Washington, DC, at the Catalyst Projects gallery.
From Alternet:
Bryan Lewis Saunders likes to take drugs, both legal and illegal, and then draw pictures of himself. The results are strikingly different from drug to drug, and they vary from beautiful to grotesque, abstract and just plain bizarre.
An artist in his mid-40s from Virginia, now living in Tennessee, Saunders has completed more than 9,930 self-portraits to date (though not all under the influence of a drug).
He said he explored tragedy and social problems for a couple years, then switched to exploring sleep, pain and personality assessment—then drugs. He’s most interested in the “things that are still a mystery to us all,” he said in an email.
In 2012 Saunders told Wired magazine he’d decided to do a self-portrait every day for the rest of his life so that he “could die knowing that I tried to experience as much as possible when I was alive.”
“All day every day, images and feelings of the world come into me and it’s inescapable,” he wrote to Wired. “So I thought if I did a self-portrait every day for the rest of my life, with no rules, the world and I could be more linked to my nervous system.”
On his website, in an explanation of the “Drugs” portraits, Saunders writes:
“After experiencing drastic changes in my environment, I looked for other experiences that might profoundly affect my perception of self.”
He devised an experiment in which every day he took a different drug and drew himself under the influence.
“Within weeks I became lethargic and suffered mild brain damage. I am still conducting this experiment but over greater lapses of time. I only take drugs that are given to me.”
Saunders said in an email that, lately it’s rare that he creates a new “drugs” portrait.
“I don’t like all of these synthetic [drugs] they keep creating,” he said. “It is rare that I’m offered something new to me nowadays.”
From Fastcocreate.com:
“Self-portraiture is biased in its very nature,” says Saunders. “The more informed the bias the more interesting the image is, usually. Memories, thoughts, feelings, beliefs, behaviors are all but impossible to separate from the making of a self-portrait. If I was to attempt to render the same exact image on each different substance in essence denying what the drug means to me personally, the only thing I would be expressing were the degrees in which my motor skills, or visual processes were effected thus entirely undermining the purpose of doing a self-portrait in the first place.”
Here are 51 drug-fuelled paintings from his series Self Portraits Under the Influence of Love and Other Drugs
25I-NBOMe
.
Abilify / Xanax / Ativan (dosage unknown in hospital)
.
90mg Abilify (after 3 months usage 3x maximum dose)
.
1 sm Glass of “real” Absinth (not the fake crap)
.
10mg Adderall
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10mg Ambien
.
Bath Salts
.
15mg Buspar (snorted)
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4 Butalbitals (doseage unknown)
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Butane Honey Oil
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250mg Cephalexin (painted w/ watercolor pencil, water and cephalexin)
.
1/2 gram Cocaine
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Computer Duster (2 squirts)
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2 bottles of Cough Syrup
.
1 “Bump” of Crystalmeth
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4mg Dilaudid
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1 shot of Dilaudid / 3 shots of Morphine (In the ER with kidney stones)
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DMT (during and after)
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60mg Geodon
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Hash
.
Heroin (Snorted)
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Huffing Gas (during and right after)
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Huffing Lighter Fluid (during and right after)
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7.5mg Hydrocodone / 7.5mg Oxycodone / 3mg Xanax
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3mg Klonopin
.
10mg Lortab
.
Marijuana (Kine Bud)
.
G13 Marijuana
.
Morphine IV (doseage unknown)
.
Psilocybin Mushrooms (2 caps onset)
.
2mg Nicotine Gum (after quitting smoking for 2 months)
.
Nitrous Oxide
.
Nitrous Oxide / Valium I.V. (doseage unknown in hospital)
.
PCP
.
7.5mg Percocet
.
2 Pot Brownies
.
1 Glass of Pruno
.
Marijuana Resin
.
4mg Risperdol
.
Ritilin (doseage unknown-snorted)
.
Salvia Divinorum (right before but mostly right after)
.
100mg Seroquel
.
100mg Tramadol
.
100mg Trazadone
.
20mg Valium
.
Valium I.V. (doseage unknown in hospital)
.
Valium IV, (Albuterol, Saline & Oxygen mixture)
.
2mg Xanax
.
50mg Zoloft (after 2 weeks)
.
10mg Zyprexa (after 2 weeks in hospital)
.
Ativan / Haloperidol (doseage unknown in hospital)
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PocketMedia playback is unsupported on your device Media caption How Brucie entertained us for decades
Sir Bruce Forsyth, the veteran entertainer and presenter of many successful TV shows, has died aged 89.
The former Strictly Come Dancing host had been unwell for some time and was in hospital earlier this year after a severe chest infection.
His long career in showbusiness began when he was aged just 14.
He became Britain's best-paid TV star, famous for hosting game shows like The Generation Game, Play Your Cards Right and The Price is Right.
He also presented BBC One's Strictly with Tess Daly from 2004 to 2014.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Former BBC chairman Lord Grade: Sir Bruce "still had twinkle in eye"
A statement from his manager Ian Wilson said he died "peacefully at his home surrounded by his wife Wilnelia and all his children".
"A couple of weeks ago, a friend visited him and asked him what he had been doing these last 18 months. With a twinkle in his eye, he responded, 'I've been very, very busy... being ill!'" he added.
Sir Bruce's family thanked "the many people who have sent cards and letters to Bruce wishing him well over his long illness", adding there would be no further comment at the moment.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Sir Bruce was a household name by the 1960s
Tributes have been paid by his friends and admirers in the showbusiness world. Sir Bruce's Strictly co-host Tess Daly said she was "heartbroken".
"From the moment we met, Bruce and I did nothing but laugh our way through a decade of working together on Strictly Come Dancing and I will never forget his generosity, his brilliant sense of humour and his drive to entertain the audiences he so loved," she said.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption How Sir Bruce Forsyth wound up Sir Sean Connery - and other stories
Former Strictly judge Len Goodman also paid tribute, saying: "As long as I can remember there has always been Bruce on our TV.
"His work ethic, professionalism and charm will be with me forever. Bruce it was nice to see you to see you nice."
Strictly presenter Claudia Winkleman, who replaced Sir Bruce after he left the show, tweeted that he was "the King of TV, the Prince of performers and the most generous of people... all toe-tapping twinkle, all kindness, all love....
"The Bruce you saw really was the man he was. We'll miss him so much."
Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood added: "Extremely sad to hear the news of Bruce's passing. A true legend and national treasure. He will be deeply missed but always remembered."
Former judge Arlene Phillips said the entertainer was an "indestructible titan, tap dancing his way through life".
She added: "Working with him on Strictly was personally a joy. |
and rear bumpers enable the car to pinpoint car spaces at the press of a button. The driver must still select reverse and apply the brakes but the car will steer itself perfectly into position. The arrival of such technology — including driverless Google Maps cars — has prompted safety experts to question whether it is a good idea to gradually take control away from the driver. Detractors say technology cannot be relied upon. But, reportedly, the only time a Google Maps car was involved in a crash it was driver error.
This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowlingYou didn't think brands were going to ignore a potential $110 billion marketplace, did you?
Owing to concerns about the economy, limited space or the environment, more people are exploring the sharing or collaborative economy. And multiple industries are watching as hot startups promote and provide services that people have quickly come to rely on and integrate into their lives.
Jeremiah Owyang of the Altimeter Group follows this trend closely and predicts that "business models as we know it are about to change."
So what's a brand to do when we're all out there sharing, renting, gifting and bartering with each other and cutting out corporations?
If you were in New York City this week and saw some awfully familiar looking pretty blue bikes, you've got one example. Citibank is the lead sponsor of NYC's new Citi Bike bike-sharing program. For the chance to brand the bikes with their look, Citigroup put up millions that helped make the program happen - money that, without a big name sponsor, would likely have been put to tax payers.
The successful brand of the future will need to incorporate utility and service into its marketing strategy, regardless of the industry, and understand that trust and authenticity is more important than ever. Sharing may be the future of business.
Find out more in the latest episode of The Content Brief from Freshwire below.Mohammed Morsi, in office only a year as the first democratically elected leader of Egypt, was ousted from power by the military Wednesday as a euphoric crowd in Tahrir Square cheered his exit.
The commanding general of the armed forces said on Egyptian television that the constitution was suspended and that the head of the constitutional court would be the acting president. He said new elections would be held, with the timing to be determined later.
Armored vehicles, tanks and troops deployed throughout the Egyptian capital, and the military convened a meeting with political opponents of Morsi and religious leaders.
Morsi was elected a year ago after Egyptians ousted Hosni Mubarak, the autocrat who ruled for almost three decades. Egyptians hoped he would build a more pluralistic and tolerant country.The Mets are thinking big. Whether they act big remains to be seen.
The team, after acquiring Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson from the Braves on Friday, is exploring a number of larger trades, major-league sources say.
Here, according to sources, is where the Mets’ various pursuits stand:
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A push for Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki left the Mets under the impression that Colorado does not want to trade him.
The Mets, however, also have looked into acquiring both super-utility man Ben Zobrist and reliever Tyler Clippard from the Athletics, a deal for Reds right fielder Jay Bruce and, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman, a trade for Padres left fielder Justin Upton.
No deal appears close.
The Athletics, in fact, expect to receive better offers from other clubs for Zobrist and Clippard, most likely in separate trades.
The possibility of the Mets adding Bruce might also be gone – the team discussed with the Reds an exchange of Bruce for right-hander Zack Wheeler, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, but the talks apparently did not gain traction.
As for Upton, the Mets balked at the Padres’ request for at least one top prospect, and the Pads did not offer to pay any of the remaining portion of Upton’s $14.5 million salary, according to CBS Sports.
The New York Daily News first reported that the Mets would consider trading Wheeler. Rival executives say the Mets are deep enough in prospects to make a significant move without including any of their other top young pitchers in a trade.
Mets general manager Sandy Alderson told reporters earlier this week that the team can take on a “major” contract. The addition of Tulowitzki, who is owed more than $100 million and under club control through 2021, certainly would qualify.
The Rockies, however, still do not appear motivated to move Tulowitzki, who – as a player with 10 years of service, five consecutively with the same club – will gain the right to veto any deal on Aug. 30, 2016.
The Mets, as first reported by Newsday, also made an aggressive bid for the Brewers’ Gerardo Parra on Thursday night before calling up outfielder Michael Conforto from Double-A.
While the Mets offered a pitching prospect that the Brewers had asked about previously, the interest in Parra is now to the point where the Brewers believe they can do even better.
Parra, a potential free agent, has batted.344 since April 25 and ranks eighth in the NL in slugging, ahead of Anthony Rizzo, Buster Posey and Andrew McCutchen.There are many possible explanations for hauntings, not least that humans are highly suggestible creatures, especially when we want to believe. But some ghost sightings might actually be the result of sounds — sound waves that vibrate just below our range of hearing, dubbed the “fear frequency.”
Sound is basically mechanical energy in the form of a pressure wave with crests and troughs: vibrations create a disturbance in the surrounding air and ripple outward, like tossing a pebble in a pond. Frequency measures how many crests occur within one second in a wave. The unit of measurement is called a Hertz (Hz), and 1 Hz is equivalent to 1 vibration per second. A plucked guitar string might vibrate 500 times per second, causing surrounding air particles to vibrate at the same frequency, so the sound wave’s frequency would be 500 Hertz.
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The typical range for human hearing runs from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz (20 kHz), although this varies from person to person, and shrinks as we age. Under ideal lab conditions, some people can pick up sounds as low as 12 Hz — well into the “infrasound” range. But even when we don’t consciously hear such sounds, they may induce feelings of anxiety, especially at higher intensities. This has led some people to dub infrasound in the 18.9 Hz range — i.e., just a tad below the threshold for human hearing — the “fear frequency.”
We can thank a British engineer named Vic Tandy for associating this so-called fear frequency with ghostly visitations. He was a real-life ghost buster, thanks to his own personal experience with a suspected “ghost” while working late one night at the (supposedly haunted) Warwick Laboratory. He inexplicably felt the hairs on his neck prickle, as if in fear, and caught the barest glimpse of a gray blob-like figure out of the corner of his eye. It vanished when he turned his head to look at it directly.
Being a sensible sort, he cast about for a logical explanation, and he found one in the phenomenon of resonant frequency. Every material object has a natural resonant frequency at which it vibrates. If there is another object nearby that is sensitive to the same frequency, it will absorb the vibrations (sound waves) emanated from the other object and start to vibrate in response. The effect is known as “sympathetic resonance.” It’s why running your damp finger along the rim of a crystal wine glass produces a faint hum, and why a chord struck on one piano will be echoed by a piano in another room.
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While working on a fencing foil the next day in the lab, Tandy noticed that the blade began vibrating even though nothing was touching it. It turned out that the lab’s extractor fan was emitting a resonant frequency of around 18.98 Hz, also roughly the same resonant frequency as the human eye.
He concluded that the gray blob he’d seen was an optical illusion, the result of his eyeballs resonating at just that frequency. Ditto for his feelings of anxiety and fear. “When we finally switched it off, it was as if a huge weight was lifted,” he told the Guardian back in 2000.
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Tandy died in 2005, but others have carried on his work. Psychologist and paranormal debunker Richard Wiseman and a few UK colleagues conducted their own mass infrasound experiment in May 2003 via a public concert they called Infrasonic. Some 700 people showed up for the two performances, featuring two pieces of music that contained the critical 17 Hz tones at a volume right at the edge of human hearing. (Other pieces without those tones served as controls, since the audience didn’t know which of the pieces had those near-infrasonic tones.)
The result: It wasn’t a slam dunk in terms of hard evidence — there’s a lot of subjectivity at play, and scientists still aren’t sure why infrasound affects some people and not others — but a good 22% of the audience reported feeling anxious, uneasy, fearful, pressure on the chest, or a chill down the spine. As Wiseman told the British Association for the Advancement of Science when he reported his results, “These results suggest that low frequency sound can cause people to have unusual experiences even though they cannot consciously detect infrasound.”
A 2008 experiment led by British psychologist Christopher French proved even more intriguing. With colleagues from University of London College, he built a “haunted” room rigged up with infrasonic generators (as well as sources of electromagnetic pulses); 79 brave Londoners volunteered to spend some time inside.
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“Most people reported at least some slightly odd sensation, such as a presence or feeling dizzy, and some reported terror, which we hadn’t expected,” French told Scientific American in 2008. But he stopped short of claiming that low-frequency electromagnetic fields or infrasound were the direct cause of such feelings; suggestibility seems to also play a role.
Incidentally, infrasound is also associated with the infamous “brown note”: sound frequencies between 5 and 9 Hz that are rumored to make people lose control of their bowels. Those rumors appear to stem from the early days of the U.S. space program, when astronauts reported adverse effects from vibration tests. Subsequent studies however, including a 2005 investigation by TV’s Mythbusters, haven’t shown any such effects.
References:
French, CC., Haque, U., Bunton-Stasyshyn, R., Davis, R. (2009) “The “Haunt” project: An attempt to build a ‘haunted’ room by manipulating complex electromagnetic fields and infrasound,” Cortex 45 (5): 619–629.
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St-Pierre, LS; Persinger, MA. (2006) “Experimental facilitation of the sensed presence is predicted by the specific patterns of the applied magnetic fields, not by suggestibility: re-analyses of 19 experiments,” International Journal of Neuroscience 116 (9): 1079–96.
Tandy, Vic and Lawerence, Tony. (1998) “Ghosts in the machine,” Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 62 (851): 360-364.
Tandy, V. (2000) “Something in the cellar,” Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 64(3): 860.
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Wiseman, Richard. Paranormality: Why We See What Isn’t There. London: Spin Solutions Ltd., 2011.
20kHz is a new blog exploring the technology and science behind music and sound. Follow us @20kHz.This episode of iZombie, titled “Abra Cadaver,” gives us a glimpse into the world of magical conventions.
Rose McIver (Liv) wows us with her ease in slipping into character, the Major/Liv ship moves forward with Major understanding what he’s getting into, and Ravi reflects a part of ourselves with his love for Twitter and fangirling.
Rose McIver is a stunning actress who never fails at the roles thrown at her. In this episode, Liv is poetic and dark after eating the murdered magician’s brain. Everything that passes her lips is about the frailty of life and death. (Loads and loads of death.) She’s so committed and engrossed in the personality that she’s taken on that we believe it when she’s chanting under a veil with candles around her. We join in on the ride/adventure that is Liv Moore’s zombie existence without question. If anyone else were to play Liv Moore, they would probably look like a cheesy goofball chanting under that veil.
The Major/Liv ship is sailing true, ladies and gentlemen. Part of this episode’s huge development is that Major finally could see the true Liv Moore. He manages to accept that she may be different in wide and varying ways, but she’s still the woman he fell in love with. It’s an opening that we hope he uses to tell Liv the truth.
If he can accept that she changes daily, depending on the brain she eats, then maybe she’ll understand his part in the Max Rager mess. The sooner he tells her the stronger his new found relationship with Liv will be. If she finds out on her own it will destroy the progress they’ve made together.
Everything that comes out of Ravi’s mouth feels like it’s being pulled from the fans brains. His love of Twitter is identical to ours. Even his absolute knowledge of everything to do with magicians speaks to fans. The showrunners have shown us that even the smartest, cutest, and friendliest people can be geeks extraordinaire. It’s a welcoming feeling that shows that the showrunners understand fan culture and are embracing it. Think about how many sci fi dramas on TV have acknowledged that during an episode.
Other Observations:
The folder labeled “occupant” is going to shake things up. Possible items inside could be pictures of Major killing people, Blaine turning zombies, or evidence of Max Ragers wrongdoings. Want more Blaine in your life? Check out this week’s episode of Once Upon a Time iZombie.
Let’s cross our fingers and hope that the next episode, titled “The Hurt Stalker,” keeps Ravi safe and pushes Major to spill the beans on his murder spree.
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iZombie airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on The CW.
You might also like:You wake up, rub your eyes, and roll out of bed.
Another day, another week, another new year.
Another chance to either start new, or change nothing and continue to get the same results.
What choice will you make?
Some people choose to transform their life – but more often than not, that choice falls to the waste side after a few weeks as they fall back into their old habits. Others don’t even try, because they don’t want to make any more false promises to themselves.
The majority of people end up more or less where they started at the end of the year. But this doesn’t have to be the case for you.
You actually can transform your life in 2017 (or at any time for that matter) and make that transformation stick. Whether that be to start a successful business, begin traveling the world, live your dream lifestyle, improve with women, or whatever it is you want to do in this big world.
Bonus: and discover the 5 conversation mistakes that put you in the friendzone.
But before you can do so, you need to take the first step – one which, coincidentally, most people never take:
Realize and believe that it’s possible.
Sure, maybe you’ve heard of people who are working online, traveling the world, running online businesses, etc. – but it can still sound like a pipe dream until you’ve seen it up close and had more exposure to it.
Especially because most people in society will tell you that it’s impossible (I know many people told me so – they’re not saying much now, though).
In short, you don’t truly believe it’s possible. And so, you don’t seriously take the steps to achieve that kind of lifestyle transformation.
But once shift your mind into realizing it’s possible, something interesting happens – you start to think of ways to make it happen. You begin to ask yourself the right questions like “How can I do X?” instead of shrugging off your ambitions like “I could never make X happen…”
And so, you start coming up with solutions instead of stagnating in frustration. But in order to do so, you need to take that first step of realizing and believing it’s possible.
So, how do you start believing your dreams – and a true lifestyle transformation – are possible?
There are two great ways to do it: 1) Consume information that will open your mind to more possibilities, and 2) meet people who are doing what you once considered “the impossible”. In this article, you’ll learn how to do both…
Read Books / Listen to Podcasts That Open Your Mind
There are already people out there doing “the impossible” – and the awesome part is, some of them have already written and talked about it.
By reading and listing to books and podcasts, you expose your mind to new possibilities.
You should choose books and podcasts around areas you’re most interested in, in terms of lifestyle and career. I’ll show you some of the books and podcasts that really opened my mind and let to big shifts in my life.
The Books That Opened My Mind…
The Game by Neil Strauss. This is a bit of a controversial book, but it opened my mind to what was possible in terms of 1) meeting and attracting women and 2) living a lifestyle of adventure.
I learned that you can take control of your dating life and also live sort of a helter-skelter lifestyle of adventure. These ideas planted seeds in mind that led not only to the creation of this blog, but also a lifestyle where I can travel wherever I want on a whim. As a college student in the middle of getting an accounting degree, I had no idea either of these were really possible until I read this book.
The 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss. Before I read this book, I had very limited knowledge of online business. I knew it existed, but I didn’t really believe it was something I could do. This book was like a big slap in the face that said, “YES Dave, you can escape the rat race, travel the world, and live the lifestyle of your dreams, all while you make money online!”
Both of these books had a hand in inspiring the writing of my own best-selling book, Conversation Casanova.
Yes, I wanted my book to show people how to start conversations and flirt like a pro, but I also aimed to provide a deeper meaning. Hence why I included stories of traveling the world, pursuing a lifestyle of freedom, and overcoming the limitations of society’s “rules”. The goal was to help people expand their own ideas of what was possible – and so far, it’s been doing exactly that.
The Podcasts That Opened My Mind
Tropical MBA. I remember listening to this show back in my first full-time cubicle job after college. It taught me a ton about online business and helped plug me into a community of entrepreneurs. I ended up attending their conference in Bangkok a few years ago, and one of the hosts showed up at the launch party for the daily cafe hustlin’ music video in Vietnam!
Entrepreneur on Fire. Up until a few years ago, I didn’t know many entrepreneurs. The whole idea of entrepreneurship seemed foreign to me. It seemed like everything I’d learned in college was pushing me to plug into the corporate world and climb the ladder.
But this podcast gave me an inside look into entrepreneurship. The host, John Lee Dumas, interviews a different entrepreneur every single day. I learned about all the types of different business you can start, the industries you can learn, and more. It was a constant reminder that entrepreneurship and freedom were possible.
Hell, I even took some notes on each episode I listened to!
(These notes are from 3+ years ago – and funny enough, I ended up hanging with John Mcintyre in Medellin!)
Hang Out With People Who Do the Impossible
You truly are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. So, make sure those are good people who are doing cool shit.
I’ve been lucky enough to hang with awesome entrepreneurs in Saigon, Medellin, Boston, and Mexico – and I’ve learned from all of them.
I’ve also picked roommates who I know I could learn from, and this has made a huge difference. For example, I lived with David De Las Morenas from How to Beast. He helped me build the habit of working out and showed me what was possible with Amazon self-publishing (eventually helping me to write a best-selling Amazon book). I’ve lived with others who taught me how to cook healthy, set better goals, speak Spanish, and more.
When you hang with great people, your mind will open up to more possibilities. But how do you do this?
Go to Meetup Groups and Events
Search Meetup.com for events and meetups that match up with your passions and the direction you’d like to take your life. For example, if you want to become a web developer, search for meetups with developers.
Beyond that, you can also attend relevant conferences (like I did in Bangkok). For example, there are plenty of online business conferences every year in the USA. These are great places to network with people, improve your skills, and get new insights.
Focus on Adding Value
Always give value where you can in your relationships. You never know what might happen.
So, how can you give value in your relationships? Here are a few tips:
Follow through on your promises (even the small ones like “I’ll email you about x later on!”)
Connect people with other people that can help them
Genuinely care for people and don’t expect anything in return
Invite people to cool events and get-togethers
Build Relationships
When you meet cool people, don’t just expect a relationship to flourish. You need to take an active role to build it.
Aim to hang with new people within a week or two after you meet them – that way, the initial interaction is still fresh in their minds. From there, you can ask the right questions to connect with them and build a deeper relationship.
Take Risks
If you want cool shit to happen, you need to put yourself out there. It’s a lot easier to sit on the couch instead of take the risk of going to an event where you don’t know anybody. But the latter has the potential to change your life, even though it can be a bit scary.
Conclusion
You can transform your life in 2017. The lifestyle and career you want are out there for the taking – but in order to grasp them, you need to first realize that it’s possible.
In doing so, you’ll start to think up solutions and take the steps you need to achieve it.
Read More: The Problem With “Doing What You Love” (And What You Should Do Instead)
If you liked this post, you’ll love my best-selling book: Conversation Casanova: How to Effortlessly Start Conversations and Flirt Like a Pro. You can grab the book on Amazon here.Apple just announced its worst quarter in over a decade.
On Tuesday afternoon, Apple reported that its sales and profit both fell last quarter -- a rarity for a company that has been growing at a rapid pace, even as it has become the largest technology company on the planet.
The last time Apple's sales fell year over year was the first quarter of 2003. At that time, the PowerMac was still the company's bestseller. Apple had sold a grand total of 611,000 iPods. And Apple hadn't yet launched the iTunes Music Store.
Now, more than two-thirds of Apple's revenue is made up of iPhone sales. So where the iPhone goes, so goes Apple -- and last quarter was a miserable one for Apple's signature gadget. IPhone sales fell for the first time in history.
But ever-sinking iPad sales and flat-lining Mac demand didn't help Apple's case either. Neither did a strong dollar and a very weak Chinese market.
"We had a very busy and challenging quarter," CEO Tim Cook said on a conference call with investors. "Despite the pause in our growth, the results represent excellent execution by our team in the face of strong macroeconomic headwinds."
Wall Street analysts had predicted that Apple would have a somewhat lousy quarter. But they didn't think it would be quite this bad.
Apple's (AAPL) stock plummeted 8% in after-hours trading, to below $100 a share.
iPhone
First quarter of 2015: 61.2 million
First quarter of 2016: 51.2 million, down 16%
It was going to be hard for Apple to beat iPhone sales from the same quarter a year ago, when the iPhone 6 debuted in China. Apple released the iPhone 6S to China in September along with the United States, so it didn't get the first-quarter iPhone boost that it had from Chinese customers a year earlier.
Apple actually sold slightly more iPhones last quarter than Wall Street analysts had expected. Cook said the upgrade rate for the iPhone 6S has been higher than for the iPhone 5S but slower than for the iPhone 6.
The iPhone had a few strong points, however: India iPhone sales were up 56%, and Cook said the rate of customers switching from Android was the highest ever.
iPad
First quarter of 2015: 12.6 million
First quarter of 2016: 10.2 million, down 19%
IPad sales fell for the ninth straight quarter, though they inched past analysts' forecasts.
Mac
First quarter of 2015: 4.6 million
First quarter of 2016: 4 million, down 12%
PC sales fell by 10% worldwide last quarter, according to Gartner. Apple had been outpacing the overall industry, but this is the second straight quarter in which Mac sales performed worse than the overall PC market.
Mac sales were relatively abysmal, badly missing Wall Street analysts' expectations. They expected 600,000 more Macs to be sold during the quarter.
Profit
First quarter of 2015: $13.6 billion
First quarter of 2016: $10.5 billion, down 22%
Apple's profit hadn't fallen since the last quarter of 2013.
Last time Apple reported earnings, it posted the most profitable quarter in corporate history.
Sales
First quarter of 2015: $58 billion
First quarter of 2016: $50.6 billion, down 13%
The double-digit sales loss was Apple's first since the fall of 2001. At that point, Windows 98 was the dominant computer operating system, and no one knew what an iPod was, because it hadn't been introduced yet.
But for some perspective, Apple is expected to have produced more revenue in an off-quarter than the company posted in all of 2009.
The strong dollar hurt Apple, just as it has hurt many other American companies this past quarter. Had the dollar not strengthened from a year earlier, Apple said sales would have been down just 9%.
Current quarter's sales
Second quarter of 2016 forecast: $41 billion to $43 billion in sales
Apple's forecast was well below Wall Street analysts' initial expectations. They had been expecting sales of $47.4 billion for the current quarter before Apple issued its outlook.
It's even farther below the $49.6 billion in sales Apple posted during the second quarter of 2015. Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri said the divergence between Apple and Wall Street's forecasts is due to Apple reducing its inventories to meet slumping demand. The new, cheaper iPhone SE will also drag down sales, Maestri said.
Apple analysts have their collective fingers crossed that the iPhone 7 can reboot the Apple sales growth machine. In the meantime, the next few quarters are going to be stinkers.
China sales
First quarter of 2015: $16.8 billion
First quarter of 2016: $12.5 billion, down 26%
Sales in all regions fell, but none more than in China.
Services
First quarter of 2015: $5 billion
First quarter of 2016: $6 billion, up 20%
One bright spot in Apple's quarter was its services business, which includes iCloud, the iTunes App Store and Apple Music. Services is now Apple's second-largest business unit, trailing only the iPhone in sales.
Cook said Apple Music now has 13 million subscribers.
Cash
Fourth quarter of 2015: $216 billion
First quarter of 2016: $232.9 billion
Apple posted another record cash hoard. Some critics would like to see Apple use that cash to buy up assets that will help the company grow stronger.
As a result, Apple increased its share buyback program by $35 billion and upped its quarterly dividend to 57 cents per share.Earlier this week, Glenn Beck announced that he would be speaking at a “Stop The Iran Nuclear Deal” rally in Washington, D.C. next week in order to be seen by God taking a stand for righteousness and life. While it is now clear that opponents of the deal do not have the votes needed to defeat it, Beck said he will still be attending the rally because he wants to ensure that he is seen doing the right thing “when Daddy comes home.”
Admitting that he is completely out of ideas on how to change the course of this nation and so now all that is left is prayer and supplication, Beck said that even though he cannot stop the Iran deal, he is still going to speak out.
“I’m not there to speak to you, I’m not there to speak to Congress,” he said. “I am there so I am standing before God Almighty so He sees me doing what I’m supposed to do because when Daddy comes home, I don’t want Him asking, ‘Did you do all the things I asked you to do?'”British Columbia hit a milestone this spring, when one out of every 25 new passenger cars purchased was electric, making it the leading province in the country for EV sales. But there are some potholes along the West Coast's "green highway."
BC Hydro signed a deal with a San Francisco company four years ago to expand a network of fast-charge stations. The deal would provide EV drivers with reliable battery charging services from B.C.'s interior down to California. These kinds of investments are meant to eliminate range anxiety – a critical selling point in persuading British Columbians to make the switch away from fossil fuels. But, as a leading proponent of electric vehicle sales discovered this past summer, the infrastructure still isn't as reliable as is needed.
Blair Qualey, president and CEO of the New Car Dealers Association of BC, took a Chevrolet Bolt EV on a road trip to the B.C. Interior, confident he'd be able to stop at a fast-charging station to juice up his car battery in the time it would take him to drink a cup of coffee.
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But the BC Hydro-owned DC charger he had been counting on was out of order, forcing him take a detour where he cooled his heels at a motel that offered a much slower, level-two charger – meaning hours of delay.
"As we're seeing an influx in EV sales, it's crucial that this is mirrored with infrastructure– the lack of charging infrastructure is the biggest barrier to EV adoption," Mr. Qualey said in an e-mailed response to questions.
Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in B.C., so encouraging electrification of vehicles makes sense as the province seeks to get back on track to meet its targets for reducing GHGs. In addition, as part of the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, B.C. – along with the other provinces and territories – has committed to developing a "zero emission vehicle strategy" by next year.
B.C., Quebec and Ontario together account for 95 per cent of all electric vehicles sold in Canada, and each of the three provinces offers incentives to buyers who opt for an electric car. Ontario offers the most generous rebates – up to $14,000 per vehicle, while B.C. and Quebec's rebates are smaller– perhaps because electricity costs are much lower than Ontario's. But financial incentives are just part of the picture: Drivers want to know that they won't, like Mr. Qualey, be stuck on the road with a dead battery.
BC Green leader Andrew Weaver loves driving his Nissan Leaf around Victoria, but he is skeptical about longer trips. It took two weeks for BC Hydro to repair its DC charger in Duncan, an hour north of Victoria, he noted. "If we were going to drive to Kamloops, there is no way in a million years I would drive my electric car because I'd probably get stuck on the Coquihalla Highway," he said in an interview.
Mr. Weaver raised the issue during debates with B.C. Energy Minister Michelle Mungall last week. He said there is no shortage of companies that want to install charging stations. The problem is structural – B.C. doesn't allow the resale of electricity to make the business model work.
When he is at the Legislature, Mr. Weaver's Nissan Leaf can often be found at one of the two EV charging stations behind his office. He doesn't pay for the power – and that infuriates him.
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"Unfortunately, the Legislature must subsidize the paying for that, because the Legislature cannot allow – even though all of these are set up for swiping a credit card – for me to pay for my electricity," he told the House. "I would argue that the single-biggest barrier to the introduction of electric vehicles in the province of British Columbia is, in fact, BC Hydro."
In Canada, only public utilities can sell power to consumers. In B.C. there are roughly 1,300 level-two charging stations, which are relatively cheap to install.
But the coveted fast-charge stations are, largely, a monopoly of BC Hydro. (For Tesla drivers, there are nine Tesla Supercharger stations in the province.)
Ms. Mungall acknowledged that it is a barrier, and said her ministry is working with the BC Utilities Commission to look at how to change the rules so that private charging stations can sell power to consumers.
She promised, also, that BC Hydro is working to improve the reliability of its 30 DC charging stations. around the province. "As we install these new technologies, we're learning a lot in terms of how we do maintenance," she said.
Mr. Weaver wasn't impressed. He said the problems with BC Hydro's quick-charge stations only highlight the need to find a way to let the private sector get involved.
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B.C.'s target is that by the year 2020, 5 per cent of the market for new light-duty vehicles will be emissions-free. It's not an unreasonable target – if the promised green highway is in good repair.Minnesota Vikings fans will be able to experience the team like never before in a 10,000-square foot interactive space located in the northwest corner of U.S. Bank Stadium. Set to be completed prior to the Vikings first preseason game fans will have the opportunity to participate in combine-themed events, including catching passes while wearing a virtual reality Vikings helmet, running a shuttle drill against a current Vikings player’s pace, and hitting a tackling sled that measures impact force. The space allows fans to track scores and compete against others at the various stations by wearing bracelets connected to the RFID system.
Designed by Dimensional Innovations and featuring MVP virtual reality technology, the privately-funded Voyage will be free for fans of all ages and open during all Vikings events. Within the innovative space, “As an organization, we constantly look to innovate and provide the best fan experience possible, and our approach was no different with the addition of the Vikings Voyage,” said Vikings Owner/President Mark Wilf. “The Voyage will bring fans together, allowing them to engage with their family and friends while celebrating Vikings history.”Watford manager’s stint in the media gave him the skills that would shape his approach to being in charge of a football team and lead to an FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace that could prove pivotal
At the age of eight, Quique Sánchez Flores would sleep with a radio under his pillow. “It was so I could listen to the sports shows and commentaries,” the Watford manager says. “I was completely crazy about sport, and it wasn’t just football. It was handball, basketball, tennis, hockey, rugby. I loved to follow every single sport and I started to understand every one of them.”
By the time Flores got to 15, he knew what he wanted to do with his life. He wanted to become a sports journalist. Happily for Flores, he would be talented enough to make it as a footballer and his career would take in 10 seasons at Valencia, two at Real Madrid, a curtain call at Real Zaragoza and 15 caps for Spain.
Quique Sánchez Flores, the fighter who prefers pragmatism to artistry at Watford Read more
Flores is not a man to be discouraged easily and, having hung up his boots in 1997, the right-back – who was part of the Spain squad at the 1990 World Cup – finally lived the dream. Over the next four years he wrote for a clutch of newspapers, chief among them Marca, El Mundo and Diario de Valencia, and he also worked as a football pundit for Spanish TV and radio.
If things had worked out differently, Flores says with a smile, he could have been in the Wembley press box on Sunday, filing an analysis piece or overview on the FA Cup semi-final between Watford and Crystal Palace. Instead, his immersion in media life was temporary but the way he talks about the period shines a light on his personality and, as he admits, it helped to give him skills that would shape his approach to management.
“I tried to use the time as a part of my preparation for becoming a manager,” Flores says. “For me, it was very clear. I have a coach inside me and I knew that the period would be short but I wanted to use it well. I learned a lot because I focused completely on what I was watching and then I had to explain it or write about it.
“It made me a better manager, because you needed to make different angles when you were analysing. I remember when I was working for different programmes on TV or radio, I would take a copy of the match, go home and spend three or four hours analysing it. I’d write my notes and, afterwards, go in to cut and edit everything, so I have experience of that. It was really interesting work. |
says Anisa Metzger, New Orleans green building coordinator for the U.S. Green Building Council.
A Portfolio of Options
“I want to see flooding eliminated, if not mitigated, in all of New Orleans,” says Carlson. But, he adds, he doesn’t think the city can rely on cisterns alone.
This is where the state, city, and green developers align. Make It Right and Global Green are using a suite of stormwater management and water re-use strategies that include porous concrete to slow the flow of runoff, and landscaping that helps to absorb rain.
Cities and states are slowly starting to approve more water re-use and rainwater systems, says Matt Petersen, CEO of Global Green. “We’ve know for generations and centuries this is a critical part of how we deal with storm water runoff, water shortages, and the general need to use less water in so many of our communities in America.”
Lisa Faust, director of communications at DHH, says the state will continue to work with groups such as Global Green to come up with a cistern design that is suitable for the damp New Orleans climate and that can serve as a demonstration project and test for whether this new application of ancient cistern technology can be used safely.
In the meantime, some cisterns will remain unused and the focus will turn to landscaping. Many of the new green homes are embellished with verdant rain gardens full of reeds and other wetland plants—an idea that seems odd to some of the residents. When asked what a rain garden is, Make It Right resident Robert Green responds with some hesitation. “What is it? Make It Right has some ideas that don’t fit into a black man’s scheme... It’s a rain garden.”California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill on Thursday that effectively bans state agencies from displaying or selling items bearing the Confederate flag.
The bill was introduced by an African-American assemblyman who contended that the flag is racist because it symbolizes the American southern states’ historical support for slavery. The bill was introduced after the state assemblyman, Isadore Hall, said his mother saw items at the Capitol Gift Shop in the state capital of Sacramento bearing the Confederate flag.
The bill passed 66-1, and the lone dissenter was a Republican who argued banning the flag would impede on First Amendment rights to free speech.
All indications are that California residents will still be allowed to use and display them privately, and will also be able to display them while protesting on state property.
The bill takes effect in January 2015.
Watch the report below, via KMPH:
KMPH FOX 26 | Central San Joaquin Valley News Source
[Image via Shutterstock.com]
[h/t Al Jazeera]
— —
>>Follow Andrew Desiderio (@forza_desiderio) on Twitter
[Note: Mediaite intern Andrew Desiderio is a student at The George Washington University.]
Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.comEven though WWE 13 won't be released until late October, the company has already started pushing the product by showing off the cover featuring WWE champion CM Punk on Raw. Along with that, the initial roster has been officially released.
It's important to remember that more downloadable characters will likely be introduced as the release date nears, but the original roster gives gamers a pretty good idea of what superstars will be in the popular video game this year.
Here's a full list of confirmed roster inclusions (via IGN):
Modern Era Superstars
John Cena Randy Orton CM Punk Undertaker The Rock Brock Lesnar Triple H Chris Jericho Daniel Bryan Cody Rhodes Sheamus Wade Barrett Rey Mysterio Zack Ryder Dolph Ziggler R-Truth Kofi Kingston The Miz Jack Swagger Santino David Otunga Kane Kevin Nash Christian Mark Henry Sin Cara Epico Primo Hunico Ted DiBiase The Great Khali Heath Slater Jinder Mahal Justin Gabriel Eve Torres Kelly Kelly The Bella Twins Kharma Beth Phoenix Alicia Fox
Attitude Era Superstars and Others (stars also listed above will be separate, vintage characters)
Steve Austin The Rock Triple H Undertaker Shawn Michaels Bret Hart Eddie Guerrero Edge and Christian New Age Outlaws Road Warriors X-Pac Vince McMahon Shane McMahon Stephanie McMahon Mankind Dude Love Cactus Jack Trish Status Lita Big Show Kane Davey Boy Smith Vader Mark Henry Ken Shamrock The Godfather Big Bossman Mike Tyson
Gallo Images/Getty Images
Most Surprising Omission: Alberto Del Rio
After being in last year's edition of the game, Del Rio is notably absent this time around. Between his Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank victories and two stints as WWE champion, he definitely has accomplished enough to warrant a spot every year.
Even right now, he's working as one of the company's top heels, so leaving him out of the game would be a truly puzzling decision. That's especially true when you consider that low-level superstars like Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel are included.
You have to believe he'll be added to the roster eventually, either before the game is released or as a downloadable character. If not, there will be a gaping hole in the roster.
Best Addition: Chris Jericho
Jericho's return to the ring hasn't been very successful in terms of results, but he's still one of the WWE's biggest stars, and you have to give him credit for helping put over other talent. Putting him back in the game provides a nice boost.
The best thing about Jericho is his extensive move set. Unlike other superstars that tend to get repetitive in video games because players key in on only a handful of moves, Jericho should bring a lot more variety if he's programmed correctly.
Other notable additions include Bret Hart and Mike Tyson. All told, it's one of the deepest rosters in a long time and should provide gamers with plenty of different options once the game is finally released.Single fathers are being asked to tell a Holyrood committee about their experiences as it launches an inquiry on the subject.
The Equal Opportunities Committee wants to know about the practical, social and financial challenges facing single fathers across Scotland.
It has issued a call for evidence from single fathers or those with shared custody of children.
There are almost 30,000 lone fathers with dependent and non-dependent children in Scotland, according to official statistics.
The committee wants to know about any specific day-to-day issues, such as access to children, support services or financial assistance.
Convener Margaret McCulloch said: "We know there are more households headed up by single fathers than ever before, yet there is no comprehensive picture of the experiences of single fathers and fathers with shared custody of children in Scotland. That is something our inquiry aims to change.
"While we are fortunate enough to have Christian Allard MSP on our committee, whose experience as a single father will help inform our inquiry.
"We are keen to hear from the hundreds of other single dads across Scotland on the unique practical, social and personal challenges they also face."
The committee is accepting evidence until February 21, with the inquiry due to take place in spring.
SNP MSP Christian Allard has been a single father for ten years and is a member of the Equal Opportunities Committee.
He said: "We have to remember that anybody can become a single parent at any moment so it's time for the Scottish Parliament to look at that.
"I think isolation is one of the key issues, and also work. Employers and colleagues are sometimes not keen to understand what a father goes through when a child is ill, so we need more support. We know that single mothers are getting that but we're not so sure that single fathers are so we want to hear from them.
"My children are grown up now so I would like to hear from other single fathers in Scotland. I remember being the only father at parent evenings and picking my children up at school. We want to hear about all experiences."
Bob Greig set up the Only Dads website in 2007 after struggling to find information and support on raising his children on his own.
He said the issues he hears most about from other single fathers are money, housing, isolation and balancing family life with work.
He told BBC Radio Scotland: "When you find yourself as a single father something unusual has happened, something often catastrophic like the death of a partner, so it is rarely a straightforward situation.
"Single parenting for dads starts with dad on the backfoot and men often find it difficult to find support."Czech bounced: president denied entry to Parliament
Updated
Czech Republic president Vaclav Klaus, made famous in a viral internet clip showing him pocketing a ceremonial pen in Chile, was not taking any chances of souvenirs being found in his pocket at Parliament House on Tuesday.
The president, in Canberra to address the National Press Club, was on his way for an interview with ABC1's 7.30 - which has its Canberra studio within the House - and through the security checkpoint.
Waiting for him there was Michelle Ainsworth, mild-mannered producer for 7.30, ready to usher him up to the ABC studio where reporter Chris Uhlmann was already seated at the desk, lights on, cameras focused.
But going through security with all the plebs was not on Mr Klaus's agenda. Ainsworth takes up the story.
"As soon as he saw the security device he stopped and said: 'I'm not going through there'," Ainsworth told ABC News Online.
"So I told him that everyone goes through. To which he repeated he wasn't going to go through.
"I told the security guard that he is the Czech president here for an interview, but he doesn't want to go through the metal detector.
"The guard's reply was blunt and to the point: 'I don't care who he is, everyone goes through'.
"So I told the president there were no exceptions. He replied, 'I will not go through. I'm leaving. I'm going back to my hotel. If you want to interview me you can do it there'.
"He didn't even say goodbye. He just left."
All that was left was for Ainsworth to return to the studio where Uhlmann still waited under the hot television lights, the sweat beginning to trickle down his neck.
"He won't come up," Ainsworth reported.
"Why not?" Uhlmann asked.
"He wouldn't go through security."
"Why not?"
"He just wouldn't go though."
And so that was that.
Back in April, on a visit to Chile, Mr Klaus was taped pocketing a ceremonial pen set with lapis lazuli gemstones in a video that went viral within hours.
Later he said he "takes things all the time".
He said he had a pen from a NATO summit in October and a notepad from the Latvian parliament.
"It is what people do regularly. They keep notepads and pens from such events," he said.
But back in the Czech Republic, the clip inspired a Facebook campaign in which the public was asked to contribute to a special collection for him.
Mr Klaus, an economist who is sceptical about climate change and the environmental movement, is on a private speaking tour of Australia organised by the Institute of Public Affairs.
The president spoke earlier at the National Press Club outlining his concern about what he calls the global warming doctrine.
"I consider [it] a new dangerous doctrine as a new attempt to control and mastermind my life and our lives," he said.
Topics: world-politics, government-and-politics, federal-parliament, canberra-2600, czech-republic
First postedAnders Kelto will be taking your questions on Tuesday. Leave your questions/comments at the bottom of the page.
For women in the African nation of Malawi, giving birth brings a high risk of death. The predominantly rural country has long had one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world.
Chief Kwataine, the headman in the district of Ntcheu, says the situation in his part of Malawi was especially dire when he first became chief just over a decade ago.
“People were delivering everywhere — on the road, on their way to the hospital. A lot of women were dying of [loss] of blood,” he says. And a lot of newborn children were dying, too.
Kwataine says the root of the problem was a culture of secrecy. In Malawi, it has long been taboo for women to discuss sexual matters, including pregnancy and childbirth. And many people here believe in witchcraft. Kwataine says expectant mothers feared that if they spoke openly about their pregnancies, someone might put a spell on their unborn children.
This secrecy meant that pregnant women were not talking to doctors or nurses, and they were not getting prenatal care. Most women gave birth at home, Kwataine says, with untrained traditional birth attendants who would refer women to the hospital only in an emergency.
Kwataine began to wonder how he could break through what he calls this cocoon of secrecy. “That’s why I came up with the secret mothers,” he says.
Advising in private
“Secret mothers” are female elders, elected by their communities, who keep tabs on pregnant women in their villages.
“We respect [the women’s] privacy, and that makes them willing to speak with us,” says Rachel Kalungama, 57, who serves as a secret mother in Madzanje Village. She is responsible for about five to 15 expectant mothers at any given time.
Kalungama says she didn't seek the position, but when she was nominated and earned the most votes, she accepted.
She takes about one day per week off from her usual duties as a subsistence farmer to serve as a secret mother. She receives no salary, but she attends regular training sessions on maternal health and nutrition, and she carries a cell phone — a rarity in this part of Malawi — so she can call a medical center if a woman she is visiting has health problems.
As Kalungama heads out on her weekly rounds, she tucks a small black notebook into her chitenge, a brightly colored fabric wrapped around her waist as a skirt. She walks along a narrow dirt path, past green fields of corn and tobacco.
She approaches a small brick home with a thatched roof, where a girl with a protruding belly sits on the front step. Kalungama sits down beside the girl and greets her.
“How old are you?” Kalungama asks. The girl is sixteen. “When is the last time you had your period? Have you visited the prenatal clinic?” Kalungama continues, taking notes as the girl answers. Then she asks the girl for her “health passport” — a small green booklet with her medical history.
Kalungama advises the girl to visit the prenatal clinic again next month, and she recommends that the girl eat plenty of beans and leafy greens — foods that are high in iron and folic acid, which are essential for fetal development. She urges the girl always to sleep under her bed net, to avoid mosquitoes that transmit malaria.
Friend or spy?
Continuing her rounds, Kalungama comes to the hut of Emily Chiloembwe, 32, who recently returned from the hospital with her fourth child. She cradles the baby in her arms.
I ask Chiloembwe what it's like to be visited by a secret mother.
“Honestly, when the secret mother first came to see me here, it was difficult to discuss my sexual matters with her,” she says. “I didn’t understand why I had to talk about such personal things with someone I barely knew.”
Plus, she says, she felt a bit threatened by the visits.
By law, women in Malawi must give birth in a hospital or medical clinic, and if they fail to do so, the village chief can fine them. (In Chiloembwe’s village, the fine is approximately $7, a large sum in this part of the country.) Chiloembwe says she feared that the secret mother might report her to the village chief if she did not follow the rules.
But eventually, Chiloembwe says, she came to see her secret mother as a friend, and she believes the program is saving lives in her village.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve buried any of our children in the cemetery,” she says.
Chief Kwataine says it has also been a long time since any women in his district died giving birth. So he is now trying to spread his secret mothers program to other villages across the country.
“Every day, every night, I’m on the road, making sure that all chiefs should end the maternal deaths in our country,” he says.
Malawi appears to be moving closer to that lofty goal. In 2006, the country launched a series of measures to make motherhood safer, and since then the rate of maternal death has declined — from 840 deaths per 100,000 births in 2000, to 460 per 100,000 in 2010, according to the World Health Organization. Kwataine credits much of that success to the secret mothers, whom he calls the “hub” of the safe motherhood program.
He also says the culture of the villages he oversees has changed in the last few years. Today, women speak openly about their pregnancies and encourage one another to seek medical care. Messages about safe motherhood are scrawled on the walls of many homes.
Kwataine hopes the rest of Malawi will follow his district’s lead.Because you can’t level the playing field until you have a map that everyone can see.
In the 19th century, foreign explorers came to Africa in search of ivory, rubber and slaves. Today, they come for Africa’s minerals — its copper, zinc and tungsten. The developed world needs them for its skyscrapers, cell phones and much in between.
The exchange is sometimes unfair. Often, African governments don’t know the value of the natural resources underground, but mining companies from the West — and, increasingly, China — do. That knowledge asymmetry has cost African countries and their citizens as much as $1.4 trillion over the past 30 years.
Mining companies know the true potential of these minerals, and the government doesn’t have a clue.
But a more level playing field may be in sight, thanks to a World Bank initiative that aims to compile Africa’s mineral maps into a single, public database: the so-called Billion Dollar Map. The goal is to give African nations as much information as possible about their natural resources so that they can earn a fair price for the minerals they sell, World Bank officials say.
While mineral maps of the African continent exist, most are private or piecemeal. The Billion Dollar Map is crucially different: Its contents will be available to the public. And that, experts hope, will minimize underpricing and corruption, and help governments get a fairer price for their countries’ resources.
“When a government licenses its acreage for mining companies, they really don’t know what’s underground,” says Paulo De Sa, the World Bank geologist in charge of the project. “The mining companies know what the true potential of these minerals is, and the government doesn’t have a clue.”
African government efforts to force mining companies to process minerals before export may backfire as they come up against weakening commodity prices and investor demands that mining firms reduce risky investments. In the last year alone, Zimbabwe, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Namibia, South Africa and others have hinted at, announced or put in place measures aimed at adding value to minerals exports, which would boost tax revenue, encourage the formation of new businesses and add jobs. Zimbabwe, which holds the world’s second-largest platinum reserves after South Africa, has taken a hard line. Late last year, President Robert Mugabe threatened to stop exports of raw platinum in a bid to force mining firms to process the metal domestically.
As many African leaders are keenly aware, ignorance is peril in the mining world. Over the past 30 years, African countries lost $600 billion to $1.4 trillion in “net resource transfers,” according to a Washington, D.C. think tank. Most losses occur when governments are persuaded to sell their natural resources — minerals, oil, timber — for less than they’re actually worth, or to purchase them back again at inflated prices.
Private mining companies have been mapping Africa’s minerals for decades, and nations with mining interests have entered the game, too.
The poorest countries tend to be hardest hit. In the DRC, one of the world’s most underdeveloped nations, underpricing mineral assets cost at least $1.36 billion between 2010 and 2012, according to a 2013 Africa Progress Panel report. Not coincidentally, Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler stands accused of purchasing private oil and mineral assets that once belonged to the Congolese state, only to resell them back to the government for as much as 300 times the purchase price.
The Gertler case “is an egregious example of what the World Bank is trying to prevent,” says Aly-Khan Satchu, a Kenyan financial markets and commodities trader who specializes in oil. “By making this information public, it makes it a little more difficult to sell assets at below-market rates, which is part of the African problem.”
Most developed countries already have mineral maps. Canada, for instance, has a geological survey of the entire country, which was compiled using exploration statistics from each province, and whose findings are publicly available online. In Europe, 29 countries are finalizing plans to produce a geological map of the entire European Union. Even Afghanistan has had its minerals mapped from the air by the U.S. Geological Survey.
The World Bank will first compile data on Africa’s buried minerals dating back to colonial times…
While private mining companies have been mapping Africa’s minerals for decades, nations with mining interests have entered the game, too. France launched a similar, though less ambitious, program a decade ago, and a consortium of European and African countries recently undertook another. With Chinese firms’ stake in Africa’s minerals growing fast, the Chinese government last year reached a memorandum of understanding with Kenya’s government to spend up to $70 million on aerial mineral surveys across Kenya.
And African governments themselves have access to decades of mineral knowledge … somewhere. Mining companies are often obliged to share their data with host governments. But it’s obscure, says Kenyan government geologist Martin Nyakinye. “If [the World Bank] project is going to help dig up such data and then put it in a format that everything is accounted for, then that is going to be very good for Kenya,” Nyakinye says.
To create the public minerals map and database, the World Bank will first compile historical data on Africa’s buried minerals dating back to colonial times, such as old mining reports and maps like this one of Kenya from the 1960s. As the data is gathered, the compilations will be turned into publicly available PDFs.
Then researchers will use satellites to georeference the data, identifying proper coordinates for mineral discoveries marked on outdated maps. All this geodata will be combined into a central database so that researchers, and anyone else, can see which regions have not yet been explored.
Cutting some of mineral exploration’s associated risk is likely to accelerate mining across the continent.
Next comes the process of filling in those gaps. Though it will be long and expensive, methods have much improved since the rudimentary maps of early 20th -century explorers.
“In the modern era, there are a lot of tools available,” says Gerhard Graham, a scientist at South Africa’s Council for Geoscience. Satellite data could be used to identify promising geographical features. From there, researchers might fly airplanes and helicopters low to the ground, measuring the color of light reflecting off the surface. Since different minerals reflect sunlight differently, scientists can predict what sorts of minerals the land is made of. Or pilots might attach magnetic equipment to their aircraft to test the metallic content of the land.
By cutting some of the risk associated with mineral exploration, the map is also likely to accelerate mining across the continent, according to people familiar with Africa’s minerals sector. “It become really risky when you drill, drill, drill and don’t find anything,” De Sa says. That’s why mining companies tend not to invest unless they’re confident they’re likely to find large-enough mineral deposits. The Billion Dollar Map may help companies more quickly reach that confidence threshold.
That, in turn, would generate more revenue for African governments in need of new income sources to finance their development.
“Even a small mine could create a couple thousand direct jobs in the area,” says Graham. “And that’s not even thinking in terms of potential infrastructure, and so on.”
That’s another reason that African governments have been clamoring for help in mapping their minerals. Already, the World Bank has invested $200 million over the past decade in similar programs within 10 African countries. It is currently geomapping the entirety of Malawi, believed to be rich in uranium and rare earth metals, at the request of Malawian officials.
To be sure, success depends on the goodwill of donors. The World Bank expects to raise $65 million in time for the decade-long project to launch this July, and De Sa is working to convince first-world governments like Australia, Canada, South Africa and the E.U. to furnish the rest. But it’s not always easy to wrangle resources for public benefit, and one thing’s for sure: Billion Dollar Maps don’t come cheap.Another art challenge by,, and!
For each challenge we interchangeably give ourselves an idea or topic to illustrate and a short, specified time to execute it in whatever shape or form... of course, without knowing what the others are going to come up with.
This week's topic is MidnightTea7's idea: "Chimeras - draw a fantastical creature made of more than one real species."
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This one should be titled "what the hell am I painting" actually.. Anyway, I only had time for something really simple, hence the semi-lion lady, who tries to look more enigmatic than animal..ish. Inspired by greek mithology in a way, and also by a popular meaning of the word 'chimera' - "to describe anything perceived as wildly imaginative or implausible".
So there you go, a wildly implausible sort-of a lion lady with a wildly imaginative sort-of a metallic, liquid not-a-helm-thingy on her head
A quickie, more or less. Had no time for something bigger, but it still took a bit too long. Photoshop CS5. Some minor refs used, mostly to get the shape of the lion nose right.
edit - WOW! Thanks for the DD guys! I really appreciate it
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Others!
daekazu's version:
MidnightTea7's version:
maudt's version:England players linked arms with their Samoan counterparts after their meeting in November 2014 in an apparent show of solidarity
Sharing gate receipts from autumn internationals is not the long-term solution to the Samoan rugby crisis, says World Rugby vice-chairman Agustin Pichot.
The Samoan Rugby Union (SRU) announced this week it was bankrupt.
But as it stands, host nations such as Scotland this weekend and England in a fortnight, are under no obligation to split revenues.
"It is not about three games. It's more complicated than that," Pichot said.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 live, he added: "Yes there is a problem. Let's not hide it. Is there an easy solution? No. Is there a long-term solution? Yes, and we are working on it."
Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, who is also chairman of the SRU, has asked the Samoan public to donate money to keep the sport alive.
England will give Samoa a goodwill gesture - thought to be around £75,000 - but there are no suggestions Scotland will do the same.
The Rugby Football Union and Scottish Rugby Union are covering the costs of Samoa's time in the country under a long-standing agreement.
Media playback is not supported on this device Highlights: Samoa 17-19 Wales
Given how hard it is for Samoa to generate their own revenues, the likes of former captain Dan Leo have called for a split in gate receipts when the Pacific Island sides tour tier-one nations.
But rather than sporadic financial contributions, Pichot insists the answer lies in regular structure and competition in the Islands.
"Although I think the revenue share is not fair, we must look long term," he said.
"The revenue model won't change the long-term plan of what is happening in Samoa, or Tonga or Fiji. It's about trying to find long-term competition. We have to work on the administration."
A Super Rugby side in the Pacific is widely considered a potential catch-all solution, and Pichot says "the possibility of expanding is being discussed".
"World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont and I didn't pay lip-service to tier two or the Pacific Nations, we went there to listen to the problems," he said.
"I have been there at least three or four times already. We are taking care of it - we are the first administration to do that."
Argentina 'on a learning curve'
The entire of the Argentina starting XV to face England on Saturday play for the Jaguares Super Rugby franchise
Before the game with England at Twickenham on Saturday, Pichot says the Pumas are on a "learning curve" after starting a "new era" last year.
The Jaguares joined Super Rugby in 2016, with the bulk of Argentina's players involved with the franchise.
And while the Pumas are relentlessly competitive in the Rugby Championship, they have struggled for consistency.
"In 2016 we started a complete new era," explained Pichot. "We started to play Super Rugby, and the implications of travelling, plus the Rugby Championship and the tours - that creates a big impact."
Joining the elite southern-hemisphere competition has also forced Argentina to change their style of play, according to Pichot.
"Suddenly you are playing teams in Super Rugby and it's a completely different ball-game to what Argentina are used to.
"But you have to adapt, and then you lose some of the fundamentals, and you have to adjust. Everyone talks about the scrum, and we lost grip of the scrum.
"Again, it is a learning experience, but let's get on and get better. We could have stayed as we were, sent all the players to England and France, and then just have four or five Test matches a year.
"But we took a grip, challenged the system. It's very tough, but this is the way forward. It is a long-term process, but I think it will pay off."
2006 - a special moment
Agustin Pichot celebrates after Argentina's famous win at Twickenham
Pichot was captain of the first - and last - Argentina side to win a Test match at Twickenham, a 25-18 victory in 2006.
On Friday, Pichot was reunited with his old half-back partner Felipe Contepomi, who was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Rugby.
"Playing with Felipe and our other team-mates was very special, and we went on to make history at the World Cup in 2007, reaching the semi-finals.
"It was a special moment in all our lives," Pichot added.
Listen to commentary of England against Argentina on BBC 5 live from 15:00 GMT on Saturday. Build-up starts at noon.The hits keep on coming for Rage Against the Machine bassist Tim Commerford, who earlier this week apologized for inspiring Limp Bizkit in an interview with Rolling Stone; now, Stereogum has pointed out that the Wakrat co-founder has shared some more of his rather blunt opinions in another Q&A with the same publication. Take a look at the most, ah, unconventional things he said below, but head on over to Rolling Stone’s official site to read the full play-by-play of his confrontation with Buzz Aldrin about faking the moon landing.
On voting: “ I don’t care whether a Republican or Democrat wins; the same shit’s going to happen. That’s why you’ll never see me at the ballot box ever… It’s all bullshit. They’re not the ones calling the shots. Whether it’s the heads of the corporations or the military guys that have been in there for 30 years, there’s no president coming in every four years and telling those motherfuckers what to do.”
I don’t care whether a Republican or Democrat wins; the same shit’s going to happen. That’s why you’ll never see me at the ballot box ever… It’s all bullshit. They’re not the ones calling the shots. Whether it’s the heads of the corporations or the military guys that have been in there for 30 years, there’s no president coming in every four years and telling those motherfuckers what to do.” On Donald Trump: “He has united these racist people in America to focus on immigration and at the last minute — mark my words — he’s going to drop out and he’s going to hand the sword over to Jeb [Bush], and Jeb will get all the supporters that Trump has.”
“He has united these racist people in America to focus on immigration and at the last minute — mark my words — he’s going to drop out and he’s going to hand the sword over to Jeb [Bush], and Jeb will get all the supporters that Trump has.” On ISIS: “I don’t believe ISIS is real. ISIS has been an inspiration for a lot of the songs that I wrote with Wakrat. I don’t believe that all the different factions in the Middle East have gotten together and said, ‘OK, we all hate each other and we all hate America, so let’s all put on the ISIS uniform and join forces and just become ISIS.’ That’s a bunch of shit. I don’t believe the Jihadi John beheading video. Go look at those videos and study them, and see if you don’t think they’re fake.”
“I don’t believe ISIS is real. ISIS has been an inspiration for a lot of the songs that I wrote with Wakrat. I don’t believe that all the different factions in the Middle East have gotten together and said, ‘OK, we all hate each other and we all hate America, so let’s all put on the ISIS uniform and join forces and just become ISIS.’ That’s a bunch of shit. I don’t believe the Jihadi John beheading video. Go look at those videos and study them, and see if you don’t think they’re fake.” On the lizard people running world governments: “[Cover-ups go] so much deeper than just the U.S. government. It’s the same people that put presidents in office all over the world. It’s a global conspiracy of people whose names we’ll never know, but they’re the ones who really run the show because they’re the ones with the deepest pockets.”
“[Cover-ups go] so much deeper than just the U.S. government. It’s the same people that put presidents in office all over the world. It’s a global conspiracy of people whose names we’ll never know, but they’re the ones who really run the show because they’re the ones with the deepest pockets.” On the moon landing: “The one thing I always questioned: We put the flag on the moon. Why did we put a metal rod on the top of it? Why wouldn’t we just plant it into the moon’s surface and have the astronaut pull it out and let it go and we can watch it do its dance on the moon? It would’ve been an image we couldn’t have faked and one that we would have never forgotten.”Wikipedia calls Bitcoin a cryptocurrency (a currency that relies on cryptography), but now it’s official. A federal judge in Texas has declared that Bitcoin is a currency and should therefore be regulated just like U.S. dollars or gold. The ruling represents yet another attempt to regulate Bitcoin transactions, threatening the original purpose of the currency.
While it looks like a recognition that Bitcoins are worth something, the decision threatens once again Bitcoin’s utopian concept. As a reminder, the Department of Homeland Security recently issued a seizure warrant on Bitcoin exchange service Mt. Gox because it didn’t comply to money transfer regulations.
Today’s decision goes in the same direction. BTCST, a Bitcoin-based hedge fund, claimed that “the BTCST investments are not securities because Bitcoin is not money, and is not part of anything regulated by the United States,” wrote Judge Amos Mazzant. She then stated the exact opposite of BTCST’s defense:
First, the Court must determine whether the BTCST investments constitute an investment of money. It is clear that Bitcoin can be used as money. It can be used to purchase goods or services, and as Shavers stated, used to pay for individual living expenses. The only limitation of Bitcoin is that it is limited to those places that accept it as currency. However, it can also be exchanged for conventional currencies, such as the U.S. dollar, Euro, Yen, and Yuan. Therefore, Bitcoin is a currency or form of money, and investors wishing to invest in BTCST provided an investment of money.
Bitcoin was born on the idea that nobody could regulate it. Instead of having a central bank, Bitcoins are just a chain of characters defined by algorithmic rules. Anybody can try to find new Bitcoins and anybody can verify if it is indeed a real Bitcoin or not. All of this is handled by opensource Bitcoin applications and a few proprietary variants.
The Bitcoin network is a peer-to-peer payment network, and nobody can intefere with it. The only real value of a Bitcoin comes from its users. Because Bitcoin owners are treating it as a currency, it becomes one. That’s what makes it beautiful and scary at the same time. Yet, Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto probably didn’t think that even the U.S. government would treat it as a currency and try to regulate it.Image copyright AFP/Getty
Three women who used to work at Google have filed a lawsuit against the technology giant, alleging it pays women less than men for comparable work.
The suit says Google is aware of the situation, but has not moved to fix it.
It comes as companies in Silicon Valley face growing scrutiny over gender relations.
Google is also under investigation by the US Department of Labor over its pay practices.
"It is time to stop ignoring these issues in tech," said Kelly Ellis, a former software engineer at Google and one of the women who filed the suit.
She posted on Twitter that she hopes the suit will force Google and other companies to change their practices.
The lawsuit, filed in a San Francisco court, says Google discriminates against female staff with lower pay, more limited promotion, and fewer advancement opportunities compared to men with comparable qualifications.
Ms Ellis, for example, was hired in 2010 at a level typically assigned to college graduates, although she had four years of experience, according to the lawsuit. A male colleague with similar levels of experience started on a higher rung.
She was also assigned to a less prestigious engineering role, the suit says
Ms Ellis resigned from Google four years later "because of the sexist culture", the lawsuit said.
Previous allegations
The complaint is seeking class-action status that would cover women working at the company in California for the last four years. They are looking for unpaid wages, among other remedies.
Google said it would review the lawsuit but disagreed with the "central allegations".
"Job levels and promotions are determined through rigorous hiring and promotion committees, and must |
blocks of sleep in 24 hours, i.e. the night sleep and the typical Latin siesta - the "6th hour nap".
Polyphasic sleep is quite widespread in animal kingdom. In a recapitulation of phylogeny, human babies also sleep polyphasically, and gradually lose their nap slots until they become roughly biphasic around the age of one. Human adults, as much as all great apes, are largely biphasic. Although a majority of westerners do not nap on a regular basis their alertness shows a slump in alertness in the middle of the subjective day. This slump can consolidate in a short block of sleep in free-running conditions.
The theory behind the Uberman's Sleep Schedule is that with some effort, we can entrain our brain to sleep along the ancient polyphasic cycle and gain lots of waking time on the way, mostly by shedding the lesser important stages of sleep (e.g. shortening Stage 1 of NREM, which seems to be just a transition state to the more "useful" stages of slow wave sleep).
To sleep or not to sleep polyphasically
Having presented polyphasic sleep as seen by its enthusiastic advocates, let us have a look at its physiological roots and implications. With every passing month, we accumulate a tremendous body of evidence of the vital role the sleep plays in memory and creativity. In addition, most of us have a good understanding that without sleep there is little chance for an intellectual accomplishment. Even more, we find it hard to stay awake unassisted for longer than 2 days. Although, super-human achievements have been well documented, where people like Peter Tripp (1959) and Randy Gardner (1965) stayed (semi-)awake for 8 and 11 days respectively, most of the mere mortals cannot even suffer through the first 48 hours of wakefulness and inevitably fall prey to slumber.
EEG measurements indicate that humans are basically biphasic. There is a single powerful drive to sleep during a subjective night, and a single dip in alertness in the middle of the subjective day. EEG measurements are confirmed by many other physiological variables such as temperature measurements, cortisol levels in the blood, melatonin level in the saliva, levels of other hormones, blood pressure, gene transcription, immune cell activity, subjective alertness, motor activity, and countless other parameters.
At the root of this periodicity is the activity of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the brain, which is driven by a 24 hour cycle of gene transcription changes running a classic feedback loop [ref: clock]. Tiny mutations in the genes responsible for circadian periodicity may lengthen or shorten the period of the circadian cycle. They can also lead to complete arythmicity. Many of such mutations have been studied in fruit flies and in mice. Human mutations leading to sleep phase disorders are also known (e.g. familial ASPS). However, for a vast majority of healthy humans, the length of the period is slightly longer than 24 hours. Dr Charles Czeisler has measured it to be 24.2 hours with amazingly little variation among individuals within the sample studied [ref: 24h]. The circadian cycle (incl. the gene transcription and the activity of the SCN) can be prodded and shifted slightly on a daily basis. The degree of the shift is determined by the phase response curve (PRC) and requires a very precise timing of the phase-shifting stimulus [ref: PRC]. In other words, with a stimulus such as light, physical activity, or social interaction, we can move the period of maximum sleepiness slightly. Although the precise measurements of the PRC speak of the possible shift of up to 3 hours in a single day with a single strong stimulus, it is hard, in practice, to shift one's circadian rhythm by more than 1 hour per day. We all get a little backward prod daily when we try to fit the 24 hour day. This daily resetting is painless for those who apply the principles of sleep hygiene. It occurs in the morning with light, activity, and/or stress. An increasing portion of the population use the alarm clock to do the job that should naturally by done by sunlight. This is not a healthy solution and is usually forced by our electrically-lit lifestyle with evening TV, evening reading, evening Internet, evening partying, etc. For those out of phase, it is easier to shift the sleep schedule to later hours (e.g. by activity late in the night) than it is to shift it back (e.g. by bright light in the morning). This asymmetry comes from the fact that we can consciously control the waking hours, which can only be used for a forward shift. It is easy to will oneself to stay up late. It is far harder to will oneself to wake up early. Naturally, an alarm clock can be used to accomplish the latter, but use of alarms should be avoided in chronotherapy and in healthy sleep due to disruptive effect of alarms on the progression of sleep cycles.
It is possible to shift the sleep phase. However, we do not know any biological mechanisms that could be used to reduce the length of a healthy sleep block without inducing a degree of sleep deprivation. Shifting the sleep phase has a relatively small effect on the length of the sleep block. The change is proportional to the degree of shift and has the same sign (i.e. shift delays reduce the length of subjective night sleep). Most importantly, the change reverts to baseline shortly after the shift. This illustrates the homeostatic nature of sleep control mechanisms that respond to phase-shifting stimuli by stabilizing the new sleep schedule at the new offset within a very short time (assuming little shifts generated by well-timed shifting stimuli).
Those well-defined effects of natural sleep affecting stimuli on sleep patterns lead to an instant conclusion: the claim that humans can adapt to any sleeping pattern is false. A sudden shift in the schedule, as in shift work, may lead to a catastrophic disruption of sleep control mechanisms. 25% of North American population may work in variants of shift schedule. Many shift workers never adapt to shifts in sleep patterns. At times, they work partly in conditions of harmful disconnect from their body clock, and return to restful sleep once their shift returns to their preferred timing. At worst, the constant shift of the working hours results in a loss of synchrony between various physiological variables and the worker never gets any quality sleep. This propels an individual on a straight path to a volley of health problems, which include cardiac disorders, suppression of the immune system, diabetes, gastrointestinal disorders, obesity, depression, chronic fatigue, sleep disorders, etc. Shift-workers are also at a higher risk of accidents and family problems (e.g. experiencing higher divorce rate). Shift-work should apply the laws of chronobiology to minimize the adverse effects on health. It is often better to keep workers working by night on a constant basis than to induce a regular jet lag and stress on a weekly basis by a cycle of never-ending schedule shifts.
It appears that polyphasic sleep encounters the precisely same problems as seen in jet lag or shift-work. Human body clock is not adapted to sleeping in patterns other than monophasic or biphasic sleep. In other words, the only known healthy alternatives are: (1) a single 6-8 hours sleep block in the night, or (2) a night sleep of 5-7 hours combined with a 15-90 min. siesta nap. Those numbers differ substantially across the population and there is no single recommended dose of sleep for everyone.
If a degree of pressure is exerted on the body clock, e.g. by going to sleep later than the body's optimum, the mid-day nap may serve as a compensatory buffer counteracting sleep deprivation. In such conditions, the nap may last longer than the usual 15-30 minutes. The more pressure is applied on the night sleep, the longer the siesta nap. Similar biphasic consolidation can also be produced experimentally in rats. It appears that with sufficient pressure, the nap may become longer than the night sleep, effectively reversing the sleep pattern by 12 hours. This effect confirms an important biphasic nature of the human sleep that is not fully accounted for by the present sleep models. In rare cases, individuals may learn to sleep in two blocks of 3-4 hours; however, in a vast majority of cases, the pattern in which sleep occurs in two equal blocks within 24 hours in unstable. In other words, individuals on the proportional biphasic schedule quickly fall back to long-night sleep and short siesta sleep, or back to monophasic sleep. Often, the portion of sleep that occurs during darkness takes the role of the night sleep. However, it is more likely, that this role is taken by that portion of sleep that was longer before the establishment of the proportional biphasic pattern. This again indicates the underlying physiological asymmetry between two sleep blocks in a biphasic pattern. In other words, the body remembers which sleep block is the subjective night block, even if that block happens to occur during the light period.
Through sleep deprivation, by employing the homeostatic component of sleepiness, polyphasic sleepers can increase the number of naps during the day to three. However, the pattern of one night sleep and three daily naps in highly unstable, and can be maintained only with a never-ending degree of sleep deprivation. Naturally, if you happen to use an alarm clock, you can easily run multiple "naps" during your circadian low-time during the subjective night. This is not possible during the subjective day (except in conditions of extreme sleep deprivation). To a degree, an alarm clock can also be replaced with your internal alarm (e.g. thinking "I must get up in 20 minutes"). None of "naps" executed in similar conditions will do the job of natural sleep. They are not only a waste of time, but they also contribute to dismantling your sleep control mechanisms. Dr Stampi's research on polyphasic sleep has also clearly identified the forbidden zones for sleep where naps are very difficult to initiate without substantial sleep deprivation. Those zones map well on the biphasic rhythm with the subjective evening naps preceding the core night sleep particularly ineffective for rested individuals. All the above findings inevitably lead to a conclusion that it is not possible to maintain a polyphasic sleep schedule and retain high alertness and/or creativity! As it will be shown later, practice is no less lenient in judging the impracticability of polyphasic sleep for creative individuals.
Anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that highly creative individuals perform best in a biphasic sleep pattern. However, the only valid rule of a thumb for maximizing creativity and alertness is to sleep then and only then when you feel sleepy. When this rule is applied, individuals may fall into a number of diverse schedules. They might be quite effective in any of these exemplary mono- and biphasic patterns: typical 7+2 or 6+1, long sleeper's 9+0, short sleeper's 3+1, or even 3+0, etc. Only you yourself can determine which schedule is optimum in your case. However, you can expect that if you are a normal healthy individual, this schedule will not be polyphasic. If you attempt 3+0.5+0.5+0.5, you will either be seriously sleep deprived (i.e. you will maintain the schedule only with the help of an alarm clock), or you will revert to 3+0.5, or more likely, you will fall back onto a standard 6+1 pattern. The possibility of hooking up your naps to the ultradian rhythm without sleep deprivations is a myth. Knowledge of chronobiology or an assistance from a chronobiologist can be of tremendous value here. See also: SleepChart freeware
Compression of sleep stages
One of the myths of "Uberman sleep schedule" is that it makes it possible to enter REM sleep and skip non-REM sleep stages entirely. That myth is derived from another false claim that implies a non-essential role of deep sleep. I will ignore these claims as standing in total disagreement with laboratory findings and models of sleep. Instead, let us focus on a more plausible claim of the possibility of compressing sleep stages.
It is true that people who are sleep deprived are able to enter deep sleep much faster than normal sleepers. After a period of sleep deprivation, less important stages of sleep are compressed, while the core SWS predominates. Also REM deprivation will result in REM upregulation at recovery time. Indeed, we are more effective at sleeping after we had been sleep deprived. Moreover, it is possible that the homeostatic control of sleep is not very efficient at detecting the true neural sleep need. If you look at our mammal relatives, you may be surprised that a giraffe can do well on 2 hours of sleep, while a bat may need 20. Smart and fast-learning elephants need 4 times less sleep than less brainy felines. Behavioral observations will then quickly lead us to the conclusion that the amount of sleep is not directly correlated with the amount and complexity of memory acquisition and neural computation.
We may then hypothesize that the sleep control may employ auxiliary physiological parameters that are only loosely related to the requirements of neural optimization. It is also possible, that if the night-time was not very useful as an activity time to early hominids, sleep control mechanisms might have attracted a number of additional physiological functions that might improve survival even if sleep lasted longer than what is needed for memory consolidation and optimization. Hence the possibility of all sleep mechanisms proceeding at leisurely rate with lots of added function that would not require loss of conscious awareness in the first place.
If the above thinking is correct, we might indeed be able to execute the same neural job in a shorter time given the favorable circumstances. However, little is known of the true nature of the link between neural optimization and homeostatic sleep control. Our present knowledge still seems to firmly indicate that you can maximize your creativity to sleep cost ratio only with free running sleep. In other words, there is no evidence that by playing with sleep deprivation, you can increase your creativity. The only possible exception might a tiny degree of deprivation resulting from delaying sleep by 30-60 minutes. Longer delays affect alertness beyond what might be considered a "gain". It is simply possible that between the extremes of free-running sleep and a slightly delayed sleep phase, the trade-off between (1) time gain due to sleep compression and (2) an accelerated homeostatic sleepiness might produce an optimum somewhere in between. Naturally, this tiny prod to a sleep cycle has nothing to do with the employment of alarm clocks, shattered schedule and never-ending battle with grogginess typical to those who experiment with polyphasic sleep. Moreover, even that little hypothetical intervention in the sleep cycle will inevitably result in phase shifts that may have numerous negative side effects, including, most obviously, the inability to function effectively in a society that is largely synchronized with daylight. Well-entrained free-running sleep is still your best bet for maximum cognitive performance.
Sleep and creativity: Less is more
The answer to the question "to sleep or not to sleep polyphasically" will depend on your goals and your chosen criteria. You may want to sleep polyphasically if you want to maximize the frequency of a waking activity (e.g. monitoring the instruments and the horizon in solo yacht racing). Yet you will definitely not want to sleep polyphasically if:
you want to maximize your creative output
you want to maximize your peak alertness, your average alertness, or minimize the impact of your worst alertness levels
you want to maximize the health effects of sleep, etc.
Paradoxically, not are you even likely to choose polyphasic sleep if you want to maximize the time spent in the waking state! Only when approaching substantial sleep deprivation can polyphasic schedule be superior to biphasic schedule in that respect.
Some people like firefighters or emergency surgeons may sacrifice their sleep for the sake of others. Most of the remaining population though will optimize their sleep for best health and best creative performance during the waking time. Polyphasic sleep is definitely not the answer to such optimization goals.
These are not the times of the pyramid of Giza when the genius of a designer had to pair up with a 50,000 drudges reduced to mere back-breaking labor. As we move towards the knowledge economy, it is the alert and creative minds that provide the basis of success in most projects. One minute of insight can be worth a century of shoveling! It might have been a single creative eureka that produced E=mc2. Probably even Einstein himself would not be able to track back the exact moment when his brain produced that formula. Nor would he be able to formulate a sure prescription for others for similar accomplishments. Human creativity is primarily a game of chance. Yet it breeds only on fertile grounds. Top-notch mind in a top-notch shape in conjunction with top-notch sleep is the best formula for more of such insights in the future. Polyphasic sleep is the antithesis of that formula!
If you scan the blogs of polyphasic experimenters you will see them choose an "engaging activity" again and again just to stay awake. Why would they prefer to meet people or go for a jogging over, for example, getting down to a mentally challenging project? Why would learning a difficult subject be a mental drag? Why would incremental reading have a torturing effect on their minds? As sports or social interactions boost the aminergic activity in the brain, these are effective counterweights to the homeostatic drive to sleep. At the same time, learning is a powerful contributor to the homeostatic sleepiness. Soporific power of learning is one of the most visible connections between sleep and memory. If you have problems with falling asleep, nothing serves as a better natural hypnotic than learning! Not just passive reading. Active learning! The best homeostatic sleeping pill I know is incremental reading. Naturally, you need a circadian component of sleepiness for the "pill" to work. Otherwise, learning (incremental reading) is, paradoxically, your best "creativity pill". It is the circadian phase that determines the positive neural feedback of learning that generates the creative enthusiasm, or the negative neural feedback of drowsiness.
There may more at stake though than just alertness, creativity, and long-term health. It is conceivable, that the sleep control centers in the brain become affected by polyphasic experiments. Researchers have noted cases where shift-work or other forced schedule patterns were able put the body clock out of kilter. Some have speculated that Peter Tripp suffered long-term consequences of his Awakeathon [ref: Tripp]. Polyphasic schedule is, naturally, far less drastic. Dr Stampi has put one Francesco Jost through a diet of 3 hours of sleep for 2 months without measurable adverse effects. Yet, looking at other neuropathophysiological processes, we might worry that it might be possible to actually kill cells in nuclei responsible for the SWS switch, REM on switch, REM off switch, etc. We know that disregarding mental hygiene, depression, excessive cell activity, hypoxia, and other neural stresses can lead to cell loss. As long as this area remains gray, playing with once sleep schedule is tantamount to dicing with once long-term ability to effectively control sleep cycles. This might be not much different from dieting, once you put your appetite control centers out of service, you are sentenced to a lifelong struggle with diets and yo-yoing weight.
Why less is more? Because by giving your brain as much sleep as it wants, you can be far more creative and productive in your waking time. Not just far more. In a polyphasic sleeper, the creativity may dip by an order of magnitude. Its like with top performance sports. Wrong timing of a dinner may cost Lance Armstrong his yellow jersey. Do not let yourself be marginalized in the race for intellectual excellence!
Claudio Stampi
Probably nobody knows more about polyphasic sleep than Dr Claudio Stampi. He dedicated his life to understanding ultradian rhythms and the art of napping. His passion for the idea was born three decades ago when, as a medical student, he was also a passionate solo sailor. He studied sleep in dozens of individuals taking part in competitive sailing. He studied sleep patterns for NASA. He studied polyphasic sleep in laboratory conditions. He strapped his subject with wrist-worn activity monitors and EEG electrodes. He is a worshipper of napping as nothing counteracts sleep deprivation and fatigue better than a nap. In his work, he looks for ways towards improving alertness and survival in life-threatening situations, esp. long-distance boat racing. Yet he is not recommending the polyphasic schedule for normally functioning creative individual who can afford a full night of healthy sleep. His alleged "recommendation" is just one of those myths circulating along with the polyphasic sleep meme. Using polysomnographic tools, Stampi looks for troughs and peaks of alertness. His research tries to capitalize on understanding those ultradian rhythms and maximizing the effectiveness of napping, primarily by optimizing the timing of naps. Today he is the most recognized expert in the field.
Stampi's methods are primarily targeted at minimizing sleep deprivation. He is a biphasic sleeper himself and through his chronobiology expertise can claim proudly "I am never tired" [ref: Stampi]. When speaking about Ellen MacArthur [ref: Ellen], he puts his research in a nutshell: "What Ellen is doing is finding the best compromise between her need to sleep and her need to be awake all the time". What a creative individual needs is no compromise. It is the uncompromising maximum of alertness, attention, and creative powers.
Stampi has shown that polyphasic sleep can improve cognitive performance in conditions of sleep deprivation as compared with monophasic sleep: Individuals sleeping for 30 minutes every four hours, for a daily total of only 3 hours of sleep, performed better and were more alert, compared to when they had 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep. In other words, under conditions of dramatic sleep reduction, it is more efficient to recharge the sleep "battery" more often. Many use this as the argument for the superiority of polyphasic sleep, while silently skirting around the fact that Stampi also notes that the performance on polyphasic schedule is still far less than that in free running sleep conditions.
Polyphasic geniuses
Rumor has it that there were many geniuses who would sleep polyphasically. The implication is that if it worked for the greatest minds in history, it should also work for a young ambitious student with a voracious appetite to conquer the world. Yet on a closer inspection, those polyphasic stories are very hard to confirm. Somehow, the group does not include contemporary Nobel winners, presidents, or great athletes. In other words, you cannot just e-mail a celebrity and ask. All great polyphasic sleepers are dead. There are still a couple of individuals who boast in their blogs that they are polyphasic sleepers. Very often their sleep is just a stretch of the biphasic sleep definition or a combination of various sleep modes with a heavy dose of sleep deprivation. Some of those cases I cannot explain in any other way than by vested interest or a bloated ego. Even narcolepsy would not explain their napping habits. At any rate, successful polyphasic sleep cases are not in any way verifiable. Naturally, absence of proof is no proof of absence, and this section is not intended to prove that polyphasic sleep is not possible. It is the biological argument above that settles the issue. Here, I am only trying to illustrate the myth-making powers of the Internet.
As for polyphasic geniuses, the list seems to be getting longer along with the snowballing myth of the benefits of a 22 hour waking day. Currently, the list includes da Vinci, Edison, Tesla, Churchill, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and even Bruce Lee. I would not be surprised if Newton and Aristotle joined soon. Perhaps even Jesus might follow up later.
I tried to find out if there is any record of the sleeping habits of the greatest geniuses in history. All I could find was rather a standard adherence to a normal monophasic or biphasic sleep, with an exception for numerous all-nighters at the time of the creative high. Only the biographers of Buckminster Fuller who I managed to get in touch with seem to confirm that his sleeping habits were quite unusual and that he experimented a lot with various sleeping patterns. In particular, while traveling and lecturing extensively, he would enter what he called a "dog sleep". That sleep, however, had nothing to do with polyphasic sleep. It was a sort of improvised mix of free-running sleep confounded by jet lag, meetings and deadlines. In other words, Bucky would catnap whenever he was tired and had an opportunity. However, if he could squeeze a sound 6 hours here and there, he would not miss the chance. This "dog sleep" did not fit any fixed alarm-clocked schedule. It was just a compromise between circadian rhythms and Bucky's hectic lifestyle.
Although even Stampi anecdotally refers to Leonardo da Vinci, Leonardo's polyphasic sleep is probably an urban myth. I could not locate any credible sources with any notes on his sleep habits, and yet da Vinci is nearly always mentioned whenever the art of napping comes into question. It seems quite strange that someone would come up with a crazy polyphasic schedule idea at the time of leisurely Renaissance life that was well-timed by the superiority of sunlight over candlelight. Allegedly, hinting at a monophasic mindset, he spoke of death: "As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so a life well used brings happy death". Even more telling is Bandello's report on da Vinci's work over "The Last Supper". Leonardo would work continuously from dawn to dusk forgetting about food and drink. Stunned Bandello would definitely reported the round-the-clock work of a polyphasic sleeper as even more amazing. It seems to me that using a poorly researched historic case from 500 years ago as a prop in favor of polyphasic sleep is rather a dated argumentum ad verecundiam. Incidentally, da Vinci is also a name that crops up on other suspect lists: the lists of great people suffering from attention deficit disorder, or the lists of great vegetarians. The same memetic mechanism must be placing da Vinci, Jesus, Einstein, and Hitler alongside each other in a number of myths over and over again. And did you hear of "Da Vinci Code" or the authorship of the Turin Shroud?
Napoleon is not less frequently referred to in the context of napping or polyphasic sleep than da Vinci. And his case is rather easy to falsify through historical records. When compared with an artistic genius of Leonardo, it seems even more preposterous than a brilliant military commander could possibly retire for a nap during a prolonged battle or during his intense life peppered with plethora of engagements. He is indeed said to have slept little and frequently suffer from insomnia at times of great stress. He was also often interrupted by messengers that might perhaps increase his propensity to napping at daylight. Yet he was to be woken up only with bad news. The hard rule was that the good news could wait. His memoirs indicate that he did not mind dying young. Consequently, he would disregard his doctors on the matter of sleeping little and drinking buckets of strong coffee. As Napoleon's life was jam-packed with stress, his short sleep might have been a consequence of his lifestyle. Low sleep diet did not translate well to Napoleon's military skills. Some contemporaries attribute his errors at Waterloo to sleep deprivation. Yet, during slower days he would sleep for sound seven hours, waking up at 7 and often lazing until 8. Then he would yet add an nap in the afternoon. Records also indicate that at Saint Helena he was a normal sleeper, and while stress was replaced with boredom, he often slept late.
Jefferson and Franklin seem easy to falsify as polyphasic sleepers. In letters to Doctor Vine Utley (1819), Thomas Jefferson writes about his sleep habits. We can conclude that his sleep was not very regular, he would go to sleep at different times (often late into the night), he would always devote at least 30 min. to creative reading before sleep, he would fall asleep later if the reading was of particular interest, and he would regularly wake up at sunrise. In other words, expectedly, there are no traces of polyphasic sleeping in Jefferson's life. Jefferson, da Vinci, Franklin, Einstein, or Edison, are probably the most popular names on all those trumped up lists of famous people affected by X, practicing Y or believing in Z.
As for Benjamin Franklin, we might conclude that he did not hold sleep in high esteem. This we can conclude from the famous quotations such as "There will be sleeping enough in the grave" or "The sleeping fox catches no poultry". This attitude resembles the one of those who are ready to practise polyphasic sleeping today. It is also a frequent characteristic of high achievers from the times when we knew little of the biological function of sleep. Yet Franklin is even better known for saying: "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise". From this we might conclude that if he wanted to sleep less, his formula would be to get up early. Not to shred sleep into pieces. Moreover, for a high achiever with little regard for sleep, retiring for a nap might feel like a major sign of laziness or weakness. That stigma lasts until today in western culture, where napping is often considered a habit of lazybones. Last but not least, Franklin as a advocate of DST would say: "It is silly and wasteful that people should live much by candle-light and sleep by sunshine". Polyphasic sleeper definitely he was not.
We know quite a lot about Winston Churchill's sleeping habits. As a wartime PM, his daily routine was watched closely by his assistants. Churchill could work his ministers to exhaustion by staying up late, but he would also routinely take a solid 1-2 hour nap in the afternoon. As such, he was a classical biphasic sleeper. At his house at Chartwell, his routine was quite regular. He would wake at 8, spend the morning in bed reading papers, dictating letters, etc., take a long nap at tea time, and work till as late as 3 am. He averaged 5-6 hours of sleep per day. Those words are attributed to Churchill himself: "You must sleep sometime between lunch and dinner, and no halfway measures. Take off your clothes and get into bed. That's what I always do. Don't think you will be doing less work because you sleep during the day. That's a foolish notion held by people who have no imaginations. You will be able to accomplish more. You get two days in one -- well, at least one and a half" (source). Churchill's well-drilled biphasic habits made him one of the most energetic wartime leaders. On a humorous note, F. D. Roosevelt's aides noted that after a Churchill's visit, the US president was so exhausted that he needed 10 hours of sleep for 3 days straight to recover.
Thomas Alva Edison had a love-hate relationship with sleep. Sleep researchers blame him for robbing the modern population of 1-2 hours of sleep. Workaholics like to quote him on his contempt for sleep. Advocates of polyphasic sleep claim he was a polyphasic sleeper. Indeed, Edison's contempt for sleep is well documented. Yet it can only be attributed to his ignorance. Little was known about the biological role of sleep at his time. He believed wrongly that, as with food, humans will always sleep more than necessary given a opportunity. As a natural short sleeper, he believed long sleep is a sign of laziness: "Most people overeat 100 percent, and oversleep 100 percent, because they like it. That extra 100 percent makes them unhealthy and inefficient. The person who sleeps eight or ten hours a night is never fully asleep and never fully awake - they have only different degrees of doze through the twenty-four hours". In a parallel flash of ignorance, Edison could not see much value in physical exercise. His winter home featured one of the first modern swimming pools, yet Edison never used it. He just did not share the modern view in which exercise and sleep are considered a good investment in mental and physical health. His co-workers noted that Edison actually slept far more than he would like to admit. Clearly, he would carry sleeping little as a badge of honor. He catnapped a lot, and his nap cots have been preserved to this day in Edison museums. By no means could I though find any credible evidence that Edison's napping complied to any regiment other than "nap when sleepy", which usually turns out to match a biphasic pattern. The most reliable information I could find about Edison's sleep was his own diary kept only for a short time while approaching the age of forty. From this diary we can learn a lot about his sleeping habits. He seemed rather obsessed with getting a good night sleep as his day would often start with notes on the quality of sleep. The better he slept the happier he seemed. That's quite the opposite of what polyphasic proponents claim. Instead of maximizing waking hours, Edison would rather maximize the hours in which he could use his well refreshed mind. And that's exactly what seems most rational from the point of view of physiology of sleep, mental hygiene, and productivity.
After a short stint under Edison's umbrella, Nikola Tesla became a bitter rival of his former mentor. We have all heard of the "war of the currents", but Edison and Tesla clashed in another battlefield. They tried to outbid each other in sleeping little. Tesla noted that Edison slept much more than he would want others to believe. That injects a dose of boastful personality to their own reports on how much the great inventors slept. Tesla who could indeed work throughout the night, would often crash for the entire day of sleep after his exploits. He exhibited classic signs of manic creativity, which might have been interrupted by short recuperative naps or long recovery sleep. Otherwise, Tesla was nothing more than a short sleeper. He was too busy with his pursuits to ever think of anything resembling a strict polyphasic schedule. That would be a strait jacket on his flamboyant personality.
All in all, the whole list of polyphasic geniuses seems to be lacking any credible evidence. As such it is probably a child of collective wishful thinking committed by those who would love to add waking hours to their day.
Polyphasic sleep for dummies Some of the biological argument presented in this article may not be entirely suitable and convincing for teenagers, esp. those who slept polyphasically through their biology class. Let's then reword it all in baby language. Experience shows that "for dummies" sections are most popular and most effective in conveying the message. Disclaimer: the models presented below are used for illustration only and are a remote approximation of real processes occurring in sleep Alarm clock is bad for you A metaphor that may help you get some sense of what alarm clocks do to sleep is a comparison of NREM-REM cycles to your PC. During the day, while learning and experiencing new things, you store your new data in RAM memory. During the night, while first in NREM, you write the data down to the hard disk. During REM, which follows NREM in the night, you do the disk defragmentation, i.e. you organize data, sort them, build new connections, etc. Overnight, you repeat the write-and-defragment cycle until all RAM data is neatly written to the disk (for long-term use), and your RAM is clear and ready for a new day of learning. At waking up, you reboot the computer. If you reboot early with the use of an alarm clock, you often leave your disk fragmented. Your data access is slow, and your thinking is confused. Even worse, some of the data may not even get written to the disk. It is as if you have never stored it in RAM in the first place. In conclusion, if you use an alarm clock, you endanger your data. If you do not care about your intellectual performance, you may want to know that there are many biological reasons for which using alarm clocks is basically unhealthy. Those run beyond the scope of this article. Many people use alarm clocks and live. Yet this is not much different from smoking, abusing drugs, or indulging in fat-dripping pork. You may abuse your brain with alcohol for years, and still become president. Many of mankind's achievements required interrupted sleep. Many inventions were produced by sleepy brains. But nothing is able to change the future as much as a brain refreshed with a healthy dose of restful sleep. You cannot sleep polyphasically without an alarm clock Your whole sleep cycle can be explained with the clock and hourglass model. Deep in your brain, your body clock is running on a 24 hours cycle. Every 24 hours, the clock releases a sleepy potion that puts you to sleep. If you try to sleep at wrong hours, without the sleepy potion, you may find it very hard to fall asleep. All insomniacs suffers from the lack of sleepy potion. If they go to sleep too early, before they get their fix of sleepy potion, they will toss and turn. Often for hours. You need to listen to your body clock to know when it is the right moment to go to sleep. Yet the sleepy potion produced by the body clock is not enough to put you to sleep. The brain also uses the hourglass of mental energy that gives you some time every day that you can devote to intellectual work. When you wake up, the hourglass is full and starts being emptied. With every waking moment, with everything your brain absorbs, with every mental effort, the hourglass is less and less full. Only when the hourglass of mental energy is empty, will you able to quickly fall asleep. To get a good night sleep, you need to combine two factors: your body clock must be saying "time to sleep"
your hourglass of power must be saying "no more mental work" If your sleepy potion tries to put you to sleep but your hourglass is full, you will be very groggy, tired, but you will not fall asleep. If, on the other hand, you try to sleep without the sleepy potion while the hourglass of power is empty, you may succeed, but you will wake up very fast with your hourglass full again. That will make sleeping again nearly impossible. Insomniacs go to sleep before the body clock releases the sleepy potion. When you wake up early with an alarm clock, you can hardly get to your feet because your body is full of sleepy potion, which begs you to go back to sleep. When you are drowsy in the afternoon, your hourglass of mental power might be almost empty. A quick nap will then help you fill it up again and be very productive in the evening. If you drink coffee in the morning, it helps you charge the hourglass and add some extra mental energy. But coffee combined with the sleepy potion produce a poisonous mix that engulfs your brain in sickly miasma. If you try to drink coffee to stay up |
We’ll see if the action picks up next week!
Carl Engle-Laird is the editorial assistant at Tor.com, where he acquires and edits original fiction and writes about the Stormlight Archive. You can follow him on Twitter here.AT&T has confirmed in a statement that the new universal Apple SIM card in iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 becomes locked to the carrier after being activated on its network.
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It appears AT&T might be the only carrier locking the SIM card after activation, as Apple confirms in a support document that “AT&T dedicates Apple SIM to their network only” with no mention of other carriers. The support document also confirms that “Sprint Stores will only carry iPads with legacy Sprint SIM cards (not Apple SIM cards).”
When Apple launched its iPad Air 2 earlier this month, one surprise was the company’s decision to include a new universal SIM in the cellular version of device. The Apple SIM, preinstalled in the iPads ordered through Apple’s online store and elsewhere, supports a number of carriers out of the box making it easier for users to sign up with the carrier of their choice. In the US it supports AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile (but not Verizon) and in the UK carrier EE.
Some thought the new Apple SIM, along with improved LTE support for a long list of carriers in a single model, would make it easier to switch between service providers on the fly. Apple even mentions “the flexibility to choose from a variety of short-term plans from select carriers” on its website. That’s not the case for AT&T, however, as users will have to change the SIM if moving the iPad to a new carrier (much the same as you had to do pre-Apple SIM). The device itself, however, is completely unlocked, the carrier told us.
Rumors that T-Mobile planned to lock the Apple SIM inside iPad Air 2 when purchased direct through its own channels were denied by the company.
[tweet https://twitter.com/JohnLegere/status/525401322020171776]British intelligence has hacked into an al-Qaeda online magazine and replaced bomb-making instructions with a recipe for cupcakes.
The cyber-warfare operation was carried out by MI6 and the GCHQ signals intelligence agency to disrupt the terrorists' attempts to recruit "lone-wolf" agents using a new English-language web publication called Inspire, The Daily Telegraph understands.
The spy who pranked me.
When followers tried to download the 67-page colour magazine, instead of instructions on how to "Make a bomb in the Kitchen of your Mom" by "The AQ Chef" they were greeted with garbled computer code.
The code, which had been inserted into the original magazine by the British intelligence hackers, was actually a web page from recipes for The Best Cupcakes in America published by chat show host Ellen DeGeneres.SEATTLE - Mayor Ed Murray is proposing a "sugar drink tax" in a bid to help people be healthier while raising money for the Seattle's early education programs.
The proposal calls for taxing sugary drinks sold in the city at a rate of 2 cents per ounce.
Mayor Murray first put the idea out there in his state-of-the-city address in February as a way to pay for more early childhood education. He says the idea is to eliminate the opportunity gap between white and African American students.
Making people healthier is another benefit, he says.
"I think it may work," says Emmanuel Daniel. "It is pretty good because of the lifestyle - get the kids to eat right, drink right. Pushing the prices up may actually work."
It worked for people's health in Berkeley, California, where sales of sugared drinks dropped almost 10 percent the first year that city added a 1-cent tax. At the same time, sales of bottled water increased 15 percent there.
Here in Seattle, the mayor predicts $16 million in revenue per year from a 2-cent sugar drink tax. That's exponentially more than Berkeley raised - $1.5 million from taxing sugared drinks at 1 cent per ounce.
Already there's an organized group rallying against a sugar drink tax here.
The group, Keep Seattle Livable For All, says small businesses in the city would suffer and that could lead to lost jobs.
"This whopping two-cent per ounce tax means beverages like soft drinks, juice drinks, diet beverages, energy drinks, sweetened teas and ready-to-drink coffee beverages would cost two to four times as much at the register," the group said in a statement. "The reality is Seattle’s small businesses are already struggling under a heavy tax burden... and this new tax would put jobs in jeopardy."
Under the mayor's proposal, the distributor would pay the tax.This article is over 1 year old
Magnums, Calippos and Cornettos should be off the menu until Unilever returns to negotiating table, says manufacturing workers’ union
The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union is urging ice-cream lovers to boycott Streets products – including popular Golden Gaytime, Calippo, Splice, Magnum, Cornetto and Paddle Pop ice-creams – as it ramps up its fight to protect workers’ pay.
Unilever, the multinational owner of Streets, is attempting to terminate a collective agreement for workers at its Sydney factory. The union says Streets workers face a 46% pay cut if the agreement is terminated.
“Streets have given the Australian public a choice this summer,” the AMWU NSW secretary Steve Murphy said on Monday. “It’s a choice between supporting workers in struggle or supporting corporate greed.
Summer ice-cream boycott threat over Streets workplace row Read more
“We think we know which side the Australian public are on. When you eye an ice-cream, you buy an ice-cream that makes you feel good.”
Beaches and major sports events will be targeted over the summer by union members calling on people to choose any other ice-cream over a Streets product.
The campaign was sparked by Unilever’s application last August to the Fair Work Commission to terminate the collective enterprise agreement (EA) among workers at its Minto factory in Sydney’s south-west.
Unilever says it needs to make changes as the factory is too expensive to run, saying it is 30% cheaper to import a Magnum Classic made in Europe than to make the same product at Minto.
“In regards to the union’s calls for a summer boycott of Streets, we think that Australians can decide for themselves what ice-cream to eat,” Unilever said in a statement.
Boycott CUB beers! Here are some other beers we can highly recommend | First Dog on the Moon Read more
“The reality is that every Gaytime, Magnum or Paddle Pop chosen this summer will help shore up the future of Streets manufacturing in Australia. All a boycott will do is hurt workers and local manufacturing.”
Unilever also rejects the union’s claims that workers face a 46% pay cut if the Fair Work Commission decides to terminate the EA.
Murphy said the union was confident the campaign would win public support and entice Unilever back to the negotiating table.So how do porcupines mate? My zoologist roommates give me the unsatisfying explanation that they put their needles down during the act. But I'm convinced that even with needles down mating for male porcupines must be a very painful experience.
Cecil replies:
Well, one account of porcupine romance (in North American Porcupine, Uldis Roze, 1989) does begin this way: “Somewhere ahead, a porcupine is screaming.” However, it’s not what you think. The screaming porcupine is a female letting an ardent male know she’s not in the mood. Male porcupines may give vent to the occasional scream as well, but it’s from frustration, not pain: the female is only sexually receptive 8-12 hours per year.
Porcupine sex is not the exercise in S&M you might imagine but it does have its kinky aspects. I quote from Roze: “Perhaps the strangest aspect of the interaction is male urine-hosing of the female. The male approaches on his hind legs and tail, grunting in a low tone. His penis springs erect. He then becomes a urine cannon, squirting high-pressure jets of urine at the female. Everything suggests the urine is fired by ejaculation, not released by normal bladder pressure. … In less than a minute, a female may be thoroughly wetted from nose to tail.”
So much for foreplay. If the female decides now is the time, she hoists up her rump a bit and raises her tail, the underside of which is quill-less, and curves it up over her back, covering the quills thereon and exposing her genitalia. The male then approaches in a gingerly manner from the rear, walking on his hind legs and taking care to touch nothing with his forepaws but the safe part of the tail. The relevant apparatus having been lined up, docking occurs, followed by “violent orgasm” as the male unloads a year’s worth of jism. The act lasts 2-5 minutes and may be repeated several times during the half-day window of opportunity.
All in all it makes me think my first time during college maybe wasn’t so bad. But the porcupines probably like it just fine, Ms. Porcupine especially. As our author notes, “the female cannot be raped.” If she doesn’t like the looks of one of her suitors, a swipe with her tail will cool his ardor fast.
It is also worth noting that the tip of the porcupine penis is covered with small spines or bumps, something humans can duplicate only through the use of certain exotic brands of prophylactic. “Undoubtedly the structures add something to the female’s sensation during coitus,” it says here, “but it is not known whether they help induce orgasm.” Maybe not. But I find it interesting that once things get rolling the female is insatiable and will mate until the male is sexually exhausted.
The real problem for a male porcupine is not getting intimate with the female but surviving the bar fights with his male rivals beforehand. Researcher Roze reports coming upon the scene of an interporcupine slugfest where three males had fought it out for the favors of one female. The ground was littered with nearly 1,500 quills and a few more could be seen in the nose of the apparent victor. How much easier to be a male human, where all you have to do to ensure reproductive success is buy a Mercedes.
Send questions to Cecil via cecil@straightdope.com.Issue 164 - November, 13th 2014
News
No fixes to scary security issues in this release. Nice bunch of bug fixes though.
Drupal is currently in the application process to be a part of the Google Code-In.
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Articles
Dries Buytaert discusses the work of initiative leads. I have to say that I found the comments more thought provoking. If you have been following this discussion in the community you will find this a worth while read.
This guest post by Lorna Mitchell on the Acquia blog is good and quick primer on the PHP Standards Recommendation(PSR). Every PHP/Drupal dev should understand why we need these standards.
Drupal 8
Where can you help, where's Drupal 8 at in terms of release, and learn about D8 critical office hours with chx.
Chris Doherty talks about the Classy Theme in Drupal 8 as well as TWIG.
Learn more about the render pipeline in Drupal 8. Wim Leers offers a scannable post with a link to his talk on the subject.
Tutorials
If you want to store Drupal's files on S3 this is the post for you.
Nice tip from Chris Hilditch.
Projects
Promet Source shares some of their internal developer tools
Releases
Podcasts
Events
January 17th & 18th, 2015.
Finally
Tanay Sai shares resources that will help anyone taking the Acquia Front end Specialist Certification.Launch Gallery Expand Ali, one of the few survivors of a mass execution at the Presidential Palace in Tikrit, is visible among more than 60 captives prior to execution in a still frame from a YouTube video posted by Islamic State.
(Erbil) – New evidence about executions carried out by the Islamic State (IS) in Tikrit after it seized the city in June 2014 triples the estimated death toll and shows additional execution sites, Human Rights Watch said today.
Information from a survivor and analysis of videos and satellite imagery has confirmed the existence of three more mass execution sites, bringing the total to five, and the number of dead to between 560 and 770 men, all or most of them apparently captured Iraqi army soldiers.
“Another piece of this gruesome puzzle has come into place, with many more executions now confirmed,” said Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director at Human Rights Watch. “The barbarity of the Islamic State violates the law and grossly offends the conscience.”
Islamic State fighters, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS), killed between 160 and 190 men at the two execution sites that Human Rights Watch previously identified. The total is likely to climb further still as more evidence emerges, Human Rights Watch said.
Islamic State fighters took control of Tikrit on June 11. The next day it claimed to have executed 1,700 “Shi’a members of the army,” posting videos of hundreds of captured men in civilian clothes, who it claimed had surrendered at the nearby Iraqi Speicher military base.
Photos later posted on social media showed IS fighters loading captives in civilian clothes onto trucks and forcing them to lie in three shallow trenches with their hands bound. Some images showed masked gunmen firing weapons at these men.
Based on an analysis of satellite imagery and photographs available at the time, Human Rights Watch concluded on June 27 that two of the trenches were in a field about 100 meters north of the Water Palace in Tikrit. The location of the third trench was not identified.
Click to enlarge
After analyzing a recently released Islamic State video of the execution of detainees and satellite imagery, Human Rights Watch has identified three new execution sites from that period, with an additional death toll of between 285 and 440. The locations of two of the sites have been precisely identified based on the imagery and witness evidence, while the location of the third site remains approximate based on the account of a survivor.
The largest of the three newly identified execution sites is a concrete slab on the north side of the Saladdin Al Ayubi building, within Tikrit’s presidential palace compound. Video images, cross referenced with satellite imagery, indicate that approximately 250 to 400 men were executed at this site at approximately 9:30 a.m. on either June 12 or 13. Satellite imagery recorded on June 16 reveals no mass of bodies as shown in the video, but what appear to be blood stains, presumably left from the mass execution, are visible on the concrete.
Satellite imagery also shows signs that earth-moving equipment was used on a dirt field next to the concrete slab. Human Rights Watch analysis also identified areas of raised earth consistent with a mass grave.
Satellite image recorded on June 16, 2014 shows what appear to be blood stains visible on the cement where the mass execution presumably took place, and indications that earth moving equipment was used on the adjacent dirt field as well as areas of raised earth consistent with a mass grave.
The second newly identified execution site was at the Water Police building next to the Route 24 bridge. Video footage of the executions showed Islamic State fighters using pistols to execute at least 25 to 30 men between 6:30 and 7 p.m. on June 12 at this site, then dumping their bodies in the Tigris River. The full number of victims at this site may be higher.
Click to enlarge
Ali, a 23-year-old survivor of one of the shootings, told Human Rights Watch that he was captured on June 12 with thousands of other men as they sought to flee along the main road from Spiecher military base. Other soldiers and officers had advised him to wear civilian clothes to try to avoid detection by Islamic State fighters.
Video footage released by the Islamic State supports the statements of witnesses that thousands of captured men were marched into Tikrit, escorted by IS fighters. Ali, who said he was at the front of the procession, told Human Rights Watch that a group of about 100 IS fighters stopped the captured men near Tikrit University, and told them they would be returned home unharmed.
Instead, the IS fighters stripped the men of their mobile phones and their money, and drove them into what Ali described as a palace compound. There, he said, he was crammed into a shipping container for six hours with over 100 other detainees, two of whom died due to the overcrowding and sweltering heat. Ali said that IS let him and the others out of the container at 5 p.m., broke them into smaller groups, and took each group to a different location.
He said he was in a group with nine other men, and heard the sound of gunfire from other execution sites, including the nearby Water Police building. Their Islamic State captors bound his and other prisoners’ hands behind their backs and covered their eyes, then forced them to crouch forward with each man holding the t-shirt of the man in front between his teeth as they marched them to the bank of the Tigris. They then lined up the 10 men and shot them with a pistol, one after another. Ali said that beneath his blindfold he saw the man next to him fall to the ground covered in blood, but that somehow he was not hit, so he fell to the ground and feigned death until nightfall, when he escaped under cover of darkness.
In addition, the new video released by the Islamic State reveals at least two previously unknown rounds of executions at the Water Palace site, with between 115 and 140 deaths. This brings the total number of men that the Islamic State is known to have executed at the site, based on their own video evidence, to between 235 and 285, at least, although the actual total could be much higher. The Islamic State is now known to have carried out at least four separate mass executions at the Water Palace site.
The evidence Human Rights Watch examined also appears to confirm the existence of a mass grave at the Water Palace execution site that contains the remains of at least 35-40, and probably between 235 and 285 victims, of IS executions.
The video newly released by the Islamic State indicates that IS fighters used a bulldozer to cover the bodies under mounds of earth after each round of execution before unloading the next group of men at the site. In one case, the video shows IS shooting 40 to 45 men as they lay against the mass grave of other prisoners whom IS had shot and covered with earth approximately one hour earlier. In one video sequence the torso of a victim from a previous execution can be seen protruding from the ground.
Additional locations, vehicles, and captured men depicted in Islamic State videos suggest the full death toll will continue to climb as new evidence emerges and is analyzed, Human Rights Watch said.Lard is a healthy fat, much underrated in the 21st century. It’s one of the few – if not the only – cooking fats you can create yourself at home with standard kitchen implements.
People who buy their pork by the half-pig render large volumes of lard all at once. But most people don’t buy pig by the wheelbarrow – they buy it a few pounds at a time from the grocery store or butcher. This small batch lard tutorial is aimed at regular people who collect pork fat bit by bit.
You can navigate this article quickly using the following menu.
Article Contents
Sourcing Pig Fat
Every time you buy pork, cut off the thick white slabs of fat and save them. Certain cuts will have more fat on them – I can get a full pound of fat from a single 15 pound shoulder roast. Save these pieces of fat in the freezer where they won’t go bad.
If you want lard sooner or in great quantity, try asking your local butcher. Sometimes you can get many pounds of fat free this way!
You should have at least one pound of pure pork fat before you start your first render.
Making the Lard
It’s best to chop the pork fat up into small 1/2″ cubes so it will render quicker. You need a low, even heat so a crock pot or cast iron pan works best.
Having tried both crock pot and stove pot lard, I prefer the stove. My crock pot heats from the sides which tends to cause the fat chunks to cement themselves to the pot’s insides.(image below.)
Heating from the bottom as on the stove makes for easier clean-up and a much quicker render. However I’ve been informed that not all crock pots heat from the sides.
To prevent the cold fat from scorching, you’ll want a bit of water in the bottom of the pan. You don’t need much, just enough to cover the bottom. About 1/2 cup is plenty.
Turn on your stove or crock pot on the “low” setting and watch it carefully. To prevent scorching or sticking, stir your pork fat pieces regularly.
Once your lard mixture is approximately half liquid and half solid, you’ll want to start scooping off some of the hot liquid lard into another vessel. To keep the lard clean, filter it through a paper towel secured with a rubber band. I like to filter right into a mason jar. Push the paper towel into the mouth of the mason jar as far as possible to give the lard plenty of surface area to filter through, or else it will fill with gunk and stop filtering.
Continue to siphon and stir, until you’re left with little crispy pieces called cracklings. Your pork may finish rendering in just a couple hours, but it can take longer.
The above animation is from a recent batch of lard I rendered on the stove. I rendered out a full 2 cups of lard from this batch in a couple of hours. You’ll notice that the fat chunks don’t stick to sides as they did in the crock pot render above.
Eventually you will be left with toasted brown chunks called cracklings.
These hard pieces were once bits of meat and the tissues that held the fat together. But they aren’t a waste product – they’re delicious! At the base of this page we’ll go over how you can prepare and use these cracklings.
Using your Lard
Lard comes in two types – leaf and back. Leaf lard is pure white fat, unadulterated by any hint of porky taste. Pastry chefs bake fine cakes and strudels using this pure lard.
The lard you are most likely making is back lard. It’s the lard of the people. It’s got a pleasant savory flavor, and is still useful for almost everything.
Lard works in many recipes as a butter or oil substitute. As with any substitution, using lard will alter the taste or texture of your food slightly. For example, a donut fried in lard will come out slightly crispier than a donut fried in canola.
One of the most surprising uses for lard I have discovered is in bread. Instead of 1/4 cup olive oil, use 1/4 cup lard. The finished bread tastes identical, but lasts much longer before going stale! Somehow the lard preserves the bread for much longer than usual. If you already use the 1 minute bread machine recipe, try it with lard!
Preserving Lard
At first a cloudy yellow, your finished lard will turn a milky white as it cools and hardens.
Lard is pure fat, so it has a very long shelf life. Lard will last in a freezer for decades, for years in the fridge, and for months at room temperature.
Fill small mason jars, and keep them in the freezer. Take one out at a time to keep in the fridge or counter top.
Special Bonus: Cracklings!
After you’re done rendering your lard, you’re left with greasy, crispy chunks called cracklings. They’re a little bit like bacon. Most people have not heard of cracklings – but they’ve earned a small yet vocal fan base.
A quick bake in the oven will finish the cracklings off, getting the final drips of lard out and leaving them a crispy delicious snack. Heat an oven to 375 and bake them on a cookie sheet for just a little while. Check them every 5 minutes to make sure they don’t burn. The total baking time could be anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes, depending on how much lard is left in them.
Once they’re done, drain off the final sheen of lard. They’ll taste incredible with a sprinkling of salt as a finisher. Store them in a little container in the fridge and eat them fairly soon.
People sprinkle them on salads, bake them into cornbread or just munch on them as a high protein trail food.
Posted onTwo students have been killed in a shooting attack at Aztec High School in Aztec, New Mexico. The attacker was killed by police. All area schools were placed on lockdown.
Three people are dead, San Juan County Sheriff Ken Christesen said, according to the Albuquerque Journal. He said they are believed to be students. It was clarified later that the number includes the shooter.
KOB-TV initially reported two people were been shot, in addition to the attacker. Citing local officials, KRQE reported that the shooter was in police custody.
HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING: The San Juan County Sheriff's Office confirms to @kob4 a shooting at Aztec High School in Northern #NewMexico this AM. Working to learn more. pic.twitter.com/AuOAMmvorx — Erica Zucco 🇺🇸 (@ericazucco) December 7, 2017
Police in nearby Bloomfield and Farmington placed the schools on preventive lockdown.
"We are aware that there is an active shooter at Aztec High School," police from nearby Bloomfield said on Facebook. "We do have officers located at all of the schools in Bloomfield and they are all on lock down. Parents are advised to please stay away from all of the schools until further notice."
Students at Aztec High were evacuated by police, and parents were asked to pick them up, the San Juan County sheriff's office said.
Families and friends of students of Aztec High School are gathered outside city hall, following a shooting at the school@KOB4 pic.twitter.com/7kjG7ZNITV — Meg Hilling (@meghilling) December 7, 2017
Aztec is a community of 6,700 residents, located in rural northwestern New Mexico, about 180 miles from Albuquerque.Oakland, California – When Occupy Seattle called its tent camp “Planton Seattle,” camp organizers were laying a local claim to a set of tactics used for decades by social movements in Mexico, Central America and the Philippines. And when immigrant janitors marched down to the detention center in San Diego and called their effort Occupy ICE (the initials of the Immigration and Custom Enforcement agency responsible for mass deportations),people from countries with that planton encampment tradition were connecting it to the Occupy movement here.
This shared culture and history offer new possibilities to the Occupy movement for survival and growth at a time when the federal law enforcement establishment, in cooperation with local police departments and municipal governments, has uprooted many tent encampments. Different Occupy groups from Wall Street to San Francisco have begun to explore their relationship with immigrant social movements in the US, and to look more closely at the actions of the 1 percent beyond our borders that produces much of the pressure for migration.
Reacting to the recent evictions, the Coalition for the Political Rights of Mexicans Abroad recently sent a support letter to Occupy Wall Street (OWS) and the other camps under attack. “We greet your movement,” it declared, “because your struggle against the suppression of human rights and against social and economic injustice has been a fundamental part of our struggle, that of the Mexican people who cross borders, and the millions of Mexican migrants who live in the United States.”
The banners at Occupy Seattle. (Photo: David Bacon)
Many of those migrants living in the US know the tradition of the planton and how it's used at home. And they know that the 1 percent, whose power is being challenged on Wall Street, also designed the policies that are the very reason why immigrants are living in the US to begin with. Mike Garcia, president of United Service Workers West/SEIU, the union that organized Occupy ICE, described immigrant janitors as “displaced workers of the new global economic order, an order led by the West and the United States in particular.”
Criminalizing the act of camping out in a public space is intended, at least in part, to keep a planton tradition from acquiring the same legitimacy in the US that it has in other countries. That right to a planton was not freely conceded by the rulers of Mexico, El Salvador or the Philippines, however – no more than it has been conceded here. The 99 percent of those countries had to fight for it.
Two of the biggest battles of modern Mexican political history were fought in the Tlatelolco Plaza, where hundreds of students were gunned down in 1968, and three years later in Mexico City streets where more were beaten and shot by the paramilitary Halcones. In both El Salvador and the Philippines, strikers have a tradition of living at the gates of the factory or enterprise where they work. But even today, that right must be defended against the police, and (at least until the recent election of the Funes and Aquino governments) even the military.
Plantons or encampments don't stand alone. They are tactics used by unions, students, farmers, indigenous organizations, and other social movements. Each planton is a visible piece of a movement or organization – a much larger base. When the plantons are useful to those movements, they defend them. That connection between planton and movement, between the encampment and its social base, is as important as holding the physical space on which the tents are erected.
Leobardo Benitez Alvarez. a fired SME member, in the union's planton. (Photo: David Bacon)
For the last two years, that relationship has been very clear in the Zocalo, Mexico City's huge central plaza. During that time, fired members of Mexico's independent left-wing electrical workers union, the SME, have lived in a succession of plantons. They've often been elaborate, with kitchens, meeting rooms and communications centers, in addition to the tents where people slept and ate.
At various time, the SME encampment was one of several in the huge square. A year ago, the workers were joined by indigenous Triqui and Mixtec women from Oaxaca, who protested the violence used by their state's previous governor against teachers' strikes and rural organizations. The social movement in Oaxaca, which the women represented in Mexico City, grew strong enough to finally knock the old ruling party, the PRI, from the governorship it had held for almost 80 years.
In the Zocalo plantons, people from different organizations mix it up. Last September's Day of the Indignant brought together people from very diverse movements. Some see electoral politics as a vehicle for change, but many indigenous activists and SME members don't. Even among those who do, there are deep disagreements over how to participate in the electoral process.
But the people in the Zocalo have two things in common. Different plantons may not see every political question eye to eye, but each represents a social movement in the world outside the plaza. And the planton itself has value primarily because it forces public attention to focus on the crisis that has led each group to set up its encampment.
The SME workers used their plantons to dramatize repression by the federal government. When Mexican President Felipe Calderon dissolved the state-run power company for central Mexico and fired its 44,000 employees, he sought to destroy their union and move toward the privatization of the electrical system – to benefit Mexican and foreign 1 percenters. A year ago, several SME members conducted a hunger strike at the planton that generated front-page headlines for weeks, and lasted so long that doctors warned participants they were risking death. At the height of the protest, the union battled police in front of the power stations, as it tried to exercise its legal right to strike and picket.
The planton and the movement outside it were intimately connected. The hunger strikers were few, but spoke for a union of tens of thousands of workers. In the end, the SME negotiated the removal of its last planton in return for government acknowledgement of its right to exist. It organized other unions to resist the government's assault on labor rights, and mobilized electricity consumers to protest rising bills and cuts in service. The planton helped to focus attention on these demands, and to pull the union's allies into action.
Clearly, someone in Seattle knows this tradition of plantons in the Zocalo, perhaps even as a participant. When the painter made the Seattle banner, she or he also included, right next to the word “planton,” the anarchists' “A” with the circle around it. This symbol was a reminder of another aspect of cross-border fertilization. Many anarchists or anarcho-syndicalists – members of the Industrial Workers of the World – fought in the Mexican Revolution. Because of that revolutionary upheaval, even today, almost a century later, ordinary Mexicans expect certain rights, including the right to set up a tent in the Zocalo. US workers crossed the border to fight alongside Mexicans in that insurrection long ago, for a government that would acknowledge that right. The planton, therefore, is a common heritage, with a history that makes it as legitimate on Wall Street as it is in Mexico City.
Not long after the OWS camp was set up in Zuccotti Park, the planton/occupy movement crossed the US/Mexico border. In Tijuana, home to a million people, mostly displaced migrants from Mexico's south, activists came together and set up an occupation on the grassy median of the Paseo de los Heroes. Their tents were pitched in the middle of the Zona del Rio, where the city's 1 percent meet in fancy hotels and work in government offices. Then, on October 18, police reacted even earlier than they did in most US cities, arresting two dozen activists at the urging of local businessmen. Occupy Tijuana condemned the detentions, declaring, “We are not assassins, delinquents, tramps or crooks.”
Triqui women talk with fired SME workers in the Zocalo plantons. (Photo: David Bacon)
In the US, we have our own history of defending public space for protest, and it isn't necessary to reach back a 100 years to find it. In just the last few decades, immigrant workers have popularized the use of the planton here, helping unions recover the militant tactics of their own past. In 1992, immigrants trying to join the United Electrical Workers mounted the first strike among production workers in Silicon Valley, and set up a planton and conducted a hunger strike to pressure their employer. A year later, other Latino immigrants in San Francisco erected their tents on the sidewalk in front of Sprint's headquarters, after their workplace was closed days before they were scheduled to vote in a union election.
A decade ago, anti-globalization activists and unions shut down the meeting of the World Trade Organization in Seattle. Young protesters chained their arms together inside metal pipes, and lay down in the intersections of downtown Seattle. Tens of thousands took over the streets. Other anti-globalization protests followed, in which activists battled for their right to use public space to challenge the international policies of the 1 percent.
Working-class support for the battle in Seattle had its roots in the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Workers could see the cost of free trade in the loss of their own jobs, as production moved south. Over the last two decades, many have also discovered that those same agreements and policies didn't make Mexicans better off, but led to their impoverishment as well.
NAFTA and free-market policies forced on developing countries produced opportunities for banks and corporations to reap profits. They drove down wages, forced farmers off their land and destroyed the unions and livelihood of millions of people. This system was designed on Wall Street, by the same bankers Occupiers hold responsible for the current crisis of foreclosures and unemployment in the US. The current economic crisis doesn't stop at the border. In fact, in Mexico, Central America, the Philippines, and elsewhere, it's been a fact of life for a long time. This is the source of forced migration – what Garcia condemned at Occupy ICE.
The 99 percent live in all those countries where free-trade agreements and structural adjustment policies are imposed. They also live in the communities of people who have come here as a result. Who, then, are more natural allies for Occupy protesters than people who've been on the receiving end of these policies for years?
In New York, this connection wasn't lost on Occupy Wall Street. In October, a group called Occupy Wall Street – Español was formed at the first Asemblea en Español. They, in turn, translated the first issue of the Occupied Wall Street Journal. Participants formed a subgroup, Occupy Wall Street Latinoamericano to spread the movement to Spanish-speaking communities, recognizing that the city is home to so many Mexicans from the state of Puebla that its nickname is PueblaYork, as well as much older established communities of Puerto Ricans, Colombians, Ecuadorians, and other Spanish-speaking people. The group will soon publish the first issue of its own newspaper, with articles talking about immigration, globalization, and the specific attacks by the 1 percent on Latinos.
Claudia Villegas, a women's rights activist working with the group Occupy Wall Street Latinoamericano, helped organize a demonstration of immigrant women four days after police raided the Zuccotti Park encampment. “We decided to change our original plan for a march because we were afraid they would stop it,” she says. “Nevertheless, 23 organizations participated including women's rights groups and above all, those working with immigrant women.”
Occupy San Francisco's march in solidarity with immigrants. (Photo: David Bacon)
In San Francisco, a joint march of immigrant activists and Occupy participants helped to defend that city's encampment. In the general assembly meeting preceding it, participants talked about the city's offer to move the Occupiers into an abandoned building in the Latino Mission District several miles away. Few wanted to give up the camp on Justin Herman Plaza, and most felt the city was just trying to move them out of sight. But many people also felt that having an Occupy camp in the barrio was a good idea.
“We're still really working in parallel,” Villegas says. She draws attention to the potential power of the immigrant rights movement, and what it could mean to OWS. “We have to include the movement that began in 2006, when there were hundreds of thousands |
Temple is in the final stages of his PhD, also at the University of Sheffield. Ideas in this piece were originally presented at the EPOP 2017 conference hosted by the School of Politics and International Relations between 8-10th September 2017. Image credit: CC by Wikipedia CommonsNunyer All Star Reserve
Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Baseball Ned Flanders stares into your soul... Posts: 593 Thanks: 74 Thanked 179x in 102 posts
GM Journal
Just got out of my first meeting with our head scout... He's an odd bird, that guy. Chris Orr is his name, claims to be the illegitimate great grand cousin of NHL great Bobby Orr... But the more I think about it, what the hell is a great grand cousin? All he does is sit around and play Angry Birds 6: Modern Warfare 2 on some old iPad5... I never see him doing any work... And he insists that I call him "Mothballs".... "it's because of how I smell" he says... Although I don't smell anything. Starting to think people around here are messing with the new guy... But Orr appears to have his stuff together despite never seeming to work, gave me some good info about our starting pitching... even if this notebook has doodles of cartoon birds carrying machine guns all over the margins...
SP Evan Carroll / 35 years old
Under contract for 1 year @ $314k
Career journeyman, always had a reputation for being a bit lazy, one of Lerma's typical cheapskate moves to save money. He insisted we grab him in the Rule 5 when Philly realized he was basically a bum. He can still probably eat up some innings for us, but none of his three pitches particularly fool anybody anymore. If you resign this guy, then you will already be dead to me.
SP Bob Childs / 33 years old
Under contract for 1 year @ $600k
Bob put up a number of decent seasons pitching for pretty bad teams out in Baltimore. But he is well past his prime now, skating by on reputation more than stuff. Guys either swing and miss at his heater or it leaves the ballpark. He's given up over 70 home runs in 52 starts in Columbus. Rumor has it that he might snag a supplemental draft pick if he hits the market next year, although I can't imagine any other teams realizing this and offering him a deal.
Drew "The Workout" Lee / 28 years old
Under contract for 1 year @ $180k, arbitration eligible (est $189k)
This might shock you boss, but Lee is another journeyman type that comes cheap. We got him mid season last year off waivers when, you guessed it, the Cincy Cockroaches realized he had little value. He doesn't walk anybody, but unfortunately he doesn't strike anybody out either. Earned his nickname from teammates because of all the running around they have to do in the field on days he starts. He is 17-34 with an ERA north of 5.00 in his NLB career.
SP Lorenzo Rodriguez / 33 years old
Under contract for 1 year @ $336k
We traded away some underachieving nobodies to get this guy, so I guess I can't complain... but another one of our starters with little upside beyond a throwing arm that is medically considered functional. Throws five pitches, none of them particularly effective anymore, but doesn't surrender many walks. I can't project this guy to do much for us this season or in any subsequent season.
Ruben "Big Stud" Vega / 32 years old
Under contract for 3 years: $1.26m, $1.39m, $1.52m
The one decent starter that we ever managed to develop and keep in house. Lerma almost gave me a heart attack when he handed Ruben that six year deal a few years back. I'm doubting he lives up to it by the time he's 34-35 years old. He's been declining for the last two years, all of his good numbers going bad, all of his bad numbers getting worse. His fastball just doesn't dance like it used to... Still, he's the best thing we got.
Anyways, that's all the notes I can afford to give you at the moment... Thinking about our rotation makes me all frowny inside. Let's talk later about the bullpen, at least we got some talent there, because bullpen arms are cheap... just like Lerma likes em....On Saturday, a New York federal judge issued an order staying President Trump’s executive order restricting immigrants from Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Iran, Iraq, and Libya. The order focused not on the importation of future refugees and immigrants, but on American green card holders, current visa-holders, and even citizens caught up in misapplication of the law, apparently at the hands of White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon and top advisor Stephen Miller, according to CNN. That misapplication has reportedly led to detention of babies who are citizens, as well as legal permanent residents attempting to fly back into the United States.
The judge ruled: “It is hereby ordered that the respondents…are enjoined and restrained from, in any manner or by any means, removing individuals with refugee applications approved by US Citizenship and Immigration Services as part of the US Refugee Admissions Program, holders of valid immigrant and non-immigrant visas, and other individuals from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen legally authorized to enter the United States.”
Another federal judge in Virginia has also ordered that the government allow lawyers to access “all legal permanent residents being detained at Dulles International Airport,” and preventing the government from removing these people from the United States. A Seattle court has now done the same.
Why in the world would these people have been prevented from entering the United States, even though the executive order could easily have been interpreted not to violate their rights? CNN reports on the chaos at the White House:
Friday night, DHS arrived at the legal interpretation that the executive order restrictions applying to seven countries -- Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Sudan and Yemen -- did not apply to people who with lawful permanent residence, generally referred to as green card holders. The White House overruled that guidance overnight, according to officials familiar with the rollout. That order came from the President's inner circle, led by Stephen Miller and Steve Bannon.
The order also contains legal errors that would have been avoided had the executive order been submitted to the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel. But instead, “the executive order did not follow the standard agency review process that's typically overseen by the National Security Council.”
This is incompetence of the highest order. It allows the courts the ability to strike down broad swaths of the executive order on the grounds that its interpretation has violated the legal rights of those allowed to be here by law. It undermines Trump’s entire case that the executive order was moderate in intent – far more moderate than his ridiculous early statements about a blanket Muslim ban during the campaign. It allows the media to go to war with him with the moral high ground.
Dumb. Dumb, dumb, dumb.Google as we all know has not only been a platform for us to help find information faster but also a great way to find learning resources to help develop our skills for our profession and hobbies. Being a serious hobbyist myself and a learner of new and exciting things I am grateful to have this as one of my projects that I worked on during my UX Design Immersive Course at General Assembly. I made sure I was objective about my research since I was so so close to this subject personally. It helped me empathize with the users and their problems better. The Journey Begins: Problem Statement: People face a seemingly insurmountable number of considerations to learn a new skill / hobby. Tools: Sketch 3, Omingraffle, Framejs, Sticky notes, Google, Google Forms, Google Sheets and Google Docs. Techniques Implemented: (to stay on top of the project): The Pomodoro Technique (thanks Chris), Ryan Holiday’s Notecard Method, Meditation and Morning Pages. Team: Just me. My trainer Stacey Sarris played a crucial part in keeping me accountable and making sure I was following the right UX practices. Platform: Desktop The Solution: A system which simplifies the problem by aggregating the best content for the users for learning more about their skill based hobby and developing their skills. The content would be aggregated by using an algorithm which curates the videos and articles pertaining to the hobbies based on Google Analytics, user reviews + feedback and recommendations from the professionals/experts in the field. This product is called Google Hobbies and it will present itself as a card along with the search results and a standalone product in itself (like Google Calendar). It is a Learning Management System that keeps track of the user’s learning journey, enables them add friends, track their own progress, earn experience points (which can be traded for buying discount coupons on their favorite hobby related items) and more. How Google Hobbies will aggregate the content for the user. The Process: 1. The Survey: I created the below survey and shared it on Facebook to find people who were passionate about learning about their hobbies and were not using it as a profession. Link to the survey A screenshot of the responses received. It was no surprise that most people used Google to find this information. The main goal of the survey was to find people who are hobbyists and use Google to search for information pertaining to their hobby. This survey was intentionally kept simple so it didn’t take too much time for the people to fill out and I could easily select the people I want to interview. Responses Received: 28 2. Interview Questions: Topic map to find out what were the potential challenges a user faced around learning their skill based hobby While ideating the user interview questions I wanted to learn what their motivation was, how and when they used Google to search for the information, what their behavior was like revolving this activity and what their pains and pleasures were while they searched for this information. Asking them when was the last time they performed an activity was a good way to find out what their behavior was like and how they managed learning more about their hobbies while managing their schedule. It was also crucial to find out what made them trust the information since that would help the users take the content more seriously and lead to taking action in the form of practice.
Questions I asked during the interviews.
3. User Interviews: Most of the interviews were done over the phone as most users preferred this option because of their busy schedules. I interviewed 14 people and got many insights after talking to them. All of them were very passionate about their hobbies and a common trend of finding not enough time to commit to their hobbies was definitely noticeable. I also wanted to interview a wider age demographic since I knew many kids also participate in various hobbies. I reached out to my personal contacts and got the permission to interview 3 kids at a Sikh school in Glen Cove, NY.
Me interviewing the kids at the school. Other interviews were done over the phone.
4. Interview Analysis: It was really interesting to find that research showed most users not only searched for the info online but also learned it from their peers and usually trusted that information more than a random internet video or an article unless it was from a well know expert in the field. They also had some pre-existing knowledge before getting into the search phase which helped them weed out the irrelevant information and did further research by reading user comments and reviews to gain more knowledge about the content and generate trust before committing to it.
Link to full User Interview Notes. It was surprising to find out that the research not only showed users having issues relating to searching for information but also the learning process in itself. So instead of this product just being limited to simplifying search, I realized that it has to cover the learning aspect of this process and improve upon it. This changed the course of the project dramatically. 5. Competitive and Comparative Analysis Link to the full Competitive Analysis Report I did a Competitive Analysis with 10 different websites which helped users learn skill based hobbies. The intention was to learn the best practices involved and gain a general awareness of what type of learning systems are out there and what are the best practices used. It was also a good way to find out what not to do and how some features for our product may or may not be included. Most websites, unlike Google, had their KPIs set around number of subscriptions and forced users to login to be able to access the content. They also had a very limited scope of courses they offered. This is a great opportunity for Google since it has a bigger range of topics it can cover than all of these websites and is not limited to a particular field, subject or a demographic. Google also does not rely on users being logged-in in order to generate revenue off of ads which is a plus. For Comparative Analysis, I focused on the process of learning itself. I researched how a particular website handles the Learning Process making it easier for the user to understand the content better. Link to the course As a part of this research, I signed up for Learning How to Learn course offered by Coursera to learn more about human memory and what are the best practices involved when it comes to learning. It not only helped me learn more about the best practices involved, but also an in-depth knowledge about how memory works, what the different types of memory are (short term and long term), why we procrastinate, why it is important to have a quiz at the end of a chapter, focused and diffused mode of learning, the importance of breaking down information into chunks, and much more. “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiet person to fool.” — Richard Feynman I discovered that working in teams is great since it avoids illusions of competence and helps you discuss your ideas with others to avoid mistakes which you may have not noticed otherwise. Link to full Comparative Analysis It not only helped me get many good ideas for my project but also a new way of looking towards learning which I can implement in everything that I learn from now on. Lynda.com has small chunk-sized videos for them to be easily consumed and retained in the working memory
Coursera has small quizzes at the end of particular sections because recall is better than re-reading in order to cement particular concepts in mind.
Skillshare has % of likes, reviews and social feature to generate more trust with the learners and allowing them to share this with their friends using social media.
Apps like Google Primer showed average time for completing a particular lesson which helps the user commit their time to learning from it accordingly.
Duolingo helped users learn better by gamification of the learning process making it fun and generating a state of flow. I also compared how many steps does it take for the user to access the learning information amongst Google’s competitors when it comes to learning material online. Youtube had the least number of steps (6 steps) in user finding the information and not having the user login. With the introduction of the Google Hobbies cards, the steps will be cut by 2 (4 steps). 6. Personas From this research, I made the below 3 personas as an archetype that covers our target users. Ramesh is a 38 year old Engineer who needs to find better ways to commit time to learning a new skill. Liz, 12, is seeking a local violin teacher. Ashley, a 55 year old mom, is looking for step-by-step tutorials and deals on painting supplies.
7. Features While I was coming up with the features based on prior research, Stacey asked me, “So how will this inform the design?” it was a great question to ask while deciding which features would be most useful for the users. It is similar to one of Luke’s favorite questions, “What will be the design implication of this?” Both statements helped me think about how a particular feature relates to the rest of the design solution and how it fits into the puzzle. I implemented this by adding an extra column pointing to the respective research finding. It helped me avoid featuritis as well. Link to the full list of features 8. Feature Prioritization: I condensed the features list before starting this process and along with the typical x-y axis, I chose to use a scoring system of which the cut-off point of 38. This helped me analyze to a greater detail and decide whether a particular feature would make it to the MVP or not. I divided the columns based on the importance of the feature, how well it benefits the user (based on user research and Coursera), whether the feature is already existing in other Google products (hence reducing the dev effort), whether or not it is fun and how hard is it for the user to do the current task. I learned a bit more about the best ways to prioritize features and more effective ways of feature prioritization by reading a few articles. A few features that stood out to me were: The level of difficulty slider — which would help the users choose their own difficulty level
Gamification of the learning process which will reward the users experience points which they can trade for discount coupons for shopping supplies for their hobbies — creating a win-win where users would have fun while they learn, they would also get cheaper supplies and Google can earn extra revenue via directing the sales to the sponsored stores through these discounts. 9. Minimum Viable Product: After prioritizing the features, I decided the MVP will be a product which the users can use and interact from the search results screen. They will be able to choose their own difficulty level, watch videos, read articles and set scheduled reminders which would be synced with their Google Calendar which would give them a notification to view the content. The design and interactions will be as per Google’s Material Design guidelines. Users will be able to visit the main Google Hobbies landing page to view what Google Hobbies would basically be like. I set the project scope in these limits so that I was able to finish it in time in order to communicate the main idea. Upon further research and with more time, more functionality will be added to the Main Google Hobbies landing page as a whole. How will the user interact with the product? This is explained in detail through the swim lanes and wireframes below. A very close representation of what the final product may look and interact like can also be previewed in the final high fidelity prototype. 10. Swim Lanes Swim Lanes helped me create a user journey with every step involved and an inventory of the features that would go on each one of those pages. The third system layer also serves as a great communication tool between the UX designer and the developers. This enables the developers to not think about anything else but the what that would go in a particular step or a page. This way they can start developing the base foundation earlier. Every step would be scrutinized not only by the UX designers and the developers but also by the stakeholders, UI designers and everyone involved in the product development team. This also helped me focus mainly on the flow that the user would go through and how the product would function overall. Having this as a tool and not worrying about the design helped lay the solid foundation it needed based on which the wireframes and the high fidelity prototype will be made on. (Please click on the thumbnails for a larger view)
11. Design Studio and Low Fidelity Paper Prototype: With the initial research and time spent in taking inventory of what goes where, the boxes in the swim lanes above would work as pages/screens the user would interact with and since we already figured out what would go on each screen at every step of the process, the design studio was fairly a simple task to do. Now, I could just focus on the design and functionality aspect to bring it all together. I decided to focus on sticking to the below scenarios which were most important for our personas and designed the screens accordingly. The numbering of all the screens in the swim lanes also created reference numbers based off of which the designed screens would correspond to. User Scenarios To keep the design consistent, I made the design which was based on a single hobby — How to learn the guitar but the same screens and steps can be applied in Liz’s and Ashley’s scenarios.
Ramesh would utilize the scheduling functionality to view the content based on his timings.
In Liz’s case, for finding local trainers, Google’s location based Google Maps card will be used. I borrowed the existing design to convey that we could use the existing feature and save some time in development.
In Ashley’s case, she would utilize not only what most of the Google Hobbies cards offer but also can potentially click on ads if she finds any deals interesting. A bit about scheduling and experience points: I designed this product in a way that would help motivate the users to learn more about the favorite hobbies by experience points which they can then compare with their friends and challenge each other. It also revolves around creating a habit of practice and a sense of flow while learning these hobbies with experience points as a reward to perform the routine and the reminders would serve as cues. The effects of interleaved practice from the Coursera course also suggests that this will result in the most effective learning experience for the user. From Charles Duhigg’s The Power of Habit
Process showing how the basic design studio sketches were then formalized into a paper prototype.
12. Usability Test 01: With the paper prototype, I did usability tests with 7 users. I created a usability script to make sure that all the tests were consistent so that they generated objective consistent data. Initial Setup I set the scene up with the users telling them that they are a person who is interested in learning how to play the guitar. They would enter “how to learn the guitar” as keywords in the search field and upon seeing the default search results, in a few seconds they would see the initial card pop-up initiating the below tasks and scenarios to be tested. I had set up the tasks in a way that in a short duration of time I could test the core functionality of the product and learn more about how users react to it. Upon giving a correct answer to the quiz, the users would get experience points and I wanted to test how users react to that as well. What I did during the test: I observed and took notes on their behavior and reactions to the design
After landing on new pages or screens, I asked the users whether that was something they expected and noted the results
I asked them to tell me what they see
For the slider, once they recognized what it was, I asked them how do they expect it to behave Me performing a paper prototype usability test at General Assembly. Key Takeaways: Most users thought the reading article button was a list of bullet points
Most users knew what the function of the slider is and how they would use it
I had the video and the articles pop-up on the side once the users clicked on them and 4 out of 7 users told me they expected it to pop-up right in the center and not on the side
The experience points as a reward brought smiles to their faces and 6 out of the 7 users wanted to know where their experience points went
The friends section on the Google Hobbies landing page was a bit confusing to the users as they didn’t know if those were their friends from Google+ or added in the Google Hobbies module
Users also clicked on the Hobbies subsection naturally and shared they’d like to add more hobbies to this as they pursue multiple hobbies at the same time
The design showed overall experience points of the users as a whole in the dashboard but what I found out was that they expected to see individual points for their different hobbies
Most users had fun interacting with the prototype and wanted more
The experimental task yielding surprisingly good results. I thought it would be another pop-up screen for the users and they would ignore it but 5 out of the 7 users actually clicked “Add to calendar” to get the reminders for their practice times
The copy was a bit confusing to the users. It needed some improvement especially in the initial card and the quiz questions.
Usability test notes
Design Implications: The video pop-up screen will be shown in the center instead of the side to maintain user’s focus. The copy will be improved helping the users to engage with the product better. 13. Wireframing The insights gathered from the paper prototype usability tests helped me decide which changes I needed to make while designing the wireframes. Upon showing these to Stacey, she suggested I should read a bit more about the 960 grid and recommended I read Ordering Disorder by Khoi Vinh. Reading this book and a few more articles opened up my eyes to why grid systems are so important and how they make the workflow super fast and easy. I used to think that they would be restrictive and there will be no scope for creativity but surprisingly it was the opposite. Following a grid based system frees up your mind so you don’t have to worry about placement and alignment that works, looks and feels beautiful. You now, can concentrate on being creative with the functionality and the design of the product. “Discipline equals freedom”— from John “Jocko” Willink’s interview on Tim Ferris’ Podcast made perfect sense and fit right into this ideology. This helped me make a big change in my wireframes (example below).
Before and after showing how awesome the 960 grid is.
Wireframes with annotations: I annotated the final wireframes in detail to better facilitate communication with the development team and the stakeholders. I also used this opportunity to practice the 960 grid a bit more and made the annotation document accordingly. “The visuals, the typography and color is just the flavor. The main functionality lies in the wireframes. You need to show how everything works and functions in wireframes before you step any further.” — Stacey I read certain parts of Communicating Design by Dan Brown to learn about the best practices in annotating wireframes and applied them accordingly. (Please click on the thumbnails for a larger view)
Material Design uses motion to provide more meaning to the interactions and I wanted to use it in an effective way to communicate with the users what an element behaved like. I am really inspired by the whole Material Design philosophy and my aim was to build the final high fidelity prototype based on these principles. I explained two of the main interactions in the wireframes and I am glad I was able to show the same effects in my final prototype I made in Framer.
Please note the elevation mentioned in terms of dp.
References: When split, material can heal: http://bit.ly/1ns8AYo Motion provides meaning: https://youtu.be/isYZXwaP3Q4?t=14m55s 14. High Fidelity Prototype: It was very important that the high fidelity prototype looked and felt like a Google product. I took a deep dive into Material Design by reading the guidelines and watching videos and it was really inspiring. Some notes: The cards will have 2dp rounded corners
The shadows of these cards will be in accordance to the Material Design principles and would change depending on their level of elevation (dp level)
The Material Design template in Sketch 3 will come in handy
The Google Hobbies base card and its sub-cards will behave as a part of a single system (more on this in a few). With the interactions in mind, I started researching about what tool would be the best for me to achieve the same effect and interaction. I already know Invision, Hype and Principle but this project called for something more robust. With more research I found that tool to be Framer. Framer is mainly a code based prototyping platform which uses Coffeescript to create high fidelity prototypes with custom interactions. It syncs perfectly with sketch. This mean’t I had to learn to code from scratch in order to be able to prototype — Challenge accepted! Why Framer? Framer is multi-platform, has a fast workflow and provides a lot more freedom when it comes designing the custom interactions which otherwise would be really hard to explain. It gives the designer the ability to specify animations in curves, use HTML and CSS and real world data to make the prototypes even more robust. Framer also follows the method of side-by-side live coding explained in Inventing on Principle by Bret Victor which helps the designer/coder be more creative. It helps the designers achieve a prototype which left very little room for confusion on how a certain element would react or how a specific interaction would be like. I also wanted to invest my time into learning a tool which is widely used by top companies and I didn’t mind if there was a steep learning curve to it. It would be another powerful tool in my toolkit which I can use to bring a lot more value to a team I would work in for my future projects. Since I was learning to code from scratch, it took me a while to understand these new concepts and after a lot of debugging and 2.5k lines of code I was able to achieve the v1 prototype. Link to the prototype
As I learned more and got more experience with Framer, iterating on the prototype started becoming easier and faster. I also joined the Facebook group for Framer which is very supportive in helping you get answers to your questions really fast. I also attended the Framer NYC event to learn more techniques, geek out with other fellow users and fix a few of the bugs my prototype had. At the Framer NYC meet-up (Photo courtesy: Danny White) They gave me great feedback on my prototype. Marc, Danny and Jared for helped me get rid of many bugs in the prototype and made the code cleaner and smarter. Interactions: After 2 seconds, the initial card will animate from the top asking user. This animation is intended to catch the user’s eye. 2. User initiates an interaction which is shown by the material design ripple effect. 3. Notice the slider animating towards the left to communicate that the slider is scrollable. (Ref: https://youtu.be/isYZXwaP3Q4?t=16m30s) 4. Principles of hierarchical timing and consistent choreography applied as per the Material Design principles. 5. Sub-cards popping up and expanding into videos as a part of the same system in the center (based on user research) 6. While closing, the sub-card will go back to its respective position. 7. Upon giving a correct answer to a quiz question, the experience points will animate towards ‘More on Google Hobbies’ link to convey they can learn more about this by clicking that link. 15. Usability Test #2 I performed a second usability test with this prototype with 5 users. I used the below usability test script which was customized to cater to this prototype. With these tasks: Key Findings: Most people found the slider hard to find and the placement above the transparent background made them perceive it as a Youtube play scroller
Most people thought the big image in the top of the base card was a video
Users clicked on the slider instead of dragging it
Most of the users mentioned the look and feel of the Google Hobbies cards is of a Google Product.
Users were excited on giving the correct answer and were naturally inclined to click on ‘More on Google Hobbies’ link at the bottom.
Users expected the experience points earned to be of the same color in the main landing page.
The card behaviors were in line with user expectations
The initial card successfully caught their eye and they naturally interacted with it
Users were excited to see the experience points earned but did not fully get how they could use them 16. Final High Fidelity Prototype Below are the changes made to the prototype after learning from the second usability test. Design Implications: Fixed the slider so it is clickable + draggable and mentioned all difficulty levels instead of just the current one. (reference: http://bit.ly/1ROcOGM) 2. Removed the header image and cleaned up the design. 4. Fixed the color of experience points to be the same on the landing page 5. Added a tip in one of the cards to educate the users more about the experience points Version 2 of the High Fidelity Prototype:Gallup Poll of Trust Shows Conservative America
Gallup on June 19 published a poll that dealt with American confidence in institutions, alleging that public faith in Congress reached the lowest point since the question had been polled. Was that the real story? An analysis of the polling results of American confidence in different institutions, and a review of those results over time suggests something much more significant: Americans overwhelmingly express confidence in those institutions historically connected with conservatism and overwhelmingly express little faith in those institutions historically connected with leftism. The June 19 poll story itself provides a clear picture of how conservative Americans feel when identifying those institutions they trust or do not trust. The first five institutions in which Americans say that they have “a great deal” of confidence or “quite a lot” of confidence are, in order, the military, small business, the police, churches, and the medical system.
The bottom of the list includes those parts of the leftist establishment, from the bottom of the list up: Congress, television news, news on the internet, big business, organized labor, and newspapers. Three of those six are arms of the establishment news media. Congress is an institution that activist conservatives instinctively distrust (just ask ex-Majority Leader Eric Cantor); big labor is entirely controlled by the left. What about “big business”? Most conservatives have grown to see giant corporations as fawning supplicants for adulation by the left. While conservatives certainly support businesses growing wealthy in the free market, it is small business that conservatives love and trust. Big business seems to be in bed with the Washington insiders, and political correctness reeks from every commercial and every public statement made by these corporate giants. Banks are right in the middle of the institutional trust list, which is probably where most conservatives would place them: willing to use the federal government to protect their interests, just like other big business, but operating largely within a free market, where incompetence is punished and efficiency is rewarded. The historical poll data also shows some interesting trends. Public schools were once also sacrosanct in policy debates. While the methods and funding for public schools might be questioned, the system itself was recognized as performing a great good that helped all Americans. In 1975, 62% of respondents to Gallup said that they had “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in public schools. Ten years later, in 1985, that percentage had plummeted to 48%. In 1995, only 40% of Americans felt so positively about public schools. Ten years later, in 2005, confidence in public schools drooped to only 37%. So how many Americans in this latest Gallup Poll expressed confidence in public schools? A paltry 26%. In four decades, American confidence in public schools fell an incredible 40 percentage points. Other institutions nestled in leftism have suffered a dramatic loss of trust. Television news, whose level of trust was first measured in 1993, has nosedived from 47% in 1973 to 18% in the latest Gallup Poll. The Supreme Court in 1985 had 51% of Americans persuaded to have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence, although ten years later that dropped to 44%, then dropped again ten years later to 41% – and in the latest Gallup Poll, confidence had dropped to only 30%. In the last twenty years, confidence in the military was actually grown even higher. Confidence in the police has stayed about the same, and confidence in the medical system has actually jumped up a bit. Only organized religion, among institutions conservatives would be expected to trust, has declined, although the percentage of people who distrust organized religions has actually dropped a bit, too – and the politically correct bent of many mainline churches may account for this distrust. Belief in God remains extraordinarily high among Americans and highest among conservatives, as it has in every poll in the last seventy years. What the "trust in institution" polls conducted by Gallup really show is what the Battleground Poll, the Gallup Poll questions on ideology, and Survey USA and other polling organizations have been reporting for some time: America is overwhelmingly conservative. The institutions most trusted by conservatives are also the institutions Americans generally trust. Every time the issue of American ideological demographics is tested by polling organizations, the result is always the same: America is a deeply conservative nation, manipulated by entrenched cadres of the left.Well, I have got limited experience with smaller, house-sized operations of this sort… In college I often crashed at a friend’s house where they would throw parties/get punk bands to show up to help pay their rent, and I did spend two years living on a larger, more farm-like commune.
The whole premise is that you establish a business, and everyone involved does work for the business, which then pays some or all of the costs of living incurred by all of you. Living communally also ultimately lessens living costs and can lead to more productive hours; buying in bulk is cheap, and it takes less time for two people to cook a meal for 12 than it takes 12 people to cook their own individual meal.
Generally speaking, this requires some ability to not totally fail at business; I’m not much business-minded, so I can’t really list any examples of what would make a good home-based business for a bunch of /a/nons, but I’m sure somebody here DOES have some ideas. I’ve always liked the idea of limited run screen printing and other crafty stuff like that, but YMMV of course; web-based business is also good, since you don’t need an office or shit like that; just designate a common space in the building as a work area.
This usually requires startup capital, and like all business is highly likely to fail initially, so it might be a better idea of anybody ever wanted to do this for them all to have other sources of income to get by on while you coalesce everything.Republican’s Bill OKs Farmers Fouling Water Supplies … and You Can’t Take Them to Court Either
A Washington state congressman wants to put cow manure in its place—in drinking water. And if you don’t like it, well, tough luck.
Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) wants to make sure animal manure isn’t included in a 1976 federal law that regulates how solid waste and hazardous waste is disposed of.
Newhouse introduced the bill because of a 2015 ruling by a federal judge that the law, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, also can apply to manure from livestock facilities. The lawsuit involved the Cow Palace Dairy, whose 11,000 cattle produced about 100 million gallons of manure and urine, and two other dairies in the Lower Yakima Valley in Washington.
Outlook, Wash., resident Helen Reddout co-founded a nonprofit, the Community Association for the Restoration of the Environment, which sued because area wells were contaminated. The Center for Food Safety in Washington, D.C., also was a plaintiff.
“I have more pictures of cow manure and cows in insufferable conditions than my own grandchildren,” Reddout said in 2015.
The dairies settled, agreeing to install liners in ponds that hold the manure and provide bottled water to area residents. The dairies already were providing bottled water for some residents.
Attorneys on both sides said the case could set a national precedent. Industrial farms produce hundreds of millions of tons of manure. In 2012, this was about 13 times as much sewage as that produced by the entire U.S. population.
Newhouse’s office told the Yakima Herald that the decision by federal judge Thomas |
Pittsburg ISD superintendent, Judy Pollan said that is simply not true. “He has about 30 boys and only 10 stay behind for a couple of sessions, so that tells you right there that it’s not mandatory.” Pollan explained. “He may show a movie or do studies on different things, but the whole purpose is to develop character and a winning attitude.” Pollan also said that the study session probably began because the players approached the coach about wanting to learn more about growing up and being men.
Just to state the obvious, even if the bible study isn’t mandatory, it shouldn’t be happening at all in that context. The coach of a team shouldn’t even be suggesting that student join him for a Bible study, not just because he’s a school employee endorsing a religious message, but because it’s easy to think he’s favoring students who come to the discussion. He might give them more playing time, a better spot in the lineup, etc.
Also, God’s Not Dead isn’t We Are Marshall. It’s not about inspiration. It’s fundamentally about preaching a Christian message. The Kingdom Man series is undoubtedly about faith
Is this superintendent oblivious or ignorant? I can’t decide.
What about the message on the uniforms?
“The kids expressed a desire to have something like that on their t-shirts.” said Pollan. “If it’s something they feel strongly about, of course, the coaches and staff will be responsive to it.”
But these aren’t shirts the kids just made on their own. They are the “official practice uniforms” endorsed by the school. Administrators and coaches are supposed to say no when the message is a religious one. It’s the same reason they could say no to a team uniform that said “God Doesn’t Hear Your Prayers, so Keep Practicing!”
To make matters worse, the superintendent sent an email to the staff, which FFRF also got ahold of, in which she defended Stewart. (The CAPS LOCK is all her.)
I have known Tommy Stewart since he was five years old. I SUPPORT HIM AND HIS WORK WITH OUR KIDS. We are blessed to have a man who feels called to work with our boys as they make the transition into manhood. I WOULD MOST CERTAINLY RATHER BE REPORTED FOR DOING SOMETHING GOOD RATHER THAN DOING SOMETHING BAD. It is such a shame that the woman who did this wanted to hide behind the camera and not show her face. As public school employees, we can be targeted and reported regardless of whether any of it is true. However, my feeling about this situation comes from a quote from my favorite Book, “Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.”
That last line is Psalm 37:1-2, by the way. So she used a Bible verse to defend a coach who is accused of preaching the Bible.
What Pollen doesn’t understand is that what she thinks is “good” for children is illegal in the eyes of the law. And maybe she would understand that if the coach were pushing anything other than Christianity. If he were Muslim, atheist, Pagan, or Hindu, this would be a no-brainer and he would’ve been reprimanded a long time ago.
Is there any doubt why the complainant chose to remain anonymous? It’s because of people like Stewart and Pollen, who believe their faith puts them above the law and look down upon those who want nothing more than for public officials to remain neutral on matters of religion.
If Coach Stewart wants to teach boys how to become men, then he can teach them to work hard, respect other people, and play by the rules.
None of that requires the Gospel. Just common sense.An exhausted father-of-four has vented his frustration, saying he can't remember why he ever wanted to become a parent.
The man, who is known on Reddit at Spangemonkee, took to the online forum to reveal a brutally honest insight in to his life in post titled 'I can't remember why I ever wanted to be a parent and it's insane that anyone would ever want to be one'.
'All my time, energy and money go to my kids,' he wrote.
'I'm left with a house that gets destroyed on a daily basis, exhaustion and zero fulfillment.'
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An exhausted father=of-four has taken to Reddit to ask why he ever became a parent (stock image)
The post, which was published on Wednesday, attracted more than 150 replies from parents who expressed their sympathy or offered their advice.
The father, who has a 13-year-old daughter, nine-year-old son and 21-month-old twin girls, went on to detail just what has him 'burned out'.
'Last Friday night was spent mopping up puke,' he wrote.
'Saturday was listening to nothing but whining all day.
He said his life was made up of cleaning up after his kids, listening to them whine and having babysitters cancel last minute (stock image)
'On Sunday, the two hours of spending time with just my wife was canceled because our babysitter couldn't make it and my teenager couldn't be bothered.
'Today has been amazing since my oldest decided to rant about eating meat was bad whilst the toddlers tossed all their food on the floor.'
But while he is as his wits' end, his feelings were not mirrored by his wife who he said took it all 'in her stride' and can't understand how he feels.
'She gets hurt when I try talking with her about it,' he wrote.
'The only thing keeping me from walking away from it all is my deep sense of responsibility.'
'The only thing keeping me from walking away from it all is my deep sense of responsibility,' he said (stock image)
His desperate pleas prompted an outpouring of support from other parents.
While some reassured him that he is not alone by sharing their own, similar, stories, others said it would only get easier.
'Thank you for writing my feelings for me,' one Redditer wrote.
'I feel horrible about feeling this way already because my son is only three months old but I feel like I've just lost myself.'
His struggle prompted an outpouring of support from other parents who said he was not alone and made suggestions on how he could make life easier (stock image)
Others suggested ways he could alleviate his feelings of stress, from speaking to a counsellor to getting his own hobbies outside of parenting.
Others said they dedicated nights to doing something for themselves.Manipulating the government's monthly unemployment report is impossible because of the large number of people -- mostly civil servants and not political appointees -- involved in compiling the data, said the former commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
"I think it would be impossible to really manipulate the numbers," said Keith Hall, who served from 2008 to 2012 as commissioner of the independent statistical agency, which produces the report. "Certainly, it would be impossible to manipulate the numbers and not be found out."
After the BLS reported Friday that the unemployment rate in September dropped to 7.8 percent from 8.1 percent, former General Electric Chief Executive Jack Welch charged that the White House manipulated the number to distract from President Obama's debate performance this week. "Unbelievable jobs numbers... these Chicago guys will do anything... can't debate so change number," Welch tweeted.
Hall, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush and served through much of the Obama administration, said the BLS commissioner is a nonpolitical position. The commissioner serves a four-year term and is not replaced by an incoming president, as the heads of Cabinet departments and other agencies are.
"I feel like I'm a certified economic geek rather than a political person," said Hall, who is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.
During his four years as commissioner of the BLS, which is part of the Labor Department, Hall said he was never asked by the Bush or Obama White House to change any data.
The unemployment rate is calculated differently than the monthly job-growth figure. To determine the rate, Census Bureau employees survey about 50,000 people each month -- mostly over the phone but sometimes in person -- to determine if they are employed, Hall said.
Dozens, if not hundreds, of people are involved in collecting the data and compiling it, he said. The household survey data are more volatile than the monthly payroll figures on job growth, which are compiled from about 400,000 businesses, he said. But the household survey can be an early indicator of changes in the jobs market because it can take a while for new businesses to be included in the payroll survey.
"At turning points, sometimes the household survey turns a little quicker than the payroll survey does," Hall said. "It doesn't mean it doesn't give out false signals."
If the September household survey is picking up a trend, Hall said he'd expect job creation to increase during the next couple of months. If September was more of a statistical fluke, the unemployment rate would go up.Today is a good day, Frozen fans. We’ve been gifted with delightful images from the first day of rehearsals for the new Broadway-bound musical Frozen, coming to the St. James Theatre in spring 2018. We’ve already learned about the leading actors who will let it go as Frozen characters onstage, and last week we met the rest of the talented cast and crew, and today we get to see more of this marvelous cast as they rehearse for the very first time! Let’s take a look:
Caissie Levy (Elsa) and Patti Murin (Anna) Hug!
Olaf would definitely approve of this warm hug between leading actresses Caissie Levy (left) and Patti Murin (right). It also reminds us of another heartfelt moment from the Frozen animated film that inspired the musical:
Amazing.
Here’s another endearing image of the two actresses, who look to be having a great time with the rest of the cast.
Greg Hildreth (Olaf) and Kevin Del Aguila (Oaken):
The actors behind the carrot-nosed snowman and the trading post/sauna owner who sells carrots (among other items) come together in this sweet image. Greg Hildreth (who plays Olaf) is pictured left, while Kevin Del Aguila (who plays Oaken) is pictured right. We heart this photo.
Jelani Alladin (Kristoff):
We can’t wait to see actor Jelani Alladin bring this lovable “fixer-upper” to life singing Kristoff classics like “Reindeer Are Better Than People.”
John Riddle (Hans) with Robert Creighton (Duke of Weselton):
Here we’ve got John Riddle on the left, who plays the two-faced Prince Hans of the Southern Isles with the Duke of Weaselton—we mean Weselton—actor Robert Creighton. It’ll be a thrill to see these two bring their mischievous characters to life on stage!
Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez (Frozen music and lyrics writers) with Christopher Oram (scenic and costume designer) and Natasha Katz (lighting designer):
What a talented crew! Academy Award winners Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez wrote the Frozen music and lyrics that we all know and love from the 2013 animated film. Christopher Oram, who is designing the sets and costumes, is a Tony and Olivier Award winner. Natasha Katz, who will be designing the costumes and has previously worked on Aladdin on Broadway, is a six-time Tony Award winner for her work!
We’ll be belting all our favorite songs until we can hear the Broadway tunes in 2018.
Frozen the musical’s director, Michael Grandage:
This Tony Award and three-time Olivier Award winner appears to be talking to the cast in front of what appears to be a miniature model of the St. James Theatre. We imagine the sets will be absolutely magical, and we can’t wait to be immersed in the world of Frozen!
Director Michael Grandage with Frozen’s leading ladies, Caissie Levy (Elsa) and Patti Murin (Anna):
We have to reiterate how excited we are to see these two ladies perform Elsa and Anna live on stage. We’re feeling such a flurry of emotions right now!
Director Michael Grandage with Thomas Schumacher and Christopher Oram (scenic/costume designer):
Frozen is produced by Disney Theatrical Productions under the direction of Thomas Schumacher, pictured center. In our opinion, it’s going to be the coolest show on Broadway!
Musical team, Stephen Oremus (music supervisor), Chris Montan (music consultant), and Brian Usifer (music director):
With the two-time Tony Award winner Stephen Oremus supervising the music of Frozen and creating vocals for the production, we’re sure the amazing music will be wondrously arranged. We’re already anticipating getting goosebumps from the orchestrations!
Choreographer Rob Ashford with cast members James Brown III and Travis Patton:
Frozen choreographer, Rob Ashford, is a Tony Award winner and multiple Tony and Olivier Award nominee. We’re positive that the dance numbers are going to be epic.
The Broadway previews and opening night for Frozen the musical will be announced in the coming months, so stay tuned for more theatrical details! Until then, rehearsals are underway, and the show will have a preliminary run at Buell Theatre in the Denver Center for the Performing Arts August 17 – October 1, 2017. The show will have two acts and is expected to run two and a half hours. Opening night can’t come soon enough!
What did you think about these first-look images of Frozen the musical’s first rehearsal? Are you excited to see the Broadway show? Tell us in the comments!
Posted 2 years AgoXiaomi, the Chinese electronics manufacturer and fourth-largest smartphone maker in the world, is exploring the option of raising funding that could value the company at more than $40 billion.
Multiple sources confirmed to FORBES that the Beijing company is considering raising more money and possibly quadrupling its previous valuation of $10 billion, which it attained after an undisclosed amount of funding in August of last year. Prior to that Xiaomi, founded in 2010, had raised $216 million in June 2012 at $4 billion.
If Xiaomi is able to raise money at a valuation of $40 billion or higher, it would become the world's most valuable private technology company and rank among the most valuable device manufacturers. At that amount, the company would be worth more than Sony, which has a market capitalization of $19.5 billion, and almost three times as much as the world's third-largest smartphone maker Lenovo, which has a market value of $15.6 billion. A Xiaomi spokesperson declined to comment on whether the company was looking to raise money.
Less than five years old, Xiaomi is the vision of founder and CEO Lei Jun, a 44-year-old serial entrepreneur who is now worth $9.1 billion due to his company's success. Long seen as China's answer to Steve Jobs, Lei has long since given up mimicking the tech icon and Apple, which Xiaomi now outsells in its home country.
“If Jobs had lived in China, I think he could not have succeeded,” Lei told FORBES two years ago. “Jobs was a scrupulous perfectionist, while Chinese culture emphasizes the middle path.”
While Xiaomi has yet to surpass Apple, it's gobbled up market share in Asian markets and is improving sales at a faster rate than any of the world's top five smartphone manufacturers. In the third quarter, Xiaomi shipped 17.3 million units, up more than 200% from the same period last year according to a recent report from IDC. For comparison, Apple, which was the second-largest smartphone maker last quarter behind Samsung, shipped 39.3 million units, a 16% increase from the third quarter of 2013.
Those numbers are astounding for a company that didn't exist five years ago and has yet to enter the American market. Now the top smartphone company in China, Xiaomi is branching out beyond its Android operating system-based phones into products like tablet computers. It’s also started expanding globally by sending its products to places like Singapore and India.
“Lei Jun is a visionary founder focused on cutting edge innovation,” DST Global’s Yuri Milner told FORBES in 2012. “He is surrounded by exceptionally strong team with unique product expertise.”
Milner’s firm is one of the handful investors in Xiaomi, a group that also includes Temasek Holdings, Qiming Venture Partners and Morningside Ventures. Sources did not say if Xiaomi had already begun discussions with potential investors for a new round of funding, though they did say that the company had turned down previous offers for funding at a valuation of about $30 billion.
Xiaomi reported sales in the first half of 2014 to be about $5.31 billion--up about 150% from last year—and those inside the company expect revenue to be more than $11 billion for the whole year. At a potential valuation of $40 billion, Xiaomi, which does not discuss profits but is reported to be profitable, would be trading at a little under four times projected 2014 revenues. Apple has a current price-to-sales ratio of 3.7.
This year, the global technology sector has seen a flurry of activity, highlighted by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group’s record-setting $25 billion initial public offering and a $1.2 billion investment in private on-demand car service Uber, which is now valued at $18.2 billion. If it lands funding at more than $40 billion valuation, Xiaomi will easily surpass Uber as the world’s highest-priced startup.
Samsung remains the top handset vendor in the world with 78.1 million units shipped last quarter. After Apple, Lenovo is the third-largest vendor following the completion of its acquisition of Motorla Mobility for $2.91 billion from Google. Lenovo and Motorla’s combined accounted for 8.7% of the 328 million smartphone shipped in the third quarter, more than Xiaomi’s 5.3% market share.
Update on Nov. 15, 2014 at 12:17 p.m. PST: An earlier version of this post stated that Xiaomi had raised $216 million at a $4 billion valuation in June 2014. The company actually raised that amount in June 2012. The post has been updated to reflect the correct date.ATLANTA -- For motorists who have ever parked in Atlanta, they know the headache that comes with it.
Park Atlanta was contracted with the city from 2009 until March of 2017 as the chief parking enforcement. But over the years, a litany of complaints plagued the company – ultimately leading to its termination by Atlanta government.
But with a new company in place, can drivers expect a real difference? That’s the million-dollar question for many.
ATLPlus promises better customer service, new technology, and grace. So 11Alive spoke with those in-charge to find out how they plan to hold themselves to those words.
Predatory parking practices, broken machines, spaces or signage not clearly marked – these are just some of the issues that plagued Park Atlanta.
“We’re working hard to change the public’s perception and to gain your trust again through positive, friendly and supportive customer engagement,” Mayor Kasim Reed said.
ATL Plus is now taking over for the city of Atlanta. So, here’s what’s new:
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First comes a grievance process. That means no more arguing with the attendant or tweeting the mayor.
“If a citizen receives a parking citation, the city will conduct the first level of ticket appeals via an in-house review process,” Reed said.
And if the citation isn’t resolved at that level, then the issue will be placed on the docket at municipal court.
Second comes a customer-friendly approach that includes a grace period of 10 minutes if you go over your time – or if you show up as the attendant is writing your citation.
Third, the company plans to offer new technology.
“As of today, you can download the park mobile app which features the ability to pay by phone and extend parking time without having to return to your vehicle or to a meter,” SP Plus Parking Regional Vice President Jason Spoeth said.
The new ATLPlus app will also alert drivers when they have 15 minutes remaining on their time. Customers can also call a “rapid response” team if they spot a broken meter. This team is expected to fix the meter – or any other issue – within 24 hours.
11Alive also wanted to know if parking attendants will receive incentives based on a number of tickets they write. The answer is simple: No.
On Wednesday, if drivers download the ATLPlus app, they can get free parking time.
11Alive has investigated aggressive ticketing practices by the outgoing company, Park Atlanta, since 2012. The investigation led to the city changing laws regarding wrongful tickets. The investigators also dug through 3 years of parking ticket data and found there were hot spots for ticketing in the city. In some, there were vehicles being ticketed every 45 seconds. The city also required better signage about parking – and a plan to fix broken meters.The cryptocurrency evolution has entered virtually every sector of the world economy. Currently, there is a cryptocurrency for almost everything out there. A lot of these cryptocurrencies have limited long-term utility.
That isn’t the case for IOTA (MIOTA). The IOTA foundation has collaborated with several big names in the tech industry to launch a cryptocurrency that has the sole purpose of serving the internet of things.
Robert Bosch Invests Heavily in IOTA
The venture unit of German industrial giant Bosch, Robert Bosch Venture Capital (RBVC) a few days ago announced that they have acquired a large number of MIOTA tokens. The venture firm further revealed that as part of the acquisition, their partner Hongquan Jiang would assume a place on IOTA Foundation’s advisory board.
Jiang commenting on the latest development stated that even though IOTA is in its early days, RBVC views them as the perfect foundation to aid the growth of IoT projections and at the same time reducing the costs of the transaction.
Tangle Increases transaction speed
The IOTA coins have one distinctive feature that separates it from the rest; it uses a blockless “tangle” ledger system. The tangle system doesn’t set transaction limits, and each transaction is confirmed within seconds of initiating it.
The tangle system will allow companies to handle any increase in micropayments that will likely follow the IoT boom. This is according to IOTA mathematician Serguei Popov.
In his recent note, Popov stated that “The tangle naturally succeeds the blockchain as its next evolutionary step, and offers features that are required to establish a machine-to-machine micropayment system.”
Fees aren’t needed in IOTA (MIOTA)
The IOTA foundation realized that the micro-fees attached to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies during transactions wouldn’t be feasible for long. This is because the number of IoT payments are astronomically surging. The team developed IOTA coins to eliminate the need for transaction fees since the currency isn’t mined.
The aim of the foundations and its partners which include tech giants like Microsoft Corporation and PricewaterhouseCoopers is to make it possible for IoT participants to conduct exchanges that are fast, safe and easy.
With more companies and devices connecting to the IoT world, more data will be available on request. At the moment, the foundation has millions of sensors collecting data insistently, with most of the collected data currently unused but will likely be useful and valuable in the future.
Improvement is still needed
BG Perspectives expects that spending between businesses will increase and become a $267 billion market by 2020, with IOTA expected to play a vital role in that growth.
IOTA which was launched in November has gone unnoticed in the crypto world as bitcoin and ethereum dominate. However, IOTA has silently surged and now has a market cap of roughly $14 billion, pushing it to the sixth position in cryptocurrency market value.(Photo: Ari Moore / Flickr)Eight thousand and six hundred acres of the Cumberland Forest owned by University of Tennessee-Knoxville will be leased off to the oil and gas industry this August in a new form of “frackademia” – and one of the top financial beneficiaries will be the family of Republican Gov. Bill Haslam, who sits on UT-Knoxville’s Board of Trustees.
“Frackademia” is usually thought of as “studies” conducted by university-based “frackademic” researchers and funded by Big Oil, the old “Tobacco Playbook” in action. But UT-Knoxville has taken the game to a whole new level, leasing off land it owns so that it can study “best practices” for fracking in the Volunteer State.
“It would create a rare, controlled environment in which experts could study the environmental impact of the controversial drilling technique, while also generating revenue to finance research,” explained a New York Times article on the proposal.
The deal with the oil and gas industry for the acerage an initial fee of $300,000, plus $300,000 per year, 15-percent royalties on any gas sold and a minimum of $35 per acre paid to UT-Knoxville.
The 8,600 acres sits within the Chattanooga Shale basin, a field still untapped by the industry via hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”), the toxic horizontal drilling process through which oil and gas is obtained from shale rock basins. Atlas Energy – purchased as a subsidiary by Chevron in Nov. 2010 – owns 105,000 acres in the Chattanooga, a clear example the industry has its cross-hairs on the untapped Chattanooga basin.
UT-Knoxville’s new “leasing agency” program will be run under the auspices of the university’s Institute of Agriculture, officially referred to as the UT Institute of Agriculture Gas and Oil Research Initiative and a pre-bid proposal conference for prospective industry partners is set for June 21. Leases will be five years long, with a maximum allowance of three renewals, or 20 years total.
Fracking could become a major source of revenue for UT-Knoxville during a time of severe budget cuts to the UT System. In 2010, the state government slashed $56 million from the UT-Knoxville budget, following another $75 million in budget cuts in 2009 for the UT System at-large.
And one of the top beneficiaries of the fracking frenzy – overlooked thus far – will be the powerful Haslam family.
Haslam Family: Leveraging UT-Knoxville Ties for Fracking Profits
Gov. Haslam, the former Mayor of Knoxville, took $398,110 from the oil and gas industry before his Nov. 2010 gubernatorial race victory.
The Haslam family is an oil and gas family through and through, standing to profit immensely from a fracking boom in Tennessee and nationwide.
In 2012, the Haslam family – owners of Pilot Flying J truck fueling stations, a corporation where Bill Haslem used to serve as president – purchased Western Petroleum and Maxum Petroleum. Both Western and Maxum are major suppliers of fuel and lubricants for fracking operations. Pilot Flying J is the nation’s No. 1 retailer of diesel fuel and is the 6th most profitable corporation in the U.S., earning over $29 billion in 2012.
Pilot Flying J also has 63 of its stations nationwide retrofitted with natural gas pumps for 18-wheelers owned by T. Boone Pickens‘ Clean Energy Fuels Corporation (CEF) as part of CEF’s “America’s Natural Gas Highway.” Some perspective: CEF currently has 67 U.S. fueling stations in total.
By the end of 2013 – an article in EcoWatch explains – Pilot Flying J “plan[s] to have 100 truck stops capable of fueling 18-wheelers with…natural gas.”
Bill Haslam’s father, Jim Haslem – a co-chair of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s Tennessee campaign and former member of the UT-Knoxville Board of Trustees – gave a $32.5 million donation to UT-Knoxville in 2006. It was the largest ever private donation to the university from an individual.
“If Tennessee is going to be a leader in the knowledge economy of the 21st century, it must have a great flagship university,” Jim Haslam said in a press release at the time. “We cannot go from good to great without increasing fundraising, and my hope would be that this gift would put the spotlight on philanthropy and the University of Tennessee’s tremendous potential to become a great university.”
Bill’s brother Jimmy was the college roommate and one of the “best friends” ofclimate change “skeptic,” U.S. Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) while attending UT-Knoxville, also serving as Corker’s chief fundraiser during his successful 2006 run for the U.S. Senate. Jimmy is also the owner of the Cleveland Browns, which he bought for $1 billion in 2012.
The Haslam family is set to cash in on the arrangement, coinciding – perhaps not coincidentially – with ongoing UT System budget cuts. After all, the cuts doled out by Haslam serve as the rationale for the necessity of new revenue streams like fracking on UT-Knoxville’s portion of the Cumberland Forest. A business opportunity, if you will.
Emails Gained From FOIA Reveal Campus Drilling Program’s True Nature
In March, the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) obtained 273 pages of internal UT-Knoxville communications records via Tennessee’s Open Records Act. The records revealed that regardless of the environmental community’s stance on the campus drilling proposal, “their actions will not sway the Governor’s resolve/support” for fracking the Cumberland Forest.
Given the Haslam family’s industry connections, the statement is unsurprising. In addition to the family ties, the emails also show one of the key behind-the-scenes pushers of fracking on UT-Knoxville’s Cumberland Forest land was Bryan Kaegl.
Kaegl is a high-level Tennessee GOP campaign consultant who worked on mass mailings for Bill Haslam’s 2010 gubernatorial campaign. According to Persuasian Partners, one of his numerous gigs, that mass malling spree “included eleven unique mail pieces that totaled 2,687,748 pieces and 4 phases of robocalls for a total of 504,311 contacts.”
Kaegl was also hired by CONSOL Energy to “shepherd the [UT-Knoxville fracking] proposal through the approval process,” according to Associated Press.owns 249,000 acres in the Chattanooga Shale.
Abiding by the “Frackademia Playbook,” with a Twist
Speaking at a gas industry public relations conference attended by DeSmogBlog in Houston on Oct 31-Nov. 1, 2011 – the same conference where it was revealed theshale gas industry is employing psychological warfare (PSYOPs) tactics on U.S. citizens – S. Dennis Holbrook of Independent Oil and Gas Association of New Yorksummed up the situation at UT-Knoxville well.
He posited that it’s crucial for industry to “seek out academic studies and champion with universities – because that again provides tremendous credibility to the overall process.”
What’s different about UT-Knoxville, though – laying bare the veneer of “credibility” – is the Haslam family ties to the University, the executive chamber, the U.S Senate, and the industry itself. In other words, it’s the “frackademia playbook” with a twist.High-tech vinegar a success story of the new bush 'gold rush'
Posted
Food manufacturing is the new "gold rush" and offers a way for young professionals to escape the housing bubble, according to Ian Henderson, the founder of the booming Australian Vinegar business.
Mr Henderson started his cottage vinegar operation with a single barrel in Stanthorpe in south-east Queensland 12 years ago, and has turned it into a business making 68 different vinegars for domestic and export customers globally.
"Food manufacturing is booming in Australia at the moment. All our customers and suppliers up and down the supply chain are having a great time manufacturing food in Australia," Mr Henderson said.
From humble beginnings, Mr Henderson's business which he calls "geek central", now employs a dozen double-degree scientists who are enjoying the advantages that come with living outside the city.
"I have clinical pathologists, one of my vinegar makers has a master's degree in electrical engineering, we have medical biotechnologists, we have honours chemists, we have physics and maths grads," he said.
"All of my staff, largely gen Y's, every single one of them owns a home, nobody rents."
After the opening of his new $5 million factory, Mr Henderson urged food processors sitting on expensive capital city land to consider cashing in, selling up and moving to the bush.
"They can reclaim the assets in those properties, move to much larger, much more efficient, much more spacious facilities in the countryside.
"You'll find everything you need in the regions, cheap land, infrastructure, staff and the raw materials. If you want to go looking for opportunities, go west into the gold rush."
He said attracting top scientific talent to Stanthorpe was not hard, once he started mentioning home ownership in the job ads.
"We don't see any impediment to making food out here, as there's nothing a truck or technology can't bring me," he said.
"Housing affordability in the regions has never been a problem; its getting interesting jobs into the regions that's the problem and I think we are helping to break that deadlock."
Mr Henderson's new factory was officially opened by the Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove, who praised the former wine maker for building Australian Vinegar from a cottage operation to the multi-million-dollar business it is today.
"This is where value is added to the basic product and jobs, export income and prosperity are created," Sir Peter said.
"We see here just what regional Australia and local people can achieve."
The state-of-the-art-factory replaces a cramped shed, which they outgrew many years ago.
'Functional foods' a growing and lucrative market
In the factory's new research laboratory, Mr Henderson's team is working on developing new products.
Dr Michael Sweedman is racing against food scientists around the world to develop a palatable drinking vinegar to aid weight loss.
"It's a very competitive field. There's a lot of interest … at the moment mainly because there's a lot of good solid evidence coming out demonstrating this thing we've known for ages and anecdotes and people endorsing it. Now we are bedding down why those things are true," Dr Sweedman said.
The key ingredient which can aid weight loss is the acetic acid in vinegar.
"The first effect is in the stomach triggering a whole bunch of receptors that makes you feel fuller," Dr Sweedman said.
"Also it actually stimulates a lot of metabolic pathways including breaking down fats in the liver and slowing gastric emptying which is food going out of your stomach. So those foods like starches which have a high GI, the digestion is spread out lowering the glycaemic index."
If he develops a patentable product for the globally lucrative "functional food" market, the returns could be enormous.
Mr Henderson says the 20-fold increase in production has already allowed him to travel the world in the last six months chasing export contracts.
"I went five years frustratingly saying no to all of our leads, now we're saying yes, we are about to get those deals, as suddenly the ceiling is lifted and capacity is available."
Watch Vinegar Dreams on Landline, Sunday at noon on ABC TV
Topics: rural, housing, science-and-technology, food-processing, food-and-cooking, food-and-beverage, manufacturing, stanthorpe-4380The changes were small in amount, but huge in magnitude. In 3.5, Sheik had a downthrow-backthrow DI mixup. If you DId either throw wrong, Sheik could follow up with an aerial or a regrab, depending on percent and how floaty or fast falling a character was. This is central to her game. It allowed her similar reward to NTSC downthrow, but it made it so both her and her opponent had to think. It's not easy to just get the opponent to DI wrong. You need to predict how they're going to DI, and make them think you'll throw a certain way but then throw the other way. You can do that through conditioning, mindgames, whatever, but the point was that it was an interesting mechanic that definitely nerfed her relative to NTSC Melee Sheik while at the same time allowing her to get similar benefit for thinking while you were playing.
Fast forward to 3.6. Her backthrow is back to melee, and her downthrow is slightly slower in execution but unchanged from PAL downthrow. Now that all of her throws, except for downthrow, are for positional advantage rather than following up, both you and your opponent always know which throw Sheik is going to use when you're not on the ledge. Sure, Sheik can still follow up if the other player DI's incorrectly, but now there's literally no reason that you should have incorrect DI, because you know what Sheik is going for 90% of the time. NTSC Sheik didn't have this problem, because even though it was the same option tree, at least her downthrow had benefit.
What this means is that unless you're on the ledge, there's basically no reason for Sheik to grab (since any opponent that knows the matchup will be able to react and DI correctly 90% of the time). This 100% changes the way that a character centered around starting something off grabs is fundamentally played. It would be like if Roy had his D-Tilt nerfed so that it didn't pop opponents up and start combos.
On a broader scale, I don't think balance nerfs should be changing the way that a character is played. If a 50/50 throw that requires reads, conditioning, and dumb luck to be successful is broken, make it require more precise DI, or give it more knockback growth so it doesn't work at higher percents, or something. They even could have done the changes they made with 3.6, but changed the downthrow to have a little more utility off of correct DI so her game would at least still be centered around getting grabs.
We're getting all of these mixed messages right now. We're hearing that "PM isn't Melee" and seeing Fox nerfed in a way that makes him fundamentally not Melee, but we're seeing the really fun, mental, and unique thing given to PM Sheik made more melee (without 75% of the NTSC benefit we're used to). I don't care about consistency of play style between Melee and PM. I just care about consistency of play style between PM versions, because that's the only way a well formulated meta for any character and counterplay for any character can be developed.
I have nothing but respect for the PMDT, but there's got to be a better way to nerf a grab character than to take away the reason to grab.
TLDR; Don't make a character centered around grab have a 75% useless grab |
:Chris Pearce
The comments were then used in a Liberal Party campaign advertisement.
In March Victorian Trades Hall, led by Maritime Union secretary Kevin Bracken, moved to have him expelled after Mr Ferguson publicly supported the reinstatement of the union-hated Australian Building and Construction Commission, claiming the militant construction union must be "brought to heel".Robert Griffin III has yet to comment on losing the Washington Redskins' starting quarterback job to Kirk Cousins, but he used social media to address another matter Monday night.
Griffin had appeared to "like" an Instagram post that ripped Washington, owner Dan Snyder and the front office while lauding Griffin. However, the quarterback later posted his own message to social media, saying the "like" came from an intern who helps with Instagram.
I just wanted to set the record straight on this one. I did not "like" that IG post ridiculing our team. I have not been social media active consistently for awhile now and am ultra-focused on working to get back on the field and trying to help this team. One of our interns who helps with Instagram liked the post. As soon as I was made aware of it, it was immediately unliked. That is not how I feel and I appreciate your understanding. #HTTR A photo posted by Robert Griffin III (@rgiii) on Aug 31, 2015 at 9:55pm PDT
It was the latest twist in the saga between Griffin and the Redskins, after Cousins was named the starting QB earlier Monday.
Some high-ranking Redskins officials and coaches want to part ways with Griffin, who has been sidelined with concussion symptoms, but are meeting resistance from ownership, team and league sources told ESPN on Sunday. The Redskins even have had trade conversations about Griffin with a handful of teams, but they have found no interest, according to sources.
Coach Jay Gruden disputed that, saying, "His future is with the Washington Redskins."
Editor's Picks RG III's option doesn't have to block trade for Redskins If the Washington Redskins want to trade quarterback Robert Griffin III, his option doesn't have to be an obstacle.
"There have been no discussions about letting him go or doing any of that stuff," Gruden said.
If the Redskins were to release Griffin, it would count $6.7 million against their salary cap. They could trade him, but that could be difficult, in part because of the $16.12 million option Washington picked up for 2016.
However, a source said Griffin could renegotiate the option to help a trade.
If Griffin does stick around, Gruden said he wasn't sure yet whether he would be the No. 2 quarterback or the No. 3, behind Colt McCoy. Griffin, the 2012 offensive rookie of the year, remains in the concussion protocol and might not be cleared until later in the week.
It's not the first time Griffin's social media activity has caused a stir.
In February, an Instagram video of Griffin singing along to Michael Jackson turned into an exchange on his image and how he uses social media. Griffin defended himself in a back-and-forth with a fan that never turned nasty but did amplify views on Griffin's use of social media. There has been a prevailing notion among some fans that Griffin should stop using any social media or performing in any commercials until he starts winning.0 GDOT reveals details on $1 billion Ga. 400-285 project
SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. - Channel 2 Action News is learning how the most expensive construction project in Georgia history should ease the morning commute.
Many north-end morning commuters, no matter what direction they’re coming from, are impacted by one major choke point: The junction Interstate 285 and Georgia 400 come together.
The Georgia Department of Transportation hopes to ease congestion at the interchange by spending a $1 billion.
"It will eventually be the largest in GDOT history,” said GDOT Project Manager Marlow Clowers.
Plans call for adding lanes and fly-over ramps to make more capacity and more collection areas so cars aren't backed up at the bottleneck. They hope to make it safer by reducing some of the weaving some drivers now face.
The project took a step forward with a community open house, the last chance for the public to have a say before moving into the final design.
Some neighbors are hoping for new sound barriers where collector lanes will be built close to homes.
But the perimeter area is one of the largest business centers in the metro, mixed with residential and medical facilities that keep adding new jobs.
"It's become a hub for major employment, so we've got to have this gateway to improve" Perimeter CID president Yvonne Williams.
Clowers says work will start by this time next year and drivers will see impact from construction.
"We're going to minimize those as much as we can, but there will be some,” Clowers said.
GDOT calls the project's schedule accelerated, but it's going to take about three years to finish.
A study predicts the changes will save drivers an average of eight hours of commuting time a year in 2019.Hunter's Point South in Long Island City received 93,000 applicants last year, for fewer than 1,000 affordable apartmentsthe largest response ever to a housing lottery in the history of New York City's affordable housing program. The lobby has stone floors imported from Italy and a massive mirror with gold foil overlay; a bicycle blender in the organic roof garden churns out strawberry smoothies. And this week, a few of the lottery-winning tenants reportedly got caught listing their apartments on Airbnb for up to $500 a night.
The state's Multiple-Dwelling Law prohibits New Yorkers from renting out entire apartments for under 30 days if the tenant on the lease is not present.
One couple told CBS that they were planning to rent out their apartment for the Thanksgiving holiday, which is technically illegal if not on the same scale as those illegal hotel operators the City Council has long waged war against. At a Housing and Buildings Committee hearing last month, Councilmember Jumaane Williams clarified that, "We are not trying to go after a grandma who rents on the weekend to go on vacation. If there's someone who rents 20 weekends out of the year, that's illegal."
But for Queens Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer, it's the principal of the thing. "It is so outrageous and such a violation of the spirit of this," he told CBS. "We are not going to ever use taxpayer dollars to allow someone to falsely get in to an affordable housing complex and then turn it around and try and flip it for their own profit."
Queens was recently deemed the city's most rent-burdened borough.
While all 925 units at Hunter's Point South are technically "affordable," owner Related Companies accepted applications from a wide range of income brackets. In fact, only 20% of the units are designated for low-income tenants. For example: 58 of the one bedrooms cost $689 or less, while 229 of them cost between $1,965 and $2,509.
All of the offending Airbnb listings have reportedly been removed, at the request of Related Companies. "Any residents found to be in violation of the rent-stabilization laws will immediately have their leases terminated," said the building owners in a statement.
Earlier this week, Mayor de Blasio committed $10 million to sniffing out illegal hotels hosted through sites like Airbnb. Until quite recently, the Mayor's Office only investigated potential illegal hotels when a complaint was filed. With this new funding, the City will actively seek them out.
Following the Hunter's Point South debacle, Van Bramer has urged the city to "use some of their new resources" to investigate illegal hotel use in rent regulated and rent stabilized buildings specifically.
Reached for comment, Airbnb stated that as of today, "We have no listings in that building."A sinkhole has developed under a portion of State Route 207, or Kingsbury Grade, according to transportation officials, forcing a temporary closure of the road.
Meg Ragonese, spokeswoman for Nevada's Department of Transportation, said the indefinite closure is in place from the Foothill Road junction to the summit.
The sinkhole was created by an eroding drainage pipe under the roadway, according to Ragonese. Emergency repairs are coming, but due to winter weather the road could be closed for several weeks.
"Our priority is keeping Nevadans safe and mobile on our roadways," Mike Fuess, NDOT Assistant District Engineer for Maintenance, said in a statement. "We have closed the bottom section of Kingsbury Grade to keep drivers safe. To quickly and safely reopen the road, we will initiate an emergency contract to repair this section of Kingsbury Grade."
Kingsbury Grade will remain open in the Lake Tahoe area for businesses and residents between U.S. 50 and Tramway Drive at the summit.
Officials advise there are alternate routes while Kingsbury Grade is closed, including U.S. 50 through the Spooner Summit, Mt. Rose Highway (State Route 431), or other roads through California.Disrupting the Merchant and Payment Services Market with Blockchain Technology
Autoria Blocked Unblock Follow Following Jul 6, 2017
At Autoria, we are developing the next generation of merchant and payment service technology. Our mobile application team, led by a senior eBay Software Engineer is utilizing Ethereum blockchain technology to deliver a fantastic user experience and unprecedented transaction efficiency. Merchant and payment services are a rapidly growing industry which are vulnerable to disruption due to outdated processing methodologies, increasing digital payment volumes, and failure to participate in overlooked markets.
Inefficiencies in merchant and payment services have opened a door for new technologies. According the McKinsey & Company, in a recent 2015 report, the modernization of domestic payments infrastructures is only beginning. Non-bank innovators, such as Autoria, are better suited to addresses rapidly evolving customer needs. The so called “war on cash” has opened the door to system-wide opportunities for products and services to provide unprecedented value to end-users. A key bottleneck in this regards lies in cross-border payments. Autoria presents the first truly global, scalable solution to international payments. Traditional payment infrastructure is extremely inefficient and as a result, expensive. Customers who are able to stomach the fees involved often have to deal with a second layer of concern as they cope with the lack of payment tracking, long transaction times, and poor transparency. These concerns are precisely where Autoria thrives. As an ERC20 compatible Ethereum token, our applications will be able to transact AUT instantly (dependent on blocktimes; currently ~15 seconds), securely (all transactions are permanently recorded on the blockchain), and with extremely low fees (Current foreign transaction fees cost around 3 percent of the qualifying transaction, AUT transactions cost about a nickel). As an increasing number of businesses and customers prefer digital transactions, the inefficiency of old methods have become magnified. Autoria addresses these concerns by introducing better, more reliable technology.
This rising trend of digitalization in all aspects of financial transactions presents a compelling case for an entry into this space. Research done by Greenwich Associates has shown a growing preference in the use of digital channels amongst companies. As more and more customers move towards using digital services for banking and retail purchases, they are also demanding more expedient methods of payment. This demand for convenient services is spreading across all levels of transaction services. While blockchain technology can thrive on its own merits, in regards to security, transparency, and immutability, the majority of users want a platform that is simple to use and more practical above all else. Current implementations fail to recognize the importance of user experience. With Autoria, our goal is create seamless transitions between fiat and cryptocurrencies. Our talented team of developers is equipped with the technical knowledge required to meet participant expectations and implement the features our business partners require as they move towards a convenience-oriented digitized transaction model. To large corporations, the needs of small businesses and individual participants may seem insignificant, but when it comes to Autoria, our stakeholders are essential to our success.
Growth in Digital Payment Volume is Expected to Continue
Small business retail sales are easy to overlook, but they represent roughly half of all retail spending. For payments, “mom and pop” merchants represent the largest revenue opportunity in digital payments. While often marginalized by larger corporations, competition in this space for cheaper and faster transaction technologies is intense. Autoria provides an unbeatable competitive advantage to small business owners without stripping down or subsidizing its ability to support the features businesses require. For reference, traditional retail point of sale service providers include Chase Paymentech, Bank of America and First Data. In the metrics where these providers compete, in transaction fees, transaction times, and dependability, Autoria’s blockchain technology excels tremendously. Failure to participate in blockchain technology has led traditional providers vulnerable to disruption. In a survey done by McKinsey & Co. it was found that more than half of small businesses reported poor responsiveness, high costs, unpredictable service, and complicated processes as major pain points which, if addressed could cause them to change providers. Autoria is focused on relieving small businesses from burdensome or outdated transaction technologies. By keeping our application simple, focusing on the strengths of blockchain technology (unbeatable transaction prices, inherent security, and fast transaction times), and aggressively pursuing new partnerships, Autoria is set to capture a significant portion of the mobile payments space.
What Customers and Businesses Want from their Payment App
At Autoria, we are excited to bring blockchain efficiency to businesses and customers the world over. We believe inefficient technologies which were once central to point-of-sale transaction processing could be eliminated through the smart investment in digital blockchain infrastructures and services. As revenue generation in this space continues to rebalance due to customer demands, Autoria will serve as a powerful player, representing the efficiencies blockchain technology has to offer the global payments landscape. Autoria is seizing this opportunity by developing a payment platform we think users will love.
Source: McKinsey on Payments
Website: http://autoria.io
Whitepaper: http://autoria.io/whitepaper.pdf
Yellowpaper: http://autoria.io/yellowpaper.pdf
Twitter: http://twitter.com/autoriacoin
Sources:
McKinsey & Company: Global Payments 2015 — A Healthy Industry Confronts Disruption
McKinsey on Payments: Driving Merchant Services and Digital Commerce
McKinsey on Payments: Innovation and Disruption in U.S. Merchant Payments
Greenwich Associates: The Future of Banking 2025After disasters like the Oso landslide in Washington State, a common question is why people are allowed to live in such dangerous places. On the website of Scientific American, for example, the blogger Dana Hunter wrote, “It infuriates me when officials know an area is unsafe, and allow people to build there anyway.”
But things are rarely simple when government power meets property rights. The government has broad authority to regulate safety in decisions about where and how to build, but it can count on trouble when it tries to restrict the right to build. “Often, it ends up in court,” said Lynn Highland, a geographer with the United States Geological Survey’s landslide program in Golden, Colo.
Her agency provides scientific information about geologic features and risks, but it has no regulatory authority, and state and local regulations are a patchwork, she said. When disaster strikes, people find that their insurance policies do not cover landslides without special riders that can be ruinously expensive.
“We tell people ‘buyer beware’ ” when buying or building a home, Ms. Highland said, because risk disclosure requirements vary so greatly from state to state and even from county to county.CLOSE Kim Guadagno (R) faces Phil Murphy (D) to succeed Chris Christie (R). NorthJersey.com
Democratic nominee Phil Murphy, left, answers a question as he participates in a gubernatorial debate against Republican nominee Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno at William Paterson University. (Photo: Julio Cortez/AP)
Voters will decide Tuesday whether Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno or Democrat Phil Murphy will become New Jersey's 56th governor.
For those still familiarizing themselves with the two major-party candidates, are on the fence or simply want to learn more about where they stand on issues critical to New Jersey's future, here is a brief guide on their positions and who they are.
Kim Guadagno, Republican
CLOSE Record State House reporter Dustin Racioppi and political columnist Charles Stile interview GOP gubernatorial hopeful Kim Guadagno at a diner in Eatontown on May 22, 2017 John C. Ensslin
Bio
Name: Kim Guadagno (pronounced Gwa-don-no)
Age: 58
Hometown: Monmouth Beach
Family: Husband, Michael, and children Kevin, 24; Michael, 21; and Anderson, 17.
Education: Political science degree from Ursinus College, 1980; law degree from American University, 1983.
Prior Experience: Lieutenant governor, 2010-present; Monmouth County Sheriff 2007-2010; Monmouth Beach commissioner, 2005-2007; assistant state attorney general, 1999-2001; assistant United States attorney for district of New Jersey, 1991-1999; United States Organized Crime Strike Force in Brooklyn,1988-1991.
GUADAGNO VS. MURPHY: Everything you need to know about the candidates
Top platform
Property taxes: Guadagno says lowering property tax bills is her No. 1 priority. She has proposed a property tax "circuit breaker" that would provide relief to middle-class homeowners. It would cap the school portion of a property tax bill at 5 percent of a household's income, with a maximum limit of $3,000 in savings. The plan has been widely criticized because it relies on about $1.5 billion in savings and revenue growth at a time when the state is struggling to meet its modest revenue projections. Guadagno says she will make tax relief a priority and find the money.
ELECTIONS: Murphy and Guadagno take different paths to get out the vote
Where she stands
Taxes: Opposes all tax increases. She has promised that, if elected, she will not run for a second term if she does not lower property taxes.
School Funding: Favors restructuring the school-funding formula. Says extra money going to over-funded school districts should be re-directed to property tax relief, which would prompt a legal challenge. Guadagno says she wants one, because it would require creating a "full, fleshed-out record" so political leaders can "find out what the facts are."
Marijuana: Favors decriminalizing marijuana but is opposed to legalizing it for recreational use.
ALFRED DOBLIN: Murphy, Guadagno may not excite, but they’re decent
Climate change: Guadagno says she is "not a climate denier." And as a resident of the Jersey Shore, she said, "I strongly believe we must protect our environment by leading on things like renewable energy." She favors New Jersey re-joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cap-and-trade program that Gov. Chris Christie pulled out of, and said the state should "actively work to grow the green economy to create thousands of good-paying jobs."
Health care: Guadagno views the Affordable Care Act, former President Barack Obama's signature legislative achievement, as a "disaster." But she also does not believe the roughly 500,000 people in New Jersey who benefit from the health law should lose coverage. She said Congress must "pass a plan to ensure people can get their health care, cover pre-existing conditions and lower costs for consumers." She is against single-payer health care because, she said, it will lead to "dramatic tax increases, reduce the quality of care and force New Jersey doctors out of business."
2017 North Jersey Elections
for full coverage of local and state races Click here for full coverage of local and state races
Phil Murphy, Democrat
CLOSE Democrat Phil Murphy talks about himself and issues facing New Jersey with The Record's editorial board. Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com
Bio
Age: 60
Hometown: Middletown
Family: Wife, Tammy, and children Josh, 19; Emma, 17; Charlie, 15; and Sam, 13.
Education: Economics degree from Harvard University, 1979; masters of business administration from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, 1983.
Prior Experience: U.S. ambassador to Germany, 2009 to 2013; Democratic National Committee finance chairman, 2006-2009; retired from Goldman Sachs in 2003; chaired New Jersey Benefits Task Force, 2005; board member NAACP, 180 Turning Lives Around, 2nd Floor teen helpline; founder policy organizations New Start New Jersey and New Way for New Jersey.
TAXES: Phil Murphy reports $4.6 million in income last year, paid 32% of it in taxes
Top platform
Public bank: Murphy has proposed that New Jersey becomes the second state in the nation to run a bank. North Dakota established its bank a century ago. Murphy's intention is to use the bank as a lending house for low-interest loans to students, businesses and municipalities. That money would then be re-invested in the state rather than companies that have no obligation to spend it here. Murphy's plan has many skeptics, including bankers, who chiefly worry that a state bank would remove liquidity from struggling community banks.
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Clean energy: Murphy aims to transition New Jersey to 100 percent clean energy by 2050. He proposes doing so by rejoining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, prioritizing and expanding solar energy, using offshore wind and increasing funding and incentives for energy efficiency.
GUN VIOLENCE: Gabrielle Giffords rallies for gun violence prevention and Murphy
Where he stands
Taxes: He has said that "everything's on the table," but has committed to raising taxes on high-income earners and taxing the sale of marijuana if it is legalized. He has also said he's open to considering a special tax dedicated to NJ Transit. Murphy's campaign told the Observer that it plans on raising about $1.3 billion a year in new revenue from the taxes.
School Funding: Fully fund the formula established under Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine.
Marijuana: Legalize for recreational use with sales taxed by state.
Climate change: Murphy has proposed a plan for New Jersey to transition to 100 percent clean energy by 2050. Like Guadagno, he would also re-join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. He's been endorsed by the Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters, which calls him the "clean energy champ."
ATTACK AD: After Manhattan attack, Guadagno draws link to Murphy's immigration plan
Health care: Given the uncertainty in Washington over health care, Murphy has said that all options are on the table, including consideration of a Medicare-for-all system in New Jersey. "We're going to have to do what it takes," he has said. Murphy opposes attempts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and strip coverage of current Medicaid recipients. He said he intends to restore roughly $7.5 million in annual funding for Planned Parenthood that Christie routinely vetoed, and wants to lower "excessive" out-of-network costs that he says would help lower premiums.
Read or Share this story: https://njersy.co/2lHQnKkJERUSALEM (Reuters) - An Iranian general killed in an Israeli air strike in Syria was not its intended target, and Israel believed it was attacking only low-ranking guerrillas, a senior security source said on Tuesday.
Hezbollah members and supporters carry the coffin of Lebanon's Hezbollah commander Mohamad Issa, known as Abu Issa, during his funeral in Arab-Salim, south Lebanon January 20, 2015. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho
The remarks by the Israeli source, who declined to be identified because Israel has not officially confirmed it carried out the strike, appeared aimed at containing any escalation with Iran or the Lebanese Hezbollah guerrilla group.
Iranian Revolutionary Guard General Mohammed Allahdadi was killed with a Hezbollah commander and the son of the group’s late military leader, Imad Moughniyeh, in Sunday’s attack on a Hezbollah convoy near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran and fought a 34-day war with Israel in 2006, said six of its members died in the strike.
Tehran has vowed to strike back. “These martyrdoms proved the need to stick with jihad. The Zionists must await ruinous thunderbolts,” Revolutionary Guards’ chief General Mohammad Ali Jafari was quoted on Tuesday as saying by the Fars news agency.
Asked if Israel expected Iranian or Hezbollah retaliation, the source said: “They are almost certain to respond. We are anticipating that, but I think it’s a fair assumption that a major escalation is not in the interest of either side.”
Troops and civilians in northern Israel are on heightened alert and Israel has deployed an Iron Dome rocket interceptor unit near the Syrian border.
“We did not expect the outcome in terms of the stature of those killed - certainly not the Iranian general,” the source said. “We thought we were hitting an enemy field unit that was on its way to carry out an attack on us at the frontier fence.
“We got the alert, we spotted the vehicle, identified it was an enemy vehicle and took the shot. We saw this as a limited tactical operation.”
In an Israeli television interview, Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon stopped short of claiming responsibility for Sunday’s air strike while describing those killed as “bad guys, all of them”.
“We are not fearing, but nevertheless we should be ready for, any act or any action and even for any escalation,” Yaalon told the English-language station i24 News.
Israel has struck inside Syria several times since the start of the Syrian civil war, mostly destroying weaponry such as missiles that Israeli officials said were destined for Hezbollah, Israel’s longtime foe in neighboring Lebanon.
Hezbollah has been fighting alongside President Bashar Assad’s forces in the four-year-old Syrian conflict.Some sad news for fans that are wanting to buy the Nintendo Switch console. It sounds like the device will not be backwards compatible with both physical Wii U and 3DS video games.
Famitsu has posted a new article all about the Nintendo Switch console. It answers a few burning questions that weren’t revealed during the debut trailer that aired yesterday.
Here’s a rough translation about backwards compatibility with 3DS and Wii U games: “Since the Nintendo Switch is not a Wii U or Nintendo 3DS successor machine, you can not play with Wii U disk software and Nintendo 3DS card.”
This does not mean that the console is not fully backwards compatible. We saw Wii U video games such as Splatoon and Mario Kart 8 being played on the new console. It’s possible Wii U video games might be offered for you to download digitally.
It makes sense for Wii U discs not to work on the Switch because it looks like it doesn’t have a disc drive. It’s disappointing to hear that 3DS game cartridges don’t work.
Most of the other information we know before, or will be revealed at a later date. The battery life and specs are to be revealed shortly before launch.Data Migration Made Easy: Bulk Ingest from CSV
We think CockroachDB is a great database for many people, and want them to try us out. Not just for new applications, but for existing, large applications as well. The first problem that users with an existing database will hit when trying us out for the first time is getting their data into CockroachDB. For the 1.1 release, we built a new feature that performs high-speed, bulk data import. It works by transforming CSV files into our backup/restore format, then is able to quickly ingest the results.
CSV was chosen because it is so common, and most databases have ways to export to it (other formats can quickly be added in the future, given enough user need). Although this feature uses our enterprise backup and restore code, it does not (and will not) require a paid license. There is a doc describing all options and usage of CSV importing.
Because CSV import uses our enterprise restore feature, it is significantly faster than executing INSERTs or using the Postgres COPY protocol. In addition, the IMPORT statement supports (and encourages!) defining secondary indexes during CSV conversion. The indexes are created right alongside the primary index data, allowing all data to be ingested quickly. Predefining the indexes is much faster than importing and then adding indexes later.
Technical Details
Let’s go over the story again: a user wants to import a lot of data, and the fastest way to ingest data is with our RESTORE feature. Additionally, CSV is a common export format. Thus, we have made a new feature, IMPORT, that converts CSV to the format expected by RESTORE. This format, as detailed in the above link, relies on contiguous, non-overlapping SST files. So, the job of IMPORT is to convert CSVs into SSTs.
The basic idea for an implementation of this is:
Read a table descriptor (a CREATE TABLE statement). For each line of a CSV file: Parse and convert it to SQL datums.
Run the normal INSERT code that converts these datums to one or more KV pairs. There will be more than one pair if there are secondary indexes, for example. Sort the resulting KVs. Split them into 32MB SST files.
First implementation: local, no cluster
The initial implementation of this feature was done as a CLI subcommand that didn’t require a cluster at all, it just needed the input CSV files and table structure, and wrote the output to a directory. It was implemented in two phases.
Phase one converted the CSVs into KVs and added them to a RocksDB instance for sorting. Although RocksDB does store its data as SST files, those files were not directly used here. We used RocksDB only because it provides efficient sorting and iterating of KV pairs. Since RocksDB was doing the sorting, we were free to insert into it in any order. This allowed us to make the input parsing highly parallelizable and concurrent. We used separate goroutines to read the CSV, convert it into KVs, and write the KVs to RocksDB. The errgroup pipeline pattern was used to coordinate between the various goroutines in case any produced an error, and allowed much faster ingestion than using a naive, single-threaded solution. Phase two was to sort the KVs, then iterate through them in order, producing the desired 32MB files.
Overall this implementation performs well, is able to determine the 32MB split points as-needed, but requires 3x disk space (one copy for the CSVs, one for the intermediate RocksDB data, one for the final SSTs).
For CockroachDB 1.1, we connected this implementation to our SQL layer for easy use as the IMPORT statement. This allowed us to fetch and store data remotely, reducing the disk requirements to just the middle RocksDB temp data. The entire conversion will still happen on a single node, though. Only when restoring the created SSTs will CockroachDB’s distributed features be used.
Second implementation: distributed
Although the above single-node implementation works, we thought we would be able to process larger amounts of data faster if we could do it with distributed processing. This second implementation of CSV conversion used the DistSQL framework. DistSQL is meant to move SQL data processing (like WHERE clauses) down closer to where the data is on a disk and allow for concurrent operations across nodes, hopefully producing faster queries. The IMPORT statement’s use of DistSQL is a bit strange since there’s no SQL data on disk, but we were able to adapt it to be useful for this kind of mapreduce workflow.
The basic idea is similar to the single node implementation:
Assign each CSV file to a node in the cluster. Convert CSVs to KVs. Route KVs by range each to a DistSQL processor. Each processor would collect KVs, sort them, and write the final SST file.
All of the steps here were similar to those above, except for the third step: routing. The hard part here is figuring out which processor to route each KV. This is difficult because we don’t know the key distribution before we’ve read the CSVs. To solve this, we read through the CSVs twice.
The first read samples the KVs at a certain rate. These samples are sent back to the coordinator, which can use them to estimate where the 32MB split points would be. The second read is then done, but now with the estimated split points, which are used to instruct the readers where to send the KVs. A side effect of this is that the actual sizes of the final SST files are just close to 32MB, with some standard deviation, since sampling doesn’t provide a perfect picture of the data.
We are still performing testing and benchmarking of this implementation (and as a result, it is not enabled by default in CockroachDB 1.1). Our goal is that our next major release will have the ability to choose between these implementations based on the size and number of input files so that whichever will be faster for the incoming data will be used.
Illustration by Quentin VijouxNew Game of Thrones footage alert!
Above is an exclusive deleted scene from HBO’s upcoming DVD and Blu-ray release of Thrones season 6.
In this clip from the second episode of 2016, Olenna (Diana Rigg) and Mace Tyrell (Roger Ashton-Griffiths) scheme against Cersei (Lena Headey) while riding in a litter along the streets of Kings Landing. The scene reveals Mace’s return to Westeros and the duo joining Cersei’s small council, while establishing the Tyrells’ plan to free Margaery (Natalie Dormer) and Loras (Finn Jones) from imprisonment.
The sixth season, which won the Emmy for outstanding drama series, is out on DVD and Blu-ray on Nov. 15. The release includes four deleted scenes, an in-depth look at the making of the Battle of the Bastards, and a ton of other extras and audio commentaries. Thrones has been the top-selling TV series on home video for the past five years.
The show’s penultimate seventh season is currently in production and will premiere on HBO summer 2017Before reading this article, please watch the trailer and really think about how you feel about it.
The game ‘Hatred’ has caused a lot of controversy recently because this particular bullet-hell shooter is essentially about nothing more than meaningless mass-genocide. So disgusted was one writer that he even started a petition to have it cancelled.
The games industry regularly becomes the scapegoat when mass-shootings occur in America, such as the Columbine Massacre back in 1999 being blamed on the game ‘Doom’ amongst other things or the more recent Sandy Hook Shooting in 2012 being linked to Call of Duty. So it’s understandable that many gamers and developers alike are concerned about Hatred undoing a lot of the hard work we have put into proving that games are an art form and not simply there to poison the minds of the youth.
I felt sick watching that trailer. Recently I played The Evil Within and I felt sick during the opening sequence when I found a guy tied upside down and gagged with barbed wire. Horror games/films often utilize horrific concepts in order to make you uncomfortable. It's basic horror 101. When 'A Serbian Film' came out, everyone got up in arms over the infamous baby rape scene, but why, because it's disgusting? Maybe. But that scene isn't going to make anyone who didn't already want to have sex with a baby suddenly realize their passion for baby lovin'. It’s there to shock us into being scared and while many horror writers consider using shocking imagery to be amongst the cheapest ways to scare an audience, that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t work.
Freedom of expression is integral to our personal liberties as a society. The last thing I want to see is a bunch of stupid arseholes giving our industry a bad name. But we can't tell these guys what they can and cannot publish in one breath and then in another breath decry the Australian government for telling people what they can and can't play. It's hypocrisy of the highest count. I’m reminded of the controversy a few years ago which occurred when a young couple with a disabled child went to see a live show by the infamous Scottish stand-up comedian Frankie Boyle. Anyone who knows his material will tell you that he does not hold back on any subject and is more than happy to make fun of pretty much anyone or anything. Naturally, when the subject of disabled children came up they got offended and made sure their opinions were published. But they were more than happy to laugh at all of his material about other people’s tribulations. His rants about people on medication were fine, as were his jabs at the poor. But when he came round to poking fun at an issue that happened to be close to their heart he had suddenly gone too far. In my opinion, that is hypocrisy at its worst. Essentially, what I’m saying is, either everything is ok or nothing is ok. You can’t demand that things cease to exist simply because you don’t like them unless you are willing to accept other people’s demands to change or abandon your own projects based on their personal, subjective interpretations of your work. I accept that Hatred is an extreme example of that in practice but it is still someone’s creation and neither you nor I have any right to control the creative impulses of another human being and trying to do so is arrogant and pointless. I don’t genuinely believe that my opinions on right and wrong are the absolute definition of what right and wrong is and even if I did have my head that far up my own arse, I’m not deluded enough to think that every games developer out there is suddenly going to change his entire project based on the fact that some of my friends and me don’t approve of what they’re up to
The truth is that this petition is the easy way out. Attempting to force a studio to stop what they’re doing is a lot easier than the other option, which is to debate the nature of games like this, to warn people not to let their children get their hands on it, to organize ourselves as fans and professionals alike and refuse to give our blessing to this sort of thing. If this game ends up being successful (which all of the controversy surrounding it has probably ensured at this point) then we should be asking ourselves why that is the case and what that says about us as a society.
We, as gamers, have the power of veto over any project by choosing whether or not to support it financially. Make the right decision when the time comes by voting not only with your wallets, but with your hearts.PHOENIX - Democratic representative Mark Takano, of California, drew fiery comparisons between Japanese American internment camps in World War II camps and President Donald Trump's executive order banning refugee settlement from certain countries.
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to give you an answer to the question of what to do next. These suggestions include Amplify, ChromePie, Greenify and Wanam. There are many other mods mentioned as well. Check this video out.
Be sure to check out other great XDA TV Videos.
Links Mentioned:After focusing for weeks on his proposal to strip public employees of collective bargaining rights, Gov. Scott Walker on Tuesday presented his full budget proposal -- a plan that cuts $1.5 billion in aid to public schools and government but avoids any tax or fee increases, furloughs or widespread layoffs.
Walker said the cuts could be paid for in large part by forcing government employees to pay more for their pension and health care benefits. But his proposal to do that -- and to eliminate most collective bargaining -- remains in limbo after Senate Democrats fled the state to prevent a vote.
"This is a reform budget," Walker said in prepared remarks. "It is about getting Wisconsin working again, and to make that happen, we need a balanced budget that works -- and an environment where the private sector can create 250,000 jobs over the next four years."
Walker's proposals have stirred a national debate over public-sector unions and drawn tens of thousands of protesters to the Capitol for three weeks.
The governor released his two-year budget in part to support his argument that public worker concessions are essential to confront a projected $3.6 billion shortfall.
By eliminating most collective bargaining, Walker says, state agencies, local governments and school districts will have flexibility to react quickly to the cuts he outlined during a joint session of the Legislature convened under heavy security.
MORE: As Wisconsin protests continue, national groups seek local support to recall Wisconsin lawmakers
Even though Walker isn't ordering immediate layoffs, his budget will put tremendous pressure on schools and local governments, which will be asked to shoulder huge cuts without raising property taxes to make up the difference.
Walker's budget includes a nearly 9 percent cut in aid to schools, which would amount to a reduction of nearly $900 million. The governor also proposed requiring school districts to reduce their property tax authority by an average of $550 per pupil.
Since 1993, the state's property tax limits have gradually risen to reflect increasing costs, and reducing them makes it more difficult for schools to make up the lost money.
Additionally, cities would get nearly $60 million less in aid, an 8.8 percent cut, while counties would lose over $36 million, a 24 percent reduction. They would not be allowed to increase property taxes except to account for new construction.
Walker estimates that his controls on property taxes would save $736 over the next two years for the owner of a home valued at the median price of $161,300.
PICTURES: The Wisconsin Protests
He's also proposing a $500 million cut to Medicaid, which would be achieved through a number of changes that include increasing co-pays and deductibles and requiring participants in SeniorCare to be also be enrolled in Medicare Part D.
Walker asked for $82 million in tax cuts, including an expanded exclusion for capital gains realized on investments made in Wisconsin-based businesses. The Legislature previously approved more than $117 million in Walker-backed tax cuts that take effect later this year.
The budget also cuts funding at most state agencies, by 10 percent, except for salary and benefits.
He would permanently eliminate 735 positions that have been vacant for more than a year. Some other jobs could be cut as Walker moved to consolidate juvenile prisons and make other changes, but no widespread layoffs were envisioned. State spending over the next two years would go up a paltry 1.3 percent.
Walker also targets many law changes passed by Democrats in recent years.
He proposed undoing changes made by Democrats to allow prisoners to earn time off their sentences for good behavior. Instead, Walker would reinstitute a truth-in-sentencing law that he sponsored while a member of the Assembly.
He would also no longer allow children of illegal immigrants who attend state universities and colleges to pay in-state tuition.
As expected, Walker proposed removing the flagship Madison campus from the University of Wisconsin system, leaving 12 other four-year campuses and 13 two-year universities. The system has been ordered to study a similar move for the Milwaukee campus.
In the hours before Walker's address, police roamed Capitol hallways and restricted access to the building.
Meanwhile, protesters who had been asked to leave the building took their battle to court to keep the Statehouse open without limitations.
Over the next several months, the Legislature will review Walker's budget and offer revisions, with the expectation that lawmakers would vote by early summer.
It wasn't clear when Senate Democrats would return to take up his collective bargaining proposal.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald met Monday in Kenosha with some of the missing Democrats and discussed terms under which they could return. Fitzgerald said they didn't talk about changing the bill, which he said would not be altered.
He would not say who was at the meeting or how many were there, but no agreement was reached.
"We keep taking," Fitzgerald said.
Numerous compromises designed to end the stalemate have been floated by unions, Democrats and even a Republican senator but never gained any traction.
In addition to the bargaining rights changes, the bill designed to fill this year's projected $137 million deficit also called for refinancing state debt to save $165 million. But the deadline to get that done was Tuesday.
Walker has threatened that more cuts could come after the deadline, but has not outlined what those would be. His spokesman Cullen Werwie said details will be announced once they are final.
Polls indicate national public opinion favors unions in the dispute, but Walker has been resolute.
A Pew Research Center poll released Monday found 42 percent of adults surveyed nationwide sided with the unions and 31 percent sided with Walker. That poll of 1,009 adults had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
The latest New York Times-CBS poll found Americans oppose efforts to weaken the collective bargaining rights of public employee unions by a margin of almost two to one -- 60 percent to 33 percent. The nationwide telephone poll of 984 adults had a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.
Just a quarter of adults in the poll considered public employees' benefits and pay to be too high, while about the same share believed they are too low. About 36 percent say they are about right.
Majorities oppose cutting public employee benefits or pay in order to reduce state budget deficits or taking away some collective bargaining rights from public employee unions.
Some of the opposition may stem from skepticism about the state government's motivations. Forty-five percent of those who responded to the New York Times-CBS poll believe states want to reduce employee benefits to help ease the deficit, but nearly as many (41 percent) say their aim is to weaken the power of unions.
Both polls were conducted Feb. 24-27.In the estimation of many reporters who cover the political and media beats, Fox News was the winner of the first GOP debate. And with the just-released ratings we can confirm that.
A whopping 24 million watched the debate from 9 p.m. ET to just past 11 p.m. ET. FNC drew 7.9 million in the A25-54 demo.
This is now the highest non-sports cable program of all time, the highest-rated cable news program of all time, and Fox News’s most-watched program ever.
The 5 p.m. ET debate, withe the 7 lower-tier candidates did very well for Fox News too, drawing 6.1 million total viewers and 1.2 million in the demo, making it the third-highest primary debate ever on cable.
In the 2012 cycle, the first GOP debate, also on Fox News, and airing much earlier — on May 5, 2011 — was watched by 3.258 million viewers. The most-watched primary debate drew 7.630 million on ABC on the night of Dec. 10, 2011.
Going back to the 2008 cycle, when, like this go-round, there were open Democratic and Republican tickets, the first GOP debate on Oct. 9, 2007, simulcast on MSNBC and CNBC, drew a combined 2.141 million. The most-watched GOP debate of that cycle was on ABC, when 7.350 million watched the Jan. 5, 2008 face-off.
Nielsen Social TV ratings ranked last night’s debate as the number one event on Twitter with 3.3 million tweets and 393 million impressions, beating Jon Stewart’s farewell episode. The debate, which was co-sponsored by Facebook, increased interactions on FNC’s Facebook page by +74 percent from a typical day in July. The 10 million Facebook video views were up +190 percent compared to the daily July 2015 average.
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Michigan has changed its policy on providing medically necessary treatments to transgender prison inmates.
A new policy adopted by the Michigan Department of Corrections takes effect today which means transgender people can receive hormone therapy and other medical treatments while in prison.
The change came after a trans woman incarcerated pushed the MDoC to change its policy.
Previously hormone therapy was limited to individuals who were already on hormone therapy before entering prison.
But now the new policy, resulting from a legal challenge in the US state in Georgia, allows trans prisoners to start hormone therapy, and also to be considered for gender reassignment surgery.
Trans prisoner Jami Naturalite wrote to the Southern Poverty Law Center last year relating to the Georgia case, Diamond v Owens, which successfully challenged a discriminatory policy.
Later the SPLC and the ALCU of Michigan asked the MDoC to change its policy.
“We are pleased that the Michigan Department of Corrections took this important step to ensure that transgender people in prisons receive the care they need – and which the Constitution requires,” said David Dinielli, SPLC deputy legal director.
“We hope it also ensures they are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.”
The new policy removes the need for “extraordinary circumstances” for gender reassignment surgery as the previous policy required.
The Gender Dysphoria Collaborative Review Committee will now rule on whether trans prisoners should receive hormone replacement therapy, rather than the chief medical officer and MDoC director.
The new policy also allows trans prisoners the right to two reassessments a year by a medical provider.
Treatment plans must also now include access to gender-appropriate toilet and shower facilities with relative privacy and access to gender-appropriate prison store items and clothing.
As well as providing necessary medical care, the policy means staff are required to act respectfully and professionally when communicating with trans prisoners and when searching them.
Naturalite’s case has already been reviewed by the Committee and it has been recommended that she be given hormone replacement therapy, which she has already started.
“Transgender people who are sentenced to serve time in our prisons should not be forced to endure cruel and unusual punishment because of their gender identity,” said Jay Kaplan, LGBT Project staff attorney at the ACLU of Michigan. “This is not some kind of preferential treatment; all inmates have a fundamental right to medical care, safety and a basic level of respect.”
Naturalite last month wrote to the SPLC to say that the new policy ends a “struggle within the MDOC—one that caused unknown trials and tribulations upon my trans-sisters, as well as upon myself.”
She wrote that her life had “become more bearable and hopeful,” and thanked the SPLC.NPC Templates Playable Races Want to make that villain an elf? It's pretty easy. The design philosphy here is to provide a quick reference for some mechanical things to tack on to an NPC. The intention is not to add every racial and subracial trait to a creature - rather, to add just enough to make a notable mechanical differenced based on the creature's race. These should not make a significant difference in a creature's CR. Ability Score Increases The provided ability score increases may increase a creature's power, particularly if they synergize with the creature's role. Consider omitting them if balance is a concern. Particularly consider doing so if you are adding multiple templates to a creature. Aarakocra Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Dexterity score by 2. Walking Speed. Decrease the NPCs walking speed by 5ft., to a minimum of 5. Flight. The NPC has a flying speed of 50 feet, when not wearing medium or heavy armor. Talons. The NPC gains a Talons attack, which uses the NPCs strength score and deals 1d4 + STR damage on a hit. Languages. The NPC knows Aarakocra and Auran, in addition to any other languages it already knew. Aasimar Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Charisma score by 2. Darkvision. The NPC gains Darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. Celestial Radiance. The NPC has resistance to necrotic and radiant damage. Light Bearer. The NPC can cast the light cantrip using Charisma. Languages. The NPC knows Celestial, in addition to any other languages it already knew. Dragonborn Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Strength score by 2. Draconic Ancestry and Breath Weapon. Add the appropriate damage resistance and breath weapon for the NPC's dragon ancestry, as shown below. The breath weapon is has a save DC of 8 + Con + Proficiency, save for half damage. Ancestry Color Damage Type Breath Weapon Black Acid 5 by 30 ft. line (Dex. save) Blue Lightning 5 by 30 ft. line (Dex. save) Brass Fire 5 by 30 ft. line (Dex. save) Bronze Lightning 5 by 30 ft. line (Dex. save) Copper Acid 5 by 30 ft. line (Dex. save) Gold Fire 15 ft. cone (Dex. save) Green Poison 15 ft. cone (Dex. save) Red Fire 15 ft. cone (Dex. save) Silver Cold 15 ft. cone (Dex. save) White Cold 15 ft. cone (Dex. save) Languages. The NPC knows Draconic, in addition to any other languages it already knew. Dwarf Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Constitution score by 2. Darkvision. The NPC gains Darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. Dwarven Resilience. The NPC has advantage on saving throws against poison, and resistance against poison damage. Languages. The NPC speaks Dwarvish, in addition to any other languages it already knew. Elf Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Dexterity score by 2. Darkvision. The NPC gains Darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. Fey Ancestry. The NPC has advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can't put them to sleep. Languages. The NPC knows Elvish, in addition to any other languages it already knew.
Drow If the NPC is a Dark Elf, give them the following additional traits: Superior Darkvision. The NPC gains Darkvision out to a range of 120 feet. Sunlight Sensitivity. While in sunlight, the NPC has disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight. Drow Magic. The NPC can cast the darkness spell once per day. Firbolg Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Wisdom score by 2. Hidden Step. Once per short or long rest, the NPC can magically turn invisible until the start of their next turn, or until they attack, make a damage roll, or force someone to make a saving throw. Languages. The NPC knows Elvish and Giant, in addition to any other languages it already knew. Genasi Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Constitution score by 2. Elemental Heritage. The NPC gains a handful of traits based upon their elemental heritage. Air. The NPC can cast levitate once per day, and hold their breath indefinitely.
The NPC can cast levitate once per day, and hold their breath indefinitely. Earth. The NPC can travel across difficult terrain made of earth or stone unimpeded, and cast pass without trace once per day.
The NPC can travel across difficult terrain made of earth or stone unimpeded, and cast pass without trace once per day. Fire. The NPC has resistance to fire damage, darkvision out to 60ft., and cast produce flame using Constitution.
The NPC has resistance to fire damage, darkvision out to 60ft., and cast produce flame using Constitution. Water. The NPC has resistance to acid damage, can breathe both air and water, has a swim speed of 30 ft., and can cast the shape water cantrip using Constitution. Languages. The NPC knows Primordial, in addition to any other languages it already knew. Gnome Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Intelligence score by 2. Darkvision. The NPC gains Darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. Small. The NPC's size is small. Walking Speed. Decrease the NPCs walking speed by 5ft., to a minimum of 5. Gnome Cunning. The NPC has advantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws against magic. Languages. The NPC knows Gnomish, in addition to any other languages it already knew. Svirfneblin If the NPC is a Deep Gnome, give them the following additional traits. Superior Darkvision. The NPC gains Darkvision out to a range of 120 feet. Stone Camouflage. The NPC has advantage on Dexterity (stealth) checks to hide in rocky terrain. Goliath Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Strength score by 2. Stone's Endurance. The NPC can use a reaction to reduce incoming damage by 1d12 + their constitution modifier, once per short or long rest. Languages. The NPC knows Giant, in addition to any other languages it already knew. Half-Elf Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Charisma score by 2. Darkvision. The NPC gains Darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. Fey Ancestry. The NPC has advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can't put them to sleep. Languages. The NPC knows Elvish, in addition to any other languages it already knew. Half-Orc Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Strength score by 2. Darkvision. The NPC gains Darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. Relentless Endurance. (recharges after a Long Rest) If the NPC takes damage that would reduce it to 0 hit points, it is reduced to 1 hit point instead. Languages. The NPC knows Orc, in addition to any other languages it already knew. Halfling Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Dexterity score by 2. Walking Speed. Decrease the NPCs walking speed by 5ft., to a minimum of 5. Lucky. When the NPC rolls a 1 on an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, it can reroll the die and must use the new roll. Languages. The NPC knows Halfling, in addition to any other languages it already knew. Human Unremarkable. A human gains no special traits. Consider either adding a feat of your choice to the NPC, or increasing all ability scores by one. Kenku Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Dexterity score by 2. Kenku Training. The NPC is proficient two of the following skills: Acrobatics, Deception, Stealth, and Sleight of Hand. Small. The NPC's size is small. Mimicry. The NPC can only speak by mimicking sounds and words it has heard before. Languages. The NPC knows Auran, in addition to any other languages it already knew.
Lizardfolk Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Constitution score by 2. Swimming. The NPC has a base swimming speed of 30 ft. Bite. The NPC gains a Bite attack, which uses the NPCs strength score and deals 1d6 + STR damage on a hit. Natural Armor. When unarmored, the NPC's AC is equal to 13 + their dexterity modifier. Languages. The NPC knows Draconic, in addition to any other languages it already knew. Tabaxi Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Dexterity score by 2. Darkvision. The NPC gains Darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. Claws. The NPC has a climbing speed of 20 ft., and gains a Claws attack. which uses the NPCs strength score and deals 1d4 + STR damage on a hit. Tiefling Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Charisma score by 2. Darkvision. The NPC gains Darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. Fire Resistance. The NPC has resistance to fire damage. Infernal Magic. The NPC can cast hellish rebuke once per day as a second-level spell, using Charisma. Languages. The NPC knows Infernal, in addition to any other languages it already knew. Triton Ability Score Increase. Increase two of the NPC's Strength, Charisma, or Constitution scores by one. Amphibious. The NPC can breathe in both air and water. Swimming. The NPC has a base swimming speed of 30 ft. Emissary of the Sea. Water-breathing beasts can understand simple ideas the NPC communicates to them. Guardian of the Depths. The NPC has resistance to cold damage, and is unaffected by the drawbacks of a deep underwater. Languages. The NPC knows Primordial, in addition to any other languages it already knew. Playable Monstrous Races This section is specifically for the monstrous races included in the Volo's Guide to Monsters, and distinct from anything adapted from other material, which will be added later and be specifically marked as such. Bugbear Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Strength score by 2. Darkvision. The NPC gains Darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. Long-Limbed. When the NPC makes a melee attack on its turn, the attack's reach is increased by 5 ft. Languages. The NPC knows Goblin, in addition to any other languages it already knew. Goblin Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Dexterity score by 2. Darkvision. The NPC gains Darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. Small. The NPC's size is small. Nimble Escape. The NPC can take the Disengage or Hide action as a bonus action on each of its turns. Languages. The NPC knows Goblin, in addition to any other languages it already knew. Hobgoblin Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Constitution score by 2. Darkvision. The NPC gains Darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. Languages. The NPC knows Goblin, in addition to any other languages it already knew. *Martial Advantage.** Once per turn, the NPC can deal an extra 7 (2d6) damage to a creature it hits with a weapon attack if that creature is within 5 feet of an ally of the NPC that isn't incapacitated. Languages. The NPC knows Goblin, in addition to any other languages it already knew. Martial Advantage This trait, taken from the Hobgoblin in the Monster Manual, was chosen in place of the Saving Face trait. It was chosen for the sake of simplicity, streamlining what a DM needs to keep track of. A DM may feel free to use that trait instead, and will find it on page 119 of the Volo's Guide to Monsters.
Kobold Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Dexterity score by 2. Darkvision. The NPC gains Darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. Small. The NPC's size is small. Pack Tactics. The NPC has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of its allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn't incapacitated. Sunlight Sensitivity. While in sunlight, the NPC has disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight. Languages. The NPC knows Draconic, in addition to any other languages it already knew. Orc Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Strength score by 2. Darkvision. The NPC gains Darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. Aggressive. As a bonus action, the NPC can move up to its speed toward a hostile creature that it can see. Languages. The NPC knows Orc, in addition to any other languages it already knew. Yuan-Ti Pureblood Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Charisma score by 2. Darkvision. The NPC gains Darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. *Magic Resistance.** The NPC has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. Poison Immunity. The NPC is immune to poison damage and the poisoned condition. Languages. The NPC knows Abyssal and Draconic, in addition to any other languages it already knew. Magic Resistance This trait is very powerful, and the cause of some controversy in the homebrewing community as a racial trait. A DM is free to leave this trait out at their discretion. If they do not, it is recommended that they recalculate the creature's CR as if its AC was increased by 2, as per the suggestion in the Dungeon Master's Guide on page 281.
Mundane Professions Want to make that Commoner a blacksmith? It's pretty easy. The design philosphy here is to provide a quick reference for some mechanical things to tack on to an NPC. The intention is not to create in-depth mechanics and complex traits that become your villain's centerpiece - rather, to add just enough to make a notable mechanical differenced based on the creature's race. These should not make a significant difference in a creature's CR. Ability Score Increases The provided ability score increases may increase a creature's power, particularly if they synergize with the creature's role. Consider omitting them if balance is a concern. Particularly consider doing so if you are adding multiple templates to a creature. Bartender Oftentimes the most important person in a small town. Alcohol can be the lifeblood of the working class. Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Charisma score by one. Tool Proficiency. This NPC has proficiency with Brewer's tools. Blacksmith No forger of legendary swords, this blacksmith molds mundane iron through brute force alone. Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Strength score by one. Tool Proficiency. This NPC has proficiency with Smith's tools. Crafter A woodworker, a cobbler, or perhaps a weaver - this person makes their living creating fine crafts. Ability Score Increase Increase the NPC's Dexterity score by one. Tool Proficiency. This NPC has proficiency with a set of Artisan's tools applicable to their trade. Drunkard A staple of every town, all the villagers recognize this red face. Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Constitution score by one. Tool Proficiency. This NPC has proficiency with one gaming set of your choice. Farmer They rise with the sun, and work as hard as any to feed king and country. Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Wisdom score by one. Vehicle Proficiency. This NPC has proficiency with land vehicles. Hunter The brave few, wandering out into the wilds to bring food home to the village. Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Dexterity score by one. Weapon Proficiency. This NPC has proficiency with short bows and long bows. Laborer Unskilled, these workers are a dime a dozen in any moderately-sized town. Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Strength score by one. Tool Proficiency. This NPC has proficiency with one gaming set or musical instrument of your choice. Noble Superior of breeding, of wealth, and of attitude. Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Charisma score by one. Languages. This NPC knows one additional language. Urchin The most desitute of society, they often are seen as worth little more than the ground they walk upon. Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Wisdom score by one. Skill Proficiencies. This NPC has proficiency in one of Deception, Persuasion, or Stealth. Woodcutter A self-explanatory job if there ever was one, Ability Score Increase. Increase the NPC's Strength score by one. Tool Proficiency. This NPC has proficiency with Woodcarver's tools. Particularly Mundane. This collection of templates contains decidedly minor changes, due to the nature of its material. Consider combining these with another template if you find their enhancements lacking or inconsequential.
Exotic Professions Want to make that traveller a priest? It's pretty easy. The design philosphy here is to provide a quick reference for some mechanical things to tack on to an NPC. The intention is not to add every racial and subracial trait to a creature - rather, to add just enough to make a notable mechanical differenced based on the creature's race. These should not make a significant difference in a creature's CR. This will be split up into two sections - professions based on the PHB and SCAG player backgrounds, and professions of my own creation. Section One - Published Backgrounds I've taken the liberty of de-flavoring the backgrounds provided by the SCAG, to more flexibly fit different settings. Additionally, I've simplified many of the Features provided by Wizards. Acolyte Feature: FLAVOR TEXT. Skill Proficiencies. Tool Proficiencies. Languages. Barbarian Tribe Member Feature: FLAVOR TEXT. Skill Proficiencies. Tool Proficiencies. Languages. Charlatan Feature: FLAVOR TEXT. Skill Proficiencies. Tool Proficiencies. Languages. City Watch Feature: FLAVOR TEXT. Skill Proficiencies. Tool Proficiencies. Languages. Clan Crafter Feature: FLAVOR TEXT. Skill Proficiencies. Tool Proficiencies. Languages. Cloistered Scholar Feature: FLAVOR TEXT. Skill Proficiencies. Tool Proficiencies. Languages. Courtier Feature: FLAVOR TEXT. Skill Proficiencies. Tool Proficiencies. Languages. Criminal Feature: FLAVOR TEXT. Skill Proficiencies. Tool Proficiencies. Languages. Entertainer Feature: FLAVOR TEXT. Skill Proficiencies. Tool Proficiencies. Languages. Faction Agent Feature: FLAVOR TEXT. Skill Proficiencies. Tool Proficiencies. Languages. Far Traveller Feature: FLAVOR TEXT. Skill Proficiencies. Tool Proficiencies. Languages.If you think the topic of Donald Trump‘s tax returns are a big issue, then campaign manager Kellyanne Conway certainly wants to hear none of it.
During a Tuesday morning interview on CNN’s New Day, Conway — who was installed as the campaign manager in August — defended her boss’ decision not to release his tax returns. After a fiery exchange with host Alisyn Camerota about the state of health for both Trump and his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, Camerota pressed on about the tax returns, asking straightforwardly, “When can we expect to see them?”
“When his lawyer and his accountants tell him that he should release them, when he’s no longer under audit,” Conway replied. “He’s made that very clear.”
Camerota then asked a follow-up not frequently heard during the debate over Trump’s taxes, and it seemed to stun Conway and catch her off guard. “Has Donald Trump, or will he, release anything from the IRS — a letter from the IRS — proving that he’s under audit?”
Conway asked Camerota to repeat herself, presumably to buy an extra moment while she formulated a response.
Eventually, she countered hard, taking a page out of the Trump book of punching up. “I don’t know. Why? In other words — why, why are you — Are you calling him a liar?” Conway pushed back.
She sharply repeated herself a moment later. “Are you calling him a liar?” She continued, “I mean seriously, we’re running against a Clinton and we’re gonna challenge someone’s veracity?”
Watch the above exchange from CNN’s New Day.
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[image via screengrab]
Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.comThe sad news of kidnapped engineer Chris McManus's death in Nigeria is a stark reminder of just how dangerous engineering in conflict zones can be. Working for a humanitarian organisation that was founded to send engineers to help in major natural disasters, I know only too well that the risks facing people like Chris are on the rise – in places like Nigeria,but also in many other parts of Africa, Asia and further afield.
In fact, threats to expatriates and locals working in difficult and dangerous locations – whether commercial engineers or aid workers, doctors or security contractors – are now more common than in any period I can remember in the past 30 years.
Just a quick survey of people I know, who have worked in all manner of conflict zones in recent years, throws up more than a couple of examples. One, an engineer on contract in Albania recalls having an AK-47 thrust into his face while trying to find a location to install water tanks. Another reports driving through the middle of a firefight in Burundi after he and an engineer friend found themselves in an impromptu battle for the control of a road. A third spent time last year negotiating a colleague's release after he was abducted in Somalia.
And further examples abound – just take the British and American engineers who have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan – or the British engineers who went to Chechnya to repair telecommunications in the late nineties, only to be kidnapped and later beheaded.
So why are engineers – whether commercial or humanitarian – at particular and increasing risk? The reasons are many. In the case of somewhere like northern Nigeria, where Chris McManus was working, skilled expatriates – in fact westerners in general – are both a potentially lucrative source of income for rebels and political groups in need of cash, and an effective PR tool. There is no better way for a group like Boko Haram to get their message across than via regular coverage of their cause in powerful global media. Politically, too, the sense of alienation from the West in many poverty-stricken regions is growing fast. And then there's the increased proliferation of weapons.
But there are more practical reasons, too. Contractors like Kenneth Bigley and his two US colleagues who were killed in Iraq in 2004 while working on reconstruction projects, are a prime example of skilled workers who are brought into post-conflict regions to help rebuild.
The very nature of reconstructing towns, bridges and infrastructure often means engineers are required to travel, sometimes to very insecure areas. And, they are almost always in a hands-on role, working out in remote locations usually with limited if any communications coverage. More so than perhaps other professions, and by the very nature of their work, they are put in harms way.
It's a stark fact that for humanitarian workers operating in hostile environments – and it's undoubtedly the same for expatriate staff across the board – the most dangerous place to be is on the road. When you're travelling you are incredibly vulnerable.
So what's the answer? There is no silver bullet. Though threats will always remain, the mitigation of security risks is absolutely critical. Effective hostile environment and security training is just one of the many precautions we insist on before sending engineers, or any of our staff, to dangerous locations.
Or, there's not going at all. But with high wages for those willing to put up with the security risk in Nigeria, Iraq or Afghanistan, it seems unlikely the steady flow of skilled staff to conflict zones will stop anytime soon.
One thing is certain: with the increasing incidence of legal action – namely expatriate workers suing their companies and organisations when they experience traumatic events such as kidnap – companies, charities and contractors simply cannot afford to turn a blind eye.
• Follow Comment is free on Twitter @commentisfreeA professor at Ohio State University who served as the executive officer in Iraq to General David Petraeus said Thursday said he will vote for likely Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton because Republican Donald Trump is "extremely ill-suited" to be president.
WASHINGTON � A professor at Ohio State University who served as the executive officer in Iraq to General David Petraeus said Thursday said he will vote for likely Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton because Republican Donald Trump is �extremely ill-suited" to be president.
In a scathing denunciation of the expected Republican presidential nominee, retired U.S. Army Colonel Peter Mansoor said Trump was �incapable of fulfilling the duties� of president and complained the New York billionaire �has no principles. Tell me his core philosophy besides Trump?"
Mansoor, who holds the Gen. Raymond E. Mason chair in military history at Ohio State, said he has never voted for a Democratic presidential candidate, backing every GOP nominee from Ronald Reagan in 1980 until Mitt Romney in 2012. But he said he so strongly objects to Trump, he would vote for Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders if he were the nominee because �at least he has a soul."
In a foreign policy speech Thursday in San Diego, Clinton, a former secretary of state under President Barack Obama and two-term U.S. senator from New York, assailed Trump�s foreign policy ideas as �dangerously incoherent.�
While acknowledging that Clinton is not �someone I am excited about in terms of president,� Mansoor said �she would be better than Donald Trump and she is capable of assuming the office.�
�I think she has enormous capabilities,� Mansoor said. �She is well-read, she studies foreign policy and national security. She has a long track record that makes her open to criticism, but at least she has a long track record, which means she has been in the arena. Where has Trump been? Boardrooms and reality TV � and that is a far cry from the Oval Office.�
Earlier this year, Mansoor joined a group of Republican national security experts who signed a letter saying they would not support Trump.
jtorry@dispatch.com
@jacktorry1TJ Morris via flickr They just keep piling up.
Retail sales in the UK appear to be in a tailspin.
The British Retail Consortium, says sales in March fell at their hardest level in 16 years.
From the announcement:
UK retail sales values were down 1.9% on a total basis from March 2010, when sales had risen 6.6%, boosted by Good Friday and Easter Saturday falling in the March trading period. On a like-for-like basis, sales were 3.5% lower, against a 4.4% increase in March 2010. Like-for-like food sales fell well below their year-earlier level and non-food sales showed an even larger decline. Consumers' underlying uncertainty about jobs and incomes, as well as the later Easter, hit both. Big-ticket home and furniture purchases suffered most and were often promotion-led. Non-food non-store (internet, mail-order and phone) sales growth fell further in March. Sales were 7.5% higher than a year ago, the smallest increase since the series began in October 2008 and much weaker than the 10.4% in February. Stephen Robertson, Director General, British Retail Consortium, said: "This is the worst drop in total sales since we first collected these figures in 1995. Non-food retailers were particularly hard-hit. This is strong evidence of the pressure customers and traders are under. This year's later Easter is a factor but this fall goes way beyond anything that can be explained by that alone.
Thank you austerityUPDATE: I passed! I was notified by the Cicerone Certification Program on |
the day I got the letter from RISD. It was a big envelope. I had gotten in with a $20k yearly scholarship. The following months I would scramble to secure the student loans in order to pay the remainder of the costs. My parent’s financial situation, thanks to the housing crisis, was still bleak. So as much as they would have loved to have helped, it was on me (and the good people at JPMorgan Chase). My first dorm room at RISD I made it to RISD. And then I worked. I mean worked. To RISD’s credit, they are wonderous at making their students work hard. My classmates and I put in insane hours working on our craft. If it takes ten thousand hours, then I was getting there as quickly as I could.
As I was transferring with a fair bit of college credit, I had to attend a summer transfer course covering all of the fundamentals. This was some of the work done during that summer.
Work done during my first two semesters of basic illustration courses.
I used drawing class homework to do work that interested me. Which was, apparently, giant sad robots.
The year came to a close. I had made friends and did more art than I could possibly fit in this post. But the financial realities of staying for another two years were coming to the forefront. Tuition was rising and my scholarship was not. To stay would mean ending up with over $100k in debt. So I left. I transferred to the Virginia Commonwealth University. I had grown up in VA, so I was able to get in-state tuition. The school accepted me even before I applied. It didn’t have the prestige that RISD had, but I would be able to get a degree and continue my study of art. During this summer before I went to VCU, something extraordinary happened. You see, I had spent the entirety of my artistic career avoiding landscape art of any kind. I found it painfully boring. I would even go to a museum and walk straight past all of the Hudson River School painters. But this summer I actually walked outside with my paints. I did my first plein air work of my life. And I loved it. Every minute of it. The heat, the glare of light, the wind blowing around and bugs flying into my paint. Everything about it just felt… right. I had grown up in the woods of Virginia and it felt like a dream come true to get to create art and experience nature at the same time.
My first plein air work. Acrylics on paper.
So with this fresh outlook on what sort of art I thought I should make, I went to Richmond to attend VCU. I made a new group of friends. And we were all given the assignments of filling up sketchbooks. While I had always had sketchbooks and filled them up from time to time, VCU was obsessed with them. Our professors made sure we were constantly working in them, grading us largely based on the number of pages filled. Now I will take this opportunity to admit that I am not a very good draftsman. And despite filling a sketchbook or two mostly with line drawings, that didn’t improve all that much. So I started painting in them. I knew I could fill a page a lot faster with a brush than a pencil. Besides drawing my friends, sometimes family, and often strangers, I filled up my sketchbooks with studies of landscapes (from life, the masters, and photos). I knew if I wanted to make good landscapes, I’d need to study them a lot.
But still, as any good artist does, I continued to work on my figurative skills. But during this time I noticed an odd sort of trend. People tended to say much nicer things about my landscapes than my figures. Particularly odd considering less than a year prior I had been adamantly opposed to doing landscapes at all.
Assignments ranged, as they are, from the useful to the inane.
But this wasn’t enough. I knew that even though I was learning and improving, I needed to work on my own as well. I needed to pursue the things I eventually wanted to be paid to do. So in my evenings, after I was done with classes and homework — VCU, thankfully, had a considerably lighter homework load than RISD — I would do imaginative sketches of landscapes. Ranging from 30 minutes to 2 hours, you might have even called them “speed paintings” back in the day. But they were tools for me to learn how to develop an entire scene, color palette, and mood in a very short amount of time. This was one of the most important exercises I have ever done. This is where I took the years of study and began really applying them.
People responded to them. A lot. But still, I knew that I had to do more if I was going to get paid to do this. Everything I did was unfinished. I am an obnoxiously impatient person and I had a hard time working on a piece to completion. I would get sick of something and just want to move on to the next piece. Which is often what I did. So I was sitting on a pile of unfinished work and my junior year was coming to a close. I buckled down and forced myself to finish just one piece.
“The Journey Ahead”, my first finished landscape painting.
I had done it. And I was proud. I had produced a piece that, despite all of the flaws I now see in it, is at a fairly professional level. The lighting is good, the composition is solid, the space and atmosphere is believable, and I had forced myself to take enough time that most things are decently rendered. So during the remainder of my semester and into the summer, I worked on finishing my first portfolio of work.
My first portfolio. The last piece was, interestingly enough, the first piece to be published in Spectrum.Obama’s European tour has a strong human-rights message. Just now at a press conference he said of his meeting with Pope Francis, “His Holiness is very interested in the Israel-Palestine issue.”
Yesterday I watched his stemwinder to European youth, laying out the principles that defy the Russian occupation of Crimea. The ideas were stirring. Time and again the president invoked democracy, self-determination, human equality, territorial integrity and dignity — principles the U.S. has nullified in its policy in Israel and Palestine.
First, he outlines his theme like a constitutional scholar. Emphasis mine:
Throughout human history, societies have grappled with fundamental questions of how to organize themselves, the proper relationship between the individual and the state, the best means to resolve inevitable conflicts between states. And it was here in Europe, through centuries of struggle — through war and Enlightenment, repression and revolution — that a particular set of ideals began to emerge: The belief that through conscience and free will, each of us has the right to live as we choose. The belief that power is derived from the consent of the governed, and that laws and institutions should be established to protect that understanding. And those ideas eventually inspired a band of colonialists across an ocean, and they wrote them into the founding documents that still guide America today, including the simple truth that all men — and women — are created equal. But those ideals have also been tested — here in Europe and around the world. Those ideals have often been threatened by an older, more traditional view of power. This alternative vision argues that ordinary men and women are too small-minded to govern their own affairs, that order and progress can only come when individuals surrender their rights to an all-powerful sovereign. Often, this alternative vision roots itself in the notion that by virtue of race or faith or ethnicity, some are inherently superior to others, and that individual identity must be defined by “us” versus “them,” or that national greatness must flow not by what a people stand for, but by what they are against.
But the governed in Gaza and the West Bank have no voice in the government that controls them. And the Jewish state has constituted itself with an unequal definition of citizenship, with Jews having more rights– in an “older, more traditional view of power.”
Notice his thrilling narration of the age of decolonization, unfolding in the Third World and the U.S.:
the ideals that came to define our [North Atlantic] alliance also inspired movements across the globe among those very people, ironically, who had too often been denied their full rights by Western powers. After the Second World War, people from Africa to India threw off the yoke of colonialism to secure their independence. In the United States, citizens took freedom rides and endured beatings to put an end to segregation and to secure their civil rights. As the Iron Curtain fell here in Europe, the iron fist of apartheid was unclenched, and Nelson Mandela emerged upright, proud, from prison to lead a multiracial democracy.
But there’s apartheid all over the West Bank, and Palestinians in Israel are second-class citizens. Not to mention the growing understanding that Israel is a settler-colonial state in which European immigrants have higher status.
He opposes ethnic cleansing.
Young people in the audience today, young people like Laura, were born in a place and a time where there is less conflict, more prosperity and more freedom than any time in human history. But that’s not because man’s darkest impulses have vanished. Even here, in Europe, we’ve seen ethnic cleansing in the Balkans that shocked the conscience.
But Israel continues to “Judaize” East Jerusalem, the Negev, parts of the Galilee, and Area C, by demolishing Palestinian homes and villages to make way for Jews.
He opposes militarism:
[W]e are confronted with the belief among some that bigger nations can bully smaller ones to get their way — that recycled maxim that might somehow makes right.
And states that self-determination is at the basis of western progress:
So I come here today to insist that we must never take for granted the progress that has been won here in Europe and advanced around the world… And that’s what’s at stake in Ukraine today. Russia’s leadership is challenging truths that only a few weeks ago seemed self-evident — that in the 21st century, the borders of Europe cannot be redrawn with force, that international law matters, that people and nations can make their own decisions about their future.
And “annexation” is an evil, around the world. Including the Middle East:
Our own borders are not threatened by Russia’s annexation. But that kind of casual indifference would… allow the old way of doing things to regain a foothold in this young century. And that message would be heard not just in Europe, but in Asia and the Americas, in Africa and the Middle East.
But annexation is alive and well in Palestine, and everyone knows we support it.
He honors nonviolent resistance in the name of human rights:
look at the young people of Ukraine who were determined to take back their future from a government rotted by corruption — the portraits of the fallen shot by snipers, the visitors who pay their respects at the Maidan. There was the university student, wrapped in the Ukrainian flag, expressing her hope that “every country should live by the law.” A postgraduate student, speaking of her fellow protestors, saying, “I want these people who are here to have dignity.”… Their voices echo those around the world who at this very moment fight for their dignity… I am confident that eventually those voices — those voices for human dignity and opportunity and individual rights and rule of law — those voices ultimately will triumph. … because these ideals that we affirm are true; these ideals are universal.
But the nonviolent resistance movement in Palestine is opposed by an occupying army that the U.S. supports with billions every year.
More on human equality and dignity:
And, yes, we believe in human dignity — that every person is created equal, no matter who you are, or what you look like, or who you love, or where you come from. That is what we believe. That’s what makes us strong.
He cites the UN and human rights law, the very institutions that his administration undermined in the aftermath of the Goldstone Report on the Gaza slaughter.
And our enduring strength is also reflected in our respect for an international system that protects the rights of both nations and people — a United Nations and a Universal Declaration of Human Rights; international law and the means to enforce those laws.
He cites sovereignty and territorial integrity, when Palestinians have never had either, and are losing lands to Jewish settlers with every tick of the clock:
Russia’s violation of international law — its assault on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity — must be met with condemnation. Not because we’re trying to keep Russia down, but because the principles that have meant so much to Europe and the world must be lifted up… What we will do — always — is uphold our solemn obligation, our Article 5 duty to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our allies.
But Obama vetoed a resolution against Israeli settlements in the UN Security Council.
He addresses the problem of the rights of ethnic minorities, in this case ethnic Russians inside of Ukraine.
Moreover, many countries around the world face similar questions about their borders and ethnic minorities abroad, about sovereignty and self-determination. These are tensions that have led in other places to debate and democratic referendums, conflicts and uneasy co-existence. These are difficult issues, and it is precisely because these questions are hard that they must be addressed through constitutional means and international laws so that majorities cannot simply suppress minorities, and big countries cannot simply bully the small.
But Obama continually refers to Israel as a democracy, when Palestinians have limited rights.
He faults the American invasion of Iraq but says we didn’t want to permanently occupy it or annex its land:
I opposed our military intervention there. But even in Iraq, America sought to work within the international system. We did not claim or annex Iraq’s territory. We did not grab its resources for our own gain.
Yes, and what about SodaStream and Ahava, using Palestinian resources under occupation for their gain?
Again: self-determination, as an “irreducible” ideal for all human beings:
on the fundamental principle that is at stake here — the ability of nations and peoples to make their own choices — there can be no going back. It’s not America that filled the Maidan with protesters — it was Ukrainians. No foreign forces compelled the citizens of Tunis and Tripoli to rise up — they did so on their own. From the Burmese parliamentarian pursuing reform to the young leaders fighting corruption and intolerance in Africa, we see something irreducible that all of us share as human beings — a truth that will persevere in the face of violence and repression and will ultimately overcome.
Palestinians have had never had the right of self-determination, though they’ve affirmed that they are a people for 100 years.
He emphasizes that human rights and rights of sovereignty are universal. If they’re destroyed one place, they’re threatened everywhere.
we must never forget that we are heirs to a struggle for freedom. Our democracy, our individual opportunity only exists because those who came before us had the wisdom and the courage to recognize that our ideals will only endure if we see our self-interest in the success of other peoples and other nations.
The man who vetoed a UN resolution against settlements.
And imagine someone in Gaza or the West Bank reading this:
Do not think for a moment that your own freedom, your own prosperity, that your own moral imagination is bound by the limits of your community, your ethnicity, or even your country. You’re bigger than that. You can help us to choose a better history. That’s what Europe tells us. That’s what the American experience is all about. I say this … as the son of a Kenyan whose grandfather was a cook for the British, and as a person who once lived in Indonesia as it emerged from colonialism. The ideals that unite us matter equally to the young people of Boston or Brussels, or Jakarta or Nairobi, or Krakow or Kyiv.
No Palestine on that list. The president never mentioned Israel or Palestine. And you can see why. People might say he’s a hypocrite.LANSING, MI—Noting that the 18-year-old was “pretty much on board” once he saw boots and fatigues, Army recruiter Mark Delacourt confirmed Monday that he didn’t have to reach too deep into his bag of tricks to snag this one. “I barely even got one sentence out about defending American values and serving with honor before he said, ‘Okay, let’s do this,’” said Delacourt, adding that he had a whole song and dance ready to go about “challenging yourself to see what you’re really made of” that went entirely unused. “As it turned out, just hearing the word ‘combat’ and looking at a pamphlet with an armored Humvee on the front was apparently good enough to reel this guy in. I didn’t even have to touch my whole stockpile of talking points about going to college on the G.I. Bill or acquiring vital job skills, and frankly, it probably would’ve gone in one ear and out the other anyway.” Delacourt added that because the interaction was over so quickly, he could save his free “Go Army” hat for the next one.
AdvertisementEvan Spiegel, CEO do Snapchat (Foto: Michael Kovac/Getty Images)
A United Airlines e a Pepsi não são mais as únicas grandes empresas no meio de uma crise de imagem neste momento. O aplicativo de fotos e vídeos efêmeros Snapchat também ganhou o holofote das notícias negativas. Documentos obtidos pela revista norte-americana Variety revelam que a empresa do fantasminha é alvo de um processo movido por um ex-funcionário, Anthony Pompliano. E os autos da ação trazem à tona um episódio curioso.
Em uma reunião em 11 de setembro de 2015, o então novo funcionário Pompliano, que acabara de ser trazido do Facebook, expressou preocupação com o fato de o Snapchat não estar aproveitando oportunidades interessantes em outros países. Ele teria sido interrompido abruptamente pelo CEO do Snapchat, Evan Spiegel. "Esse aplicativo é só para gente rica", cortou Spiegel. "Não quero expandir para países pobres como Índia e Espanha."
O Snapchat lutava em uma Corte de Los Angeles para impedir que o processo fosse tornado público. Nesta segunda, no entanto, a companhia desistiu dos esforços. Anteriormente, a empresa alegava quem o processo tinha conteúdo secreto, que poderia prejudicá-la diante de seus competidores.
Durante seu breve período de três semanas na empresa, antes de ser demitido, Pompliano teria tentado insistentemente fazer com que a empresa desse números mais precisos de sua base de usuários ao mercado. Segundo ele, os números eram menores do que os que o Snapchat divulgava. "O fato é simples: ele [Pompliano] não sabe nada sobre as métricas atuais do Snap", escreveram os advoagados da empresa. "Ele e seus advogados estão só inventando coisas."
Perfil polêmico
Spiegel, de 26 anos, é o jovem mais rico do mundo entre os que construíram sua própria fortuna, de acordo com o ranking da revista Forbes, divulgado em março. E que fortuna. São US$ 4,5 bilhões, algo como R$ 14 bilhões. Ele passa longe do estereótipo "nerd-de-tecnologia-no-Vale-do-Silício". Para começar: sequer no Vale do Silício é a sede do Snapchat. A ensolarada Venice Beach, em Los Angeles, fazia mais sentido para a empresa.
Nada de nerd também. Nascido numa família abastada, Spiegel era popular na escola, dirige uma Ferrari e namora com a ex-modelo da Victoria’s Secret Miranda Kerr. Em Stanford, era festeiro. Tinha um cargo de liderança em uma das fraternidades da instituição. Um legado que, para seu desgosto, o perseguiu até anos recentes. Em maio de 2014, o blog de tecnologia Valleywag vazou uma série de e-mails de cunho misógino, em que o rapaz faz declarações sexuais explícitas aos amigos. Pode-se dizer que a história de Spiegel é repleta de momentos que ele gostaria que desaparecessem em dez segundos.
A edição deste mês de Época NEGÓCIOS traz uma reportagem que detalha os desafios que a empresa, récem-chegada na bolsa de Nova York, deve enfrentar daqui para frente. Queridinha entre os mais jovens, a rede social debutou em Wall Street com inegável sucesso. Difícil, agora, será sobreviver à concorrência. O Facebook criou quatro rivais para combater o Snap: o Stories, usado no Instagram e no próprio Face; o Day, do Messenger; e o Status, do WhatsApp.Signup to receive a daily roundup of the top LGBT+ news stories from around the world
Ben Whishaw has said that he was scared of coming out for a long time.
The star – who appeared as Q in James Bond film Skyfall – is famously guarded about his personal life, only confirming his sexuality publicly last year when he revealed he had privately entered into a civil partnership Australian composer Mark Bradshaw in 2012.
He has opened up about his experiences of coming out today, in an interview with The Sunday Times.
The Cloud Atlas star said: “I had a lot of fear in doing it for a long time. And who can say why? I’m not sure I know.
“Everyone was surprisingly lovely. I hadn’t anticipated that they would be, but they were.
He said: “It takes courage [to come out] and people have to do it in their own time.
“It’s hard to have a conversation with people you’ve known your whole life about a very intimate thing.
“It’s massively weighted with all sorts of stuff, whatever the wider world is saying… it’s an intimate and private and difficult conversation for most people.
“There is so much tension around doing something like that. I applaud everyone who does it.”
Despite opening up about coming out, Whishaw still refused to discuss his relationship with Bradshaw in the interview.
However, he said of having children: “I don’t have a feeling about it at the moment. I wouldn’t rule it out, but I’m not ready to think about it now as my life is too peripatetic”
Whishaw signed on to the lead role in a planned Freddie Mercury biopic last year, after Sacha Baron Cohen pulled out of the project.
Queen guitarist Brian May had claimed that Baron Cohen was replaced because he would have been “distracting” in the lead role, but reports suggested he had clashed with producers over the film’s tone.
The movie, which is backed by Queen, is set to focus on the period leading up to Live Aid in 1985 and Freddie’s famous performance, and is expected to not focus on the AIDS crisis.Paris (AFP) – A new documentary claims that pornography has got “uglier and nastier”, with actors forced to shoot more hardcore films for less since the explosion of free-to-view internet sites like Youporn and Pornhub.
“Pornocracy”, made by Ovidie, a former French porn star turned director, claims that far fewer films are now being made and fees have been slashed up to 10-fold.
She blames “tube” sites — so-called because they resemble YouTube — which have been accused of hosting thousands of videos pirated from traditional adult entertainment companies.
Critics say children are also getting their first exposure to sex through the sites.
And they worry about the effect porn culture is having on the way teenage boys treat girls.
“Tubes” are also blamed for making porn consumption so commonplace that last week London’s transport system was forced to warn that people who watched porn on buses and trains would be reported to the police.
Children’s campaigner Marie Derain, an advisor to the French women and families minister, said the exploitive nature of “tube” sites was extremely worrying.
“Their economic model goes beyond even what is at stake in terms of pornography,” she told AFP.
– Nearly all pirated –
Gregory Dorcel, who heads Marc Dorcel, Europe’s third-biggest adult entertainment group, said 95 percent of the 100 billion porn clips watched on the web last year were pirated.
His company alone has made five million requests to Google for its videos to be taken down from “tubes”.
“But 48 hours later the videos are back online,” Ovidie said.
Her documentary claims that a little-known company called MindGeek — headquartered in “an empty office” in Luxembourg — is now porn’s most powerful player, holding a monopoly-like grip on the industry.
But MindGeek, which prefers to be seen as a tech company, and makes no reference to porn on its website, told AFP that it operates only four “tube” sites — Pornhub, Youporn, RedTube and Tube8.
“Claims that we dominate the industry are nonsense,” a spokeswoman said, saying that only three of its sites ranked in the top 10 of the world’s most visited adult sites.
Pornhub alone, however, is the 11th most viewed site in the US, just behind Wikipedia, Twitter and Instagram.
MindGeek says it is simply a platform for its “1,000 content partners that upload content and benefit from the exposure on our sites”.
“There is lot of misinformation about how tube sites function,” the spokeswoman said.
She said it followed YouTube’s lead on “managing the issue of copyrights”.
“There is no room in our model for the assumption that content is pirated,” she added.
She claimed instead that they had “formed positive, symbiotic relationships with most of the major players in the industry”.
Many traditional adult film makers dispute this, also complaining that while they are subject to strict regulations on age, the “tubes” can easily be viewed by children.
– Kids see porn by 11 –
The French pressure group Ennocence, which is trying to make regulation of the “tubes” an issue in the country’s coming presidential election, said children now tend to first view porn at 11.
Its president, Gordon Choisel, said they were being bombarded with adult images through internet adverts from a very young age.
“You think your child is watching a cartoon but then a window pops up with porn,” he said.
Choisel said governments had to attack the sites’ advertising streams. “We have to come up with legislation that is flexible enough to adapt to changes in technology and the way videos are being watched,” he said.
Derain, author of a 2012 report on children’s viewing habits, said porn was shaping many young people’s view of sex.
“Sexuality in real life is not like that,” she said, but children who have grown up watching “tubes” have trouble making the distinction.
“I have been involved in a number of very serious criminal cases where boys have systematically done to girls what they saw on porn,” she said.
“Pornocracy” also dealt with the explosion in “cam girl” sites and what Ovidie termed the “new proletariat of sex” who work long hours on them.House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) had some foul language for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) last week as vitriol erupted over the looming fiscal cliff.
According to Politico and CNN, Boehner confronted Reid in the White House lobby last Friday and advised him to “go fuck yourself.” Boehner was apparently upset that Reid had accused him of maintaining a “dictatorship” in the House of Representatives.
“The Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was sitting on a couch next to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, and the House Speaker walked in and he said in a pretty angry way, ‘go blank yourself,'” CNN’s Dana Bash explained. “I’ll just tell you that the ‘blank’ starts with an ‘F.'”
“The Democrat who was there insists to me that Reid just laughed it off and he didn’t take it seriously. A Republican who was there tells me that’s not what happened, and that in his words, the exchange continued and it didn’t get any better for Reid.”
Watch video, uploaded to YouTube by CNN, below:The weekly collection of random and fun facts. In this week’s edition: A Stolen Highway Sign, The Long Guinness Brewery Lease, Gilligan’s Island in the City, A Lifeboat Mystery, and The Boat of Elvis.
Source In 2014, the State of Colorado switched mile marker “420” to “419.99” on Interstate 70 east of Denver because people had been stealing the sign too often. The Colorado Department of Transportation said the sign had been altered sometime during the last year. Why the rash of thefts on the sign? It’s believed to be because the number 420 is associated with smoking cannabis, also known as marijuana, weed, ganja, reefer, or hashish at the time of 4:20 PM, and it’s also a day of cannabis celebration on April 20th. The origins of the number are not accurately known, but it was obvious to the transportation department why the sign was continually stolen. The 419.99 sign was actually placed 50 feet from the spot the old sign stood, so its location is still accurate.
Talk about a good deal. A really good deal. The Guinness Brewery at St. James Gate in Dublin, Ireland once had a 9,000-year lease on the property of an unused brewery and paid only 45 Irish pounds on the lease per year. Arthur Guinness negotiated the deal in 1759 for the land. The area had a good water supply and other smaller breweries had also made the area home. At some point the Guinness Brewery expanded past the original four acre lot and bought out the property. This made the lease not valid in today’s times.
No one really knows how 9,000 years for the the lease term was decided, or why Mark Rainsford, who had the lease before Guinness, agreed to 45 pounds with no increases for inflation. It probably wouldn’t have mattered to Guinness, because by 1886, it was the largest brewery in the world, pumping out 1.2 million barrels of beer a year. Source
Who didn’t love those castaways on a fateful trip, but unfortunately they never really left sunny Southern California. On TV’s “Gilligan’s Island”, the “island” was actually created in Hollywood in the middle of an artificial lake at CBS Studios. The set cost $75,000 to construct and consisted of artificial palm trees mixed in with real flowers and other plants. Pipes were laid to control the waterfall that was seen on the show. Things didn’t quite go as planned at first after filling up the fake lagoon. The black-topped bottom leaked and had to be repaired before it was finally filled again. When shots had to be done offsite, the show used Coconut Island in Kanehoe Bay in Hawaii. Source, Source
In 1964, an abandoned lifeboat was found on Bouvet Island located in the South Atlantic Ocean, one of the world’s most remote islands. How it go there and where it came from is still unknown. Bouvet Island is almost entirely covered in ice and Antarctica is the closest land.
The lifeboat was found by Lieutenant Commander Allan Crawford of the Royal Navy when he was sent to the island to see if it was a proper place for a weather station. He landed with a team on the island by helicopter in 1964 and discovered the lifeboat in a lagoon that appeared to have come from a larger ship. The lifeboat had no markings, but he did find the oars that went with it along with a copper tank and a barrel. There were no signs that anyone had stayed on the island, or worse, died there.
When another expedition team went to the island two years later, the lifeboat was gone. There are many theories but no explanations on how the lifeboat got on the island in the first place. Did someone actually get stranded there? Did traces of the persons there get wiped away by the weather? No one yet has been able to come up with a good answer. Source, Source
Elvis Presley purchased Franklin Roosevelt’s Presidential yacht, the Potomac, for $55,000 in 1964.
The Potomac started as the Electra which was part of a class of U.S. Coast Guard Cutters. It was built in 1934 and was designed for coastal patrols. The presidential yacht at the time was the Sequoia which was a 100 foot yacht and had a cabin with a wood finish. Because the Sequoia was considered fancy by President Roosevelt, especially during the time of the Great Depression, and because he had to be carried from deck to deck due to his medical condition, a new boat was requested. The Navy took charge of finding a replacement and chose the Electra. They converted it to the Potomac in 1936.
President Roosevelt used it throughout his presidency and during World War II. It traveled up and down the eastern seaboard and was used to entertain foreign dignitaries. It also was used for one of the fireside chats Roosevelt was famous for. After the death of President Roosevelt, President Truman transferred the yacht to the State of Maryland where it was used as a research vessel studying the fisheries and later as the governor’s yacht. After that time the yacht was held by private individuals, eventually winding up in the West Indies in 1962.
The Potomac was later transported to Long Beach, California where two businessmen made it into a tourist attraction. In 1964, it was bought at an auction for $55,000 by Elvis Presley’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker, on behalf of Presley. Elvis donated the ship a few weeks after he bought it to Danny Thomas as a fundraiser for St. Jude’s Hospital.
St. Jude’s eventually sold the yacht, and it began another colorful portion of its history. It was seized in San Francisco, along with another ship, as part of a marijuana smuggling ring in 1980. It was later moored at Treasure Island in San Francisco but sunk after being pierced by a floating piling. The Navy Reserve raised it, put it up for auction in 1981, and it was bought by the Port of Oakland for $15,000. The ship is now owned by the Potomac Association and is an FDR museum, the goal that Presley originally had intended when he had donated it. It can be visited in Jack London Square in Oakland, California. Source, Source
Another edition is all done. Impress and annoy those around you with your new, random knowledge.WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will give families of American personnel at a military base and consulate in Turkey the option of relocating now that the base has become central to the air campaign against Islamic State militants, officials said on Thursday.
Six U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons from Aviano Air Base, Italy, are seen at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, after being deployed, in this U.S. Air Force handout picture taken August 9, 2015. REUTERS/U.S. Air Force/Senior Airman Michael Battles/Handout
The U.S. military last month started launching manned and unmanned air strikes against Islamic State targets in Syria from the Incirlik air base near the southern city of Adana in Turkey. Turkey has also launched strikes out of Incirlik.
The option to relocate applies to the air base at Incirlik and the U.S. consulate in Adana, the State Department and Department of Defense said.
“This decision was made out of an abundance of caution,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement.
A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the base was safe but also acknowledged a heightened threat since the start of high-profile air operations in August.
Security precautions at the base have been tightened, potentially making life less comfortable for families of U.S. military personnel living there.
The defense official estimated there were 900 dependents there who were eligible for voluntary departure.
Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said at a daily news briefing that the families had just been made aware of the option to leave, and he did not know how many would decide to relocate.
Turkey agreed in July to open its strategically important air bases to the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, but it has been reluctant to play a leading role in the fight for fear of a backlash.
On July 24, Turkish warplanes attacked Islamic State targets in Syria, but not as part of the coalition operation. On Aug. 29, Turkish jets took part in U.S.-led air strikes in Syria.In the aftermath of the horrifying accident, friends rushed to the hospital to visit the newborn tenaciously clinging to life, then on to the synagogue for the funeral of his parents. The boy’s birthday would fall on the anniversary of his parents’ death; their burial would occur well before his bris, the circumcision ritual that Jews have honored for thousands of years, and his naming.
Image Raizy and Nathan Glauber in a wedding photo.
Even for a community accustomed to burying its dead quickly, it was a shattering avalanche of events.
The crash happened at Kent Avenue and Wilson Street. The police said the livery cab, a black 2008 Toyota Camry, was traveling west on Wilson Street when it was struck on the driver’s side by the 2010 BMW, which had been going north on Kent.
It was not clear if one or both of the drivers was at fault, the police said; the crash was still under investigation. The driver of the BMW is expected to face an eventual charge of fleeing the scene of the accident.
Mr. Glauber was taken to Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan and was pronounced dead on arrival at 12:41 a.m., a spokesman for the hospital said.Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal faces legal hurdle in his plan to push the Jan Lokpal bill. (File pic)
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party have burst into a new conflict with the union government, describing its representative in Delhi, the Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, as "a Congress agent."That assessment is based on the fact that the Lieutenant Governor sought legal advice on whether Mr Kejriwal can ask law-makers in the Delhi Assembly to consider his pet proposal - the anti-corruption Jan Lokpal Bill - without prior approval from the Union Home Ministry. (For Kejriwal's anti-graft Jan Lokpal Bill, a new legal knot) Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran has said that because the Lokpal will be funded at least in part by the union government, the Home Ministry must clear it before it is debated and voted upon by the Delhi legislature. "The Lieutenant Governor is meant to look after the interests of the people of Delhi, not work as an agent of the Congress," said |
’s more than just giving names to things. We need to know what’s common and what’s rare, and what these species are doing, before we can go to the next level, which is to try to see the interaction between forests and Earth’s climate.” – Richard Preston, author of the upcoming The Wild Trees
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What happens to information in a black hole? Inside a black hole, gravity is so intense that neither matter nor energy can escape. But in 1975, Cambridge physicist Stephen Hawking said that something does escape: random particles now known as “Hawking radiation.” So if black holes eat organized matter – chock-full of information – and then spit out random noise, where does the information go?
Hawking said it gets locked up inside as the black hole eventually evaporates, destroying the information in the process. Which creates a paradox. Because the rules of physics say information, like matter and energy, can’t be destroyed.
Hawking was confident. He convinced his super-genius counterpart at Caltech, physicist Kip Thorne, that he was right – but Thorne’s colleague John Preskill remained skeptical. So they made a bet: Hawking and Thorne said the singularity at the heart of a black hole destroyed information; Preskill said “nuh-uh.” Then, in 2004, Hawking reversed his position and decided that things that fall into a singularity aren’t lost; their information does leak out, though no one, except maybe Hawking himself, can explain why or how.
He presented Preskill with a baseball encyclopedia from which, presumably, information can be retrieved at will. Preskill accepted only grudgingly. “Even if you’re Stephen Hawking, it’s possible to be wrong twice,” he says. – Erin Biba
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What causes ice ages? Scientists know that small-scale ice ages occur every 20,000 to 40,000 years and that massive ones happen every 100,000 years or so. They just don’t know why. The current working theory – first proposed in 1920 by Serbian engineer Milutin Milankovitch – is that irregularities in Earth’s orbit change how much solar energy it absorbs, resulting in sudden (well, geologically speaking) cooling. While this neatly fits the timing of short-term events, there’s still a big problem. Over the past few decades, studies have shown that orbital fluctuations affect solar energy by 1 percent or less – far too little to produce massive climate shifts on their own. “The mystery is, what is the amplification factor?” says University of Michigan geologist and climatologist Henry Pollack. “What takes a small amount of solar energy change and produces a large amount of glaciation?”
Studies of ice and seabed cores reveal that temperature rise and fall is heavily correlated with changes in greenhouse-gas concentrations. But it’s a chicken-and-egg problem. Are CO 2 rises and falls a cause of climate change or an effect? If they are a cause, what initiates the change? Figuring this out could tell us a great deal about the current global warming problem and how it might be solved. But as Matthew Saltzman, a geologist at Ohio State puts it, “We need to know why greenhouse gases fluctuated in prehuman times, and we just don’t.” – John Hockenberry, WIRED contributing editor
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How does the brain calculate movement? All of science, it seems, wants to know how brains give animals complex motor skills. Robotics, physics, neuro-physiology, and medicine are just a few of the disciplines studying the topic. The paradox is that brains – even large human brains – are notoriously slow by processing standards: Set your hand on a hot plate and it takes full milliseconds to feel the burn. So how does the same gooey substance simultaneously acquire visual data, calculate positional information, and gauge trajectory to let a lizard’s tongue snatch a fly, a dog’s mouth catch a Frisbee, or a hand catch a falling glass? “With the thousands of muscles in the body, the motor cortex clearly isn’t ‘thinking’ in any sense about movement,” says UC San Diego neuroscientist Patricia Churchland. According to Stanford University’s Krishna Shenoy, the brain seems to create an internal model of the physical world, then, like some super-sophisticated neural joystick, traces intended movements onto this model. “But it’s all in a code that science has yet to crack,” he says. Whatever that code is, it’s not about size. “Even a cat’s brain can modify the most complicated motions while executing them.” – John Hockenberry
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Why do the poles reverse? Almost 800,000 years ago, compasses would have pointed south. A little further back, they would have pointed north. Evidence for such reversals comes from lava flows and cracks in the ocean floor, places where newly formed rock makes a record of the magnetic polarity.
We know that as Earth spins, the liquid metal in its molten core churns, generating an electro-magnetic field. We also know that shifts in the movement of the core can alter the polarity of that field and that it takes about 7,000 years for the orientation to flip-flop once the process of reversal begins – something that happens on average two or three times every million years. But no one knows how it works. Some scientists believe the poles migrate slowly from one end to the other; some theorize that the magnetic field shuts down and then reemerges with opposite polarity.
As for what triggers the event, experts have suggested that a huge impact – say, a giant meteor – could create a disturbance in the core. But research by Gary Glatzmaier, a planetary science professor at UC Santa Cruz, shows that a violent catalyst isn’t needed. So why does pole reversal occur? “That’s like asking, why do hurricanes start?” he says. “Well, they’re always trying to, and sometimes the conditions are just right.” – Geoffrey Gagnon
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How does the brain produce consciousness? That slab of meat in your skull – a 3-pound walnut of wetware – somehow puts the you in you. Nobody really knows how. Philosophers since Plato have pondered the issue. And probing the relationship between mind and body was the central goal of psychology until behaviorists closed the door on mind in the early 20th century and focused on observable actions. But only recently have scientists tried to tackle consciousness, spurred by new tools like functional MRI and PET scans that can augment traditional clinical research by showing brain activity.
Already, however, these researchers find themselves haggling over familiar questions. Is consciousness merely wakefulness? No, we’re conscious when we dream. Is it our sense of personal identity? Yes, but surely it’s also the stream of words and images that runs through what William James called the “extended present,” the immediate workspace of our minds. It’s perception, but it’s also reflection – summoning up visual and verbal constructions, imaginary or real. It’s simulation, mentally walking ourselves through situations before we face them, learning and practicing, hoping to avert pratfalls.
No surprise, then, given this confusion, that scientific theories on consciousness are all over the map. Antonio Damasio, a neurologist and neuroscientist at the University of Southern California who studies brain-damaged patients, speculates that self-awareness evolved in humans as a regulatory mechanism, a way for the brain to understand what is going on with the body. He calls “the coming of the sense of self into the world of the mental” a “turning point in the long history of life.” Caltech’s Christof Koch, who studies vision as the starting point for mind, believes that people have specific “consciousness neurons.” And Bernard Baars of the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego suggests that consciousness is a controlling gateway to unconscious mechanisms such as working memory, word meanings, visual memory, and learning.
Some philosophers still argue that consciousness is too subjective to explain, or that it is the irreducible result of matter organized in a specific way. That philosophic black-boxing is probably more nostalgic than scientific, a clinging to the idea of a spirit or soul. Without that, after all, we’re just organisms – more complex, but no less predictable, than dung beetles. But scientists live to reduce the seemingly irreducible, and sentimentality is off-limits in the lab. Understanding consciousness means finding the biophysical mechanisms that generate it. Somewhere behind your eyes, that meat becomes the mind. – Richard Rhodes, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Making of the Atomic Bomb
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Why is fundamental physics so messy? When the job description calls for reverse-engineering the universe, the pool of successful applicants will naturally include enough self-impressed overachievers to make second-degree ego burn a hazard of the trade. But even the leading researchers in theoretical particle physics, the most headstrong of the scientific elite, are humbled by their failure to figure out why the cosmos is such a mathematically elegant mess.
The equations themselves are lovely, describing how a baseball arcs parabolically between earth and sky or how an electron jumps around a nucleus or how a magnet pulls a pin. The ugliness is in the details. Why does the top quark weigh roughly 40 times as much as the bottom quark and, even worse, thousands of times more than the up quark and down quark combined? Maddeningly, the proton weighs almost, but not exactly, the same as its counterpart, the neutron. And wasn’t the electron enough? Did we really need its two fat cousins, the muon and the tau?
It’s as though some software engineer crafted a beautiful, bugless operating system – the laws of physics – and then fed it with random data, the output from a lava lamp, or moths bashing at a window screen. Garbage in, garbage out, generating the weird, starry heap of a universe we call home.
Optimists hope the randomness is actually pseudo-random – complexity in disguise, with The Algorithm at the core of everything, churning out the details, demanding that things be what they be.
The bet is that this codex lies tangled somewhere inside superstring theory. Deep within the quarks, face-to-face with the universal machine language, are tiny snippets of something – no one really knows what – called strings and branes. They wiggle around in their 10 or so dimensions and conjure up the universe, this universe, with a spec sheet about as symmetrical as a bingo card.
Superstring theory turns out to be more complex than the universe it is supposed to simplify. Research suggests there may be 10500 universes… or 10500 regions of this universe, each ruled by different laws. The truths that Newton, Einstein, and dozens of lesser lights have uncovered would be no more funda-mental than the municipal code of Nairobi, Kenya, or Terre Haute, Indiana. Physicists would just be geographers of some accidental terrain.
Things might look brighter next year, when the Large Hadron Collider – the biggest scientific project ever – should be running full blast, using superconducting magnets to smash matter hard enough to break through the floor of reality. Physicists hope that down in the cellar they’ll find the Higgs boson – skulking in the dark like a centipede, furtively giving the other particles their variety of masses.
Or maybe they’ll just find more junk. If so, the search will probably be over for now, placed on hold for the next civilization with the temerity to believe that people, pawns in the ultimate chess game, are smart enough to figure out the rules. – George Johnson, author of Miss Leavitt’s Stars
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How doth human language evolve? Lots of animals make noise; much of it even conveys information. But for sheer complexity, for developed syntax and grammar, and for the ability to articulate abstract concepts, you can’t beat human speech. MIT linguist Noam Chomsky and Harvard experimental psychologist Steven Pinker say it’s genetic. Pinker theorizes that language emerged about 200,000 years ago, when early humans who were efficient communicators were more likely to pass on their genes. (Less-than-efficient communicators were more likely to scream incoherently – instead of imparting an escape plan – before being devoured by a saber-toothed tiger.) A little more evidence: People with particular genetic defects have specific difficulties with speech and grammar.
Other scientists argue that spoken words are actually an outgrowth of other human skills, such as planning, memory, and logic. “There is no ‘language gene,’” says Luc Steels, a computer scientist at the Free University of Brussels in Belgium. “Language was a cultural breakthrough, like writing.” Steels built robots with a set of general intelligence traits but without a language module in their software, and they developed grammar and syntax systems similar to those of human language.
Blame neuroscientists for the controversy. The parts of the brain thought to be responsible for language are as well – understood as the rest of the brain, which is to say: not so much. – Elizabeth Svoboda
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Why can’t we predict the weather? A few years ago, weather forecasts were totally unreliable beyond a couple of days; today better computer models make them accurate as far as a week out. That’s fine for figuring out how to pack for a business trip or whether you need to rent a big tent for the wedding reception. The trouble starts when you want to build a computer model to predict the weather over decades or centuries. In 1961, a meteorologist named Edward Lorenz was running a computerized weather simulation and decided to round a few decimal places off one of the parameters. The tiny tweak completely changed weather patterns. This became known as the butterfly effect: A butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil sets off a tornado in Texas. Lorenz’s shortcut helped launch chaos theory and sparked an obsession among meteorologists with feeding as-perfect-as-possible data into their models in an attempt to lengthen their forecast window.
But even refining precision doesn’t get us to long-term prediction. For that, climatologists need to understand boundary conditions, like the interactions between the atmosphere and the oceans. The goal, says Louis Uccellini, director of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction, is to model Earth as a single climate system. Then we can figure out what’ll happen to it next. – Lucas Graves
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Why don’t we understand turbulence? An airplane’s sudden loss of lift, liquid fuel igniting inside a rocket engine, blood clotting in an artificial heart valve – turbulence can be deadly. When a liquid or gas moves smoothly, it’s easy to go with the flow. But change certain conditions – speed, viscosity, surrounding space – and the orderly current dissolves into whirling chaos. If we could model the physics of turbulent flow in software, we could use the model’s output to design safer, more-energy-efficient machines.
The trouble is complexity. When a stream of water or air goes turbulent, groups of molecules form vortices of widely varying sizes that interact in seemingly random ways. To determine the outcome, we’d have to measure the initial conditions to an impractical degree of precision. And in any case, tracking a zillion particles is beyond the reach of any conceivable computer.
If we can’t predict how a given turbulent system will behave, at least we can simplify it enough to zero in on statistical likelihoods. The key is the transition zone: the precise spot where smooth flow breaks down. Here, chaos theory describes the proliferation of whorls, while the science of cellular automata, which imposes a grid over reality, reduces complex interactions to a limited number of simple equations. These mathematical tricks don’t bring turbulence to heel, but they do get engineers close enough to make reasonably sure your plane touches down on time… and in one piece. – Wil McCarthy, author of To Crush the Moon
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Is the universe actually made of information? Humans have talked about atoms since the time of the ancients, and ever-smaller fundamental particles of matter followed. But no one even conceived of bits until the middle of the 20th century. The bit is a fundamental particle, too, but of different stuff altogether: information. It is not just tiny, it is abstract – a flip-flop, a yes-or-no. Now that scientists are finally starting to understand information, they wonder whether it’s more fundamental than matter itself. Perhaps the bit is the irreducible kernel of existence; if so, we have entered the information age in more ways than one.
The quantum pioneer John Archibald Wheeler, perhaps the last surviving collaborator of both Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr, poses this conundrum in oracular monosyllables: “It from bit.” For Wheeler, it is both an unanswered question and a working hypothesis, the idea that information gives rise, as he writes, to “every it – every particle, every field of force, even the spacetime continuum itself.” This is another way of fathoming the role of the observer, the quantum discovery that the outcome of an experiment is affected, or even determined, when it is observed. “What we call reality,” Wheeler writes coyly, “arises in the last analysis from the posing of yes-no questions.” He adds, “All things physical are information-theoretic in origin, and this is a participatory universe.”
Earlier generations would not have been able to imagine information as so… meaty. How could this abstract quality be substantial enough – enough of a thing – to be the substrate of all existence? Its newly powerful status began to emerge in 1948, when Claude Shannon at Bell Labs invented information theory. His scientific framework introduced the bit, defined concepts like signal and noise, and pointed the way to modems and compact discs, cell phones and cyberspace, Moore’s law, Metcalfe’s law, and a world of silicon valleys and alleys.
Now the whole universe is seen as a computer – a cosmic processor of information. When photons and electrons and other particles interact, what are they really doing? Exchanging bits, transmitting quantum states. Every burning star, every silent nebula, every particle leaving its ghostly trace in a cloud chamber is an information processor. The universe computes its own destiny.
How much does it compute? How fast? How big is its total information capacity, its memory space? What is the link between energy and information – the energy cost of flipping a bit?
These are hard questions, but they are not mystical or metaphorical. Physicists and quantum – information theorists are using the bit to look anew at the mysteries of thermodynamic entropy and at those notorious information swallowers, black holes. They’re doing the math and producing tentative answers. To the small questions, that is.
For Wheeler, the big question of which comes first, the material universe or information, is a way of posing an even bigger question: “How come existence?” How does something arise from nothing? And that, it’s safe to say, is a question science cannot answer. – James Gleick, author of Isaac Newton
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Why do some diseases turn into pandemics? A pandemic – a transnational outbreak of disease – is really just a pathogen on a hot streak. After all, germs want what we all want, evolution-wise: to spread their genes. Success in the germ world means infecting a whole lot of people, reproducing, then infecting a whole lot more. The efficiency with which a microbe pulls that off depends on how the bug works and how the target – us – works. HIV, for example, loves a promiscuous-but-prudish population; human beings like to have sex but don’t like to talk about condoms. The Ebola virus, on the other hand, hasn’t found victims who exchange fluids with enough other people before dying (horribly). So changes in culture like jet airplane travel can make a population more vulnerable to a previously contained disease. And changes in a germ – say, if avian influenza H5N1 acquires the right genes from the human version – can be like spinach to Popeye. But no one knows how to predict when either of those things might happen. So don’t forget to wash your hands. A lot. – Elizabeth Svoboda
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Can mathematicians prove the Riemann hypothesis? In the early 1900s, German mathematician David Hilbert said that if he awakened after 1,000 years of sleep, the first question he’d ask would be: Has the Riemann hypothesis been proven?
It’s been only 100 years, but the answer so far is no. Put forward by Bernhard Riemann in 1859, the hypothesis would establish the distribution of zeroes on something called the Riemann zeta function. That, in turn, correlates to the intervals between prime numbers.
Prime numbers (numbers that can be divided only by 1 and themselves: 2, 3, 5, et cetera) are the building blocks of mathematics, because all other numbers can be arrived at by multiplying them together (e.g., 150 = 2 x 3 x 5 x 5). Understanding the primes sheds light on the entire landscape of numbers, and the greatest mystery concerning primes is their distribution. Sometimes primes are neighbors (342,047 and 342,049). Other times a prime is followed by desert of nonprimes before the next one pops up (396,733 and 396,833).
Making sense of this bizarre arrangement would offer a base from which to solve numerous other long-standing math problems and could affect related fields, like quantum physics. Until they know whether it’s true, though, mathematicians can’t use Riemann. Princeton mathematician Peter Sarnak put it this way: “Right now, when we tackle problems without knowing the truth of the Riemann hypothesis, it’s as if we have a screwdriver. But when we have it, it’ll be more like a bulldozer.” Which is why the Riemann hypothesis has been named one of the Clay Millennium prize problems: Whoever proves (or disproves) it gets $1 million. – Simon Singh, author of Fermat’s Enigma
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Why do we die when we do? When asked why things die, physicists don’t hesitate: It’s the second law of thermodynamics. Everything, be it mineral, plant, or animal, a Lexus or a mitral valve or a protein in a cell wall, eventually breaks down. What that looks like in humans – what exactly it is that makes us age – is a question for biologists. It’s DNA damage by free radicals, maybe, or shrinkage of the caps on chromosomes. Telomeres, as they’re called, get smaller with each cell division. When they hit a certain length: apoptosis, or cell death.
But for the best explanation of the when of our mortality, you have to ask the ecologists. They have a rough way of calculating life span. Basically, the larger the species, the slower its energy-delivery systems (all that internal tubing, all that complicated traffic); the lower the metabolic rate, the longer the life. Animals can live fast or burn slow. “If you’ve ever picked up a little mouse, it’s effectively vibrating, its heart is beating so fast,” says Brian Enquist, an ecologist at the University of Arizona. “A blue whale’s heart is like a slow metronome or the ringing of a church bell, a very slow bong… bong… bong.”
Yet both get roughly the same number of beats – 100 million and change, spread over two years for the mouse and roughly 80 years for the whale. “There’s this beautiful invariant: All living creatures have about the same amount of energetic life,” Enquist says. Yet while many animals outmass us humans, few outlive us. Why the long life for us lightweights? Like the hide of a rhinoceros or the claws of a tiger, human cleverness makes us tough to kill. That means random longevity-enhancing genes have a pretty good shot at evading natural selection. A bird that gets eaten in its second month of life never passes on whatever fluke mutation might have given it – and its progeny – an extra year or two.
As for the ecologists’ neat mathematical equation, “primates are a little different,” Enquist concedes. “For the number of heartbeats we have in our lives, we live a little longer than we should, and it’s a big mystery why that is.” He speculates that the difference for us outliers will be explained by brain size – or, rather, by how much time and energy humans spend growing their brains relative to the rest of their bodies. Why lavishing that extra energy on brainmaking translates into disproportionately long lives, Enquist isn’t sure (and at 37, he has only about 36 more years to figure it out). Luckily, the same biological aberration that allows people to contemplate their own mortality is responsible, albeit indirectly, for delaying it. – Susan Dominus, writer for The New York Times Magazine
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What causes gravity? Isaac Newton first figured out the fundamental nature of gravity in the late 1600s. By unraveling the mysteries of planetary movement and Earth’s pull on its inhabitants, he described modern physics. But more than three centuries later, that’s still all we have: an understanding of the effect, with almost no grasp of the cause. Is gravity carried by an elementary particle? Is it some fundamental feature of spacetime we don’t understand? Why can’t gravity be reconciled with the better-understood quantum forces? All these questions remain unanswered. Many scientists think gravity must be generated by a massless particle, and have even dubbed it the graviton. But experiments to detect this entity (using a super-collider, for example) can’t be performed with current technology. “To generate the energy required to investigate a gravity particle, we believe, would produce a black hole,” says Harvard physicist Lisa Randall. “Space itself just breaks down.” Right now, mathematics is the best investigative tool for getting gravity to square with subatomic forces like electromagnetism. But making the math work requires dealing with exotic string theory notions like invisible 10-dimensional space. “We’ve always understood that gravity was different,” Randall says. “If we figure out why in the next 30 years, there will be another big, new question. I guarantee it.” – John Hockenberry
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Why can’t we regrow body parts? Slice through your finger with a kitchen knife and it’s bye-bye pinkie. But lop a leg off a salamander and it’ll grow a new one with little more fuss than we expend on a broken nail. Scientists looking to reverse tissue damage caused by disease, injury, or aging want to know how the agile amphibians do it – and why we can’t.
When salamanders are wounded, skin, bone, muscle, and blood vessels at the site revert to their undifferentiated states, forming a spongy mass called a blastema. It’s as if the cells go back in time and then retrace their steps to assemble a new organ or limb.
We seem to have this same basic program written in our genes: As embryos, we grew arms, legs, heart, lungs, and so on with no problem, and even as adults, one type of cell in our nervous system can dedifferentiate to repair damage. Others in our liver show similar flexibility. But for the most part, our regenerative pathway appears to be roadblocked. The reason may be that the rapid cell division required to sprout a new limb looks to the body a lot like the unchecked growth of cancer. Our longevity makes us vulnerable to accumulated DNA mutations, so we’ve evolved molecular brakes to keep tumors at bay. In order to unlock our regenerative capabilities, scientists will have to figure out how to override the stop signals without sparking a malignant rampage. – Erika Check, biology reporter for Nature
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Why do we still have big questions? Information is expanding 10 times faster than any product on this planet – manufactured or natural. According to Hal Varian, an economist at UC Berkeley and a consultant to Google, worldwide information is increasing at 66 percent per year – approaching the rate of Moore’s law – while the most prolific manufactured stuff – paper, let’s say, or steel – averages only as much as 7 percent annually. By this rough metric, knowledge is growing exponentially. Indeed, the current pace of discovery is accelerating so rapidly that it seems as if we’re headed for that rapture of enlightenment known as the Singularity.
In fact, we may be nearly there. A decade ago, author John Horgan interviewed prestigious scientists in many fields and concluded in his book The End of Science that all the big questions had been answered. The world of science has been roughly mapped out – structure of atoms, nature of light, theories of relativity and evolution, and so on – and all that remains now is to color in the details.
So why do we still have so many unanswered questions? Take the current state of physics: We don’t know what 96 percent of the universe is made of. We call it “dark matter,” a euphemism for our ignorance.
Yet it is also clear that we know far more about the universe than we did a century ago, and we have put this understanding to practical use – in consumer goods like GPS receivers and iPods, in medical devices like MRI scanners, and in engineered materials like photovoltaic cells and carbon nanotubes. Our steady and beneficial progress in knowledge comes from steady and beneficial progress in tools and technology. Telescopes, microscopes, fluoroscopes, and oscilloscopes allow us to see in new ways and to know more about the universe.
The paradox of science is that every answer breeds at least two new questions. More answers mean even more questions, expanding not only what we know but also what we don’t know. Every new tool for looking farther or deeper or smaller allows us to spy into our ignorance. Future technologies such as artificial intelligence, controlled fusion, and quantum computing (to name a few on the near horizon) will change the world – that means the biggest questions have yet to be asked. – Kevin Kelly, author of Cool Tools
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John Hodgman solves six mysteries of the universe
Which counts more: nature or nurture? It’s the age-old question, oft debated by eccentric millionaires in Philadelphia as they “trade the places” of employees to see whether the ability to rule the pork-belly market is learned or innate. The answer? If one is looking good, one is feeling good, which is to say: nurture.
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What is the Large Hadron Collider? The Large Hardon Collider is a giant particle accelerator: a 17-mile-long tunnel beneath Switzerland and France. With it, scientists hope to isolate the Higgs boson, the particle that could explain mass. Some worry that the Hardon Collider is too big and could create a black hole that, while awesome, would destroy Earth. Is such a huge Hardon Collider worth it? Why are you laughing? Oh. Oh. I see. My mistake. I meant to say “Large Erection Collider.”
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Is time travel possible? As noted in my introduction, the answer is yes. The important part is knowing what to take with you. Backward: a stick for fending off cavemen and scientists, newspapers from the present to blow people’s minds, photographs of your parents so you can recognize them and not accidentally kill them, ROCK AND ROLL! Forward: anti-Morlock spray, feathered hair, and a unitard (cream-colored with gold trim is expensive but indicates high caste and makes it less likely that you will be eaten).
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If there is life on other planets, why haven’t they contacted us? You paraphrase Fermi’s Paradox, first posed by the physicist Enrico Fermi in 1950 over lunch with some colleagues. During the same lunch, he also disproved the existence of UFOs, Sasquatch, fairies, God, and love. After that, he generally ate alone. But Fermi’s apparent logic overlooked two important probabilities: (1) the aliens are very far away and don’t believe we exist, and (2) Enrico Fermi was himself probably a space alien. I mean: Look at him.
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Do nonhuman animals have culture? Yes. Anyone who has read Watership Down knows that animals have religion, art, literature, and Owsla – the four pillars of culture as defined by most experts. But it’s not just rabbits who are writing novels. Did you know that Absalom, Absalom! was written by snakes?
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Which is more important: nature or nurture? Nature.
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Wired editors offer smart answers to silly questions
How much is all the tea in China actually worth? If you wouldn’t do something for all the tea in China, are you cheating yourself? China produces 855,190 metric tons of tea leaf annually. At commodity prices of $1.86 per kilogram, you’re missing out on at least $1,590,653,400. Feh. Next time, tell ’em you don’t get out of bed for less than all the coffee in Brazil – $6,645,461,089.
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Where are my keys? Most brains can handle only five to nine short-term memories at once. Newer information – phone call! ice cream! – can bump a previous memory out of storage before it’s committed to long-term recall. Even worse, new memories tend to merge with permanent ones, muddying the recollection of ritual activities. Michael “Professor” Solomon, author of How to Find Lost Objects, says it’s easy to accidentally substitute one routine motion for another. So look for your keys where you normally put your wallet. If that fails, check the car, the sofa cushions, the door lock, and (duh) your pocket. You’re probably staring right at them.
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Why do hot dogs come in packs of 10 while buns come in packs of 8 or 12? Bakers tend to package their wares in dozens or in other multiples of three or four. Meatpackers sell by the pound, and a standard hot dog is 0.1 pounds. Oscar Mayer insists that only 10 consumers – or is it 12? – write in annually to complain.
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What is belly button lint? A survey by Karl Kruszelnicki of the University of Sydney suggests that a mixture of clothing fibers and dead skin is “surfed” into the typical belly button by mid-weight happy trails. Mena Suvari and Britney Spears are spared this indignity, as were our Cro-Magnon ancestors. Why? Mena’s outie doesn’t collect it, Brit’s piercing blocks it, and Ogg’s thick body hair stopped fuzz migration.
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How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop? Licking machines built by engineering students at Purdue and the University of Michigan hit the chewy center in an average of 364 and 411 licks, respectively. But robot tongues aren’t the most efficient. Tests involving actual people have determined that it really takes 252 swipes at most.
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Why do fools fall in love? Blame the neuro-chemicals that fuel the brain’s built-in reward system. Triggered by the sight (or smell) of that special someone, the brain releases dopamine, upping the desire for sex. Serotonin levels plummet, creating that “can’t live without you” feeling. The attachment chemicals, oxytocin and vasopressin, also kick in. No fool can resist.
Collaborate: Edit this text at the Wired Wiki.A Growing Demographic
The statistics and the research may vary, but it’s quite clear: girl gamers are here, and they’re here to stay. Especially in the online realm, women make up a growing demographic of gamers who are just as passionate about playing as your typical gamer guy.
But as a girl gamer myself, it’s abundantly clear that the video game industry is not only run by a majority of men, but it’s catered to them as well. And it doesn’t seem to be changing much. Of course, catering to men makes sense from a business perspective, or at least it used to. But statistics indicate that’s no longer the case. And for some reason, many video game companies are just not willing to change to accommodate that shift. Maybe it’s part of the whole industry, so deep-seeded, that executives and producers can’t think outside of the box. But really, it’s still not an excuse. It’s honestly disgraceful at times, and downright disrespectful.
The Lara Croft Syndrome
Now, my intent here isn’t to start a flame war. There are plenty of women who are completely content with video games the way they are, and have no desire to see games change into anything other than they are. In fact, they like that they’re playing in a “Man’s Realm”. And that, of course, is absolutely fine. What irks me is that, so often, playing video games still feels like crossing into a man’s territory—like finding yourself in a world you weren’t taken into consideration. Aleah Tierny puts it into perspective in her article “What Women Want” when she talks about the Lara Croft syndrome:
I couldn’t wait to load and play Tomb Raider when it first came out, but when I saw Lara, I just couldn’t take the game seriously. The giant twin pyramids mounted onto her chest look like something she could use to impale her enemies. In many ways her kick-butt presence is a triumph, but the designers’ decision to sexualize her to the point of deformity angered me. I couldn’t get past her proportions, so I put the game away.
Customization and Character Creation
I know, for many of you readers, this might not make sense. But let’s take my most recent game obsession, Dragon Age, and maybe you’ll see what I mean. First, Dragon Age gets huge props for |
of the remaining emails that have already been through all the security reviews.
State Department lawyers said at Tuesday's hearing that it wouldn't get those up until Feb. 18 at the earliest.
The explanation must also address whether other means of production could be used, such as simply emailing PDFs of the reviewed documents directly to Vice News.
Related: State Department Declares Some Hillary Clinton Emails 'Top Secret'
Finally, by Friday, the State Department must explain exactly how it missed last month's deadline for posting all the Clinton emails. State Department lawyers have said they discovered in early January that 7,000 pages of emails were not sent out for security review along with all of the rest.
About two dozen emails have been declared "top secret" because of what they contain, and won't be released.
The release of Clinton's emails have been closely examined for more insight into what happened when she was secretary of state during the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
The emails have also revealed exchanges in which Clinton apparently struggled with modern technology and repeatedly sought advice from longtime friend Sid Blumenthal.By Lisa Wirthman
In the Industrial Revolution, new technologies displaced manual jobs while also creating demands for new skills. Will smart machines replace knowledge work–and create demand for a new kind of workforce–in the same way?
The smart machine era will blossom through 2020, with the spread of technologies such as intelligent personal assistants, smart advisers and advanced global industrial systems making the smart machine era the most disruptive in the history of IT, predicts the Gartner Group’s Top 10 Technology Trends for 2014.
In addition, advances in artificial intelligence, speech recognition and machine learning are making it possible to automate knowledge worker tasks once seen as impossible for machines to perform, reports Mckinsey & Company.
So, how will this affect the nation’s 230 million knowledge workers?
Chief information officers will need to work collaboratively with executives in operations, human resources and other key areas to plan ways to leverage the benefits of smart machines while also understanding their impact on workforces, said Kenneth Brant, research director for the Gartner Group.
"Most business and thought leaders underestimate the potential of smart machines to take over millions of middle-class jobs in the coming decades," said Brant. Indeed, Gartner's 2013 CEO survey shows that 60% of CEOs believe that the emergence of smart machines capable of absorbing millions of middle-class jobs within 15 years is a “futurist fantasy,” but Gartner itself predicts that smart machines will have a meaningful business impact in half that time.
A true smart machine meets two criteria, said Brant. First, a smart machine does something that no machine was ever thought to be able to do. Using that yardstick, a drone delivering a package–a model being contemplated by Amazon–would qualify as a smart machine. However, using the second criterion for a true smart machine–whether the machine is capable of learning–the delivery drone fails the test.
Yet that same delivery drone–regardless of how smart it is–could still have a significant effect on productivity and employment in the shipping industry, said Brant. To that end, IT decision makers shouldn’t get too hung up on whether a computer can be mistaken for a human: “If you’re waiting for the smart machine to pass [the smart machine] test, then your business will already have been impacted,” said Brant.
Businesses need to prepare for the unique ways smart machines can impact their workforces. For example, smart machines can enhance productivity by freeing workers to do less repetitive tasks and more work that's aspirational, said Brant.
But the nature of smart machines will also cause a different kind of labor disruption, he added. Change will happen on all levels–from delivery workers to college professors to lawyers who do discovery. “In the past, you always had this kind of upward movement where you can move up a rung when the jobs below you are automated,” he said. “Now, the change is happening at all rungs at the same time.”It's Jackie Robinson Day, a day when baseball takes a moment to recognize the man who broke the sport's color barrier, and the Braves continue to sift through hundreds of letters, many of them littered with racial slurs, bashing Hank Aaron.
"Hank Aaron is a scumbag piece of (expletive) (racial slur)'' a man named Edward says in an e-mail to the Braves front office and obtained by USA TODAY Sports. Edward invokes the epithet five times in four sentences, closing with, "My old man instilled in my mind from a young age, the only good (racial slur) is a dead (racial slur)."
Aaron was a reluctant civil rights figure to begin with, but told USA Today last week that he keeps much of his old hate mail as a reminder "that we are not that far removed from when I was chasing the record."
As an example he offered up the right-wing critics of the first black president, and said, "The bigger difference is that back then they had hoods. Now they have neckties and starched shirts."
It was that comment that initiated the deluge of correspondence to the Braves, even as Aaron was being honored on the anniversary of his breaking the all-time home run record.
The Braves have been besieged by hundreds of letters, e-mails and phone calls deriding Aaron for his comments made to USA TODAY Sports. Marion calls Aaron a "racist scumbag.'' Ronald won't attend another Braves' game until Aaron is fired. Mark calls Aaron a "classless,racist.'' David says that he will burn Aaron's I Had A Hammer autobiography.
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According to MLB, 8.3 percent of players on opening-day rosters identified as African-American, down from a high of about 19 percent in 1986.
[USA Today]Blake Geoffrion Set to Retire?
According to John Buccigross, 2010 Hobey Baker winner (Wisconsin) Blake Geoffrion has informed Montreal Canadiens management that he plans to retire from professional hockey. “I love the game of hockey more than anything and this decision tears me up inside,” Geoffrion says, “but we are talking about my brain.”
Back on November 9th, 2012, Blake Geoffrion suffered a skull fracture when he was hit by Jean-Philippe Cote. Cote’s skate came up and cut Geoffrion’s head. It was a very unfortunate freak accident. Before the injury, Blake was one of the best players for Hamilton and it was a huge loss for the team. Not too long ago Blake was in Montreal and he made it clear at that moment that he was not announcing his retirement. Sadly, we are at that point now where he will hang up his skates.
The Montreal Canadiens acquired Geoffrion on February, 17th, 2012 from Nashville with a 2012 2nd round pick and Robert Slaney in exchange for Hal Gill and a conditional 5th round pick in 2013. He scored his first goal for the Habs on March 10th against the Vancouver Canucks with a nice pass from prospect Louis Leblanc.
Blake Geoffrion was drafted by the Predators in the second round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. It is extremely sad that he has to put an end to his career because of an injury, but his health is the most important thing. Hopefully he will be able to live a healthy and happy life as he moves forward with a new path. Good luck Blake.
Update per John Glennon: Just spoke to Danny Geoffrion, Blake’s dad. He says Blake hasn’t retired yet, but simply given notice to Canadiens that he’s considering it. Danny Geoffrion said Blake’s decision will come in next few weeks. He hasn’t skated much since suffering skull fracture last year.Rising hospital parking rates amount to a tax on ailing Canadians, says one medical specialist.
A CBC Marketplace report found many Canadians are missing hospital appointments and experiencing added stress due to the costs of parking at their local health centre.
"Parking fees are a penalty for having a disease," says cancer specialist Dr. Bob Winston. "It seems like an unfair tax on my patients."
Pricey hospital parking A sampling of Canada's high hospital parking costs (daily maximum rates): Toronto General Hospital: $28
Stollery Children's Hospital, Edmonton: $15-$32
Vancouver General Hospital: $19.75
Markham-Stouffville Hospital, Markham, Ont: $17
Saskatoon City Hospital: $15
QEII Health Sciences Centre, Halifax: $14
That "tax" affects patients in many negative ways, he says. Some patients tell him they can't afford to come to appointments and the overall cost, plus the pressure to keep feeding the meter, adds a level of stress that can interfere with their treatments and recovery.
"My patients have a lot of stress from the get-go, and with the addition of more stress with regards to the parking is sort of salt in the wound," he told Marketplace co-host Erica Johnson.
Vicki McKenna, vice-president of the Ontario Nursing Association, agrees.
"It's bad enough that you're having to seek treatment, and that you have an illness, and sometimes a chronic illness, but then you have to worry about parking? It just doesn't sit right with me, and it shouldn't be the way it is."
Survey finds costs create stress
As part of its investigation, Marketplace surveyed over 1,000 Canadians, and found 52 per cent said parking costs affect how often they can visit a hospital, or for how long.
Among the findings:
38 per cent said they couldn't visit a patient as frequently as they wanted.
20 per cent felt they couldn't afford to visit patients at all.
3 per cent skipped medical appointments.
14 per cent said they couldn't afford to volunteer.
Winston says nothing should interfere with patient visits.
"Patients benefit hugely by having family and friends come in, both from a psychological point of view but also from a practical point of view," he said. "Any inhibitions for support for the patients is the wrong thing."
The survey also found 72 per cent of hospital visitors said parking costs added stress to their visits, which can have a negative impact on their health.
"Adding the economic stressors on top of the physical stressors really does add to the recovery time, how well they do, and it even affects interpersonal relationships," McKenna said.
Financial strain on families
The stress of that financial burden affects more than just the patients.
Vicki McKenna, vice-president of the Ontario Nursing Association, says hospitals should focus more on patient care, not revenues. (CBC)
Heather Stewart has made hundreds of trips to Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children since her daughter Kathryn was diagnosed with cancer in 2008. By her count, she made 147 hospital visits in 2011 alone, and has spent thousands of dollars on parking.
"This is a huge additional stressor on our family," she said. "We're tapped. Let alone the emotional strain of having an ill child, it's also the financial strain. We've made huge sacrifices, and we would do it all again because our daughter's worth it, but to feel like you're getting pinched again is disheartening."
Parking can be a major moneymaker for hospitals. The Hospital for Sick Children – which raised its parking rates in January – netted $5 million in parking fees in 2012.
Sick Kids spokesman Jim Garner says he has "a lot of empathy" for families like the Stewarts, but says "Sick Kids can't be responsible for the full cost over the course of treatment of a child that's going through a complicated disease."
He defends the costs, saying that $5 million goes into research, infrastructure and patient care.
Watch Marketplace's episode, Hospital Parking Pain, Friday at 8 p.m. (8:30 p.m. in Newfoundland and Labrador).
An online petition by the Ontario Parents Advocating for Children with Cancer, which calls for reduced parental parking rates at the Hospital for Sick Children, currently has 998 signatures.
In response, Garner says "the hospital tries to do everything it can do in a responsible and balanced way to support families and particularly those families who are in need."
He added that hospital representatives would be willing to meet the petitioning parents, "provided that it will be a constructive meeting."
Privatization increasing prices
Many hospitals are turning to privatized parking, which can be a double-edged sword, McKenna says; it allows hospitals to concentrate on patient care, but it means someone else controls the parking.
"Unless you have it in your contract specifically about how it will be staffed, how it will be maintained, what the max parking fees are… you lose control of it. And I think that's what's happened in most hospitals in Ontario."
McKenna concedes that hospitals need reliable revenue streams, but argues that it's unfair to put the burden on already troubled families, and says hospitals should find another way to make money.
"I understand (charging for parking), but we have to take it a bit further than just talking about how much revenue we can get. We have to think about there's a cost to that, not only to the patient, but to the system overall.
"Decisions should be made about patients and patient care, and the quality of health services. Not about how much revenue we can make," she added.
Stewart agrees.
I'm not saying I want free parking," she said. "I'm saying we need to consider who we're trying to tap for this money.
"You can't keep putting more stressors on families, people who are already tapped or else you're going to see a bigger drain on the healthcare system (because) they've got all these other stressors including money, that's causing more health issues. It's kind of a vicious circle."
Watch Marketplace's episode, Hospital Parking Pain.Significance We report cell-to-cell movement of mitochondria through a graft junction of two tobacco species, Nicotiana tabacum and Nicotiana sylvestris. The flowers of the N. tabacum line we used are male sterile due to a sterility-causing mitochondrial genome, whereas the N. sylvestris flowers are fertile. Grafting created an opportunity for organelle movement during the healing process when cell-to-cell connections at the graft junction were restored. We recognized N. sylvestris mitochondrial DNA transfer by restoration of fertile flower anatomy in plants regenerated from graft junctions. Demonstrating cell-to-cell movement of mitochondria reconstructs the evolutionary process of horizontal mitochondrial DNA transfer and enables modification of mitochondria by DNA acquired from other species.
Abstract We report cell-to-cell movement of mitochondria through a graft junction. Mitochondrial movement was discovered in an experiment designed to select for chloroplast transfer from Nicotiana sylvestris into Nicotiana tabacum cells. The alloplasmic N. tabacum line we used carries Nicotiana undulata cytoplasmic genomes, and its flowers are male sterile due to the foreign mitochondrial genome. Thus, rare mitochondrial DNA transfer from N. sylvestris to N. tabacum could be recognized by restoration of fertile flower anatomy. Analyses of the mitochondrial genomes revealed extensive recombination, tentatively linking male sterility to orf293, a mitochondrial gene causing homeotic conversion of anthers into petals. Demonstrating cell-to-cell movement of mitochondria reconstructs the evolutionary process of horizontal mitochondrial DNA transfer and enables modification of the mitochondrial genome by DNA transmitted from a sexually incompatible species. Conversion of anthers into petals is a visual marker that can be useful for mitochondrial transformation.
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT), the acquisition of gene(s) across species mating boundaries, results in a phylogeny of the transferred gene(s) that is incongruent with the phylogeny of the organism. In flowering plants, HGT is relatively rare in the nucleus, but frequently involves mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA); for reviews see refs. 1⇓–3. Pioneering papers described HGT of several mitochondrial genes (4⇓–6) and, in an extreme case, incorporation of six genome equivalents in the 3.9-Mb Amborella trichopoda mtDNA (7). These findings imply that mechanisms exist for DNA delivery between unrelated species. Parasitic plants are frequent participants in HGT, either as donors (8, 9) or recipients (5) of foreign DNA; the DNA exchange between the host and parasite is probably facilitated by the physical connection (for review, see ref. 3). HGT between nonparasites, however, necessitates alternative modes of DNA transfer. Transfer via vectoring agents such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, insects, and pollen; transformational uptake of plant DNA released into the soil; and occasional grafting of unrelated species were proposed (6). The first experimental evidence in support of grafting as a potential mechanism of HGT came from demonstrating exchange of plant DNA in tobacco tissue grafts (10). Movement of entire chloroplast genomes was subsequently demonstrated through tobacco graft junctions, interpreted as evidence for cell-to-cell movement of the organelles (11, 12). However, evidence for cell-to-cell movement of mitochondrial DNA is missing in plants despite the fact that the majority of horizontal gene transfer events involve mitochondrial sequences.
We report here an experimental system for the successful identification of a rare mitochondrial HGT event. Replacing the cytoplasm of Nicotiana tabacum with the cytoplasm of Nicotiana undulata makes the flowers of N. tabacum male sterile due to conversion of anthers to stigmatoid petals (Fig. 1 D–G). Such N. tabacum plants are called alloplasmic substitution lines for carrying an alien cytoplasm and are cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) because they inherit male sterility only from the maternal parent (13). We reasoned that movement of Nicotiana sylvestris mitochondria into CMS cells should restore anther morphology and pollen production, a change that is easy to detect in plants even if restricted to a few flowers.
Fig. 1. Restoration of fertile flower anatomy facilitates identification of mitochondrial graft transmission event. (A) N. tabacum Nt-CMS and fertile N. sylvestris Ns-F graft partners and GT19-C seed progeny. (B) Grafting tobacco in culture. The scion is Nt-CMS, which carries the nuclear gentamycin resistance marker; and the rootstock is Ns-F, which carries the plastid spectinomycin resistance (aadA) and aurea barau genes. Arrow points to graft junction. (C) Selection of gentamycin and spectinomycin double-resistant clones. (Right) Stem slices from the graft region; (Left) from above and below. Arrow points to double-resistant clone. (D) One isolated anther from a wild-type N. tabacum flower (above) and the anther after homeotic conversion of the N. tabacum alloplasmic substitution line (below). (E) Flower morphology of the graft partners and mixed flower anatomy on the GT19-C graft transmission plant. (Right) Flowers are shown with corolla; (Left) with corolla removed. Note homeotic transformation of anthers into stigmatoid petals in Nt-CMS graft partner and the GT-CMS flowers. GT-F and N. sylvestris Ns-F flowers are fertile. The flowers of Nt-CMS graft partner and GT19-C plant (GT-CMS and GT-F) are pink, a nuclear trait; those of the N. sylvestris graft partner are white. A close-up of (F) GT-CMS, (G) GT-intermediate, and (H) GT-F flowers. (Scale bars in Lower Right corners, 10 mm.)
We looked for cell-to-cell movement of mitochondria in stem grafts of two species, N. tabacum and N. sylvestris. We first selected for the nuclear marker from N. tabacum and the chloroplast marker in N. sylvestris and regenerated plants from double-resistant tissue derived from the graft junction. We identified branches with fertile flowers on one of the regenerated plants, indicating presence of fertile mtDNA in the otherwise CMS plant, and analyzed the mtDNA of its fertile and CMS seed progeny. Recombination at alternative sites in the mitochondrial genome facilitated the identification of a candidate mitochondrial gene responsible for homeotic transformation of anthers resulting in CMS.
Discussion Fate of Organelles After Cell-to-Cell Movement. Part of the graft healing process is reconstitution of plasmodesmatal connections (20, 21) (Fig. 5). Plastids and mitochondria meet strikingly different fates subsequent to movement from cell to cell in the graft junction. Thus, far when cell-to-cell movement of plastids was observed, the entire selected plastid genome was recovered, rather than a ptDNA fragment comprising the selected marker. Absence of recombination between the plastid genomes suggested movement of intact organelles rather than naked, fragmented DNA (11, 12). Indeed, chloroplasts rarely fuse (22), precluding recombination that enables new combinations of chloroplast genes. Fig. 5. Transmission and recombination of mitochondria at graft junctions. (A) Grafting disrupts plasmodesmatal connections. The fertile N. sylvestris nucleus (Ns, red square) partner has fertile mitochondria (red circles) and spectinomycin-resistant chloroplasts (red ovals). The CMS N. tabacum nucleus (Nt, blue square) partner carries a nuclear gentamycin resistance gene, CMS mitochondria (blue circles) and wild-type N. undulata plastids (blue ovals). (B) During primary cell wall formation, organelles (organellar DNA) may enter an adjacent cell at the newly formed plasmodesmatal connections (wide tubes). Graft transmission events are selected by resistance to gentamycin (Nt nucleus, blue square) and spectinomycin-resistant Ns plastids (red ovals). Mitochondria fuse (note touching red and blue circles), whereas chloroplasts do not. (C) The graft transmission plant has the selected N. tabacum (Nt) gentamycin-resistant nucleus (blue square) and spectinomycin-resistant N. sylvestris plastids (red ovals). In fused mitochondria (yellow circles) mtDNA recombination yields chimeric fertile or CMS mitochondrial genomes. Reconstruction of events that leads to formation of chimeric mitochondrial genomes in cells adjacent to graft junctions is complicated by the propensity of mitochondria for fusion (16, 23, 24). The mtDNA may move as naked DNA, or inside an organelle, but when heterologous mitochondrial genomes are present in a mixed cytoplasm, the mtDNA recombines (25⇓–27). We favor movement of mitochondria as the more likely explanation because the incoming mtDNA is protected inside the organelle, mitochondrial fusion is frequent, and the recombinant genomes carry significant amounts of parental sequences scattered throughout the genome. Because tobacco mitochondria contain 40–160 mtDNA copies in 500–600 organelles per cell (28), recombination may take place among multiple mtDNA copies, yielding alternative recombination products. Alternative recombination in our case yielded fertile and CMS mitochondrial genomes, facilitating the identification of orf293 as a likely CMS (hca) gene. Graft transmission of mitochondria reported here provides a mechanism for horizontal transfer of entire genomes via mitochondrial fusion, which was postulated in evolutionary studies of horizontal gene transfer in mitochondria (7). Identification of a Tentative CMS Gene in Recombinant Mitochondria. Orf293 was identified as the tentative CMS gene by linkage to a region derived from N. undulata in the sterile recombinants. Orf293 in N. undulata is adjacent to the ATP synthase F1 subunit 1 (atp1) gene (Fig. 4A). In N. sylvestris and the fertile recombinants the atp1 gene is at a different genomic location. The sterile recombinants carry two atp1 copies: one in the N. sylvestris context (atp1-1) (KU180498) and one linked to orf293 (atp1-2; as in N. undulata) (KU180496 and KU180497) (Fig. 4A). Apparently, at the time of the interspecies mitochondrial fusion, mtDNA carrying both atp1 copies was present. The fertile recombinants formed when orf293 and the linked atp1-2 was lost. Most other parts of the mitochondrial genome are products of homologous recombination with clearly identifiable parental genome segments, where homologous recombination was followed by genome sorting that resulted in preservation of only one of the parental alleles. The exception is the atp1 gene, which has been preserved in both parental genome configurations. The differences between the two atp1 copies are silent mutations that do not involve predicted edited sites (PREP-mt) (29). We therefore believe that CMS is not caused by atp1 coding sequence SNPs in our experimental system. The predicted ORF293 protein is similar to the predicted protein product of mitochondrial ORF312 present in the alloplasmic CMS eggplant (Solanum melongena, carrying the cytoplasm of S. kurzii) (GenBank AB762696) (30) and to sequences in the pepper mitochondrial genomes, where the sequences are split (GenBank KJ865410; KJ865409). The region of N. undulata mitochondrial genome carrying orf293 is rearranged relative to the N. sylvestris mitochondrial genome. Still, the rearranged region integrated into the chimeric mitochondrial genomes by homologous recombination preserving either the CMS or fertile mtDNA structure. Thus, nonhomologous end joining, the driving force behind mtDNA rearrangement during evolution, is not involved in the formation of mosaic mtDNAs (31, 32). The rearranged mitochondrial genomes were stable for at least three seed generations. Applications in Biotechnology. Grafting is a versatile approach that enables recovery of plants with: (i) chloroplasts of the graft partner without the transfer of mitochondria and nuclei (11, 12); (ii) the transfer of both chloroplasts and mitochondria in the absence of any nuclear DNA input (this paper); and (iii) the formation of nuclear hybrids with input of all organelles (33). Cell-to-cell movement of mitochondrial DNA reported here provides an alternative to transformation of mitochondria by naked DNA that has thus far remained elusive (34). An economically important mitochondrial trait that would be a prime target for incorporation by grafting is CMS, simplifying production of hybrid seed (17, 18). CMS transfer by graft transmission is feasible between graft-compatible species, even if they are sexually incompatible. An example would be transfer of CMS-encoding DNA from tobacco to tomato. Tomato is graft compatible with tobacco (35) and currently lacks CMS. The advantage of the graft transmission protocol is that mitochondrial DNA segments, rather than entire mitochondrial genomes, can be transferred in the absence of transferring chromosomal DNA, thereby minimizing nucleus–mitochondrial incompatibility. Furthermore, the orf293 (hca) gene provides a visual marker that can be useful for mitochondrial transformation.
Materials and Methods Plant Material. The graft partners were Nt-CMS (Nt-CMS92), a N. tabacum cv. Petit Havana line (15) that carries the cytoplasm of N. undulata and was transformed with Agrobacterium binary vector pPZP221 (14) yielding gentamycin-resistant line Nt-G115 and Ns-F, a fertile Nicotiana sylvestris line, the plastids of which have been transformed with plasmid pCK2 (Ns-pCK2-2) encoding a selectable spectinomycin resistance (aadA) and the visual barau genes (15). Seeds of N. undulata TW145 (PI 306637), TW146 (PI 555575), and TW147 (PI 306637) were obtained from the US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service National Plant Germplasm System (sun.ars-grin.gov/npgs/). Grafting and selection of graft plastid transmission events was carried out as described (11). Chromosome Identification by Simple Sequence Repeat Markers. Total cellular DNA was isolated using the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) method (36). The simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were adopted from ref. 11, originally described in ref. 37. and are listed in SI Appendix, Table S3. Location of the SSR markers on the N. tabacum chromosomes is described in ref. 38. The PCR program of 94 °C for 5 min; 37 cycles of 94 °C for 45 s, 59 °C for 45 s, 72 °C for 1 min; 72 °C for 10 min was used for all but chromosomes 8, 12, 14, and 16. For chromosomes 8, 12, 14, and 16, the PCR program of 94 °C for 5 min; 37 cycles of 94 °C for 20 s, 54 °C for 20 s, 72 °C for 1 min; 72 °C for 10 min was used. The PCR products were ran on a 2.5% (wt/vol) TAE agarose gel for chromosomes 8, 14, 16–18, and 20 and on a 5% (wt/vol) MetaPhor agarose (Lonza) gel for chromosomes 1–7, 9–13, 15, 19, and 21–24. Restriction Fragment Analyses of ptDNA. CTAB purified (36) total cellular DNA was digested with the BamHI restriction enzyme and probed with rrn16, aadA, and bar probes (39). Blots were prepared as described (40). Next Generation Sequencing of Organellar Genomes. To determine organelle genome sequences, next generation sequencing (NGS) was performed in the Waksman Genomic Core Facility. Briefly, CTAB purified total cellular DNA (36) was physically sheared with the Covaris system (Covaris) following the manufacturer’s protocol. Sequencing libraries were prepared using the standard TruSeq DNA Library Preparation Kit (Illumina) according to the manufacturer’s protocol. Libraries were size selected at 650 bp with the Egel Agrose Electrophoresis System (Thermo Fisher Scientific) and quantified using the Qubit dsDNA HS (High Sensitivity) Kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific). Finally, libraries were evaluated for fragment size using the Bioanalyzer (Agilent Technologies). Library normalization and sequencing was performed according to the manufacturer’s recommendations with MiSeq v3 (2 × 300 bp) chemistries. Adapters and barcodes were trimmed per the default setting in the Illumina Experiment Manager (v1.8). GT19-C Plastid Genome Assembly. The Burrows–Wheeler Alignment Maximal Exact Matches (BWA-MEM) algorithm using default settings (41) was used to map adapter-free quality trimmed reads from four GT19-C offspring, recombinant fertile RF1 and RF2 and recombinant sterile RS3 and RS4, to the N. sylvestris ptDNA (NC_006500). Mapped reads were used to create de novo contigs using the ABySS program, using the paired-end (abyss-pe) option with a k-mer of 90 (42). NC_006500 was used as a guide to map and orient contigs in SeqMan Pro (DNASTAR) to obtain the complete ptDNA sequence. The plastid DNA sequence of the four GT19-C offspring was identical. The mVISTA alignment in SI Appendix, Fig. S1 (43) was prepared using the N. sylvestris ptDNA (NC_007500) as reference with a 300-bp sliding window. mtDNA Mapping and Contig Assembly. Adapter-free, quality trimmed reads were mapped to the N. tabacum mtDNA (NC_006581), Hyosciamus niger (KM207685), and two Capsicum annuum cultivars (NC_024624, KJ865409) mtDNAs using the BWA-MEM algorithm, and default settings (41). All mapped reads and their pairs were used to create de novo contigs with the ABySS program v1.9 using the paired-end (abyss-pe) option with a k-mer of 96 (42). N. undulata mitochondrial SNPs were called by the GATK HaplotypeCaller program (44⇓–46) using the BAM file obtained from BWA mapping with default parameters. SNPs and indels called by GATK were filtered, keeping only SNPs with ≥80% SNP ratio and a minimum of 30× coverage in N. undulata. The origin of regions in the seed progeny was assigned by SNPs in the de novo contigs. RNA Gel Blot Analysis. Total cellular RNA was isolated from leaves of greenhouse-grown plants using TRIzol (Invitrogen) and dissolved in 20 μL diethylpyrocarbonate (DEPC) water. The isolated RNA was precipitated by adding 2 μL 3M sodium acetate (pH 5.2) and 66 μL 100% ethanol (1 h at −20 °C). RNA was sedimented by centrifugation, washed with 75% ethanol, air dried, and dissolved in 22 μL DEPC water. A total of 3 μg RNA was electrophoresed on 1.5% agarose/formaldehyde gel (6% of 37 wt/vol % formaldehyde) in Mops buffer (47). RNA was transferred to Amersham Hybond-N membranes (GE Healthcare) using capillary transfer. Probes were PCR fragments amplified using total cellular DNA as template, using primers listed in SI Appendix, Table S4. Probing was carried out as described (40).
Acknowledgments C.G. was supported by a Waksman Institute of Microbiology Busch Predoctoral Fellowship and a teaching assistantship from the Division of Life Sciences, Rutgers University.
Footnotes Author contributions: C.G., Z.S., and P.M. designed research; C.G., Z.S., and P.M. performed research; C.G., Z.S., Y.F., D.K., and P.M. analyzed data; and C.G., Z.S., and P.M. wrote the paper.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.
Data deposition: The sequences reported in this paper have been deposited in the NCBI GenBank database (accession nos. KT997964 and KU180495–KU180498).
This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1518644113/-/DCSupplemental.
Freely available online through the PNAS open access option.Perhaps, there is no other garment which can be draped in as many styles as the saree and with each style comes a look that is unique. However, those opting to try the saree for special occasions have always fretted over whether it will suit their body type, if the saree will make them add more age to their looks, or if the style they have chosen suits the occasion or not. While all of these questions muddle up your mind, there is no questioning the fact that one of the most sensuous and glamorous looks have been created with the saree. So, when it comes to choosing it as your special occasion wear-you have been bang on target. But, yes-when it comes to some styling and making its oomph factor ride high, there could be some tips that could make its draping far easier.
Here are some of the most interesting of tips taken from professional drapers who have years of experience draping sarees professionally who believe that to get the best effect in silhouettes, there are certain fundamental rules that cannot be ruled out.
Pleats Please
Let me begin by stating right at the beginning that being a loose garment with yards of fabric, it is in the manner in which you pleat the saree at the waist that creates the needed move net and the graceful look. Also, each fabric will have its own pleating need-chiffon is more loose, while silks will need to be broad and more regular.
Level it Right
It’s not just the choice of saree but the place where you will be typing it at the waist which matters. So what should be the right place to tie the saree? Well, experts say that even if you have a 24-inch waist with no love handles to worry about, it is always better to keep it an inch below the navel and now any lower.
Heel to Seal The Look
Quite frankly, you will simply ruin your saree look with flats or platforms and wedges. The arch of the back takes away so much of your bulk from the torso that the difference is dramatic. Your walk becomes in tune with the look. Get the right heels for your saree look-not too high though!
Get Leveled
Sure, it matters, where the saree ends matters as much as where it begins! And so while you are careful not to go too low below the navel, make sure the saree does not ride up too high as well. Ideally, once your heels are on the saree lower border should graze the ground-meaning, it is okay for one inch of heel to show and not more. If the saree rides up too much it takes away from the elegance of the look.
Thin Border Plain Saree for the Ones Who Are Short
Yes, remember if you are shorter than average, the saree can play a huge role in giving you that extra elevation that few other clothes can. Wear a plain light colored saree with a thin border and feel the inches adding up dramatically.
Getting the Pallu Position Right
Think about it-if the entire attention shifts to your midriff, which in all probability is trim or to the blouse if you take the pallu in a way that it does not cover the blouse completely then, the look of the saree is compromised. Try not to do that and if you wish to make the blouse the statement piece then go ahead and wear a completely plain saree to highlight that.
Overworked Accessories
Never should the saree be worn with too many accessories. Overdressing can kill the look of sarees and every occasion is not your wedding-so even when dressing for festive occasions dress down with few statement pieces like a grand choker, or a bajuband, or it could also be a pair of gorgeous chandelier danglers.
Fish Cut Petticoat
Too much bulk in the petticoat can sometimes be the undoing in the |
lives are dictated to them by technology in order to conserve a human image of the biosphere. Attempts to keep apace with environmental destruction are forcing nonhumans into a romanticized image of what their environment should be." In this view, routine human interventions in ecology constitute penetration on an epic scale.
This line of thinking recasts genetic modification as the ultimate perversion, the bio-industry as a fetish gone wild, and Ecosexual Bathhouse is ultimately a provocation to reframe our perspective on the biosphere, to rethink the social and psychological boundaries between sex and ecology by acknowledging the perversity of our current situation. In the hands of Pony Express, "ecosexuality" is something between an identity and an idea—it's a strategy for dealing with the world that we've created, a way to ease the end by making it more hedonistic and, perhaps, mutually pleasurable. After all, we got into this mess in the first place by forgetting that the earth doesn't have to love us unconditionally. Rather than approaching the world as a warehouse of insensate things we wish to stockpile for later use, we should consider it a partner in the longest relationship we'll ever have.GOP health bill: Big tax cuts for rich, not much for others
A closed corridor adjacent to the offices of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., leads to the Strom Thurmond Room on Hill Capitol in Washington, Monday, June 26, 2017, where the GOP health care bill has been written. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Millionaires would get tax cuts averaging $52,000 a year from the Senate Republicans’ health bill while middle-income families would get about $260, according to a new analysis of the foundering bill.
The analysis was done by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. It found that half of the tax cuts would go to families making more than $500,000 a year.
Senate Republican leaders were scrambling Tuesday to rally support for the bill but had to delay a vote this week because it lacked adequate support. The disputes, however, were not related to tax provisions.
Moderate Republicans were concerned that too many people would lose health coverage under the bill while conservatives said it wouldn’t do enough to reduce premiums.
The Republican health bill would repeal and replace President Barack Obama’s health law. The law imposed a series of tax increases targeting mainly high-income families. The Senate Republican bill would repeal the taxes, though not all at once.
“The Senate bill would cut annual household taxes by about $670 on average. But the variation among income groups would be very wide,” Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center wrote on the group’s website.
“Much like the House-passed American Health Care Act, the Senate leadership’s health bill includes a huge tax cut that mostly benefits the nation’s highest-income households,” Gleckman said.
For example, families making $20,000 a year would get an average tax cut of about $200. But the super rich, those making $5 million or more, would receive an average tax cut of nearly $250,000.
The bill would repeal a tax on wealthy investors, saving them about $172 billion over the next decade.
Obama’s health law enacted an additional 3.8 percent tax on investment income for married couples making more than $250,000 a year and individuals making more than $125,000. The Senate bill would repeal the tax this year.
The bill would also repeal a new Medicare payroll tax on high-income families, saving them about $59 billion over the next decade. Obama’s health law enacted an additional 0.9 percent payroll tax on wages above $250,000 for married couples and above $125,000 for individuals. The Senate bill would repeal the tax in 2023.
For families with lower incomes, the bill would repeal a tax penalty for people who do not get health insurance, saving them $38 billion over the next decade.
The analysis looked at the tax savings for families in 2026, once the Republican bill would be fully phased in. The analysis did not include the tax credits that people would receive to help buy health insurance.
Those credits would benefit many low- and middle-income families, assuming that wealthier taxpayers would get health insurance through their employers.
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Follow Stephen Ohlemacher on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephenatapMNT
CHICAGO (March 25, 2017) – U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bruce Arena has added midfielder Paul Arriola to the roster ahead of Tuesday’s World Cup Qualifying match in Panama. The Club Tijuana midfielder will join the USMNT in San Jose, Calif., prior to Saturday night’s departure for Panama City.
Additionally, defenders John Brooks and Michael Orozco, midfielder Sebastian Lletget and forward Jordan Morris have been released from camp.
After scoring the opening goal, Lletget was forced to leave Friday’s 6-0 win against Honduras in the 18th minute after suffering a left foot injury and will be further evaluated in Los Angeles. Having dealt with a sinus infection during the week, Brooks also departed in the 70th minute.
Morris (right ankle) and Orozco (right knee) carried injuries into Friday’s game against Honduras and did not dress for the match.
With the changes, the MNT roster now stands at 23 players ahead of the team’s departure for Panama City on Saturday night. The U.S. takes on Panama on Tuesday, March 28 at Estadio Rommel Fernandez in Panama City, live at 10 p.m. ET on beIN Sports, Telemundo and NBC Universo. Follow both matches on U.S. Soccer’s official Facebook, Twitter (@ussoccer) and Instagram (@ussoccer) accounts.
Updated Roster by Position (Club; WCQ Caps/Goals):
GOALKEEPERS (3): David Bingham (San Jose Earthquakes; 0/0), Tim Howard (Colorado Rapids; 34/0), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake; 0/0)
DEFENDERS (8): DaMarcus Beasley (Houston Dynamo; 33/6), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City; 10/1), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City/ENG; 20/2), Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca/MEX; 13/0), Tim Ream (Fulham/ENG; 3/0), Jorge Villafaña (Santos Laguna/MEX; 1/0), Walker Zimmerman (FC Dallas; 0/0), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City; 16/3)
MIDFIELDERS (9): Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas; 1/0), Paul Arriola (Club Tijuana/MEX; 1/1), Alejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia Union; 7/0), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC/CAN; 32/6), Jermaine Jones (LA Galaxy; 16/0), Sacha Kljestan (New York Red Bulls; 18/2), Dax McCarty (Chicago Fire; 0/0), Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers; 4/0), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund/GER; 6/3)
FORWARDS (3):
Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC/CAN; 35/16), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC; 37/17), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes; 0/0)We’re very proud to announce the immediate release of Phalcon 0.8. As mentioned in the alpha/beta posts we’ve introduce a lot of new and exciting features in this major release. As always we have improved performance and addressed several bugs increasing the overall stability of the framework.
A big thank you to all the community and every tester who has reported bugs and requested new features. We are constantly getting closer to the best balance between speed and functionality in the PHP world and this is mostly due to our community!
We would encourage you to update to this version to take advantage of all the new functionality :)
Documentation
Check the complete CHANGELOG
If you have any questions about functionality, feel free to ask either in Stack Overflow or in our Google Group.
We hope you enjoy this release and are looking forward to your comments,
Thanks for using Phalcon!
<3 The Phalcon TeamHistory of football (soccer)
A sport similar to football (called soccer in the United States and elsewhere) was played 3000 years ago in Japan. Chinese text from 50 BC mentions football-type games between teams from Japan and China. A text dating from 611 AD confirms that football was played in Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan.
Ancient Greeks and Romans also played a game that resembled football – although the Greeks permitted carrying of the ball. Olympic games in ancient Rome featured a 50-minute football game with twenty-seven men on a side.
The early days
How the sport spread from the East to Europe is not clear but England became the home of modern football. At first the game had a bad reputation among English royalty – possibly because of the noise the fans made – by whose insistence the government passed laws against it. King Edward (1307-1327) proclaimed, “For as much as there is a great noise in the city caused by hustling over large balls, from which many evils may arise, which God forbid, we forbid on behalf of the King, on pain of imprisonment, such game to be used in the city.”
In 1365 King Edward III banned football because of its excessive violence and for military reasons playing took time away from archery practice the game had become too popular to be curtailed.
King Henry IV and Henry VIII passed laws against the sport, and Queen Elizabeth I “had football players jailed for a week, with follow-up church penance”
Laws failed to slow the popularity of football and by 1681 it received official sanction in England.
The games were still ruff and noisy, with players hardly ever leaving the field without broken bones or even being spiked. There was no standard set for the size of teams or the field; the earliest organized games, usually bitter confrontations between teams from two or three parishes, had goals as far as 5 km (3 miles) apart. It was only by 1801 that it was (somewhat) agreed that teams should have an equal number of players and that the playing area should be about 91 metres (100 yards).
Records show that Eton college drew up the first written rules of football in 1815. (The modern standardized rules are known as the Cambridge rules.)
Until the mid-1800s football rules still varied across regions. Team sizes ranged from 15 to 21. The 11-player team was standardized in 1870. The crossbar between two goal posts became mandatory in 1875. The goalkeeper was formally distinguished in the 1880s.
FIFA
The first football club was formed in Sheffield, England in 1857. The Football Association was founded on 26 October 1863 by 11 clubs meeting in London. (The word association was abbreviated to assoc., which became “soccer.”)
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was founded in the rear of the headquarters of the Union Française de Sports Athlétiques at the rue Saint Honoré 229 in Paris on 21 May 1904. The first World Cup was held in 1930 in Uruguay.
Where does the word “soccer” come from?
In the 1880s students of Oxford university abbreviated words by adding “er” to the end; for instance, breakfast became “brekkers” and “rugby rules” was referred to as “rugger.” When one student, Charles Wreford Brown, was asked if he’d like to play rugger, he was the first to abbreviate “association rules” (Football Association rules) by answering, “No, soccer.” Brown later became an England international and Football Association vice-president.
“The Beautiful Game”
Football is the biggest spectator sport in the world, with angling as the world’s biggest participant sport. While Formula 1 is the sport most watched on television, the World Cup is, after the Olympics, the most watched sporting event on television globally.
List of Football World Cup champions
U.S. Soccer Federation
European Football Association
England Caps – Everything about the England TeamAccording to Wikipedia, women in New Zealand are unfeminine, wear masculine clothing and spend ''little time on makeup and personal grooming''.
Picture the film cliche – a woman gets up in the morning, her hair's a mess and she's padding around in a man's shirt. Masculine clothing? Check. Spending little time on personal grooming? Check. Unfeminine? Well, it's a film and she was probably in makeup for a few hours, but the general idea is there.
So is it really personal grooming and clothes that define us as feminine, or is there more to it?
I surveyed a range of people around the country asking them to score NZ women between 1 (unfeminine) and 10 (very feminine). Women gave themselves a middle-of-the-road average of 5.3, while the men's average was a more generous 7.3. Most people think femininity is about how women dress. On further questioning, many concede it's also about how women carry themselves, and the way we act.
Celeste Wills runs My Farm Lady, designing and selling feminine work gear. She's convinced many rural women would like to wear more feminine clothes but are afraid of the reactions of others. Is it dressing in a more feminine manner we're afraid of, or a more deep-rooted fear of our femininity? Asked whether they thought femininity was strong or weak, again we women were down on ourselves scoring a 5.1 average, while men appreciated our inner girl more with a 6.5.
It's disturbing that women regard their femininity as a weakness. Samala Robinson runs New Zealand's leading school for makeup artists. She reflected that in addition to presentation, "there's a whole range of attributes associated with femininity – compassion, tolerance and sensitivity". Surely these attributes give women strength.
ForbesWoman's 2010 list of top female role models includes women who are not only staunch, successful and driven, but who have compassion and empathy too. The list includes activist Ali Hewson, and JK Rowling – a single mother success story. In New Zealand women like Suzanne Paul, like her or not, are strong, resourceful, honest, have great integrity – and you can't deny their femininity.
Lyla Dunn, 80, of the Greymouth Women's Institute said, "Women need to stand up for their own sex and let people know that men are not the top dog," suggesting that, by trying to be "blokey", women give the message that being male is better. It also undermines and devalues core attributes of femininity, vital for the men in our society too.
If appreciation begins by putting on a dress, or wearing heels, so be it. But we can be in touch with our femininity in jeans and a T-shirt or work boots and a Swanndri too.
Philip Russ, 50, who owns and runs Blackball Salami, says femininity "comes more from the inside. I saw a woman on a logging crew the other day, and she was very feminine". Although there is a sense that femininity is about more than appearance, people aren't quite sure what that means. We seem to a have a good sense of what being a "bloke" means but are adrift on what it means to be a woman.
Those surveyed gave the overall impression of being uncomfortable with femininity, feeling it was all about "being girly". International opinion veers strongly toward regarding femininity as a deeper, broader subject, encompassing our core values as women and what we bring to society. If we are uncomfortable with those values and avoid them by adopting male attributes – does that make us strong? The women who won us the vote wore long dresses, they "fixed" their hair, they didn't knock back the beers and swagger about in a manly fashion. Were they strong? You bet. The key seems to be understanding and recognising what femininity is, and claiming it. Gay men reclaimed the word "gay". It's time for women to reclaim the word "feminine".
Naomi Madelin is a freelance writer.Written by Tim Lash, Focus Fusion Society Contributor.
One of the most challenging aspects of sustainable fusion power are the high temperatures required. These high temperatures stress any imagined containment device. Researchers from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) tested a containment model lined with liquid metal. They believe such an approach could improve dealing with the severe temperature gradients of fusion plasma. Their findings are documented in an article published in the journal Nature.
A plasma reactor trying to sustain fusion is a very corrosive environment. Solid reactor walls and any equipment in proximity to the plasma will become degraded over time. Metallic parts become pitted and brittle with prolonged plasma exposure. Refreshing the liquid metal in this lining would end the accumulation of damage. The scientists formed this liquid layer by using tin or lithium that flowed through a tungsten mesh.
An ancillary benefit from the liquid barrier is that a metallic vapor cloud formed above the liquid. This vapor layer acted as a buffer to the incoming heat and particles from the plasma. As the vapor and liquid absorbed reaction energy, temperatures rose creating a more dense layer of metallic gas. The denser cloud was then able to absorb and distribute more energy. The varying density of this gas layer acts to regulate the surface temperature of the reactor wall.
An approach utilizing liquid metal walls has several advantages. Metallic erosion of reactor surfaces is eliminated since the liquid can be replenished. Liquid replacement also prevents the buildup of damage over time. Liquid walls could more effectively transport heat since convective movement and evaporative cooling would both be at play. Add in the effect of the vapor barrier, and the advantages of a liquid lined reactor become even more intriguing. The researchers do note that this technology is in an early stage of investigation. They expect that more research needs to be performed.
All fusion reactors generate high temperatures. However, none generate temperatures in the realm of the Focus Fusion 1 (FF1) reactor being developed by Lawrenceville Plasma Physics (LPPFusion). The FF1 device generated record breaking temperatures of 2.8 billion degrees kelvin. LPPFusion hopes to achieve direct fusion to electricity conversion via aneutronic reactions of hydrogen-boron fuel in their FF1 device.The University of Minnesota will require all freshman student-athletes to live in residence halls and consider changes to its recruiting program in the wake of a sexual assault scandal involving several football players.
Athletics Director Mark Coyle told the Board of Regents on Friday that most freshman athletes already live in on-campus housing but the mandate will enable the U to provide more support.
As for recruiting, he said the U would consider training host athletes with clear expectations for what should happen when they welcome high school recruits to campus.
A disciplinary panel voted to expel four football players and suspend two others for their roles in an alleged Sept. 2 sexual assault of a woman in an off-campus apartment. A high school recruit also had sex with the woman, according to an investigative report. Hennepin County prosecutors declined to file charges in the case after an investigation by police.
Coyle’s report to the board Friday was titled “Intercollegiate athletics: Developing the whole person.”
He said student-athletes get about four hours of training each year on the student code of conduct, which covers sexual harassment and assault, hazing and academic dishonesty.
The challenge, he said, is getting athletes to adopt the model behaviors.
Coyle said the university will update its training. Athletes are especially interested, he said, in understanding the disciplinary process that the football players just went through and how it differs from criminal prosecution.
Regents were more interested in how to prevent athletes from getting into trouble in the first place.
RELATED: When certain UMN employees were tapped to report student sex assaults, the reports jumped. Now it enlists all staff to report.
Darrin Rosha, a regent from Independence, Minn., said the issue is “acting right.”
“We’ve had these kinds of (training) programs in the past. What are we going to be doing differently from before?” he said. “What have we learned from this experience that will yield a different result?” Related Articles Gophers lineman Jack York enters NCAA transfer portal
UMN leaders punished football players to be ‘heroes’ against sexual assault, lawyer claims
Gophers football assistant coaches’ salaries down $275,000 for 2019
Gophers coach P.J. Fleck surprised and ‘saddened’ by Jerry Kill’s critical comments
Huge 3-point shooting disparity dooms Gophers in 69-60 loss to No. 7 Michigan
Regent Linda Cohen said she’s amazed by how much training athletes were getting and suggested the university needs to take a different approach.
“It’s important that athletes not merely understand the process of what happens (when they get into trouble), but how do you change behavior?” she said.
University President Eric Kaler said a task force that includes student-athletes is expected to bring him recommendations soon.
“We will continue to improve in this space. We have a way to go,” he said.SYDNEY (Reuters) - Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX) was hit on Tuesday with potentially Australia’s biggest class-action lawsuit over a money-laundering scandal that has already smashed its share price and exposed it to billions of dollars in fines.
FILE PHOTO - A pedestrian walks past a logo for the Commonwealth Bank located outside a branch in Sydney, Australia, May 8, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray
Litigation financier IMF Bentham Ltd (IMF.AX) said it would fund the lawsuit against Australia’s biggest bank, accusing it of making false and misleading statements and failing to disclose breaches of anti-money laundering rules for years.
A second lawsuit against the A$128 billion ($102 billion) lender, on top of one filed on Aug 3. by financial intelligence agency AUSTRAC alleging breaches of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act, is fuelling investor concerns that the scandal may still have more shocks in store.
“Things can get worse before they get better, which means the underperformance of CBA... will continue into the next quarter,” said George Boubouras, managing director and chief investment officer at Contango Asset Management, which owns CBA shares.
In addition to the two civil suits, CBA is being investigated by Australia’s banking and corporate regulators over the suspicious transfers cited in the AUSTRAC claim. Investors are also worried that foreign regulators will pick up the case, as some of the money was sent offshore.
Velocity Trade banking analyst Brett Le Mesurier said investors were concerned the scandal could hurt earnings growth, because the bank was “looking inwards rather than outwards as they deal with this”.
CBA shares had some respite on Tuesday, rising 0.24 percent against a 0.07 percent fall in the wider market. They have dropped 12 percent since the money-laundering scandal erupted last month, wiping roughly A$17 billion ($13.55 billion) off the bank’s market value even though it reported its eight consecutive record cash profit on Aug. 9.
IMF would bankroll the class action on behalf of all CBA shareholders who bought stock between Aug. 17, 2015 and Aug. 3, 2017, seeking damages for the premium paid for the shares as the material information remained hidden, IMF director Hugh McLernon told Reuters on Tuesday.
CBA has about 800,000 retail and 4 million indirect Australian shareholders, according to its 2017 annual report.
BOARD SHAKE-UP
CBA announced a board shake-up on Monday but the move failed to appease investors, with the stock touching 10-month lows before closing down 1.42 percent.
Three of its nine non-executive directors will leave over the next 12 months, and Robert Whitfield, a former head of institutional banking at rival Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AX), was appointed as an independent non-executive director.
CBA announced on Aug. 14 that Chief Executive Officer Ian Narev would leave by mid-2018, his almost 7-year tenure marred by scandals that have added to calls for a far-reaching judicial inquiry into Australia’s banking system more broadly.
The bank is now looking for a new CEO amid one of the darkest periods in its 106-year history, with some analysts saying Whitfield could be in the running.
In the first day of hearings on the AUSTRAC case on Monday, the bank indicated it would not dispute the watchdog’s allegation that it processed tens of thousands of illicit transfers amounting to A$624.7 million ($498.64 million) from 2012 to 2015.
Rather, the court heard it would contest its level of responsibility, having previously blamed a coding error for most of the breaches.
CBA did not respond to requests for comment.Naz Shah’s suspension is too little, too late
Bloonface Blocked Unblock Follow Following Apr 27, 2016
I have defended Jeremy Corbyn probably more than I should have done. I was a supporter of his as soon as he went on the ballot, because I agreed with his policies broadly and wanted a decisive shift leftwards within the Labour party. The moment had to be seized; Corbyn was proposing that we actually unapologetically use the state to solve the myriad market failures and betrayals of social justice that have been the outcome of the current anti-state Thatcher/Major/Blair/Cameron political settlement. Compared to the lukewarm leftism of Burnham and Cooper and the brazen centrism of Kendall, first choice on the ballot paper was never going to be difficult.
I had heard of the rumours of Corbyn sharing platforms with anti-semites but believed then, as I believe now, that this does not mark any actual anti-semitism on Corbyn’s part. It is a reflection of the fact that sometimes it is not always possible to vet the backgrounds and prior statements of everyone that you have common cause with or are on the same side of an issue as; it’s virtually impossible to do so if you’ve just hopped off a train and turned up at a protest march to give a speech against the Iraq war or in support of Palestine, while a hack with access to Google and LexisNexis is going to be able to look up basically any speech anyone present has ever given within a few minutes of it starting. Given that the areas Corbyn has been most prominent in (activism against war in the Middle East and in favour of Palestine) are filled with people who have at the very least antipathy to the state of Israel, it is not surprising that he has shared a stage with some people holding repellent views; however nothing suggests to me that he has knowingly done so (I’m happy to be proved wrong) and either way he cannot be held responsible for the views and beliefs of independent third parties. He has always consistently denied holding any kind of anti-Semitic views himself, and for what it’s worth, I believe him. Of all the things one can call Jeremy Corbyn, “committed racist” is not one of them. I have no doubt that his opposition to racism and anti-Semitism is genuine and heartfelt.
Today however has brought things for his leadership rather sharply into focus. The crudely Jew-bashing posts Naz Shah shat onto Facebook, regarding forcibly transporting Jews from Israel to a new continent amongst other repellent things, clearly transcended the already rather blurred line between a dislike of the state of Israel and disdain for the influence it has and gone over to distrust and dislike of Jews as a group. That is, clearly, anti-Semitism. It should not have a place within the Labour party. While Guido Fawkes is a massive cunt of the highest order, I was and am glad that he had exposed this so we could cut the anti-Semitic cancer out of the Labour party. It was a moment for Corbyn to stamp some authority and show that he meant business about a scandal that had been bubbling under for months now; to show he was serious, along with John McDonnell, about purging the party of any racist or anti-Semitic individuals from the top down. She had proven herself unfit to be a Labour member, let alone an MP, and should not have remained one.
Corbyn instead put out a statement right before Prime Minister’s Questions that she had apologised, and this was good enough, and that she would retain the whip. This allowed David Cameron to, and I really hate to say this, unequivocally claim the moral high ground over us, and rightly so. A couple of hours after that, there was a sudden change of course and Naz Shah was suspended as a member and an MP — a move that should ideally have been made at 9 o’clock this morning, rather than a few hours after the Prime Minister had very thoroughly caught us with our trousers down on the matter.
The questions raised by this brazen political idiocy are endless. Why then? Why not hours before? Why not well before PMQs? Why not last night when the posts had surfaced? Was the action that needed to be taken not so thunderingly obvious a child could have thought of it? Who the fuck dropped the ball here?
I’m sorry to say this, but with the above in mind, my patience for Corbyn has run out, and I can’t defend him any more — today has been indefensible. I can’t blame him for selecting Naz Shah as a candidate (she was part of the 2015 intake under Miliband) but I can blame him for not dropping her like a hot rock at the first sign of this, for so poorly managing what should have been an altogether straightforward decision for the good of the party and standing behind someone who had rendered themselves completely indefensible. I have given him plenty of time to improve at his job, to receive the media coaching he so desperately needed and to gain a bit more political nous, and I was quite positive that we were actually getting somewhere with it at long last recently, but clearly none of it has actually sunk in because he has allowed one lone stupid individual to taint the party in a way that may well damage it beyond repair — and then stood behind that individual for reasons known only to him. I have argued, consistently, in favour of his leadership and the idea that he has not been given a fair crack of the whip, but today has been a series of grotesque unforced errors where the buck unavoidably stops with him. Naz Shah is not, to Corbyn, an independent third party like some moron at a rally; she is a subordinate, effectively an employee, and should have been disciplined as such. There should have been no tolerance for such repulsive behaviour and he should have booted her at the first whiff of it. That he did not do so evidences that his judgment is compromised and his leadership in tatters; he did the right thing, eventually, but he shouldn’t have done the most grossly wrong thing imaginable first. He has proven himself unfit for his position, at long last, and should resign. Now.
What’s more, a simple truth needs to be understood clearly by anyone who is considering defending Naz Shah and taking her bullshit apology at face value; anti-Semitism is a special evil. Jews have been unduly, unrelentingly and disgustingly persecuted for centuries, culminating in their attempted extermination in a cold, industrial and inhuman manner. No other ethnic group or religion can claim to have been persecuted in such a calculating way; no matter how you may feel about Israel or Palestine, to compare the undeniably brutal things Israel has done to the systematic, mechanical, deliberate and tightly planned attempted demolition of an entire race of people that was the Holocaust, as many apparently are wont to do, is both highly inaccurate and grossly offensive. To then say they should be forcibly transported, or even just endorse that idea, is grotesque. As a group of people, they have suffered more than enough. If Shah doesn’t or didn’t understand this obvious point, she is deeply ignorant; if she does then she is scum. Either way, it is indefensible that she be in a position of any authority or that she should be in the Labour party.
For my part, my mind keeps turning back to the £5 Direct Debit going out on the 21st of each month, and whether I particularly want to be in public wearing a red rosette any time soon. A lot of that depends on whether Mr Corbyn does the decent thing and falls on his sword before the decent, good people that make up 99% of his membership base get tainted by the foul stench of racism. All I know is that the Cancel button on my Internet banking has never seemed so alluring, and that I may yet finally know what it feels like to quit the same political party twice in six months.CHICAGO -- Chicago Bulls rookie Tony Snell did not actually mean that LeBron James is just another player, it’s just how it came out.
Tony Snell's second time facing the Heat proved much better than the first, as he managed eight points and also made a difference defensively. Rob Grabowski/USA TODAY Sports
For perspective, way back on opening night at Miami, foul trouble brought Snell on the court for his first ever appearance in a regular-season game and, as expected, he looked like a deer in the headlights while guarding James.
His nearly seven minutes of action against the Miami Heat that night yielded exactly no points, one turnover and two personal fouls.
“It was pretty tough,” Snell said of the Oct. 29 contest, the same night the Heat received their championship rings. “I didn’t know what to expect. I was a little nervous out there and got all of my nerves out that day. It helped me to be prepared today. I just felt a little more comfortable and relaxed than I did before.”
It’s essentially another world for Snell now, as the 20th overall pick in the most recent NBA draft is in the starting lineup following an injury to Jimmy Butler.
Using the mindset of focusing on defense first while letting the offense come naturally, Snell was in a flow in Thursday’s 107-87 victory over the Heat. He scored eight points -- hardly the 18 he had against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday or his 3-of-3 shooting from 3-point range against the Detroit Pistons on Nov. 27 -- but his defense made a difference.
Snell helped the Bulls hold the Heat to 41.6 percent shooting from the field and 27.3 percent (6-of-22) from 3-point range. He has been in the NBA for barely over a month and his growth has been significant.
“That was a tough situation to be thrown into,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said of Snell’s opening night challenge. “I thought Tony did a very good job in the preseason and then all of a sudden your first game you’re on the road against Miami and you have to guard LeBron. I think he learned a lot from it.”
Now Thibodeau seems to be learning a lot about Snell. Without Butler’s injury, Snell’s development might still be in the infancy stages. The rookie has been able to take advantage of the opportunity.
“Each day you can see him growing,” Thibodeau said. “He studies hard, prepares himself well. He’ll keep improving. The thing I’m most pleased with is the way he works and his attitude and approach. I think because of that, he has shown he’s ready for this opportunity. And I think he’ll continue to get better. He’s unselfish. He plays for the team. If he makes a mistake, he tries to correct it and not make it twice. And winning is important to him.”
Snell is doing things the right way, despite opening the door to be taken out of context. He meant to say that compared with the season opener, he realized that in Thursday night’s game he no longer has wobbly knees in the mere presence of James.
“It was crazy, it was definitely crazy,” Snell said of his first game. “I was dreaming like, ‘Wow, I’m standing next to LeBron James and it’s pretty crazy.’ The second time, I was more relaxed, you know. He’s just another player.”
Hey, you knew what the kid meant. And he’ll be reminded soon enough that James really isn’t “just another player.” But on this night, the Heat really was no match for an inspired Bulls team.
“I feel like I redeemed myself, definitely,” Snell said. “We won so that’s all that matters.”The family of Justine Damond has hired a high-powered attorney. I am so relieved that this cold-blooded killing is not going to be swept under rug just because the cop is Muslim. Black Lives Matter, LGBT, feminism — nothing beats Islam. Nothing.
And this is the low state of justice in this country, that a murder victim’s family must hire a top-tier attorney if the family has any hope of getting justice.
It’s interesting the vicious, violent and vocal anti-cop movement is stone-cold silent on this. Islam trumps all.
“The Minneapolis Police Department’s internal affairs unit can compel Noor to give a statement as part of its investigation, and fire him if he refuses, but that statement cannot be used against him in any criminal investigation, Friedberg said.”
It is clear to me that Noor isn’t talking because he is concocting his story.
If Noor survives and keeps his job, that means special treatment. They can compel him. They can’t use the statement in court. So Mayor Hodges lied.
The MISSING TWO MINUTES: Timeline of Muslim cop who KILLED pajama-clad unarmed woman leaves out two crucial minutes before shooting
Mayor Betsy Hodges who celebrated Muslim cop who KILLED unarmed woman says: “We can’t compel officer to make a statement”
I stand with our Somali community. We can't compound the tragedy of Justine Damond's death by turning to racism. https://t.co/Km6PVzGkEd — Betsy Hodges (@MayorHodges) July 19, 2017
Mayor Hodges
Unanswered questions:
— What happened during the missing two minutes where Noor radioed in that he was responding to the 911 call about a reported rape and the next call, “shots fired”?
— Were the complaints against Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor from women? Did they had to do with excessive force?
— Is it common for a rookie cop in Minneapolis to have three complaints lodged against him in the first two years of duty?
— Why was his body cam off?
— Why was his gun out?
— He is going through a divorce, with no mention in the local news as to the ex-wife or circumstances. Did he beat her?
Damond family hires attorney from Castile case By Amy Forliti and Steve Karnowski, Associated Press, July 20, 2017: MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The family of an Australian woman shot to death by a Minneapolis police officer has hired an attorney |
Because in the final analysis, I would happily wade across a river of corpses, chest-deep in rust and grease and engine oil, just to crush the spark of the last Autobot standing. And I would not do so simply as a means to an end. No. I'd do it, Prime, because it would give me pleasure. Megatron to Optimus Prime, "Chaos Theory Part 1"
And the thing is, when those words were in my head I didn't think I meant them; but when they left my mouth, I realized that I did. If the world thinks you're a monster, what does it matter? The world is wrong. But when you start to think of yourself as a monster... Megatron on the previous quote, "slaughterhouse"
IDW Generation 1 comics
Birth of a tyrant
Not so tough without a body, are ya?
Megatron of Tarn was the first "hybrid" Transformer, a powerful forged superspark in a constructed cold body. His spark came to life in the middle of a field full of newborn sparks, a so-called "hot spot", on Luna 1, the "Seething Moon". The hot spot remained dormant for ages until it was finally fertilized when Rodimus and Rung set foot on the ground in the "present" day. Within an instant, the entire moon lit up, as a billion sparks suddenly flared to life all over its surface. Cyclonus was the first to point out that one of the sparks was glowing green, which Brainstorm recognized as a "superspark"—a vanishingly rare, insanely powerful Point One Percenter. Despite Perceptor's horrified protestations, Brainstorm immediately began to excavate and harvest the spark, taking it with him for future use. The Fecund Moon
Megatron (Work in progress)
Megatron's original body, on the other hand, was one of the many "knock off" Transformers constructed cold during the Silver Harvest, specifically built in the 1st Cycle 012, millions of years in the past, in Con Facility 113 ("Con" being short for "constructed cold"). The spark originally intended for this body was one generated from the Matrix of Leadership by Tyrest, but this spark was destroyed by Rewind, who had travelled back in time alongside several other Autobots, originally to prevent a time-travelling Brainstorm from killing Megatron and thereby unwittingly creating a dystopian alternate timeline in which the Functionist Council would rule Cybertron. In the process, Brainstorm had also begun to erase data about Megatron, including his batch code. After Rewind had "killed" Megatron in order to prevent the destruction he knew the latter would come to wreak upon the universe, fellow time-travelling Autobot Whirl, who loathed the Functionists, took it upon himself to fix the timeline, taking advantage of a temporary distraction by nabbing the harvested Point One Percenter spark Brainstorm had taken with him back in time and placing it inside Megatron's now sparkless body—and thus Megatron was truly born. Predestination: An Expert's Guide
Megatron desired to be a medic, The Becoming but alas, he lived in a time of functionism, where one's alternate mode denoted one's role in society, and one's role determined one's rights. As such, the true nature of his exceptionally rare spark apparently unknown, Megatron was assigned the task for which he had been built: that of energon miner, a member of the lower class, toiling in a mine under Nova Point. Towards Peace
... And thus the "Silica Fracturism" art movement was born.
An idealist, intellectual, and poet, Megatron was sickened by the caste-ridden social apartheid of Nominus Prime's Cybertron, and so he wrote a treatise on how pacifist dissent and the exchange of ideas could change things. It was while he was sharing this work with his miner friend Impactor over a drink in Maccadam's New Oil House that the event occurred which would change the course of his life, as Impactor wound up being drawn into a bar brawl with some of the city's upper classes (inadvertently caused by a time-travelling Rung), and Megatron, who himself had actually not been involved in the brawl, instead cowering underneath a table, was among those arrested after the fracas. Megatron's writings had been growing in popularity and inspiring some dissent against the current regime, so in order to silence him, the Senate arranged for a police officer on their payroll, Whirl, to kill him. Before Whirl could finish the job, however, police captain Orion Pax, having discovered Megatron's innocence thanks to the bartender's testimony, arranged for his release. Despite Pax expressing support for the message of his writings, Megatron now found himself filled with rage and hate, disillusioned with his former ideology and realizing the power of applied violence. Angrily hurling the datapad on which he had written his treatise through a public info-screen, Megatron observed the jagged shape of the shattered glass, and later turned it into a symbol for his cause. Chaos Theory #1
When considering the Grand Cybertronian Taxonomy, one question remains unanswered. Why am I always pictured with phallic-shaped items in awkward positions?
Megatron's samizdat writings began to circulate in Cybertron's underground, spawning the "Decepticon" movement, its name derived from its own slogan, "You are being deceived", warning the common 'bot of the Senate's true nature. Knowing that, at this stage, assassinating Megatron would merely make him a martyr, the Senate instead elected to relocate him off-planet, reassigning him to a mining facility on the world of Messatine while they tried their own schemes to defuse the growing Decepticon movement. Post Hoc It was there that Megatron met Terminus, an elderly fellow miner who encouraged him to keep writing, and who, in addition to proofreading his works for him, smuggled each new tract back to Cybertron, helping to continue the spread of the Decepticon movement. When Terminus was maimed in a mining accident and had his fuel rations cut off, Megatron kept him alive by sharing his own energon with the old 'bot. Eventually, Senate agents Froid and Trepan were dispatched to Messatine to perform mind-altering Shadowplay upon Megatron, in order to cut his writings off at the source. Tased into submission and strapped to Trepan's operating table, Megatron was helpless to stop the mnemosurgeon from beginning his vile work. Though the arrival of Froid's rival psychopathologist Rung fortunately forced Trepan to stop before Megatron's personality was altered, the experience left the miner with a lifelong fear of mnemosurgery. Subsequently, a mysterious surge of energy deep within the mine (inadvertently caused by a time-travelling Brainstorm) forced an evacuation of the facility; Megatron raced back to his quarters to carry Terminus to safety, but found his friend was not there. With time running out and no sign of Terminus anywhere, Megatron instead chose to save the stack of datapads containing his unpublished works—a decision that would haunt him. Births, Deaths, and Interventions
"You know, sometimes I think I was born with a leak, and any goodness I started with just slowly spilled out of me and now its all gone. And I'll never get it back in me. It's too late."
Megatron was relocated to Mining Outpost C-12, and continued to seethe with hate and frustration in his new workplace. His discontent reached a peak when, some time later, Senator Decimus arrived to announce that the mine was being automated and the workers would be relocated. When one of the Senator's guards killed a worker for insubordination and claims of Senate corruption, Megatron's fury boiled over and he hurled his pickaxe at Decimus. In turn, he was attacked by the Senator's guard, whom he killed by smashing his head to fragments—the first time he had ever taken a life. A riot erupted around him, but Megatron himself could only sit amongst the chaos, staring at his fuel-stained hands in abject horror, which allowed him to be easily pacified and rounded up with the other miners as the mayhem was quickly suppressed. En route to imprisonment back on Cybertron, however, Rumble and Frenzy broke free and started a riot aboard their ship. Megatron joined in their effort, and together, they overpowered their guards, took control of the ship, and disappeared into the Kaon underground. Megatron Origin #1
Battle of the Awesome Voices!
After evading law enforcement, Megatron joined a team of underworld gladiators under the tutelage of Clench. Initially repulsed by killing his opponents, the games eventually turned him more brutal and excessive, and he took control of the entire operation from Clench. The opportunistic Senator Ratbat, after seeing how much money there was in the underworld matches, covertly sent his agent Soundwave to offer Megatron weaponry and technology to upgrade himself and his comrades. Their meeting was spied upon by Bumper and Fastback, agents from the Senate's forces, who Megatron slew. Megatron Origin #2 Subsequently, impressed by how he treated his animal-form cassette partners as equals (in contradiction to the teachings of his Senate masters), Megatron invited Soundwave back to the gladiator pits and gave him permission to use his mind-reading abilities on him. Within Megatron's mind, Soundwave saw his honest desire for all Cybertronians to be true equals, and was so moved by it that he joined Megatron's cause. Soundwaves
Gradually, Megatron used the gladiatorial games to drum up an army of violent malcontents, sending Soundwave to recruit more and more warriors to his cause. Such recruits included Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp, who he was presented with while having an arm he lost in a brawl replaced with a new limb that incorporated an energon mace, Megatron Origin #3 and the disenfranchised warrior Drift, who was personally asked by Megatron to fight at his side when he attended a Decepticon rally, and whom Megatron rechristened "Deadlock," Drift #2 and transformed into a capable Decepticon warrior. Drift #3 A wave of terrorism and sabotage spread across Cybertron at his command: bombings, wrecking factories and fuel plants, shutting down transport links, a mass poisoning to tank a corporation, and a very public kidnapping of Senator Decimus. Megatron Origin #3
Seeking to enhance his army even further, Megatron reached out to Senator Shockwave, offering to supply him the resources he required to carry out his own mysterious experiments in exchange for his using the teachings of his lost mentor Jhiaxus to create a combiner that would serve the Decepticons. Shockwave cautioned that it could take some time, but Megatron was content to wait. Shockwaves
You should have gone to IKEA.
Despite all his efforts, Megatron believed that the Senate was still not taking the Decepticons seriously, so Soundwave formulated a plan for a declaration of intent that could be not denied: lure the Senate to Kaon and murder them. Soundwaves In preparation for this scheme, Megatron offered to restore Shockwave's lost hands—a victim of empurata—believing that doing so might speed his work. Shockwaves The following day, in accordance with Soundwave's plan, Megatron and the Decepticons allowed themselves to be arrested by Sentinel Prime's men, after which Soundwave was freed on Ratbat's orders, while Starscream would ensure his own release by pretending to defect. Megatron Origin #3 Together, Soundwave and Starscream exterminated the entire Senate, then liberated Megatron and the rest of their comrades, in the process granting their leader the gift of a fusion cannon liberated from the Senate forces' armory. Megatron led his army against Sentinel Prime's men, killed Sentinel himself, and took control of Kaon, now ready to turn his insurgency into a full-blown war. Megatron Origin #4
When Sentinel's head went missing, Megatron (unaware) was blamed for it. The Last Autobot
Early days of war
Megatron formally declared war on "Declaration Day" when he delivered a stirring speech from Nova Peak. Rules of Disengagement The self-described "second order" he ever gave was that under no circumstances was any Decepticon to kill Whirl—Megatron wanted his old tormentor for himself. Towards Peace The growing Decepticon forces swiftly spread across six Torus-States, Parasites and to combat them, Cybertron's new leader Zeta Prime assembled a new military force, the "Autobots", led by Megatron's old acquaintance Orion Pax. Researching his new opposite number, Megatron was intrigued to discover that his now-abandoned treatise had been a source of inspiration for Pax, who had even quoted from it when he confronted the Senate and openly accused them of corruption. Cause and Effect Early into the war, Bludgeon would admit to Pax that Megatron talked about him sometimes, when he was tired. When Pax asked what was said, Bludgeon told him that it would make "both of us feel uncomfortable". Omega's Conundrum
Megatron Delightful Destuction Exclusive Variant
When Orion Pax came close to Kaon during a mission, Megatron saw it as a chance to speak to him and had his Decepticons bring him in. The Hunt for Soundwave Megatron attempted to convince him that Zeta Prime was even worse than he appeared—that he had planned to let Orion die in Nyon so that he could use his death as pretext to invade the rebel-infested city and drain the citizens of their energon—and proposed they work together against him, but Orion refused to hear him and then escaped. Knowing the doubts he'd placed in his head would only serve to damage the Autobot cause, Megatron let him go. Cause and Effect
"What you thinking?"
"...Pub?" "Megatron, let's roll.""What you thinking?""...Pub?"
Megatron continued to keep an eye on Orion Pax's activities, spying on his encounter with the Nyon insurgent Hot Rod. Ruins When Zeta Prime's Omega Destructors suddenly attacked Nyon, Megatron was surprised by how zealously the new Prime fought against the city's rebels, but his real interest still lay on how Orion would handle the crisis. Purge Orion turned on Zeta, who in turn attempted to kill him, prompting Megatron to intervene and force the Prime to retreat. Taking Orion back to Kaon, he again offered that they work together against Zeta's corruption, and this time the Autobot officer accepted. Choices As their combined forces invaded the Citadel in Iacon, Megatron and Orion Pax made their way inside and fought Zeta Prime in person. The battle ended with Megatron killing the Prime with a head shot, and with his objective complete, he then betrayed the injured Orion by shooting him in the back. Overthrown This moment lived in infamy as the point at which Megatron revealed his true colors, no longer couched in ideology; Dinobot Hunt though curiously, an alternate report incorrectly implied he had assassinated Zeta from afar, sniping him with the rifle alternate mode of Vos. Bullets The Chaos of Warm Things
I can't be the only one with deja vu here.
With Zeta dead, Megatron conquered Iacon and declared himself ruler of Cybertron. His soldiers patrolled the planet's streets to "keep the peace", mostly by hunting down and capturing any remaining Autobots who opposed him. Transformation During his rule, Megatron attempted to sway the neutral Hot Rod into joining the Decepticons, but he decided otherwise upon witnessing Megatron ordering the execution of several Autobot prisoners. Rise Megatron was shocked to learn that Orion Pax had survived the betrayal and was organizing a rebellion against him under the name "Optimus Prime", and even more shocked that people actually had the courage to listen to him. He wasted no time in striking back against the rebels approaching the Citadel with the full force of his army. Broadcast During the battle, Megatron unleashed Zeta Prime's energy-draining vamparc annihilator, but when the gigantic Metroplex took out the cannon, Megatron fell to the streets and was confronted by Optimus Prime himself. He lost the ensuing familiar-looking duel and was badly wounded after a failed attempt to defeat Prime by holding Hot Rod hostage, forcing him to escape aboard Astrotrain. As he fled, he warned Optimus that he hadn't won, he had only started a war unlike any Cybertron had ever seen. Endgame
Megatron insists on wearing his Darksiders cosplay when he's walking his pet Quintesson.
Before Megatron could recover from his injuries, he was betrayed by Scorponok, who was gunning for the position of Decepticon leader (with aid from Starscream). As punishment for his failure to hold Iacon, Scorponok banished the wounded Megatron to the hell-world of Junkion. Derelicts Further injured in battle with some cannibalistic natives, he stubbornly refused to give up and used the trash littering the world to patch himself up, leaving him with a mismatched, monstrous appearance. Wreckage While searching for a way off Junkion, Megatron entered the wreckage of a starship and found a trapped Quintesson named Pentius, who had mapped the planet and knew of an area known as the Pillar of Rust where starships may land and take off. Megatron freed the alien to guide him there, while also putting him in chains to serve as his slave. Faces of Darkness
"Thanks for turning me into the psychopath I've been the whole time!"
While crossing the Acid Sea on the way to the Pillar, Megatron was attacked by Sharkticons who pulled him into the depths. Rage For reasons unknown he was then released, the creatures having allowed him to live. As he emerged, Pentius was waiting with a history lesson, telling him that Junkion was once a prosperous world until its inhabitants drained it of resources, leaving it the broken husk it is today: a fate that may also await Cybertron. Megatron rejected this possibility, declaring that under his rule, Cybertron—and his legacy—would last forever. Fallout On arrival at the Pillar of Rust, Megatron was met by the Terrorcons, who had come to Junkion to finish what Scorponok had started by killing him. He was able to fight off several of his attackers, but Hun-Gar was too much for him to handle in his injured state. Egged on and taunted by Pentius, Megatron realized he had one last resource left to use: the Quintesson himself. Telling Pentius that his legacy would live on within him, he tore out the alien's spark and used it to fuel himself, granting him enough power to defeat Hun-Gar. He spared the Terrorcons in exchange for their loyalty, then returned to Cybertron on their ship to take revenge on Scorponok and take back control of the Decepticons. Prey
Megatron returned to a Cybertron in chaos, as the ancient reptilian Trypticon had been unleashed by Scorponok and was in the midst of razing Iacon. After reasserting his leadership of the Decepticons by beating Scorponok nearly to death, he had Shockwave restore his body to its original shape and condition, The Illusion of Control and set out to investigate the Trypticon situation alone, unwilling to risk his soldiers in the face of the beast's uncontrolled fury. Finding an injured Optimus Prime on the battlefield, Megatron lectured him, but opted to leave him alive so that he could watch as the Decepticon leader defeated the enemy that Prime could not. Megatron was attacked by Grimlock, but as they grappled, they were swallowed by Trypticon. Annihilation Within the giant, the pair set their differences aside to fend off the cyber-morphic predators that populated his interior, and together, they destroyed Trypticon's internal power cell, taking him offline. A tense standoff between the Autobots and Decepticons followed as the two warriors emerged from within Trypticon, but both sides agreed to go their separate ways for the time being. Not long after the battle, however, Megatron removed Pentius's spark from within himself and installed it within Trypticon. Belly of the Beast
After being fully repaired following his ordeals, Megatron roused Trypticon by exploiting the connection they now shared thanks to both having borne Pentius's spark. Discovering that Trypticon now possessed the consciousness of Pentius, Megatron was immediately suspicious of the Quintesson's potential treachery and was staggered by the visions of undiluted evil he saw in the aliens' past via their spark-link, but Trypticon assured him that he was dedicated to their shared goal of breaking a world. Primacy #1 Using Trypticon's city-ship alternate mode, Megatron took to the stars, rounding up the scattered Decepticon army and even recruiting Junkions and Sharkticons. Primacy #2 Returning to Cybertron in force, Megatron was content to wait and watch from the sidelines while his troops viciously tore into Iacon. Trypticon was defeated in battle by Metroplex, at which point Megatron's folly was revealed: through their link, Pentius mockingly revealed his intention to use Trypticon consume Cybertron once the Autobots and Decepticons had weakened each other. Primacy #3 Leaving his men with orders to burn Iacon to the ground if he failed in order to spare it such a fate, Megatron set off for Trypticon's fallen body in hopes that he would be able to remove Pentius's spark before the giant revived. Confronted atop Trypticon by Optimus Prime, Megatron tried to goad the Autobot leader into destroying him, believing that Pentius would be destroyed with him thanks to their link. Refusing to accept death as the answer, Optimus instead used the Matrix of Leadership to purify Megatron, burning Pentius's spark away; Megatron, however, vowed that he would never stop hating Optimus in spite of what he had done for him. Sadly resigned to the fact that the once-noble revolutionary he had admired was now lost, Optimus knocked out the weakened Megatron and took him into custody. Primacy #4
The spreading conflict
Megatron's forces were quick to come to his rescue however, breaking him out under cover of the night. Post Early in the continuing conflict, Megatron authored Towards Peace, a new treatise to replace After the Ark, in which he described continuing to fight the war until the very notion of conflict was literally inconceivable. Then and only then would he finally give up his fusion cannon. Rules of Disengagement The earliest edition of the work featured a dedication to Terminus, which Megatron would later remove to reflect the lesson his friendship with Terminus had taught him: not to get attached. Towards Peace Friendships were a weakness, and Megatron exploited this in the cruelest way possible: by corrupting Optimus Prime's old friend Damus, turning him into one of the most vicious, dedicated Decepticons of all, a devoted worshiper at the altar of Megatron, purely to hurt Prime. Your Fierce Tears
Megatron oversaw the creation of a class of super-warriors known as the Warriors Elite, selecting only his most powerful troops to undergo the torturous upgrade, including Overlord, a brilliant sadist and frequent opponent of his from his pit-fighting days who had developed an obsession with Megatron after the Decepticon leader dealt him his first ever defeat. Remembrance Day At some point, he also created the Decepticon Justice Division to deal with traitors, and appointed Damus—now code-named "Tarn"—as its leader, Rules of Disengagement though he elected not to send them after Deadlock when he defected, valuing the warrior enough to instead dispatch Lockdown to bring him in. Drift #2 He would reportedly spend "half the war" searching for a way to remotely access a black hole, in order to use antimatter for power, but never succeeded. Do Not Go Gentle
Good times, bad times.
Megatron would personally clash with Optimus Prime many times; Optimus grew to respect and fear Megatron as a calm, calculating and measured opponent, while Megatron himself respected Prime's sheer power and his skill as a tactician and as a leader. Escalation #5 Megatron would later incorrectly recall their battle on Sherma Bridge during the Rorsha Campaign as the first time they met. Said battle was certainly momentous—every Autobot and Decepticon stopped fighting to witness their duel, during which Megatron's cannon arm was sliced off by Prime's energon-axe, and he claimed revenge by throwing the Autobot leader off the bridge. As the war spread to other planets, they would meet again and again: during the Siege of Massunstrad, Megatron sealed Prime in an anti-matter chamber; on Rada Mor, Prime reduced Megatron to ashes with sentient explosives; and in the midst of the Vorsk Offensive, Megatron was nearly sliced in half by Prime. Chaos Theory #1 Though he resisted Tyrest's attempts to find a "Two City-State Solution" to the war, he did agree to abide by the Tyrest Accord. House of Ambus
Megatron took on a new pistol alternate mode for the Battle for Hell's Point, during which he was used by Heretech to blast Ultra Magnus. The Gloaming During the same skirmish, Megatron took off half of Prime's face with his energon mace, but had a city block dropped on him by Prime in retribution, which shattered his transformation cog and trapped him in gun mode for two years. Chaos Theory #1 Prime was not the only old face that Megatron would see again during the war: during a battle on an aerial drilling platform over the Manganese Mountains, Megatron came face-to-face with his old friend Impactor, and stood poised to execute him until Impactor gave him a moment's pause by recalling his old fondness for poetry. In this moment, Megatron was knocked from the platform by Springer and sent plummeting to the mountains below. Zero Point
"We attack the Rice Krispies guys at dawn! Assuming Judd Hirsch delivers the goods."
At the war's zenith, Megatron sealed himself in an Omniglobe to absorb the relentless flood of data coming in from countless fronts. Rules of Disengagement With total war going nowhere, he would go on to develop a six-stage infiltration protocol to be used for conquering targeted planets. The sixth phase called for outright planetary razing, and Megatron selected three of his Warriors Elite for this task: Sixshot, Devastation #5 Overlord, and Black Shadow. He informed this trio of his decision via teleconference, but Overlord, tired of being used as someone else's weapon, refused. Megatron threatened to hunt Overlord down for his disobedience, Last Stand of the Wreckers #2 but while the powerful warrior spent the rest of his life preparing for this conflict, Megatron never followed up and left him to stew in his own obsession. Last Stand of the Wreckers #5
You don't gotta go home Prime but you can't stay here.
Deducing that the Autobot/Decepticon war would culminate in an energy crisis that would threatened the stability of Cybertron itself, Shockwave left Cybertron to secretly pursue alternate energy sources. Around 10,000 years ago, when Shockwave did not return, Megatron ordered Bludgeon to investigate his files, Spotlight: Shockwave secretly assigning Soundwave to investigate Bludgeon Spotlight: Soundwave and probe deeper into whatever it was Shockwave had created. Shockpoint
Shockwave's prediction soon proved accurate, and Cybertron found itself in the throes of an energy shortage. Decepticon scientist Thunderwing came to Megatron with a revolutionary, controversial plan to stave off this energy death by polydermal grafting, a process where they encased themselves in "symbiotic carapaces", or shells created from living tissue. When Megatron dismissed him angrily and cut him down, Thunderwing did not abandon his research; instead, he experimented on himself. Stormbringer #3 Stormbringer #4 The process gave him immense power, but drove him insane. He became so dangerous that Megatron had to join forces with Optimus Prime to stop him. This battle at Thunderhead Pass accelerated the apocalypse destined to befall Cybertron, leaving it an uninhabitable, radioactive husk and forcing both armies to continue their war on other worlds. Stormbringer #1 Megatron advocated that they simply destroy Cybertron to ensure that Thunderwing was destroyed, but Prime refused, and threatened to stop Megatron if he tried. Megatron agreed not to destroy the planet, but warned Prime that whatever happened was on his head. Shortly after the last big push by the Decepticons, Cybertron was abandoned by both factions. Stormbringer #2
In the mid-19th century, Starscream reported to Megatron regarding a failed alliance with the Dire Wraiths and their unfeasibility as allies. Megatron congratulated Starscream... for finding yet another way to disappoint him. Shining Armor #5
Breaking protocol
Megatron (Second Printing Preview)
In the early 21st century, when word reached Megatron that the infiltration unit led by Starscream, stationed on the planet Earth, had broken protocol, he headed for the planet to investigate. Examining the unit's abandoned bunker in Nebraska for information, he discovered that Starscream had stumbled across Ore-13—an incredible energy source that (unbeknownst to Megatron) was the end result of Shockwave's experiments—and was planning to use it to usurp Megatron's command. Infiltration #4 While studying the bunker's files, he was contacted by Razorclaw with some distressing news: Bludgeon's investigations of Shockwave's files had led him to revive Thunderwing. Megatron ordered the Predacons to Cybertron, authorizing them to do whatever was necessary to destroy Thunderwing, including the destruction of their homeworld itself. Stormbringer #3 Just as he was handing down this order, Megatron was happened upon by Verity Carlo, a human ally of the Autobot unit active on the planet, Infiltration #4 but he utterly ignored her. The bunker was then leveled by an airstrike courtesy of Blitzwing and Skywarp, who were merely covering their unit's tracks and unaware of Megatron's presence; when their leader furiously emerged from the wreckage, Skywarp attempted to explain their ignorance, but Megatron simply responded by blasting him out of the sky. Blitzwing favored opening fire rather than attempting explanations, so Megatron beat the stuffing out of him too, then set off for Starscream's new bunker in Oregon. Infiltration #5
Those librarians are getting really strict on late returns.
You will stand down. If you fight, you die. There is no room anymore for mercy. In the end, you are all expendable. Choose. Megatron's ultimatum to Starscream's renegade troops, Infiltration #6
Orbital jumping to Oregon, Megatron called Starscream out and ordered the team to stand down, disgusted to see such power games being played amongst his troops. His brief, chilling speech was enough to take the fight out of all but Starscream, who, powered-up on Ore-13, took Megatron on himself. Though the new power source made Starscream a formidable adversary, Megatron was still more deadly than he, and Starscream was taken out by a point-blank fusion cannon blast through his torso. Megatron ordered the Decepticons to ensure that Starscream survived, and then, observing the Autobots who had been watching the battle, announced that it was time to begin phase two. Infiltration #6
In light of the discovery of Ore-13, Megatron took stock of Starscream's progress on Earth and elected to get the infiltration protocol back on track himself, calling a meeting to make Starscream's former troops and making them aware, in no uncertain terms, that any further insurrections would be met with deadly force. Escalation #1 He continued to order his troops on Earth directly, Escalation #2 and was even able to revisit his past gun alternate mode, once again able to achieve the mass displacement the mode required thanks to the extra energy Ore-13 provided. Escalation #3
Megatron/Spiderman #1 Retailer's Incentive
With his forces joined by Ramjet, a new arrival who Megatron suspected of having ulterior motives, Man and Machine, Part Two the Decepticon leader initiated phase two of infiltration protocol by destabilizing relations between the European nations of Latveria and Symkaria through use of an aggression-inducing Psycho-Prism, stolen from Latverian dictator Doctor Doom. When the superhero team known as the Avengers investigated the array the Decepticons' were using to broadcast the prism's signal, Megatron abducted the arachnid-powered Spider-Man to use as a subject for their mirror response mode, Man and Machine, Part One draining the hero's powers and infusing himself and the other Decepticons with them. Man and Machine, Part Two He proceeded to forge a brief alliance with Doctor Doom, who helped him defeat and capture the allied Autobot/Avenger team who snuck inside the Decepticons' array, but when Doom's suggestion to threaten the captives in order to force the other heroes to lay down their arms failed, Megatron violently dissolved the partnership. Man and Machine, Part Three Emerging from the confines of the array to take on the Autobots and Avengers himself, Megatron refrained from engaging Prime, foreseeing a more intimate confrontation between the two of them in the near future, and instead turned his attention to destroying Iron Man's Transformer-sized armor. The tables soon turned, however, when Doctor Doom freed the captive Autobots and used the Decepticon's mirror response technology to empower them. Defeated by these enhanced Autobots and with the Psycho-Prism destroyed by Wolverine, Megatron used the last of his extra power to teleport the Decepticons out with an emergency warp-out. He refrained from departing alongside his warriors, intending to slaughter the Avengers for their interference, but when he was immobilized by Spider-Man's webbing, knocked to the ground by Luke Cage, and rattled by a hail of Autobot fire, he finally warped-out with a final taunt to Optimus Prime of the battle yet to come between them. Man and Machine, Part Four
I got me a shovel
I'm digging a ditch...
With phase two of infiltration protocol properly underway, Megatron recognized that herightly withdraw and install a new unit commander on Earth, but could not resist the chance to try out his new Ore-13 empowered body, selecting the nation of Brasnya, where Decepticon subterfuge was already underway, as his testing ground.Allowing the Decepticon's facsimile construct Georgi Koska to wield him in pistol mode, Megatron had Koska use him to first sever a Russian oil pipeline, and then to fire upon the soldiers who came to investigate, furthering the political and military tensions already brewing in the region. When word came through from Blitzwing that Optimus Prime and the Autobots had arrived,Megatron at last engaged Optimus directly,and although Prime was able to destroy his fusion cannon, the extra strength afforded Megatron by Ore-13 allowed him to physically beat Prime into submission, punching directly into his chest and crushing his spark The horrified Autobots moved into a full but ineffective counterattack, their only edge being that Megatron had no long-range guns left. It turned out that Prime's apparent death was a desperate ruse when the Autobot leader countered with a surprise attack on Megatron, able to exploit Ore-13's weakness—the more it's used, the faster it burns itself out. Megatron almost collapsed from power loss and was forced to have Skywarp take him to safety before the Autobots could kill him.
Furious over the embarrassing defeat, Megatron threw protocol out the window and ordered that Sixshot be summoned to the planet. Escalation #6 He took out some of his anger on Ramjet, who he discovered had been busy cooking up a plot to overthrow him; without saying a word, he beat the attempted traitor to death before tearing him apart and keeping his head as a trophy. Spotlight: Ramjet
And I'm gonna fight for this four square feet of land
Like a mean old son of a bitch
Upon Sixshot's arrival, Megatron ordered him to utterly destroy the Autobots, and although the Phase Sixer questioned his early deployment, he was happy to go along with the abandonment of the phase structure. The other Decepticons, on the other hand, were worried that Megatron was losing his grip—and since they were too scared to tell him that, they decided to revive Starscream to do it for them. Devastation #1 Maximum Dinobots #1 Megatron monitored Sixshot's attack on the Autobots' Ark-19, ordering him to pursue the escape pod that broke away from the crashing craft, Devastation #2 but before he could obliterate the Autobots, Megatron was forced to recall him to deal with a new threat assaulting the Decepticon base—the alien Reapers. Devastation #4 Unfortunately, the Reapers convinced Sixshot to side with them, and when an Ore-13 powered Starscream entered the fray to take Sixshot down, Megatron realized his troops had been conspiring against him. He decided not to punish them yet, due to greater threat posed by the Reapers, Devastation #5 and entered battle alongside them all, even allowing Starscream to wield him in pistol mode against the aliens. After the invaders were dead, however, he turned on his men, starting with Blitzwing—but was forced to realize that they needed to remain united when it became apparent that their battle with the Reapers had made humanity inescapably aware of their existence Devastation #6 Spotlight: Grimlock
All Hail Megatron
While the Decepticons were occupied fighting the Reapers, the Autobots had left Earth to deal with the greater threat of an incursion by the Dead Universe. Exploiting their enemies' absence, Megatron and his men went to ground; when Autobots returned, they could find no trace of the Decepticons, who kept one step ahead of them for months. Secretly abducting Hunter O'Nion, former Headmaster partner to the Autobot Sunstreaker, Megatron and his men returned to Cybertron, where Megatron had Deluge conduct experiments that bred a swarm of monstrous Insecticons. The experiments culminated in the creation of Bombshell, who Megatron employed in a series of key tasks in his plan: the Insecticon obtained from Hunter's mind various Autobot secrets and codes, completed Shockwave's long-gestating combiner process, granting the |
the content at iBankCoin, please follow us on TwitterLocal medical marijuana co. addressess security ahead of grow operation
In less than a month, pre-approval will go through for a number of applicants looking to grow medical marijuana in Maryland. Cannamed Pharmaceuticals, which is based out of Hebron, Md. is gearing up during crunch time.
As the finishing touches are getting the 47,000 sq. ft. facility ready for the massive grow operation, security questions are also being answered. While security outside the building is important, it’s inside surveillance that is a priority.
Chief of Security Jesse Parker says “Since the program is new, the last thing we want is shrinkage” adding “the last thing we want is something to disappear.” Parker tells 47ABC given the nature of the business there are some sensitive areas, and “there are a lot of things you just cannot let anybody get away with.” Parker has been surveying the property to ensure there are no lapses in security, whether it be surveillance cameras on the outside, to the logging of infrastructure on the inside.
If everything goes smoothly, meaning pre-approval and full state regulated approval, 47ABC is told medical marijuana could be available as soon as winter 2016. The state will issue no more than 15 grow licenses, 15 processing licenses, and 94 dispensary licenses.Conservatives angry over Michelle Obama's trip to homeless shelter The latest target for right-wing outrage is a possibly homeless man seen taking a cellphone picture of the first lady.
It seems Michelle Obama can't even do a good deed without inspiring some outrage on the right.
The first lady visited a Washington, D.C., homeless shelter on Thursday, bringing fruit collected in a White House food drive and serving some of the shelter's clients. That alone isn't objectionable, of course. But some conservatives -- sparked by a blog post from the Los Angeles Times' Andrew Malcom -- are in a tizzy over an Associated Press photo that shows a man taking a picture of Obama using a cellphone.
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"It doesn't detract from the first lady's generous gesture or the real needs she seeks to highlight to ask two bothersome journalistic questions about these news photos," Malcom wrote, continuing:
If this unidentified meal recipient is too poor to buy his own food, how does he afford a cellphone? And if he is homeless, where do they send the cellphone bills?
Conservative blogger Michelle Malkin was one of those who joined the resulting scrum, writing that the photo "ruin[ed] what was supposed to be a sob story photo op of the compassionate Mrs. O catering to the downtrodden." She, in turn, linked to another blogger, Kathy Shaidle. Shaidle -- who is, to put it politely, not a particularly nice person -- wrote:
Today's "poor" are the rich Jesus warned you about: fat, slovenly, wasteful of their money and other people's... He spends all his (our) money on cellphones and, most likely, tattoos and drugs and booze and other crap, and has no money left for a home and food. And why should he bother? We pay for his shelter and food anyhow... What's really funny in that news story by the way is what they're serving at the soup kitchen: risotto with brocolli. Obviously some rich white liberal did the cooking that day, feeling all proud of herself, and what thanks did she get? Some lowclass loser going, "You expect me to eat this weird crap?!"
(For the record, it was actually mushroom risotto. And her nasty "weird crap" remark? It's rice cooked in chicken stock with some vegetables, something most cultures are quite familiar with, no matter what you choose to call it. Come on.)
At the Corner, one of the National Review's blogs, Kathryn Jean Lopez chimed in as well, saying, "America has the wealthiest poor people in the world" and claiming the photo illustrated that. She added, "I don't envy this man's situation, whatever it is, and don't mean to make light of it. But we are a blessed people when our poor have cell phones."
A couple key points here: First, as far as I can tell, none of these people even know whether the man in the photo is homeless. True, he was at the shelter and he appears to be standing in line, but that was, after all, the best vantage point for taking that photo. He could just as easily have been a volunteer at the shelter or a completely unrelated person who'd heard Obama was there, and no one complaining about the photo can prove otherwise, I don't think.
The only information we really have to go on is the original AP caption for the picture, which reads only, "First lady Michelle Obama, right, stops to have her photo taken as she helps to hand out meals during her visit to Miriam's Kitchen in Washington, Thursday, March 5, 2009. The center provides meals, case management services and housing support to nearly 250 men and women in Washington."
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I've checked the pool report from the event, and there's nothing in there about the man either. I e-mailed the Times' Malcolm to ask why he assumed the man in question was homeless, but haven't yet heard back. If I do, I'll update this post.
Also, as Malkin herself acknowledged in her post, there's a very valid reason for a homeless person to have a cellphone -- how else can they get a job? Potential employers need to be able to call you when you apply for a job. (Malkin snarks, "The liberals’ argument is that they need cell phones to get jobs. Do they need Blackberry (sic) Pearls?!" But again, I'm not sure how she knows the make of the phone.)
Plus, as some indignant conservatives, like Shaidle, have pointed out, there are government programs that help people below the poverty line acquire cellphones for that very purpose.
Finally, regarding Malcolm's question, "And if he is homeless, where do they send the cellphone bills?" which Lopez asked as well: There are lots of pre-paid phone plans out there. Does no one watch "The Wire" anymore?
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Update: Shaidle has responded to this post with what I can immediately say is one of my favorite things ever written about me:
Salon's Alex Koppelman is obviously a delusional liberal pantywaist who can't stand to have his romantic notions about "poverty" challenged (by someone who knows what they're talking about firsthand, and is also a better writer than he is.) I'd rather be right than "nice" and "polite" -- and so would any intelligent adult who values the truth. I'm betting Alex Koppelman is a grown man who still rides a bicycle. By choice. On the sidewalk. I'm thrilled. That line is going to look SO great on my next book jacket.
For purposes of full disclosure, I feel I should note that I haven't owned a bike since mine was stolen in college, and when I did, I didn't ride it on the sidewalk. The rest is all true, of course.So you probably know now that the story I wrote a couple weeks ago about the city’s plan to permanently close the 800-block of Robson Street to traffic was not a work of fiction or some leftover April Fool’s Day knee slapper.
You know that because the city released a report confirming its plan to turn the stretch of Robson Street, between Howe and Hornby streets, into a pedestrian plaza. (It’s actually closed today to allow marijuana protesters to participate in a 4-20 event.)
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Council will discuss a year-round closure this morning.
I won’t go over all the reasons for closing the block but essentially it’s about connecting the existing plazas on the south side of the stretch (at the law courts) with the north side of the street (the Vancouver Art Gallery) to have one big super plaza.
So, is everybody happy about this?
As I mentioned in the story, seniors have concerns with the re-routing of the No. 5 Robson/Downtown bus. So does TransLink, which would prefer buses continue on the route but says it will support a year-round closure. This way, it doesn’t have to keep rerouting buses every summer; the stretch has been closed between June and September since 2011 and was closed during the 2010 Winter Olympics.
When I wrote the story, I contacted Charles Gauthier, executive director of the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association. I knew he had told our colleagues at Business in Vancouver in April 2015 that the association could no longer support the summer closures of the street because it was too disruptive for customers and deliveries.
Gauthier wouldn’t talk to me, saying he wanted to first read the city’s report. He did and then we had a conversation. And, if you’ve been watching this issue, you know the association now supports the closure of the block.
“I was pleasantly surprised by the support I was hearing from the building owners in the immediate area,” Gauthier said. “So based on that, our original concerns sort of fall off the table. We’re not certainly going to speak to an issue and be against it, if our building owners are telling us that this is something that is workable.”
So what do you think, readers, is this a flip-flop? Did Gauthier and his association drink the city’s green Kool-Aid? Or is there something more going on here?
Well, it’s not the first time the association has come around on an issue that it panned from the get-go. Examples would be the association’s early opposition to the city’s push to build separated bike lanes downtown and the plan to demolish the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts.
Eventually, after reviewing the city’s data and hearing from businesses and customers, the association gave both proposals the green light. So here’s the thing: The public and council can likely expect more of that green-lighting from the association on progressive city-shaping proposals.
That’s because of a “game changer” of a report the association and Simon Fraser University Public Square produced last year. The report, Re-Imagine Downtown Vancouver, was the result of asking 11,000 people what they want downtown to look like by 2040. Hint: It doesn’t involve freeways. Instead, we’re talking more green space, public art, pedestrian and bicycle-friendly routes, activation of alleyways, new housing options and a unique and vibrant business scene.
“That sets the tone,” Gauthier said of the document. “It’s a new day, it’s a new era and, yes, things are going to change. And the organization’s perspective on a variety of different positions is going to be different.”
Added Gauthier: “I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing to change your perspective. But I think, again, when we’ve heard 11,000 people say this is the kind of downtown we want by 2040 and we ignore that, then I think it would be arrogant. We put ourselves at risk of alienating those people and becoming irrelevant.”
He said some downtown building owners have already adapted to the change, noting one ardent opponent of the bike lanes is now on board because his tenants requested end-of-trip facilities for bikes.
“The 30-year olds and the 40-year olds have a different perspective of how they want to live. They have different expectations and they don’t necessarily have a car. Or they live in the downtown area and do a lot of walking or cycling. So again, it’s listening to your customers.”
And get this: Not only was Gauthier one of the speakers at a city hall event in February to promote the soon-to-launch public bike share program, he also participated in a recent downtown bike tour with the HUB cycling coalition.
The nerve of him.
mhowell@vancourier.com
@HowellingsIt’s raining, it’s pouring, and apparently, winter is snoring. For a month that typically sees some of the coldest temperatures of the year, winter is in snooze mode in Toronto, with plenty of rain showering the city and a number of days with balmy temperatures above zero.
“I don’t think nature has got the script,” said Dave Phillips, senior climatologist at Environment Canada. “This is supposed to be our coldest time of the year coming up.” Friday will see a high of 6 C with periods of rain, and the drizzle is expected to continue throughout the weekend. Saturday’s expected high of 6 C is 10 degrees warmer than it should be at this time of year. And while Sunday’s high of 8 C is pretty warm, it’s still not record-breaking, with the warmest temperature on record for that day hitting 9.4 C in 1959.
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“It looks almost Vancouver-ish kind of weather. Rain, rain, and more rain,” Phillips said. “The rain is not going to freeze, so we’re not going to be skating on it.” These weather conditions represent the third “winter thaw” of January, and what Phillips says is the longest, with the first two bouts lasting four days and three days. The mercury is likely to drop below freezing closer to January 28. “We could get some cold temperatures in February, although our models seem to suggest that it will favour the warm side,” Phillips explains. “It’s not as if nature’s going to punish us for this balmy, tropical weather,” it’s certainly too soon to put away our snow shovels and parks. “Remember last year? It snowed in May.”Look, I know you're hype for Pokemon GO. Even I'm hype for Pokemon GO,and I stopped caring about the series post-gen 3. But don't let that hype make you fall into scams promising beta access.
Pokemon GO is Nintendo's upcoming augmented reality Pokemon game for iOS and Android devices. We don't know when it's coming out nor what it's going to entail outside of battling Pokemon (and trainers) in the real world. But we do know it has a trailer for this year's Super Bowl 50.
And we know all those websites offering beta access aren't hosted by Nintendo, nor developer Niantic.
There are a handful of sites floating around search engines right now claiming to offer Pokemon GO beta access. Absolutely none of them are legitimate.
Nintendo has always been airtight with their security and would never require fans to go to a site outside of the official Pokemon website (Pokemon.com) to sign up for beta access to a Pokemon game, especially one as high-profile as GO.
The slew of sites promising beta entry are scams. Every single one of these websites are scams and you would do well to stop, drop, and not visit them nor give them your email address.
Many of the fake GO beta websites either:
Host viruses
Have you do surveys (which the site owner makes money from)
Ask for your email address (to send to dataminers and unscrupulous advertising companies)
Ask you to sign up with a username and password to try to log into your accounts on other websites
Nintendo will announce themselves when Pokemon GO will finally be entering open beta, which many fans speculate to be soon with the Super Bowl happening on February 7th.
Whether the beta comes sooner or later, do not trust any site offering beta access that is not Pokemon.com. The Pokemon GO page on the site will be updated when beta access opens.The left-wing Center for Public Integrity has put together a database allegedly proving the Bush administration lied about WMDs in Iraq, and the New York Times joined the rest of the media in celebrating it with left-wing talking points that sound like they came straight off a press release.
The humdrum headline over John Cushman Jr.'s Wednesday story ("Web Site Assembles U.S. Prewar Claims") hid some deep bias.
For one, the Times failed to pin an ideological label on the organization and made no mention of CPI's ties to the left-wing billionaire George Soros, which funds the organization through his Open Society Institute.
For the rest, well, simply read the encouraging prose and references to Watergate.
"Students of how the Bush administration led the nation into the Iraq war can now go online to browse a comprehensive database of top officials' statements before the invasion, connecting the dots between hundreds of claims, mostly discredited since then, linking Saddam Hussein to Al Qaeda or warning that he possessed forbidden weapons. "The Center for Public Integrity, a research group that focuses on ethics in government and public policy, designed the new Web site to allow simple searches for specific phrases, such as'mushroom cloud' or 'yellowcake uranium,' in transcripts and documents totaling some 380,000 words, including remarks by President Bush and most of his top advisers in the two years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. "Warnings about the need to confront Iraq, by President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, the national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, and two White House press secretaries, among others, can be combed line by line, and reviewed alongside detailed critiques published after the fact by official panels, historians, journalists and independent experts. "There is no startling new information in the archive, because all the documents have been published previously. But the new computer tool is remarkable for its scope, and its replay of the crescendo of statements that led to the war. Muckrakers may find browsing the site reminiscent of what Richard M. Nixon used to dismissively call 'wallowing in Watergate.' "The database is online at http://www.publicintegrity.org/. "Charles Lewis and Mark Reading-Smith of the research center say their work has documented 'at least 935 false statements' on hundreds of occasions, particularly that Iraq had unconventional weapons, links to Al Qaeda, or both. "The database shows how even after the invasion, when a consensus emerged that the prewar intelligence assessments were flawed, administration officials occasionally suggested that the weapons might still be found. "The officials have defended many of their prewar statements as having been based on the intelligence that was available at the time -- although there is now evidence that some statements contradicted even the sketchy intelligence of the time. "President Bush said in 2005 that'much of the intelligence turned out to be wrong' but that 'it was right to remove Saddam Hussein from power.'"
Red State marshaled some facts outside the left-wing talking points repeated by Cushman, reminding us that at the time
"Everyone was convinced that Saddam had WMDs. It remains a fact Saddam used WMDs against Iran and his own people. The intelligence and common wisdom that Iraq still possessed such weapons at the time we liberated Iraq proved to be wrong, but that doesn't equate to a lie."
Red State also noted three separate investigations concluded the U.S. was not lied into war with Iraq.
This Commentary Magazine blog post by Gabriel Schoenfeld has more of what the Times left out of its one-sided story.
"Toward the end of its story, the Times notes that 'officials have defended many of their prewar statements as having been based on the intelligence that was available at the time -- although there is now evidence that some statements contradicted even the sketchy intelligence of the time.'
"But that is an absurd way of putting it, minimizing and obscuring some central facts. Would it not have been more honest for the newspaper of record to recall that however'sketchy' the intelligence, it was not presented by the CIA to the administration as sketchy at all? Rather, it was presented as an iron-clad case, most memorably by CIA director George Tenet as 'a slam-dunk.' And would it not have been more honest to point out that the post-war studies of Iraq's WMD program, like the Duelfer Report, had the benefit not merely of hindsight but the ability of investigators to roam freely through Iraqi archives and facilities? Back in 2002 and early 2003, when the U.S. was gearing up for war, things looked very differently than they did afterward.The SPlog is available to our community of readers and Editors to get the word out about upcoming shows, events, ideas, quick opinions, photos, videos, overheard quotes — anything really, provided that it doesn't break the law.
SPlog posts aren't meant to be read as full articles — most often, they are short, quick bits of information about something that doesn't necessarily warrant a full article, though are worthy of posting.
Smile Politely also allows businesses who advertise with the magazine to access the SPlog to promote most anything and everything that's going on with them in their world.
Ultimately, we monitor the SPlog closely, so if we don't post your submission, we'll get in touch with you and discuss why. If every submission got posted, well, things would get messy in a hurry. We hope you understand.
Editors' note: Smile Politely maintains the right to edit all SPlog entries for grammar, punctuation, and syntax, but will never change the meaning or content of any submissions.Starladder has released the quarter-final matchups for the Chinese division of SL i-League StarSeries XIV.
Following the end of the group stage, which featured 16 teams from all over the country, the top two sides from each group have sealed passage to the knockout phase, which will run from December 17-20.
The eight surviving sides have been placed into a double-elimination bracket which will feature best-of-three clashes in every stage. The winner will get to represent China at the StarSeries finals, in Minsk, where they will lock horns with teams coming from the European and the North American divisions.
Savage's CyberZen are red-hot favorites
TyLoo head into the playoffs as strong favorites, with teams like CyberZen, who recently won SoStronk KOTH Asia #2, AllGamers and Wings (formerly known as Puzzles) expected to be the main challengers.
Below you can find the quarter-final matchups:Accumash a patent-pending brewing additive designed to help you dial in both your mash pH and help accentuate hoppy and malty beers (as well as dial in balanced beers).
Use in conjunction with RO or distilled water and any all grain brewing technique (batch sparge, fly sparge and BIAB). Since this is tailored to beer, there are multiple formulations based on the beer you’re brewing and the flavor profile you’re looking for. Just choose a beer color range, gravity range and your desired finished flavor profile (hoppy or malty) on the Accumash product page. Also: Hands On: 5 Stage Reverse Osmosis Water Filter by Reverse Osmosis Revolution
Accumash makes it easy to treat your water. A few gallons of RO/DI water (made yourself or store bought) and Accumash lets you take control of your water.
Accumash is available at Beer & Wine Hobby
Also Consider: Water by John Palmer and Colin Kaminski | All Grain Tips & Gear | Hands On: 5 Stage Reverse Osmosis Water Filter by Reverse Osmosis Revolution
More: Recent Great Deals
tag:accumashIn testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions continued to stonewall Congress by recycling an excuse he used four months ago. Sessions is seeking to avoid answering questions about his conversations with President Donald Trump, who has yet to invoke executive privilege regarding conversations with his top officials.
Sessions told Congress he would neither assert executive privilege nor disclose the contents of his conversations with Trump, the same reason he gave to the Senate Intelligence Committee in June. The committee is interested in these conversations as part of its inquiry into the firing of former FBI director James Comey and potential Trump campaign collusion with Russia.
“Until such time as the president makes a decision with respect to this privilege, I cannot waive that privilege myself or otherwise compromise his ability to assert it,” Sessions told the committee on Wednesday. “As a result, during today’s hearing and under these circumstances today, I will not be able to discuss the content of my conversations with the president.”
Legal experts have described this tactic to ThinkProgress as “non-privileged privilege,” and likely a carefully crafted legal strategy to avoid accountability, allowing officials to sidestep the limitations of executive privilege while still refusing to answer questions.
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“Attorney General Sessions is skating on very thin legal ice now that he has had more than four months to discuss the executive privilege issue with President Trump, given that his lack of opportunity to do so was the only excuse he gave for refusing to answer the Senate’s clearly relevant questions without invoking the privilege on June [13],” Laurence H. Tribe, a professor of constitutional law at Harvard Law School, told ThinkProgress in an email.
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Sessions’ opening comments to the committee came in response to a letter sent earlier in October by the panel’s Democratic senators, who put the attorney general on notice regarding his potential assertions of executive privilege.
Sessions’ previous refusal to answer questions in the June 13 hearing was based on two Department of Justice memoranda. The Senators’ letter noted that although one memorandum outlines how the Attorney General may “temporarily hold off inquires” tied to executive privilege while the president decides whether to claim that privilege, the senators expected Sessions to have resolved that question by the time he appeared before the committee on Wednesday.
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“We expect that when you appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on October 18th, you will have determined whether the president will invoke executive privilege as to specific topics and will be prepared to answer completely all questions in those areas on which he has not,” the letter stated.
Despite having more than four months to make that determination since the June hearing, Sessions yet again wiggled out of answering the senators’ questions while acknowledging that Trump had yet to invoke executive privilege.
“[C]onsistent with the longstanding policy and practice of the executive branch, I can neither assert executive privilege nor can I disclose today the content of my confidential conversations with the president,” Sessions told the panel on Wednesday. “Under the administration of both parties, it is well established that a president is entitled to have private, confidential communications with his cabinet officials, his secretary of state, his secretary of defense, his secretary of treasury, and certainly his counsel in the attorney general of the United States and that such communications are within the core of executive privilege.”
Executive privilege is a legal doctrine that is not constitutionally guaranteed but that historically has protected a president’s communications. Privilege claimed in relation to a conversation or communication directly involving the president is presidential communications privilege, according to Ohio State University Moritz College of Law Professor Peter M. Shane, an expert in constitutional law and administrative law.
However, legal experts have told ThinkProgress that Trump’s public disclosures about Comey have put into question whether his conversations with Comey — and subsequent discussions of those conversations — are protected by presidential executive privilege. For example, in May, Trump publicly disclosed that he questioned Comey on multiple occasions about the agency’s ongoing Russia probe. University of Texas School of Law Professor Stephen I. Vladeck, also a constitutional law expert, told ThinkProgress in May that a president’s public comments can waive executive privilege for a particular topic.
“Certainly, the more President Trump opens his mouth and/or his Twitter account, the harder it will be for him and his associates to prevail in a fight over executive privilege — but that won’t stop them from invoking it, and from requiring Congress or the courts to sort it out,” wrote Vladeck in an email.
The courts cannot sort it out, however, until executive privilege is invoked, which may explain Sessions’ strategy.
In theory, a witness testifying before Congress has an obligation to answer questions or to assert a privilege that precludes the individual from responding. But that obligation relies on members of Congress to enforce the requirement, Vladeck told ThinkProgress.
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“The committee would have to call the witness on that point and the committee would have to insist that the witness answer or assert a privilege,” said Vladeck. “If the committee does not so insist, then there’s nothing to stop these non-answer answers.”A man from a tiny Pacific island who asked a court in New Zealand to recognise him as the world's first climate change refugee had his appeal rejected and faces deportation.
The Supreme Court acknowledged that Kiribati faced challenges but said Mr Teitiota was not at risk of persecution or serious harm and his nation was taking steps to protect its citizens from the environmental threat.
The decision affirmed previous rulings and left Mr Teitiota with no further avenues of appeal.
"While Kiribati undoubtedly faces challenges, Mr. Teitiota does not, if returned face'serious harm'," the court said.
"There is no evidence that the government of Kiribati is failing to take steps to protect its citizens from the effects of environmental degradation, to the extent that it can."
However, the court noted that its decision did not mean that “environmental degradation resulting from climate change or other natural disasters could never create a pathway into the Refugee Convention or protected person jurisdiction”.
Mr Teitiota moved to New Zealand with his wife in 2007 and had three children there but overstayed his visa and was caught in 2011 after being apprehended over an unrelated traffic matter.
He subsequently sought asylum as a climate refugee, saying rising sea levels had destroyed his crops and contaminated the water supply.
Kiribati, part of a former British colony, consists of about 33 small islands which are mostly only several feet above sea level.
Scientists believe the nation is set to be one of the worst-affected by global warming and much of the territory could be inundated by water within three decades.
The government has raised the prospect of resettling the entire population and bought land in Fiji to cultivate crops if it can no longer feed its population of 100,000.
The International Organisation for Migration said the international community should consider developing a new convention or legal instrument to recognise climate refugees.
“The legal system does need to catch up to this emerging group,” George Gigauri, an official from the organisation, told Radio New Zealand.Clarence House, the almost 200-year-old London royal residence which doubles as an office for the Prince of Wales and his son, Prince William, demanded the ABC cancel plans to use the controversial comedy group, the Chaser, as royal wedding commentators. They then contacted broadcast suppliers, including the host BBC, Associated Press Television News (APTN), Sky and ITN, to ensure the ABC would have no access to footage if it ignored the request. Digital mischief... how the Chaser team envisaged their ideal role on the big day. Faced with the prospect of airing static for almost four hours tomorrow night, the ABC had no choice but to capitulate. ''In Australia we're not used to these sorts of conditions being placed on the media and you can't help but observe these restrictions are being placed on the media on behalf of a future head of state of Australia,'' the ABC's director of television, Kim Dalton, said last night.
The ABC had negotiated access to two separate feeds, one hosted by BBC news presenter Huw Edwards, for the ABC1 channel, and a second ''clean feed'' of video only, which would be used for the planned Chaser broadcast on ABC2. Clarence House was alerted to the Chaser's plans a week ago, after a story was published in the Herald and on its website, smh.com.au. Palace officials then sent a ''please explain'' to APTN, which the ABC had contracted to supply the clean feed. Two days after the story was published Clarence House imposed new conditions on the feed, stipulating footage cannot be used ''in any drama, comedy, satirical or similar entertainment program or content''. APTN confirmed to the ABC the restrictions had been ''agreed between Clarence House, the private office of the Prince of Wales and [host broadcaster] the BBC.'' A BBC spokesman said in a statement last night: ''It has always been made clear by the BBC that use of its basic live news feed and BBC One programming for comedy, satirical or similar entertainment purposes would not be permitted contractually.''
Sources say the Prince of Wales's press secretary, Patrick Harrison, had stressed broadcast suppliers be reminded of the ''conditions'' that accompanied their licence to broadcast. For a monarchy to be issuing decrees about how the media should cover them seems quite out of keeping with modern democratic times.... but I suppose that's exactly what the monarchy is. It's traditional for the condemned to appeal to the Monarch for a stay of execution, so that's what we're going to do. Unfortunately, it's also traditional for people who appeal for clemency to be executed Mr Harrison told the Herald last night that the new contract did not impose ''any new conditions on anyone'' and denied the palace had singled out the ABC. Plans on other networks to use comedians as commentators, including Ten's The 7pm Project, hosted by comedians Charlie Pickering, Carrie Bickmore and Dave Hughes, and Nine's guest commentator, Dame Edna Everage, have apparently been spared the ban. The Chaser's Julian Morrow last night praised the ABC for its grace under fire.
''We thought it was a good call from the ABC to back the project but pressures are being brought to bear from relatively high places,'' he said. Morrow said it was ''traditional for the condemned to appeal to the monarch for a stay of execution, so that's what we're going to do. Unfortunately, it's also traditional for people who appeal for clemency to be executed.'' The Chaser's letter to the Queen Dear Australian Head of State, We would like to place ourselves at your mercy and request a stay of execution for our television program, The Chaser's Royal Wedding Commentary.
We, like Kate, are commoners, and were looking forward to celebrating her wedding to your exalted grandson with a few affectionate observations. To ensure that our coverage was respectful, we were only planning to use jokes that Prince Phillip has previously made in public, or at least the ones that don't violate racial vilification laws. We've also filmed a joke about hunting grouse which we think you might enjoy. Loading We Australians are a simple people who don't often get to watch that kind of pomp. The last big wedding we had here was Scott and Charlene on Neighbours. We've asked around, and there are at least six people in this outpost of your empire who would quite like to watch our commentary.
Please consider our plea. We have the honour to be, Madam, Your Majesty's humble and obedient servants,
Cheers,
The Chaser
PS: How serious are you about treason laws?Five women who were recently detained at the Western Wall in Jerusalem for daring to pray alongside men at Israel's holiest site will not be penalized for "disturbing public order" by virtue of their gender. Progress!
To recap: there's ongoing contention over whether women should be allowed to pay their respects to the Western Wall by praying aloud, reading from the Torah, and wearing religious garments — practices currently deemed men-only by Israeli law. This year, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had to assign famous former dissident Natan Sharansky to broker piece between the ultra-Orthodox minority that wishes to keep women unseen and unheard from the Wall — perhaps they're worried that if we stop oppressing women, an activity that's one of organized religion's traditional mainstays, it will crumble — and other Israelis who believe the archaic ban dissuades Jewish solidarity.
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Feminist activists Women of the Wall regularly protest the law by holding their own prayer service once a month; this isn't the first time they've been detained by the cops. The group's leader, Anat Hoffman, described her arrest last October for Huffington Post:
As we were chanting the "Shema," a major prayer in the service, I was approached by a police office, ordered to leave the wall plaza and taken to the nearby police station. A night of humiliation and pain followed. I was handcuffed, strip searched, laid on the bare floor. I was not allowed to call my lawyer. I was dragged on the floor with my hands cuffed and worse of all, locked in a tiny cell with a crying young Russian woman accused of prostitution, who was the target of every filthy comment male inmates could utter. Her tears and their words are the hardest memory for me to move on from.
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This time around, the police requested the women be barred from attending their group’s monthly prayer at the wall for the next three months, according to the New York Times. A magistrates’ court disagreed.
The Jewish Agency, which helps foster global Jewish interconnectivity, said in a statement that Thursday’s arrests had shown “the urgent need to reach a permanent solution and make the Western Wall once again a symbol of unity among the Jewish people, and not one of discord and strife.”
It doesn't look like that'll be happening anytime soon, as the police said they would appeal the ruling, which it found "unacceptable." You guys: we're talking about letting women wear prayer shawls, allow sound to escape out of their mouths (as opposed to moving their lips with muted voices) and read from the Torah. WOMEN EXIST and sometimes they like to say things! Get over it and onto the right side of history.
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[NYT]It's finally 5pm, you're off the clock and craving a cocktail and something to nosh. Sound familiar? Hit these hip places at happy hour in Oakland where you can find discount prices on drinks and excellent deals on yummy food.
Photo credit: KQED
Adesso
Apertivo Hour Tues - Thurs: 5 - 6pm & 10:30 - 11:30pm, Fri - Sat: 6pm & 11pm - 12am
Adesso is an authentic Italian spot located on Piedmont Avenue that provides free food during happy hour. Order a glass of wine, beer, spirit, or cocktail and they will bring you a complimentary plate of gourmet goodies to munch on. This won't likely fill you up, so if you plan to stay long, you can order some of their house-made salumi, cheese, pate, or antipasti. Delizioso!
Alamar
Happy Hour Mon - Fri: 5 - 6:30pm, Sat: 9 - 11pm
The cuisine of Alamar is influenced by Chef Nelson German's Dominican Republic upbringing as well as inspiration from Mediterranean and Asian cuisines. With lots of seafood on the main menu, their happy hour includes incredible $1.50 raw oysters on the half shell! You can get awesome deals on beer and wine and $2 off cocktails.
Photo Credit: Camber Uptown
Camber Uptown
Happy Hour Mon - Thurs: 5 - 7pm, Fri: 2 - 6pm
Camber serves up a diverse Southeast Asian cuisine of Thai, Lao, Mien, Burmese, Indian, and Vietnamese. The bartender shakes up some delicious and inventive cocktails, which are slightly discounted. You will love the variety of fun and delicious finger foods from their happy hour menu. Their wide range of snacks includes chicken wings, egg rolls, spring rolls, and spicy beef sliders.
Photo Credit: The Forge
The Forge
Happy Hour Mon - Fri: 2 - |
-aircraft installation capable of striking at targets across the continent. The other nations of Usea, unwilling to tolerate such recalcitrance by the Erusians, band together into a military defense coalition known as the Independent States Allied Forces (ISAF). Erusea initiates an expansionist movement eastward, and routs the ISAF military, occupying key strategic locations across the continent with the assistance of the Stonehenge weapon, which decimates ISAF air power. With ISAF on the verge of what appears to be imminent defeat, the ISAF General Headquarters (GHQ) is relocated to the island of North Point off the Northeastern coast of Usea, while surviving pockets of ISAF forces are pushed back to the East Coast of the continent in small enclaves with their backs to the sea.
The player takes on the role of Mobius 1, an elite fighter pilot serving in the ISAF air arm. The game's events itself begin following the retreat of ISAF GHQ toward North Point. Mobius 1 and his squadron are dispatched to thwart Erusian attempts to invade North Point, intercepting and destroying a unit of Erusian bombers off the coast, while catching another bomber unit on the ground at the nearby Rigley Airbase. Mobius 1 also takes part in the destruction of an Erusian radar installation at Mt. Shezna, enabling surviving ISAF military units to retreat back to North Point without being spotted by Erusian reconnaissance. The ISAF Air Force subsequently destroys the Erusian "Invincible" Aegir Fleet moored at Comberth Harbor, thwarting the Erusians' attempts to invade North Point by sea. Bolstered by their stunning victories with the assistance of Mobius 1, who has already garnered a reputation for himself amongst the Allied and Erusian forces, ISAF initiates an airstrike to target Erusian solar panel facilities in the heart of the continent. However, Stonehenge inflicts heavy casualties upon the strike force, reminding ISAF that the weapon still has an iron grip over the skies of the continent.
Between missions, a story is told through twelve interlude flashbacks, later revealed to be a long letter to Mobius 1 about the war and living inside the occupation. The letter is written by an unnamed man, whose parents were killed when an ISAF fighter jet crashed into their house in San Salvacion when he was a child. This fighter jet was shot down by Yellow 13, the Erusians' top fighter pilot, and a member of the well-known elite Aquila "Yellow" Squadron. Following his parents' death the boy is taken in by his uncle, a taxi driver who lives in the city above a tavern frequented by Erusian soldiers. While in the tavern, the boy befriends Yellow 13 after meeting him and the other Yellow Squadron members. He also learns that the owner of the bar is a member of the local resistance against Erusea and becomes a "spy" for them due to his friendship with Yellow 13.
As the war progresses, Mobius 1's contributions begin to turn the tide as the Allies begin retaking Usea. Mobius 1 and the ISAF Air Force partake in Operation: Bunker Shot, an amphibious invasion of the Southern coast of Usea which establishes a foothold on the continent. The situation in the city of San Salvacion becomes more desperate as the ISAF forces advance closer. The boy recalls one event where the bar owner's daughter plants a bomb on the airfield, which severely damages Yellow 4's plane and greatly angers Yellow 13, since Yellow 4 is his closest companion. ISAF then attacks Stonehenge itself and Mobius 1 manages to destroy it. Yellow Squadron arrives too late to affect the battle, but nonetheless engage Mobius 1 only to have Yellow 4 shot down and killed. Yellow 13 is also eventually shot down along with the rest of Yellow Squadron by Mobius 1 in the skies above the Erusian capital, Farbanti. Following the capture of Farbanti, as well as the general surrender of all Erusian military forces, a group of young rogue Erusian officers activate another superweapon, Megalith, a missile launch facility capable of shooting down the asteroids from orbit to crash them into any location on the planet. Mobius 1 is given his own squadron of the best ISAF pilots available. Assaulting Megalith, the squadron is able to shoot down the Erusian defense squadron and destroy Megalith, putting a final end to the war.
The storyline is continued in the arcade mode of Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War, where it is revealed that a resistance movement called "Free Erusea" has continued to struggle against ISAF and the new ISAF-backed Erusian government since the war's end. Mobius 1, engaging the resistance forces, is able to cut off their supply lines and destroys the Free Erusian main headquarters, ending the uprising.
Edited scenes [ edit ]
Some of the interlude flashbacks in the international release are slightly edited, due to different ratings systems. These differences can be seen in the original Japanese version:
In Interlude #04, an image of a knife and a pistol are shown, with the narrator saying "I got a knife with the intent of using it against Yellow 13. I even lifted a pistol off a drunken enemy soldier." In the US version, this frame and monologue is removed entirely.
In the US version, this frame and monologue is removed entirely. In Interlude #05, when the boy discovers the barkeep's secret upstairs room, the daughter is shown wielding a shotgun behind the door. In the international version, she is shown holding nothing.
In Interlude #09, when the boy confronts Yellow 13, he uses the pistol he stole previously to threaten him. In the US version, he is simply standing defiantly with his hands at his side.
Reception [ edit ]
Reception Aggregate score Aggregator Score Metacritic 89/100 [1] Review scores Publication Score GameSpot 8.8/10 [2] IGN 9.1/10 [3]
By July 2006, Ace Combat 04 had sold 1.7 million copies and earned $48 million in the United States. Next Generation ranked it as the 21st highest-selling game launched for the PlayStation 2, Xbox or GameCube between January 2000 and July 2006 in that country. Combined sales of Ace Combat games released in the 2000s reached 2.5 million units in the United States by July 2006.[4]
Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies was critically acclaimed, with IGN giving the game 9.1 out of 10[5] and Famitsu magazine scoring a rating of 33 out of 40 on release.[6]NEWARK — Blue claw crabs live on the bottom of tidal waters all around New Jersey, including the Lower Passaic River and Newark Bay, areas that are highly polluted with toxic material from the era of producing Agent Orange.
But despite a ban, some people continue crabbing in those highly polluted waters where the crabs absorb dioxin and other chemicals in high levels, the state Department of Environmental Protection reported.
“Crabs in these waters are abundant and appear healthy, but they are not safe to eat,” said Bob Martin, DEP commissioner.
“These blue claw crabs contain toxins that cannot be removed by cooking,” said Michelle McBean of Future City Inc., a local organization helping the state with outreach. “It’s important that the public observe the ban.”
Signs are being placed in areas frequented by the public, particularly where there has been evidence of crabbing, the DEP said. The signs and accompanying literature are available in English and Spanish, as well as Polish, Portuguese, Cantonese, Korean and Tagalog, to ensure the message goes to as diverse a population as possible.
The DEP and the federal Environmental Protection Agency unveiled one of the largest Superfund cleanups ever proposed in April. The plan is a bank-to-bank dredging of the lower eight miles of the contaminated river to remove the massive deposits of toxic dioxin from the Agent Orange producing days of the Diamond Alkali Co. plant on the Newark stretch of the Passaic River.
Tidal waters also affected by the crab ban and fish advisories include the Arthur Kill, the Kill Van Kull, the Elizabeth River, the Hackensack River, and the Rahway River, officials added.
People found catching and eating crabs are subject to fines ranging from $100 to $3,000 for a first offense, the DEP said.
The reminder program involving the signs and literature has been a years-long collaborative program between the DEP, the state Department of Health and Senior Services, and affected municipalities.China’s Gaokao college entrance exam, which heavily tests rote memorization and decides the fate of China’s youth, is objectively awful. Students know this, teachers know this, the government knows this, my aunt Agatha knows this. Recently though I’ve gained a new appreciation for just how horrific it is.
For the past week I’ve been in my girlfriend’s Shandong hometown staying with her aunt, uncle and 17-year-old cousin Emily.
Emily is a puny 90 pounds with the horrible eyesight common among Chinese youth. If given the chance, she’ll talk to you for hours about soap operas and schoolyard gossip.
Two-and-a-half years ago she and her family came to visit us in Nanjing. It was a kind of celebration for passing the end of middle school test and getting into the town’s best high school. Since that trip, Emily’s life has been hell.
This summer she’ll take the Gaokao. So each day she goes to school from 7:30 AM to 10:00 PM with a two hour lunch. She gets Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings off…usually.
Every night at 10:15, her mom waits anxiously at the front door. When Emily arrives on her electric bike, she leans on the horn in annoyance. Her mom bolts out the door to open the courtyard gate. No matter how fast she makes it out, Emily is irritated. She’s running on fumes already and vents at the routine setback of having to wait ten seconds to get in the house.
When she gets in the front door, her mom hustles her over to a warm footbath she’s prepared. Any precious second that’s wasted is a second Emily will lose from study or sleep. But once she sits down to her footbath, she has a few minutes to unwind. It’s the one window where I can talk to her. The topic, of course, is how miserable her day was.
After we chat for about five minutes, her mom hands her a textbook and I take my cue to head off to bed. This is just the beginning of Emily’s night.
The time that she goes to bed varies. On a rare good night, it’ll be a little after midnight. I once woke up to use the bathroom at 2:30 and found her passed out on a book. “I’m just taking a little rest,” she looked up and uttered pathetically, as if she needed to justify the catnap to me.
If she managed to get all her homework done, her mom will rouse her at 6:30 AM – at which point they’ll bargain over whether Emily can have a few more minutes of sleep. Emily never wins this negotiation. Once she’s up, she’ll do a little morning studying, make quick work of her breakfast and be out the door (This is what I’m told anyways. I’ve never actually been awake to see it myself).
Normally, the entire family treats me like a prince. They’ll bend over backwards to make sure I don’t lift a finger while I’m there. Meals are placed before me and trips are made across town to get any little thing they think I might want, no matter how strongly I object (I like to think this is just because I’m a guest, but realistically, I know my foreignness plays a role). All this princely treatment ends abruptly though when it conflicts with the schedule of the Queen.
After subtracting the commute, Emily has an hour-and-a-half at home for lunch. I’ve been told ever so politely (but in no uncertain terms) that I’m to be out of the house during this period. Emily doesn’t have time to be distracted by me. She’ll scarf down lunch in a matter of minutes and then go straight to bed for some precious afternoon Zs…unless of course she still has unfinished homework.
After several more hours of drilling and practice tests, she’ll come home and repeat. As I head to bed I tell her, “Don’t work too hard.” I’m the only one doling out such advice.
My girlfriend has persuaded Emily’s parents that the brain needs time to relax, and now they’re relatively easy on her. During her free Saturday afternoon, she’s allowed to watch soap operas and talk with me for a little while before being directed back to her study desk. Many of her classmates though have their faces stuffed in their books at every waking moment or have an outside tutor arranged during this time.
Teachers and parents are perfectly aware of how much stress this puts on the kids. They try to occasionally organize activities to relieve the pressure and allow some semblance of socializing. But these occasions are too little and too contrived. Recently they had a class dinner to celebrate the New Year, but it was more like being let out of the dungeon to have a nice dinner with the other captives. Yes, the students were happy to have it, but there wasn’t exactly a festive atmosphere. Everyone spent the evening complaining to one another.
Two years ago during the Spring Festival, after Emily’s first semester of high school, she was already feeling the heat. One night while everyone else was visiting a neighbor, she broke down and started sobbing on my shoulder. “There’s so much pressure,” she said. “Everyone wants so much from me. I don’t know if I can pass. If I don’t they’ll be so disappointed in me.”
Considering how high the suicide rate is for Emily’s demographic, I was glad to be the foreigner disconnected from her world that allowed her to uncork what she’d been bottling up.
When I think back to my high school life – the parties, proms, sports, pointless time-killing shenanigans – it kills me that Emily won’t have any of it. She’ll just have memories of soul-crushing routine.
But the lost memories, the stress, the bodily harm – it might be worth it if there were something worthwhile at the end of the tunnel; something truly enriching that sprouted from all that time and sacrifice.
Yesterday, while studying, Emily asked me when you should say “It’s my pleasure” and when you should simply say “My pleasure” in English conversation. It seemed like a pretty pointless question. There may be a very subtle situational difference, depending on who you ask, but in what scenario could that very narrow distinction possibly matter? Sure enough though, there was a “correct” answer to the multiple choice question.
I flipped through the textbook and found pages full of similar hair-splitting drivel that would in no way actually improve someone’s ability to communicate in English. I asked Emily what exactly they teach her in school all day. “We write many passages,” she said. “And then they tell us how we should write it better [for the essay portion of the Gaokao].”
“You know, it’s not like Mo Yan,” she continued. “He tells very interesting stories, but we can’t write anything like that. If I write what I want, I’ll fail.”
AdvertisementsCooking with vegetable oils releases toxic chemicals linked to cancer and other diseases, according to leading scientists, who are now recommending food be fried in olive oil, coconut oil, butter or even lard.
The results of a series of experiments threaten to turn on its head official advice that oils rich in polyunsaturated fats - such as corn oil and sunflower oil - are better for the health than the saturated fats in animal products.
Vegetable oil could be one of the most unhealthy cooking oils.
Scientists found that heating up vegetable oils led to the release of high concentrations of chemicals called aldehydes, which have been linked to illnesses including cancer, heart disease and dementia.
Martin Grootveld, a professor of bioanalytical chemistry and chemical pathology, said that his research showed "a typical meal of fish and chips", fried in vegetable oil, contained as much as 100 to 200 times more toxic aldehydes than the safe daily limit set by the World Health Organisation.Will Slack ever defeat Skype? We counted the odds. According to Inc.com and Forbes, Slack is one of the fastest growing startups, boasting more than 5 million daily users and 100 million website visitors per month. Because of Slack’s meteoric success, we started to wonder: Will it ever replace Skype as the communication leader among businesses? At Time Doctor, we have the fortune to anonymously track which apps and websites users visit throughout the work day. In other words, we can track how much time a user spends on Slack vs. Skype. This gives us the insight we need to determine if (or when) Slack can overtake Skype as the de facto communication tool among remote businesses. Spoiler alert - it did not… yet. However, our analysis shows that if all trends stay the same, Slack will inevitably catch Skype in about two years. Although Skype is still more widely used than Slack, our data confirms that Slack is gaining fast. For this story we peeked into general stats, looked at the names of the app that people worked on, how much time they spent on the app, and when they logged in and out. With this data, we are able to see how much time Time Doctor users spend on Slack versus Skype to communicate with their colleagues.
Slackin’ away Before we go into comparing Slack to Skype, let’s first get an understanding of the data. This first chart here shows us how much time per day all TimeDoctor users spent on Slack in 2016 and the first half of 2017. From this graphic we can see that daily Slack usage varied from around 20 hours on some weekends close to 1000 hours onworkdays. You are welcome to explore the chart yourself - feel free to interact with the timeline and look around. The chart is “spiky” for a simple reason, which is also true for most other apps TimeDoctor users work on - much less work time is logged during weekends. As a matter of fact, on average, Slack was used 9.4 times less on a weekend then over the week (an average of 771.6 hours logged for Slack across Time Doctor on a weekday versus 82 hours on a weekend). The outliers In the context of any data set, outliers are the data points that just don’t fit the overall pattern. Sometimes those are errors in data or false negatives. In our case, use of Slack and Skype during the weekends are such outliers.
In our analysis and comparison, we decided to exclude data collected during weekends so they don’t skew averages or influence the overall picture. Also, we only accounted for cases when a user logged between 1 minute and 10 hours per one particular task. This helped exclude records of 10 or 20 seconds or several that were 20 and more hours long - those were either very rare outliers or generally didn’t help us much in doing the overall analysis. Simply put, this just made the picture clearer. In 2016, since January 2nd and 3rd was a weekend, this chart begins on January 4th. Though the picture is more clear now, there are still many spikes in the data, many of which are attributed to holidays. TimeDoctor users logged time from countries all across the globe. Since we can’t really filter for all the holidays across all countries and cultures (that would just mean too many dates excluded), we decided to exclude several days that were way off, behaved and looked like outliers. Those days are biggest spikes, clearly seen in the chart now. Let’s zoom into it for a minute so we could have a better look.
We are now looking at the summer 2017, and if you noticed, July 4th, clearly stands out as an outlier. 4th of july is the U.S. Independence Day and a national holiday when much less work was done, thus we are removing it from the dataset. Using the same approach, let’s also exclude several other “spiking” holidays, to get a smoother picture. Thus here are some of the dates we filtered out: In 2017:
January 2 and 3, 2017 - since we don’t have the January 2 and 3, 2016 to compare to.
April 13 and 14 - the Easter Holy Thursday and Good Friday. April 17 also was cut - as it was the first monday after Easter, looks like lots of people decided to extend the long holiday.
May 1 - the May Day holiday observed in many countries, especially in Eastern Europe
May 29 - Memorial Day in the U.S.
In 2016:
December 26 - Monday after the Catholic Christmas
November 24 and 25 - Thanksgiving in the U.S. and the day after (a.k.a. “Black Friday”).
September 5 - Labor Day in the U.S.
May 2 - Orthodox Christian Easter.
May 9 - marking the end of WWII in Europe, observed as a national holiday in Russia, many Eastern European and ex-Soviet states.
March 25 & 28 - Catholic Christian Good Friday and the following Easter Monday. There actually was another particular outlier on March 24th, 2016 that was neither a holiday nor a weekend. We attributed it to individuals taking leave to add a day to their 4 day Easter holiday. But since it wasn’t drastically lower, we kept this day in.
After the other outliers, dates above included, were filtered out, this is the picture we get. Though much more smooth, the chart is still quite “spiked”. This time we will have to blame it all on Fridays. On average, Time Doctor users logged around 56 hours less every Friday compared to other weekdays. As a matter of fact, if you are using Slack daily, chances are your activity in the app throughout a given work week is not consistent. For instance, the most Slack-heavy day of 2016 was Wednesday, followed by Tuesday, then Thursday, Monday and only then by Friday. Despite those spikes, the overall trend is rather clear. On average, Time Doctor users were adding almost a thousand hours to their Slack use every month. By all measures this seems to indicate rather rapid and steady growth of time logged for Slack. Or does it? We’ll get back to this question in a bit. But first, let’s analyze the data we have for Skype.
Skype - the 800 pound Gorilla Created back in 2003, Skype has been an ultimate game-changer for millions of its users, connecting people to their families and serving as one of the first tools for remote team management. Even though it did not turn out to be the ultimate email killer, Skype became strongly associated with video and audio calls and instant chat messages for millions of users. This Skype chart uses similar filtering logic as previous Slack charts. We removed weekends and major holidays from the picture. You can see that people all across the world were logging thousands of hours daily for Skype throughout all of 2016 and the first half of 2017.
As a matter of fact, if we plot Slack numbers alongside Skype, it is obvious how much more popular Skype still is. On average, if Time Doctor users used both Skype and Slack on the same day, they used Skype 5.7 times more. And just as Slack’s usage grew among Time Doctor users in 2016, so too did Skype’s usage. But what about the intensity of that growth? And, most importantly, the growth of Time Doctor itself? As we have more and more people and teams taking control over their productivity and starting to use Time Doctor, we also see a growth in overall time logged by all our users. How do we exclude that factor from drawing any conclusions in a case of Slack vs Skype? Comparing Apples and Oranges
The easiest way to compare these things is to calculate a “usage index” for the data sets. A usage index is the relation between an average use of an app in a particular given day to the average use throughout the whole year. Here is the chart for the Slack usage index.
On average, a Time Doctor user would log close to 36 minutes (0.6 hours) of work on Slack a day. But that average is very normalized as usage varied a lot across the year. This is where the usage index is utilized. We take that average, 0.6 hours, and go through every day Slack was used, comparing it to the actual use. Let’s use an example to illustrate our logic. Assume it’s some winter Monday evening and today you used Slack for 2 hours. This means your usage index is 3.3 (which is 2 divided by 0.6). Now, imagine yesterday you used it for just 14 minutes, which is 0.25 hours - now the use index is (0.25 ÷ 0.6) just 0.4. Think of it as the distance from 0 and 1, since 1 is what we get if time use equals the app average. For Slack, a use index of 1.2 would mean an app was used 20% more than average and 0.75 would mean it was used 25% less than average. According to our usage data, Slack usage grew steadily month over month, having grown 2.6 times across 2016 alone. And as the chart shows - this trend is evermore present and stable.
Finally, let’s get to one of the most interesting charts. Here we plot the Skype usage index alongside the Slack usage index - and can clearly see a trend. Not only is Slack growing much faster than Skype, Skype is almost stagnant if we compare it to the overall Time Doctor platform growth.
In this chart, we now added a third line showing the rate of growth for Time Doctor. As you can see, the Time Doctor growth rate and the Skype growth rate are almost identical. This indicates that Skype’s growth rate corresponds much more to just more people using Time Doctor. It does not necessarily indicate that Skype use is growing among Time Doctor users at all. And, of course, the upwards leaning Slack chart is a clear indicator of usage growth. No wonder why Slack is expanding geographically.
This is also very clearly seen if we zoom into current chart. Before we continue, I just want to remind you that this data only pertains to Time Doctor users. If you were to look at how much each app was used globally, Skype is still way ahead of Slack. Actually, let’s bring that chart back.
Looking ahead Let’s hypothesise for a bit. What would it take for Slack to overcome Skype, if we imagine for a moment that in the rest of 2017 and on trends have stayed and will stay the same? To do this projection, let’s simplify things even more by comparing usage by month instead of by days.
Our two lines would look like this. On the left is the actual data for 2016 and a half of 2017, on the right, after the gap - a prognosis of where things will be if both Skype and Slack keep growing like they do. Looking into the future, we see that Slack catches Skype around February, 2020. But does this mean Skype is done and Slack will indeed soon become one chat app to rule them all? Not necessarily. This prognosis, though based on very real data, is still a rough estimate. It does not account for people switching from Skype to Slack, as Slack is constantly improving, adding video and voice calls to it’s platform to compete directly with Skype. They are even using a variety of landing pages to help generate awareness and grow their customer base. Nor does it account for folks going back to Skype who no longer need to pay for advanced features and simply want their chat history and calls for free. It does not include people switching to apps from other players, like Facebook with a version of its messenger for teams, Microsoft Teams and even other lesser known competitors like Flock.
This estimate does not account for ads and scandals, for laws and rule changes. And in the Internet of today all these things do inevitably factor into growth rate. It also does not address how people actually use those apps, it only analyzes how much time was used. What if less times spent on Slack actually indicates that people find it easier to use than Skype? That maybe they use Slack for team communication and Skype to talk to their clients. These are all questions for another analysis and another story. But if we can say one thing for certain: it is that Slack is indeed on a roll and that if things stay the same this company is sure worth watching and even betting on (even Amazon was looking at acquiring them).
What Other Companies Say About Slack “STATION F staff uses Slack for our internal communication as well as communication with the nearly 3000 resident startups, startup programs, VCs and public services on campus. Slack has a certain "street cred" in the startup community and our resident startups seem to love it.” - Joel Greiner, Communications, Social Media & Content at STATION F.
In spite of its tremendous growth, it is also worth noting that it is not for everyone. Tom Smith of dzone.com says "I'm GenX and I personally find them to be a tremendous waste of time with users trying to outdo each other with memes. I find it distracting and interruptive to getting stuff done.”
of dzone.com says "I'm GenX and I personally find them to be a tremendous waste of time with users trying to outdo each other with memes. I find it distracting and interruptive to getting stuff done.” “Slack’s growth is incredible. It’s really amazing how fast companies can grow in today’s connected world.” - Ty Magnin of Appcues.comUpdate: Penn State has parted ways with Isheem Young, according to Lions247.
Penn State commit Isheem Young was arrested and charged with armed robbery on Friday, per Philly.com. The crime took place in July when Young — along with his brother and another accomplice — robbed $13,600 from the Wawa that Isheem Young’s brother worked at.
The writing is on the wall, but Young is almost assuredly not going to be a part of Penn State’s 2018 class. This is a tough pill for the Nittany Lions to swallow because Young was a big-time safety prospect that probably would have found his way onto the field next season. Unfortunately, a really stupid decision is not only going to cost him the chance to play at Penn State, but very well could end his football career all together.
Moving forward for the Nittany Lions, this obviously gives them a little more breathing room as they round out the class. At one point, it seemed extremely unlikely that they’d be able to fit all four of Micah Parsons, Jayson Oweh, Tyreke Smith, and Rasheed Walker, but that very well could be the case now.
Outside of those four — who appear to have full-go green lights — this could be a game-changer for WR Solomon Enis and perhaps DB/LB Kwantel Raines, who is currently a West Virginia commit. Also, keep an eye on names like CB JaKorey Hawkins (Ole Miss), CB Anthony Lytton (Florida State), Houston Griffith (Florida State), and ATH Iverson Clement (Florida). All four prospects are committed to schools with coaching changes, or in Ole Miss’ case, NCAA sanctions.Martin Shkreli, a juror at his fraud trial said on Monday, was “his own worst enemy.”
On Aug. 4, after a five-week trial and five days of deliberations, the jury in federal court in Brooklyn found Mr. Shkreli guilty on three of eight counts. He was convicted of securities fraud — for lying to hedge-fund investors — and of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, with a stock scheme surrounding Retrophin, a pharmaceutical company he founded. He faces up to 20 years in prison; a sentencing date has not been set.
“All he had to do was to tell everyone, ‘I’m sorry, I lost the money, all I can say is I’m sorry,’ and that would be it,” said the juror, Lois Pounds, who was contacted Monday after Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto ordered the names of the jurors in the case released to reporters. “But there’s a side of him — I think it’s partly ego — that he wanted to be thought of as this great financial individual.”
Jurors believed that Mr. Shkreli committed fraud in lying to hedge fund investors, Ms. Pounds said, but as they parsed through the required elements for all eight counts he was charged with, they did not find “that he had the intent and purpose to specifically rob and cause a person to lose money and property” in all of the counts.
Annette Pittman, a speech pathologist from Brooklyn, said a few bits of major evidence had helped convince her that Mr. Shkreli had committed securities fraud. For instance, she said, that one of his hedge funds had not hired an auditor was “a problem.”The third round of negotiations over the modernization of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is underway right now in Ottawa, and EFF is there to represent you. It's been a frustrating few days so far. Before explaining why, we'll skip straight to what you probably want to know: how close are the parties to a deal, and what do we know about what's in it?
Canada Bucks U.S. Copyright and Patent Demands
In the case of the Intellectual Property (IP) chapter, they are pretty far apart. That's because the United States, despite President Trump's criticism of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), is nevertheless using it as a template for the draft IP chapter that it is presenting to its negotiating partners in this round. Canada, however, isn't down with that. That's because Canada joined the TPP late, after most of the text had already been locked down, and Canada was prohibited from revisiting that text.
Canada's own preferred starting point for negotiation over IP is the original NAFTA, augmented by some newer instruments that Canada has subsequently signed and ratified such as the WIPO Internet Treaties, and its trade agreement with the EU, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). Although there are still elements of those agreements that we are unhappy with, some of which were also part of TPP (notably CETA's criminalization of camcording in movie theatres), Canada's approach would avoid some of the TPP's biggest flaws such as the extension of the copyright term by 20 years.
On Sunday night the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), an independent but Canadian government-supported think tank, launched a publication NAFTA 2.0 and Intellectual Property Rights to an audience that included EFF and U.S. trade negotiators. The document makes a compelling case for Canada standing its ground on copyright and patent law, including this passage from Michael Geist:
As the country embarks on a new round of NAFTA talks, it should be recognized that Ottawa already meets its international obligations when it comes to respect for copyright and patents and has largely addressed long-standing U.S. demands regarding additional reforms. At a broad level, the Canadian negotiating goal should be to retain an appropriate balance, one that fosters creativity and access while ensuring that there is room for Canadian-specific policies that sit within the flexibilities of the international IP framework.
Although we haven't seen the U.S. draft text, reports suggest that Hollywood has succeeded in encouraging the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to omit a provision requiring the parties to have balanced copyright limitations and exceptions, such as fair use. That doesn't mean that the idea of such a provision is dead. Instead, it will fall to Canada to pick up the slack and promote copyright balance in the agreement, as well as to advocate for similar balance in patent law; for example through provisions to address the problem of patent trolling.
Electronic Commerce is now Digital Trade
What had been called the "Electronic Commerce" chapter in the TPP is now called the "Digital Trade" chapter, although once again the U.S. text proposal is based heavily on the TPP's text. In this instance, Canada and the United States are not so far apart, as they share agreement on most of the chapter's key objectives, including fostering the free flow of data online, and prohibiting data localization measures such as mandates that data must be stored on local servers.
Where they differ is on the question of how these objectives can be reconciled with local privacy laws, which can have the effect of limiting flows of personal data online. Since the three NAFTA countries have such different domestic privacy regimes, it's unlikely that the agreement will include new substantive privacy rules, but we expect that it will instead simply incorporate reference to the APEC and OECD privacy frameworks, an existing "lowest common denominator" between the three countries.
Another provision from the TPP which remains on the table for NAFTA is a ban on requirements that the source code of imported products be made open to review. EFF has explained how a blanket ban on source code review may not offer countries sufficient flexibility to address the critically poor state of security in many digital products such as Internet of Things (IoT) devices and routers. In any case, the provision addresses a problem that does not exist between the NAFTA countries, as none of them has imposed a source code review mandate. Since the provision is in response to such mandates imposed by China, dealing with this issue bilaterally with China would be a more targeted approach.
One of the biggest areas of difference between the parties in the Digital Trade chapter will be over the ISP safe harbor language, based on CDA Section 230, which the U.S. previously proposed in the Trade in Services Agreement. Unlike the United States, Canada and Mexico do not have a statutory rule that protects internet intermediaries from liability for user content. Thus, in those countries an Internet platform such as a web host or social media website risks becoming liable as the publisher of an allegedly defamatory article if they do not remove it in response to a takedown request from a third party. We can therefore expect to see the other parties suggest compromises to the U.S. language, if this provision survives at all.
Sliding Backwards in Stakeholder Consultation
As host of this round of negotiations, Canada has gone a little further to facilitate consultation between negotiators of the three countries and stakeholders. But when we say a little further, that's really what we mean. There is a room set aside in the negotiation venue, far away from the negotiations themselves, where stakeholders are provided with somewhere to sit, and with Wi-Fi access. They are not actually visited by any negotiators, nor do they receive any joint briefings.
Some stakeholders (including EFF) have been able to organize informal bilateral meetings with negotiators from the U.S. and Canadian delegations (though no one has met with the Mexican delegation that we are aware of). In both of |
of the biggest mortgage originators in the country. (Read Bank of America's Latest Peril: Losing Merrill Lynch?).
Bank of America was the first of the defendants to give a public response to the suit, claiming Fannie and Freddie are trying to hold other market participants responsible for their losses. The argument, repeated over the last couple of days by finance insiders, is that both Fannie and Freddie were sophisticated investors and understood securities are inherently risky.
The reality, of course, is a little more complicated. The financial crisis is an example of an organizational failure across a web of actors that involved primarily banks, credit rating agencies, and regulators, as well as mortgage buyers that possibly underestimated or didn't understand the risks of buying a home. More than just a failure, there was complicity, to a certain extent, between many of the major actors, as banks looking for higher profits lobbied regulators, while credit-rating agencies took hefty commissions from rating as many securities as possible. Their house of cards, though, fell with destructive force.
Below is a list of major institutions along with the value over which they are being sued for.
1. Ally Financial Inc. f/k/a GMAC, LLC ($6 billion)
2. Bank of America Corporation ($5 billion)
3. Barclays Bank PLC ($4.9 billion)
4. Citigroup, Inc ($3.5 billion)
5. Countrywide Financial Corporation ($26.6 billion, Countrywide was bought by Bank of America)
6. Credit Suisse Holdings (USA), Inc
7. Deutsche Bank AG ($14.2 billion)
8. First Horizon National Corporation ($883 million)
9. General Electric Company ($549 million)
10. Goldman Sachs & Co. ($11.1 billion)
11. HSBC North America Holdings, Inc. ($6.2 billion)
12. JPMorgan Chase & Co. ($33 billion)
13. Merrill Lynch & Co. / First Franklin Financial Corp. ($24.8 billion)
14. Morgan Stanley
15. Nomura Holding America Inc. ($2 billion)
16. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC ($30.4 billion)
17. Société Générale ($1.3 billion)Customers suddenly have fewer days to head out to the Lycoming Mall Sears store to shop.
The longtime anchor store is shutting its doors in late January, according to company officials.
Sears Holdings has targeted the local store for closure in early 2018, along with 17 other Sears sites and 45 Kmart stores nationwide.
Other stores in the region set to close are Sears, State College, and Kmarts in Shamokin Dam and Danville.
The Lycoming Mall Sears will close its auto center in early December.
Local Sears officials had no comment.
Corporate officials noted the closures are part of a “strategic assessment of the productivity of our Kmart and Sears store base” that involves closing some unprofitable stores to “transform the business model so that our physical stores and digital capabilities match the needs of and preferences of our members.”
Company officials noted that the stores will remain open throughout the holiday season with liquidation sales beginning as early as Nov. 9.
They further noted: “Eligible associates impacted by these store closures will receive severance and will have the opportunity to apply for open positions at area Kmart or Sears stores.”We’re changing gears yet again this week. A Redditor suggested I look into Syd Mead’s work. What I found blew me away. Syd Mead is a “visual futurist” and a neofuturistic concept artist, and a living legend in the industry. He is best known for his designs for science-fiction films such as Blade Runner, Aliens and Tron, but has also done work for Star Trek: The Motion Picture, 2010, Short Circuit, Time Cop, Johnny Mnemonic, Mission Impossible-3, and most recently Elysium starring Jodi Foster and Matt Damon.
Mead was once moved to comment about his work: “I’ve called science fiction ‘reality ahead of schedule.”
Below is a small portion of his work. Each image links back to where I found that image and trust me, I had to source these images from all over the Internet. Enjoy!
The last image above is a design concept for the movie Bladerunner. There were more, of course, but I had to stop myself. Although I tried, it is not possible to do a living legend’s oeuvre justice in one blog post. Syd’s output was just too massive. Thus, my attempt here is to present a snapshot of his life’s work of what I thought represent the best of him. Now I know this is subjective, but considering the eras most of these paintings hail from, there is no denying his vision and talent.
Let me know in the comments your thoughts. I’d love to hear what you have to say about today’s post. Also, suggestions for future artists are always welcome.Feeding Intolerance:
Prohibitions on Sharing Food with People Experiencing Homelessness. *download report as a pdf.* I. Executive Summary The criminalization of homelessness in the United States remains a severe problem. Through measures ranging from anti-camping laws to selective enforcement of public intoxication laws, cities continue to implement measures that criminalize being homeless. In the past few years, many cities have adopted a new tactic – one that targets not only homeless persons but also individual citizens and groups who attempt to share food with them. Types of Food Sharing Restrictions Cities use a wide variety of ordinances, policies, and tactics to discourage individuals and groups from sharing food with homeless and other poor persons. Over the past year and a half: The Las Vegas city council passed an ordinance that bans “the providing of food or meals to the indigent for free or for a nominal fee” in city parks;
The City of Wilmington, N.C., passed an ordinance that prohibits the sharing of food on city streets and sidewalks;
The Orlando, Fla., city council passed an ordinance that prohibits sharing food with more than 25 people in city parks without a permit and limits groups to doing so to two times a year; Even as they pursue measures to target groups that share food with homeless people, most cities do not have adequate shelter or food resources to meet the need. According to the US Conference of Mayor’s 2006 Hunger and Homelessness Survey, an average of 23% of overall emergency shelter requests went unmet, while 29% of shelter requests by homeless families went unmet. The Mayor’s Survey also reported an average increase of 7% in the overall requests for emergency food assistance, with 74% of surveyed cities reporting an increase. In addition, 23% of the requests for emergency food assistance went unmet and 18% of requests made by families went unmet. Hunger is a severe problem for poor Americans, and especially for those who are homeless. A study published by the federal Interagency Council on Homelessness surveyed homeless people nationally and found: 28% sometimes or often do not get enough to eat, compared with 12% of poor American adults.
20% eat one meal a day or less.
40% went one or more days in the last 30 days without anything to eat because they could not afford food, compared with 3% of poor Americans. Further, according to a 2000 report by the General Accounting Office: Most homeless people are probably eligible to receive food stamps, but only 37% receive them. Punishment for violating food sharing restrictions can be extreme: In Orlando, police arrested a man who served food to 30 people in a public park for violating a city ordinance that prohibits sharing food with more than 25 people without a permit. He faced a penalty of up to a $500 fine and 60 days in jail for violating this law.
In Dallas, anyone caught sharing food with a homeless person without a permit may be fined up to $2,000 and/or jailed for up to six months. Constructive Alternatives to Food Sharing Restrictions As some cities take steps to punish, restrict, and discourage efforts to share food with homeless persons, other cities have explored novel ways to facilitate these efforts. The City of Cleveland contracted with the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless to bring religious congregations, Food Not Bombs, and individuals who serve food to homeless people together to improve and coordinate outdoor food programs.
In Oregon, after first implementing an extended year-round free lunch program for children, the Coos Bay Public Schools have begun offering the meals to adults as well for the price of $1.
San Francisco has taken advantage of a provision of the Food Stamp Program that allows authorized restaurants to accept food stamps from homeless individuals. Recommendations Instead of penalizing them, cities should collaborate with food sharing groups to effectively address the problems of hunger and homelessness.
Cities should help bring homeless persons into existing programs by reaching out to food sharing groups that have already established relationships with homeless individuals and are thus best positioned to facilitate goals of city programs.
Cities should work with advocates and service providers to press Congress to increase food stamp benefits and restore eligibility for non-disabled homeless adults between 18-50 who cannot meet minimum work requirements.
Cities should help address the problems of hunger and homelessness by working with advocates and providers to improve access to food stamps and other food resources for homeless persons.
Cities and the federal government should comply with globally recognized human rights norms by removing food sharing restrictions and ensuring access to food stamps for homeless people.
Cities should work with advocates at the state and federal level to ensure the basic needs of homeless persons are met, including housing and health care. Las Vegas, Nev., Code of Ordinances, ch. 13.36, art. I, § 13.36.055 (2007). Wilmington, N.C., Code of Ordinances ch. 11, art. III, § 11-47 (2007). Orlando, Fla., Code of Ordinances, ch. 18A, § 18A.01 (2007). U.S. Conference of Mayors, Hunger and Homelessness Survey: A Status Report on Hunger & Homelessness in America’s Cities – a 23-City Survey 4 (2006). Id. at 3. U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, Homelessness: Programs and the People They Serve – Findings of the National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients 7-1 (1999). Dallas City Code § 17-10.2.Islamic hardliners outside the Jakarta court cheered and shouted "God is greatest!" as news came through that Basuki Tjahaja Purnama was to be sent to prison, a surprisingly harsh punishment after prosecutors recommended only probation.
Purnama looked calm when the verdict was announced and said he would appeal, as some of his supporters in court burst into tears.
The governor was hauled into court last year to face trial on charges of insulting Islam while campaigning for re-election, in a case critics said was politically motivated.
The trial came after a series of major protests in the capital against the leader, known by his nickname Ahok, that drew hundreds of thousands onto the streets.
His once unassailable opinion poll lead shrank amid the controversy and he lost the race to lead Jakarta last month to a Muslim challenger, a result that fuelled fears Indonesia's moderate brand of Islam is coming under threat from increasingly influential radicals.
AP
The five-judge panel at the Jakarta court found Purnama guilty of blasphemy after a months-long trial.
Announcing the verdict, presiding judge Dwiarso Budi Santiarto said Purnama was "convincingly guilty of committing blasphemy and is sentenced to two years in prison" and ordered him to be detained.
Another judge, Abdul Rosyad, said reasons for the stiff sentence included that "the defendant didn't feel guilt, the defendant's act has caused anxiety and hurt Muslims".
'He has insulted us'
Blasphemy carries a maximum jail term of five years in Indonesia but the verdict was a surprise as judges in Indonesia typically follow the recommendation of prosecutors in criminal cases.
Prosecutors last month urged judges to hand Purnama two years of probation, with a possible one-year jail term if he committed a crime during that period.
"I am disappointed and sad at the verdict," one of his supporters in court, Octa de Queljoe, told AFP. "It is very rare that a verdict is higher than what the prosecutors had asked for."
Outside the court, hundreds of Islamic radicals wearing white Muslim skullcaps celebrated as they heard about the jail sentence.
"Thank God, he should be jailed - this is right. He has insulted us," Bachtiar, 38, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, told AFP.
However some were unhappy Purnama did not receive the maximum sentence.
"We are upset - he should get more than that, he should get five years," said 46-year-old housewife Novareinita Zein.
Related reading Jakarta's Ahok hits out at blasphemy case
The controversy began in September when Purnama, known for his outspoken style, offended Muslims after he quoted a passage from the Koran during his re-election campaign.
He insinuated that his opponents had used a Koranic verse to trick people into voting against him.
An edited version of his speech went viral online, sparking outrage far beyond Jakarta, where Purnama has ruled since his predecessor Joko Widodo became president in late 2014.
Tobias Basuki, an analyst from Jakarta think-tank the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said previously the saga surrounding Ahok was“a litmus test of Indonesian Islam - are we tolerant or intolerant?"
Before the blasphemy controversy erupted, Purnama enjoyed a large lead in opinion polls due to his determination to clean up traffic-clogged, polluted Jakarta.
He is due to hand over power in the capital to Anies Baswedan in October, a Muslim former education minister who decisively beat him in the April vote.
The trial started in December and dragged on for months, with both the prosecution and defence calling more than 40 witnesses. Purnama's team have accused the prosecution of calling biased witnesses, saying that many were not even present when the alleged blasphemy took place.
Critics want the country’s blasphemy laws overhauled. The legislation was rarely used during the 32-year rule of strongman Suharto, but in recent years it has been exploited to persecute minorities, rights groups say.A promising avenue for the future of clean energy is to store it in the form of carbon-based fuels produced from renewable sources, effectively enabling the clean use of liquid fuels such as gasoline. A first step is the electrolysis of carbon dioxide into oxygen and carbon monoxide, which can be subsequently be transformed into liquid fuels. But current CO-forming catalysts are either not selective enough or too expensive to be industrially viable. EPFL scientists have now developed an Earth-abundant catalyst based on copper-oxide nanowires modified with tin oxide. A solar-driven system setup using this catalyst was able to split CO 2 with an efficiency of 13.4%. The work is published in Nature Energy, and is expected to help worldwide efforts to synthetically produce carbon-based fuels from CO 2 and water.
The research was carried out by the lab of Michael Grätzel at EPFL. Grätzel is known worldwide for the invention of dye-sensitized solar cells ("Grätzel cells"). The new catalyst, developed by PhD student Marcel Schreier, postdoc Jingshan Luo, and several co-workers, is made by depositing atomic layers of tin oxide on copper oxide nanowires. Tin oxide suppresses the generation of side-products, which are commonly observed from copper oxide catalysts, leading to the sole production of CO in the electroreduction of CO 2.
The catalyst was integrated into a CO 2 electrolysis system and linked to a triple-junction solar cell (GaInP/GaInAs/Ge) to make a CO 2 photo-electrolyzer. Importantly, the system uses the same catalyst as the cathode that reduces CO 2 to CO and the anode that oxidizes water to oxygen through what is known as the "oxygen evolution reaction." The gases are separated with a bipolar membrane. Using only Earth-abundant materials to catalyze both reactions, this design keeps the cost of the system low.
The system was able to selectively convert CO 2 to CO with an efficiency of 13.4% using solar energy. The catalyst also reached a Faradaic efficiency of up to 90%, which describes how efficiently electrical charge is transferred to the desired product in an electrocatalysis system like the one developed here. "The work sets a new benchmark for solar-driven CO 2 reduction," says Luo.
"This is the first time that such a bi-functional and low-cost catalyst is demonstrated," adds Schreier. "Very few catalysts -- except expensive ones, like gold and silver -- can selectively transform CO 2 to CO in water, which is crucial for industrial applications."
This work was carried out in collaboration with Jeremy Luterbacher's Laboratory of Sustainable and Catalytic Processing at EPFL. It was funded by Siemens AG, and a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme. It included a contribution from Abengoa Research in Spain.How Immigrants Are Inspected at Ellis Island circa 1903
By Dr. Allan McLaughlin, U. S. Public Health and Marine Hospital Service.
Inspection of our immigrants may be said to begin in Europe. The immigrant usually buys his steamship ticket in his native town from an agent or subagent of the steamship company.
The agents of the best steamship lines are held responsible by the company, for the passengers they book for America, and if they ship one of the excluded classes they are likely to lose their agency.
This makes the agent examine the applicants for tickets, and probably quite a large number of defectives are refused passage by agents of the first-class lines. These defectives then usually try some less particular and smaller lines and take chances of escaping inspection at the Canadian or Mexican borders.
The next scrutiny to which the immigrant is subjected is that of the steamship authorities at the port of embarkation. This was formerly a perfunctory examination, and is so still, as far as some lines are concerned, but first-class lines, notably the English and German, examine the immigrants carefully and with due regard for our laws.
The strict enforcement of our laws, and especially the imposition of one hundred dollars fine for bringing to our ports any ease of a contagious character, have occasioned some improvement in the inspection made by ships' doctors at European ports.
At the port of embarkation the immigrants' names are recorded upon lists or manifests, each list containing about thirty names. After each name the steamship officials are required by law to record answers to a certain number of queries relating to the immigrant.
1903 Passenger Manifests
Section 12 of the act of 1903 provides that the manifests shall state, in answer to the questions at the top of the manifest sheet:
The full name, age, and sex ;
whether married or single;
the calling or occupation;
whether able to read or write;
the nationality;
the race;
the last residence;
the seaport of landing in the United States;
the final destination, if any, beyond the port of landing;
whether having a ticket through to such final destination;
whether the alien has paid his own passage, or whether it has been paid by any other person or by any corporation, society, municipality, or government, and if so, by whom;
whether in possession of thirty dollars, and if less, how much;
whether going to join a relative or friend and if so, what relative or friend, and his name and complete address;
whether ever before in the United States, and if so, when and where;
whether ever in prison or almshouse or an institution or hospital for the care and treatment of the insane or supported by charity;
whether a polygamist;
whether an anarchist;
whether coming by reason of any offer, solicitation, promise or agreement, expressed or implied, to perform labor in the United States, and
what is the alien's condition of health, mental and physical, and whether deformed or crippled, and if so, for how long and from what cause.
The master or first officer and the ship's surgeon are required by the same law to make oath before an immigration officer at the port of arrival that the lists manifests are to the best of their knowledge and belief true, and that none of the aliens belongs to any of the excluded classes.
Alien Identification Cards
Each alien is furnished with a card, with his name, the number of the list on which his name appears and his number on that list. The cards of minor children are given to the head of the family. These cards are valuable and necessary for identification, and facilitate inspection at the port of arrival.
Conditions on Steamships
The condition of the steerage quarters of a modern steamship depends largely upon the age of the ship and the degree of overcrowding. The steerage of a first-class ship of recent construction will afford accommodations equal to those accorded second cabin passengers on less progressive lines.
First-class lines are careful also to prevent overcrowding. On some of the smaller and older ships the accommodations are limited, and overcrowding is permitted. But it is safe to say that the worst steerage accommodations to be found on any ship entering New York harbor to-day are infinitely better than the best afforded by the sailing vessels or old'side wheelers' of the past.
Inspectors Boarding of Ocean Liners
On entering New York harbor the ocean liners are boarded by the state quarantine authorities, and the immigrants inspected for quarantinable disease, such as cholera, small-pox, typhus fever, yellow fever or plague.
Then the immigrant inspectors and a medical officer of the Pubic Health and Marine Hospital Service board the vessel and examine the cabin passengers, paying particular attention to the second cabin.
This cabin inspection is very necessary, and, before its institution, the second class cabin was the route most often employed by persons who found it necessary to evade the law. After the completion of the cabin inspection the ship's surgeon reports any cases of sickness among the aliens in the ship's hospital.
The medical inspector examines these cases and later arranges for their transfer, if deemed advisable, from the ship to the immigrant hospital. The immigrants are then taken from the ship upon barges to the immigrant station, Ellis Island.
Medical Examination at Ellis Island
The medical examination at Ellis Island is conducted according to a system which is the result of many years of development. The doctors work in pairs, and divide the inspection between them.
The immigrants, coming in single file, are examined for certain defects by the first doctor. who detains each one long enough to keep a space of ten to fifteen feet between the immigrants.
The second doctor, placed about thirty feet from the first, disregards that part of the examination entrusted to his colleague and confines his examination to such defects as are not looked for by the first doctor. The file of immigrants makes a right-angle turn just as it reaches the second doctor and this enables the examiner to observe the side and back of the passenger in the shortest time possible.
The examiners follow a routine in this examination, and the scrutiny begins at the approaching passenger's feet, before he comes within fifteen feet of the examiner.
The examiner's scrutiny beginning at the feet travels upward, and the eyes are the last to be inspected. In this way, lameness, deformity, defective eyesight (through efforts to adjust his vision, after making the turn, to a new course) are detected.
The gait and general appearance suggest health or disease to the practiced eye, and aliens who do not appear normal are turned aside, with those who are palpably defective, and more thoroughly examined later.
The medical examiners must ever be on the alert for deception. The nonchalant individual with an overcoat on his arm is probably concealing an artificial arm; the child strapped to its mother's back, and who appears old enough to walk alone, may be unable to walk because of infantile paralysis; a case of favus may be so skillfully prepared for inspection that close scrutiny is required to detect the evidences of recent cleansing, and a bad case of trachoma may show no external evidence and be detected only upon inverting the eyelid.
After the last alien in line has passed the doctor, the suspected ones turned aside are thoroughly examined, idiots and those suffering with a loathsome or dangerous contagious disease are certified and sent to the board of special inquiry.
Cases not deemed fit to travel are sent to the hospital, and cases with some disability likely to make them a public charge are certified accordingly and also sent to the board of special inquiry.
Minor defects, such as anemia, loss of an eye, loss of a finger, poor physique, low stature, etc., are recorded on the alien's card and he is allowed to go to the registry clerk and immigrant inspector in charge of the manifest, who takes the defect into consideration as contributory evidence, and may or may not send him to the board.
Grouping of Immigrants
After passing the doctors, the immigrants are grouped, according to the number of their manifest sheet, into lines of thirty or less. At the head of each line is a registry clerk, or interpreter, and an immigration inspector.
The clerk, or interpreter, interrogates each alien, and finds his name, and verifies the answers on the manifest sheet before him, and if, in the opinion of the immigrant inspector, the immigrant is not clearly and beyond doubt entitled to land, he is held for the consideration of the board of special inquiry.
Board of Special Inquiry
A board of special inquiry according to the law of 1903 `consists of three members selected from such of the immigrant officials in the service as the commissioner general of immigration, with the approval of the secretary of commerce and labor, shall designate as qualified to serve on such boards.'
"The decision of any two members of a board shall prevail and be final, but either the alien or any dissenting member of said board may appeal through the commissioner of immigration at the port of arrival, and the commissioner general of immigration to the secretary of commerce and labor, whose decision shall then be final, and the taking of such appeal shall operate to stay any action in regard to the final disposal of the alien, whose case is so appealed, until receipt by the commissioner of immigration at the port of arrival, of such decision."
To this `board of special inquiry' are sent the aliens certified by the medical officers as suffering from loathsome or dangerous contagious disease, idiocy, epilepsy, and insanity.
Deportation for Unfit Immigrants
In cases so certified the law is mandatory, and the medical certificate is equivalent to exclusion, the board simply applying the legal process necessary for deportation.
Aliens certified by the medical officers as suffering from disability, likely to make them public charges, are also held for examination before the hoard of special inquiry.
The board in these cases takes into consideration the medical certificate and such evidence as may be adduced by the alien or his friends which, in the opinion of the board, would offset the physical disability. In these cases the hoard has full discretionary powers, and in a great majority of instances the alien is admitted.
Those certified as defective by the doctors group themselves naturally into four classes, and the following table indicates the disposition of such cases by the boards of special inquiry at New York during a fairly representative month:
Disposition of Immigrants Certified at Ellis Island, New York
Month of October, 1903
Reconciliation of Cases Class I (Dangerous Contagious) Class II (Insanity and Idiocy) Class III (Loathsome) Class IV (Likely to Become A Public Charge) Cases pending beginning of month 10 0 0 30 Cases certified during month 83 1 1 393 Total to be accounted for 93 1 1 423 Cases deported 61 1 1 30 Cases landed 4 0 0 349 Cases pending close of month 28 0 0 44
New Immigrants Passing Inspection
Immigrants not detained for the board of special inquiry have their money changed into United States currency, and buy their railroad tickets, under the supervision of government officers.
If they are destined to points beyond New York City, government supervision is maintained until they are taken to one of the great railroad terminals and placed upon the waiting train.
These precautions are taken to protect the immigrants front the boarding house runners' and other con men who lie in wait for them at the Battery. Aliens detained as not clearly entitled to land are brought before the board, and, if the evidence is complete, either deported or discharged.
When the evidence is incomplete, the immigrant is detained pending the verification of his story, or the arrival of his relatives or friends.
All cases are disposed of as rapidly as possible, and immigrants are detained the minimum amount of time required for procuring and carefully considering the evidence in the case.
Those ordered deported are returned to the ship as soon as possible after the decision is rendered, providing no appeal is made.
Organizations and Representatives Meeting Immigrants
Missionaries and representatives of various religious denominations and societies have offices upon Ellis Island and render valuable assistance to the immigrant.
They provide temporary shelter and protection for discharged aliens, and direct them to legitimate employers of labor. In this way they relieve the government of caring for many temporarily detained aliens, especially young women traveling alone.
They write letters and send telegrams to the friends of the detained immigrants, and assist them in many other ways.
Summary
The fine adjustment of details and perfection of the system which enable the federal officers at Ellis Island to examine, under our laws, thousands of aliens each day must be seen to be fully appreciated. Nor is this careful and strict execution of our laws limited to Ellis Island.
The writer has roughly described the inspection at New York, because it is our largest port of entry, but the same attention to detail and strict enforcement of laws and regulations can be said to exist at all our ports, and an investigation, by any one interested, will reveal the fact that not only are the laws for our protection strictly enforced, but their enforcement is marked by humane and kindly treatment of the Alien.
Source: The Popular Science Monthly, February 1905, Volume 66, Pages 357-361. Photographs from the GG Archives Immigration Collection and the National Archives (NARA).TOWNVILLE, S.C. — A teacher and two young students were injured when a 14-year-old allegedly opened fire at a South Carolina elementary school Wednesday afternoon, reports CBS affiliate WSPA.
One of the victims has been identified as Jacob Hall, 6, according to WSPA. He is listed in critical condition at Greenville Memorial Hospital.
“We appreciate the community’s support, especially the Townville Rescue Squad who treated Jacob onsite and brought him to the hospital,” said Rodger and Renae Hall, Jacob’s parents, in a statement.. “We appreciate everyone’s thoughts and prayers and ask for privacy during this difficult time.”
Jacob Hall, 6, has been identified as one of the victims of the Townville, S.C., shooting on Sept. 28, 2016. Hall family / WSPA
911 dispatchers received the initial call around 1:45 p.m. from a teacher who was in a classroom, reporting an armed male on the campus, officials said at a press conference Wednesday evening.
The shooting left a 6-year-old boy in critical condition and undergoing surgery, Scott Stoller, Anderson County’s director of emergency services, told the Anderson Independent Mail.
The other boy and a female teacher were in good condition, said Juana Slade, spokeswoman for AnMed Health Medical Center. Both boys were 6 years old, the Independent Mail reported.
Anderson School District 4 superintendent Joanne Avery said the gunman was apprehended “within a matter of minutes.” Capt. Garland Major of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office said officers arrived within seven minutes of the 1:45 p.m. 911 call and had the suspected shooter, a teenager, in custody by 2 p.m. The gunman was tackled by a volunteer Townville firefighter, the station reports.
Avery said she was “heartbroken about this senseless act of violence” but credited the quick law enforcement response and frequent school active shooter trainings with preventing more injuries.
Joey Taylor walks with his daughter Josie Taylor after picking her up at Oakdale Baptist Church on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016, in Townville, S.C. Students were evacuated to the church following a shooting at Townville Elementary School. A teenager opened fire at the South Carolina elementary school Wednesday. AP
Police are also investigating a homicide scene about two miles from Townville Elementary School, where a man was found dead from gunshot wounds at a home, according to Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore. The 47-year-old victim in that case is the father of the teen suspect in the elementary school shooting, Shore said. Officers found the man dead after receiving a 911 call from his family shortly after the shooting at the elementary school.
The incidents are believed to be connected, law enforcement said.
A helicopter responds to the scene at Townville Elementary School in Townville, S.C. where officials say they took a teen into custody after a shooting Sept. 28, 2016 CBSN
Parents were told by text message to come to the school, and not told whether their children were alive or dead.
“I’m glad that my children are safe, thank you Jesus,” one father told CBS News. “I didn’t know what happened -- the school called me twice. I called my wife and she’s at home so she rushed to the school.”
“I really don’t want to come back to the school tomorrow,” Townville Elementary School student Alyssa Cox told CBS News. “Because you don’t know if you can trust it or not.”
The school is in a rural area near Lake Hartwell, which is located near Interstate 85 and the Georgia state line. The superintendent told CBS News the school has had several active shooter drills in the past few years.
Dozens of officers from multiple jurisdictions were seen searching the school and evacuating students. By early Wednesday evening, the evacuated students had been released to their parents. Police have not released the name of the teen or any of the victims.
Officials said they feel confident the teen is the sole shooter, and say the community is not in danger.
S.C. officials update on shooting at elementary school
It wasn’t immediately clear how the alleged gunman, who was armed with a handgun, entered the school grounds. Deputy Chief Keith Smith told the station the incident happened on the playground behind the school and the shooter didn’t enter the building.
Officials said Thursday the teen was home schooled and it wasn’t clear if he’d ever been a student in the district. Nor was it clear whether the gunman had any kind of relationship with the students or teacher, or whether he targeted the victims.
Major said both the shooter and the victims where white, and said investigators so far had no indication there were any racial motivations or connections to terrorism. Investigators had a large crime scene to process and still hadn’t entered the home where the alleged shooter’s father was found dead, he said.
“This is going to be a very slow, methodical and meticulous investigation,” Major said. “We’re not going to have all the answers at one time.”
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley was delayed on her way to Townville, but posted a statement to Facebook as she traveled.
School would be canceled for the rest of the week and grief counselors would be made available, Avery said.For the second time this year, a group of U.S. Senators is pressing the FDA to strengthen its oversight of antibiotics that are used in food-producing livestock. In a letter sent yesterday to the agency, the senators want FDA officials to collect data on the extent to which these medicines are used by food producers. At issue is growing concern that humans are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics that are widely used in food-producing animals.
Antibiotic resistance has been blamed for at least 2 million illnesses and 23,000 deaths annually in the U.S. alone, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which called for minimizing use. More recently, the Obama administration released a game plan for coping with the problem. But the FDA has been criticized by some lawmakers and consumer groups for relying on a voluntary plan to curb antibiotic use.First there was Cyberpunk, a dystopian futuristic setting pioneered by authors like William Gibson and Bruce Sterling. Cyberpunk’s official definition is “a genre of science fiction set in a lawless subculture of an oppressive society dominated by computer technology.” It includes the movies Blade Runner, The Matrix, and Hackers. Got it.
Then came Steampunk, an alternate 19th century in which technology runs on steam. The Difference Engine (1990) was one of the first books in the genre. It’s a world inspired by the works of Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and Arthur Conan Doyle, covering everything from airships to submarines. This genre transcends mere entertainment, as people dress in Steampunk clothes and build Steampunk contraptions. Unlike Cyberpunk, which seems locked in the 80s' and 90s' version of the future, Steampunk can never go out of date, because it takes place in the past.
But science fiction (and fantasy) hasn’t stopped there. Now there are all kinds of “__punk"s vying to be the next Steampunk. Are any of them good? Let’s take a look.
Dieselpunk
image: Caleb Wilson via DeviantArt
If Steampunk ends around World War One, Dieselpunk encompasses the next few decades. Since this is already a mechanized age, Dieselpunk has to crank the tech and weirdness up a few notches. Think of the jetpack in The Rocketeer and the strength serum of Captain America: The First Avenge. This is also the era of space opera, including Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon. The Indiana Jones and Mummy seem to fit into this genre as well.
The next big thing? This is the closest "punk" that's already a thing, as you can see from the list above. And yet it hasn't inspired as much cosplay, art, and design as Steampunk. Maybe it's just not as romantic?
Silkpunk
Author Ken Liu describes his novel The Grace of Kings as Silkpunk, which "draws inspiration from classical East Asian antiquity. My novel is filled with technologies like soaring battle kites that lift duelists into the air, bamboo-and-silk airships propelled by giant feathered oars, underwater boats that swim like whales driven by primitive steam engines, and tunnel-digging machines enhanced with herbal lore." It's a cool idea, closer to fantasy than sci-fi, and certainly like nothing that's been seen on TV or film.
The next big thing? Liu himself was hard-pressed to name other examples of Silkpunk. It can be difficult for Asian history or mythology to break through in America, but this genre is definitely worth a look.
Clockpunk
image: Darth Destruktor
Steam was the most advanced technology of the 19th century. Clockwork was the most advanced technology before that. Clockpunk takes place during the Renaissance and Enlightenment. Instead of Verne or Wells, this genre is inspired by the imagination of Leonard da Vinci. The 2011 version of The |
, better funded and better capitalised.
We will transform our banking system to effectively serve our economy and contribute to full recovery.
On the public finances, there are some positive signs in relation to Ireland's fiscal position - although there are undoubtedly challenges as well, if the economy does not perform as well as we expect.
2010 was a year of stabilisation.
The overall Exchequer position was in line with the Department of Finance estimates set in December 2009, with tax revenues finishing the year above target. The underlying General Government deficit - that is the deficit excluding the capital support committed to some of our financial institutions - is also expected to have met the target set in December 2009.
The Exchequer Returns of revenue and spending for the first quarter of 2011 were also broadly consistent with expectations, with tax revenues, despite being a little behind target, up almost 4% on the first quarter of 2010.
In the past two weeks there have been a number of announcements from the various credit rating agencies regarding Ireland's sovereign rating.
The news has been mixed, but it is important to state that all of our ratings remain within the investment grade band.
Our external partners have acknowledged that Ireland is making 'good progress' in overcoming the crisis.
We reached our budget targets up to the end of March 'by a comfortable margin'. This reflects our seriousness in doing what is necessary.
Our balance of payments current account is expected to move into surplus this year. This is an important indicator of the long-term sustainability of the economy.
We have recovered from a higher level of debt interest burden in the past, achieving a dramatic turnaround through fiscal discipline and high levels of growth. That can, and will, be achieved again.
As a member of a monetary union, we also rely on the support and solidarity of other members and are grateful for it.
We will continue to engage with our European partners to ensure that the Programme delivers the outcome which is in all our interests.
I am confident that Ireland will meet our obligations under the Programme.
We will also continue to make the strong case for a reduction in the rate of interest payable for funds under the Programme.
It should not be dependent on Ireland making a concession that would threaten the economy's growth potential. That would be utterly self-defeating.
That is why we simply could not accept any adjustment in the Irish Corporation Tax Rate as it would damage the prospects for our recovery.
That is not to say that the new Government will not take tough or unpopular decisions. We fully recognise that confidence and recovery depends on stabilising the public finances.
The new Government is determined to continue the programme of fiscal consolidation, including by legislating for an increase in the pension age, a reducing the size of the public sector workforce by 12% from its peak, establishing a new fiscal council and enacting ground-breaking fiscal responsibility legislation.
By 2014, Ireland will have delivered a fiscal consolidation equivalent to 20% of GDP, most of which has already been secured.
The Irish people are determined to pick ourselves up, to pay our own way and to contribute to the future progress of the European Union.
And I believe our partners will continue to support us, and work with us, to ensure the Programme facilitates an early return to the markets.
We require greater not flexibility, not more money, to enable us to do so.
On economic growth, the underlying reason for confidence is the medium-term growth potential of the Irish economy.
Ireland is one of the world's most open economies and our exports are performing very strongly. Right now, we export 80% of what we produce. In 2010, our exports grew by 9.5%.
By the end of 2011, we expect our exports to exceed our record, pre-recession level. This shows the economy rebalancing towards exports.
We also continue to attract significant levels of inward investment despite the turbulent global economy in which, according to the OECD, foreign direct investment declined by 8%.
Our inward investment agency, IDA Ireland, secured 126 investments in 2010 and its client companies created almost 11,000 new jobs.
There has never been a better time to invest in Ireland.
Intel, Google, eBay, Facebook, Citigroup and Boston Scientific are just some of the world-class global companies that expanded operations or increased their R&D in Ireland in the last year.
These companies know Ireland and they see a bright future.
We remain, according to independent international studies:
-4th in the world for the availability of skilled labour,
-4th for being open to new ideas,
-6th for labour productivity, and
-7th for the flexibility and adaptability of people.
We will maintain Ireland's 12.5% rate of Corporation Tax, which is a long-standing and necessary part of our enterprise strategy.
One of the positive outcomes of our recent difficulties is that our cost competitiveness has improved significantly.
Our Unit Labour costs have fallen significantly: the European Commission forecast an improvement of 14% relative to the euro area by 2012.
Consumer price inflation has been below that of the rest of the euro area since the beginning of 2009, delivering substantial reductions in relative costs.
We are implementing structural reforms to put more downward pressure on costs.
In other words, we are delivering a real exchange rate devaluation within monetary union.
These cost reductions are already translating into substantial trade and employment benefits in an open, business-friendly, economy like Ireland.
While all of the ratings agencies have recognised the recent weaknesses evident in the Irish economy, they have also pointed to the underlying strengths, noting that we have a flexible and open economy and that the ongoing recovery in export growth will drive a rising trade and current account surplus.
The general view contained within these assessments is that the economy is stabilising and that our long-term growth potential remains high.
In this regard, the agencies all point to our social stability and strong political commitment to fiscal consolidation as being a key support to Ireland's credit rating.
The importance of those factors, especially following the recent General Election, should not be underestimated.
Last week, the Irish Central Bank projected 0.9% growth in 2011, and most other forecasters expect a modest return to GDP growth this year. The Government will publish our own revised forecasts later this month.
A key element of our economic recovery strategy is to develop policies that will allow job growth and sustainable enterprise.
To this end, our Jobs Initiative to be delivered next month will, amongst other things, reduce the lower rate of VAT, halve the lower rate of employer social insurance contributions, enhance our active labour market policies and accelerate labour intensive capital projects.
This Initiative aims to underpin domestic confidence, and therefore help reduce precautionary savings which are currently at elevated levels.
Our strategy for growth is to play to our considerable strengths, while taking swift and decisive action to comprehensively address our weaknesses.
We are convinced that growth is the key and that it can be achieved.
So, in conclusion, my key messages to you today are as follows:
We are meeting our targets under the IMF\EU Programme of Support. We are getting on top of our banking crisis. We have taken decisive action to restructure and recapitalise our banking system, at costs that are within the envelope provided for in the IMF\EU Programme. The costs will also be offset by measures involving subordinated bondholders, asset sales and private finance
We are getting our public finances in order. We are working with our EU partners to make sure the Programme operates in a way which facilitates early return to the markets, including the level of interest rate charged. We have taken dramatic action to reduce our fiscal deficit, and will continue on this path to make the target of a 3% deficit by 2015.
Economic growth is the key factor in debt sustainability. We are taking early policy decisions to accelerate growth and job creation, and the economy will return to growth this year. We have made significant improvements in competitiveness, including an estimated 14% improvement in Unit Labour Costs relative to euro area by 2012.
Our balance of payments current account is due to go positive this year, an important indicator of sustainability. We remain a magnet for foreign investment by providing a competitive, business-friendly environment and a skilled, creative workforce.
We will retain our rate of corporation tax, a long-standing part of our enterprise policy. We are also working hard to re-build Ireland's reputation, inside the EU and beyond, by ensuring the progress we are making is communicated effectively, and by assuring other governments of our seriousness of intent in this matter.
This is a work in progress, with the emphasis on the word "progress".
Ireland has proven how a small, regional economy can grow at a fast rate over a sustained period.
We can do so again. Thank you for listening. I look forward to hearing your views and answering your questions.The battery-electric Nissan LEAF was the only car given an IHS Award this year, being presented at the Automotive News World Congress in Detroit. The IHS Automotive Loyalty Awards are fact-based accolades given based on a manufacturer's and model's ability to retain owners over repeat buying cycles. For this reason, they are coveted by carmakers as proof that their products resonate with their customers even after the "newness" has worn off.
The Nissan LEAF, of course, is the best-selling electric car in the United States, North America, and the world. Last year, it broke its own sales records with 30,200 units sold in 2014.
Nissan attributes the LEAF's success to its versatile nature and general appeal to consumers. "Since entering the market in 2010, the Nissan LEAF has steadily gained supporters throughout the U.S.," said Toby Perry, director of marketing for Nissan LEAF. "While the majority of original buyers were electric vehicle enthusiasts, we're now seeing more and more'regular' car buyers fall in love with LEAF because of its many financial benefits, fun-to-drive nature and roomy interior. Our LEAF fans are some of the most loyal customers in the world, and we're thrilled to see that validated with this IHS award."
IHS Automotive analyzes loyalty throughout the year and regularly works with its customers to effectively manage owner loyalty and conquest efforts through in-depth research and analysis of automotive shopping behaviors, related market influencers and conquest and retention strategies. Loyalty is determined when a household that owns a new vehicle returns to market and purchases or leases another new vehicle of the same make, model or manufacturer.
Of note, the only other electrified vehicle on the IHS list this year was the Lexus CT200h, a hybrid.The three-time premier-class champion sits seventh in the standings six races into his Ducati career, with a single podium to his name from Jerez.
Having run at the front briefly in the most recent race at Mugello - albeit more due to what he considered bravery than speed - he ultimately finished eighth in a race won by team-mate Andrea Dovizioso.
Asked what he could learn from Dovizioso’s data as he looks to continue to adapt his own riding style, Lorenzo said: “Believe me, I'm trying everything to take the maximum of this bike.
“I change the [riding] position at every race, the hand levers, rear brake, the seat. I try to see all the data of all the Ducati riders to understand where I lose. I try everything.
“But from 20 years riding the same way you cannot change just like this - you cannot learn a new language in two days. Everything is complicated. This bike you have to ride it a little bit illogical to be competitive. It's the opposite of the Yamaha.
“For the moment I can do races so-so. Sometimes good races, not excellent. Normally, for the moment, so-so.
“When I will feel confident with the bike and the bike feels like mine I will again do excellent races.”
Other than his rookie season, 2008, Lorenzo finished either first of second each year at Mugello with Yamaha, a run that included victories in five of his last six Italian Grand Prix starts.
The Spaniard said Mugello summed up where he is at with Ducati, as he looks to find more time under braking and work within the bike’s mid-corner deficiency.
“The Yamaha was probably was more natural for my riding,” he said.
“With the Yamaha I was fast from the first three races in 2008. [At Mugello] I finished on the podium for eight years.
“For the moment [the Ducati] is not natural for me, even if I try my best and am a more complete rider than when I started in MotoGP.
“But probably is the opposite riding style that the bike demands at this moment.
“So I'm working with Gigi [Dall’Igna, general manager] and the engineers to make the bike turn better, but until this happens it will depend a lot on which track and also will be important to see the speed that I am able to change my riding.”Do you think you may have been exposed to HIV? Find a test location – a trained counselor will help you get tested and make a plan.
There's a period of time after a person is infected during which they won't test positive. This is called the HIV "window period."
The window period can be from 10 days to 3 months, depending on the person's body and on the HIV test that's used. During that time, you can test HIV-negative even though you're HIV-positive. You can still get HIV from someone who is in the window period. In fact, there is evidence that a person in the window period is more likely to pass the virus on.
If you've had high-risk exposure to HIV within the last few days, you should ask your test counselor about PEP – post-exposure prophylaxis ( learn more about PEP ).
What's the specific window period for different types of HIV tests?
Rapid antibody test – gives a positive result based on antibodies to HIV, not the virus itself. It takes your body up to 3 months to produce these antibodies at levels that can be detected by this test.
4-6 weeks (up to 3 months) after infection, most people will have enough antibodies to test positive.
12 weeks (3 months) after infection, about 98% of people will have enough antibodies to test positive.
Rapid antibody/antigen combination test – detects antibodies to HIV in addition to fragments of the virus called the p24 antigen. The p24 antigen can be detected in the body earlier than antibodies. According to the detects antibodies to HIV in addition to fragments of the virus called the p24 antigen. The p24 antigen can be detected in the body earlier than antibodies. According to the manufacturer
12-26 days after infection, the p24 antigen can be detected by this type of test
20-45 days after infection, HIV antibodies can be detected by this type of test
RNA tests – show a positive result based on the presence of the virus. These tests are more expensive than antibody tests, so are not offered in as many places.
10-14 days after infection, there will be enough viral material for a positive result.
Home testing kits – As of Fall 2012, there are two "home tests" which have been approved by the FDA for use in the U.S.:
OraQuick by OraSure is an antibody test that you complete at home, usually conducted using oral fluid. According to the manufacturer, the window period is 3 months. Up to 1 in 12 people may receive a false negative result (i.e., the test says they’re negative, but they’re actually HIV-positive) with this test.
Home Access HIV-1 by Home Access Health Corp is not actually a test, but a sample-collection kit. You use it to collect a blood sample which you then mail to a lab for processing. This test is anonymous.
PCR tests (polymerase chain reaction tests) – also test for the actual virus. This type of test is often used for testing the viral load of HIV-positive people, as well as testing babies born to HIV-positive mothers. You can read more about also test for the actual virus. This type of test is often used for testing the viral load of HIV-positive people, as well as testing babies born to HIV-positive mothers. You can read more about PCR tests on the AIDS.gov website
2-3 weeks after infection, there will be enough viral material for a positive result.
Other Frequently Asked Questions about HIVInvizimals, Alien Rage, 10 Second Ninja X and Curse’s n’ Chaos also inbound
With only a few days left to cross off on March’s calendar, it’s time to pull back the curtain on what April has in store for PlayStation Plus.
Drawn to Death
Yes, earlier this month veteran game creator David Jaffe revealed the first of April’s PS Plus line-up when he confirmed the release date for his long-awaited arena shooter Drawn to Death.
A multiplayer-focused, online experience, Drawn to Death invites you to dive between the pages of a teenage tearaway’s high school text book and do bloody battle in a world constructed entirely of ballpoint doodles.
Brought to life with artistic panache and some truly bonkers character design, Drawn to Death is chaotic four-player fun with a huge emphasis on over-the-top weapons, dynamic environments and a fittingly adolescent attitude to violence – what better place to indulge your inner delinquent?
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
Second in our line-up for April is the brilliantly quirky co-operative space-shooter-cum-interstellar-explorer Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime.
Beam up a friend and blast off into the far reaches of a procedurally-generated universe where no two galaxies are alike and where teamwork is the only thing keeping your neon tub afloat.
While success might not demand the levels of intimacy implied by the title, you’ll definitely benefit from having someone you can trust on hand. Failing that, you can always boot up a friendly AI companion instead – to forage for new ship upgrades and abilities, explore distant galaxies and fend off attacks from technicoloured alien monstrosities.
In addition, PS4 users will also bag themselves some extra loot via the trans-dimensional technological wonder that is Cross-Buy: this month’s two charming PS Vita titles 10 Second Ninja X and Curses n’ Chaos can both be downloaded and played on PS4!
All of which leaves April’s full line up looking like this:
Final call for March
Next month’s titles will be available to download from 4th April which means you’ve still got a few days left to pick up any titles from March you might have missed. Grab ’em while you can!Former NSA Director On Privacy Vs. Security Balance: Would 'Shave Points' Off Effectiveness For 'Public Comfort'
from the meeting-the-public-halfway...-to-a-couple-of-percentage-points dept
The administration, various members of Congress and heads of security agencies all agree: there must be a balance between security and privacy. The defenders of the NSA's actions all seem to agree the balance should swing heavily in the favor of'security.' Obviously, many of our nation's citizens (and now, many citizens of our allies' nations) disagree.
Obama has said that he "welcomes the debate" on these issues, but so far has done little to dispel the notion that "debate" is just administration-specific slang for "regurgitate talking points and safety v. privacy platitudes."
Does the NSA welcome this debate? It's highly doubtful it even considers there to be room for argument, much less be willing to cede ground to privacy concerns. Every bit of data harvesting and surveillance makes everyone that much "safer," according to its claims. Surely the security of the American people (and the agencies themselves) is more important than the comfort level of the public.
Former CIA and NSA director Michael Hayden certainly believes it is. But unlike the current head of the NSA, Hayden is willing to tweak the all-important balance if that will make everyone a tiny bit happier.
Today on Face the Nation, former CIA and National Security Agency Director Michael Hayden was talking to Bob Schieffer about the most recent round of surveillance revelations. Schieffer said it sounded like Hayden thought maybe the government should go public with at least some of the information it’s been keeping secret. Hayden’s reply:
"Here’s how I do the math. I’m willing to shave points off of my operational effectiveness in order to make the American people a bit more comfortable about what it is that we’re doing."
"Any European who wants to go out and rend their garments with regard to international espionage should look first and find out what their own governments are doing," Hayden said. "Let's keep in mind that in a global telecommunications infrastructure, geography doesn't mean what it used to mean....The Internet lacks geography, so I wouldn't draw any immediate conclusions with regard to some of those numbers that have been put out there as to who's being targeted and who isn't."
"The president is trying to limit diplomatic, and perhaps even political, damage. But the leadership of the American intelligence community has caused damage from these leaks so far - and it's very clear there's going to be some more here - so far have been significant and irreversible. That's a big deal."
Perhaps Hayden's more willing to "shave points" now that he's no longer in the position to make that call. Anyone can cede anything in a hypothetical situation. It's rather telling that so little is being hypothetically ceded, post facto.Hayden had much more to say in his Face the Nation interview, most of which sounds like he'd rather still be in the thick of it at the NSA and CIA. He addresses the European reaction to news that the US has been surveilling our overseas allies by deflecting the argument in two different directions.1. It's OK because everyone else is doing it.2. It's OK because technology has rendered borders and other geographic designations meaningless.First, eveneveryone else is spying on everyone else, it still doesn't make it acceptable. It just makes everyone look equally bad. And while it may be commonplace behavior for the world's spy agencies, it's hardly going to help smooth things over for the NSA, or the, for that matter. As for the second deflection, Hayden seems to be saying that the NSA's actions occur neither at home nor abroad since it relies heavily on internet and telephone surveillance. This allows the terms "domestic" and "foreign" to be used interchangably at the agency's convenience.Unsurprisingly, Hayden also feels Snowden isn't being pursued aggressively enough.I have no doubt the damage is "significant and irreversible" but I'm pretty sure Hayden and I would disagree on what's been damaged. If it's the reputation of these agencies, the administration and the US in general, then yes, the damage is significant and irreversible. If it's our safety/security/anti-terrorism efforts, then I have my doubts, especially as many of these leaks indicate the NSA's actions are nothing more than wholescale surveillance deployed whenever and wherever possible. There's very little that indicates a targeted approach to fighting terrorism.Some may construe Hayden's point shaving as a gesture (albeit meaningless in his position) towards openness, but it simply follows the administration's attitude towards transparency: make big promises, deliver next to nothing, and when it comes to privacy vs. security, give the public an inch while the agencies roll up the miles.
Filed Under: michael hayden, nsa, nsa surveillance, privacy, public comfort, security, surveillanceWikiLeaks, a nonprofit organization, has rankled governments and companies around the world with its publication of materials intended to be kept secret. For instance, the Army’s report says that in 2008, access to the Web site in the United States was cut off by court order after Bank Julius Baer, a Swiss financial institution, sued it for publishing documents implicating Baer in money laundering, grand larceny and tax evasion. Access was restored after two weeks, when the bank dropped its case.
Governments, including those of North Korea and Thailand, also have tried to prevent access to the site and complained about its release of materials critical of their governments and policies.
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The Army’s interest in WikiLeaks appears to have been spurred by, among other things, its publication and analysis of classified and unclassified Army documents containing information about military equipment, units, operations and “nearly the entire order of battle” for American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan in April 2007.
WikiLeaks also published an outdated, unclassified copy of the “standard operating procedures” at the military prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. WikiLeaks said the document revealed methods by which the military prevented prisoners from meeting with the International Red Cross and the use of “extreme psychological stress” as a means of torture.
The Army’s report on WikiLeaks does not say whether WikiLeaks’ analysis of that document was accurate. It does charge that some of WikiLeaks’s other interpretation of information is flawed but does not say specifically in what way.
The report also airs the Pentagon’s concern over some 2,000 pages of documents WikiLeaks released on equipment used by coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Pentagon concluded that such information could be used by foreign intelligence services, terrorist groups and others to identify vulnerabilities, plan attacks and build new devices.
WikiLeaks, which won Amnesty International’s new media award in 2009, almost closed this year because it was broke and still operates at less than its full capacity. It relies on donations from humans rights groups, journalists, technology buffs and individuals, and Mr. Assange said it had raised just two-thirds of the $600,000 needed for its budget this year and thus was not publishing everything it had.
Perhaps the most amusing aspect of the Army’s report, to Mr. Assange, was its speculation that WikiLeaks is supported by the Central Intelligence Agency. “I only wish they would step forward with a check if that’s the case,” he said.As the Detroit Red Wings put the finishing touches on the Nashville Predators on the night of April 25th, the Dallas Stars already grim playoff hopes officially perished. The team limped through the third period of their match up with the Columbus Blue Jackets, falling 3-1 in a listless, flat performance that represented the mood of Dallas Stars fans everywhere.
It has now been five seasons without a playoff appearance for the Dallas Stars, but the last three have been especially cruel.
April 10, 2011
The final day of the NHL 2011 regular season and the Dallas Stars sit just one victory away from a postseason birth. They entirely control their own fate and just one team stands in their way of securing the 8th and final playoff spot.
That team? The Minnesota Wild, who were already packed up and ready for a long summer. Out of playoff contention with nothing but their pride to play for.
The Stars struggled with the Wild, but managed to tie the game in the final minutes of the second period. Their season came down to just one period. Win 20 minutes, win the game, win a spot in the playoffs. The pressure was on, but surely this team, who had played so well for the first half of the season, even leading the Western Conference for a time, could win just one more period, right? Well, that’s what we all hoped. Boy were we wrong.
As Antti Miettinen buried a puck in an open net to give the Wild a 4-3 lead, the postseason hopes of the Dallas Stars took a hit that the team would not be able to recover from. Pierre Marc-Bouchard sealed the game with an empty netter, giving the Wild a 5-3 win. The Dallas Stars season ended with a whimper.
Brad Richards would leave the team in free agency and head coach Marc Crawford would get the boot in the offseason. Had the Stars won that game, would Marc Crawford still be the coach? Would a long playoff run have convinced Brad Richards to resign? The fact that we’re still asking these questions probably has you assuming the next two seasons didn’t go well. You assumed right.
March 30, 2012
And here we are, a little under a year later. The Dallas Stars sit on top of the Pacific Division before their match up with the Vancouver Canucks, a six-game winning streak earlier in the month catapulting them back into the playoff race. With five games remaining in the season, the Stars aren’t at all guaranteed a spot in the playoffs, but as long as they don’t have a total collapse, they’re in a safe enough position to secure a playoff spot.
Collapse. There’s that word again.
This night, March 30th, would see the Dallas Stars losing to the Canucks, 5-2. More importantly, it was the beginning of an inexplicable five-game losing streak to end the season, knocking the Dallas Stars out of the playoffs. The Stars still had a chance to redeem themselves up to April 3rd, where a victory against the San Jose Sharks would give them control of their own destiny. They dropped that game 5-2 at home.
The Stars picked up the pieces, traded away two of their core players in Steve Ott and Mike Ribeiro in the offseason and signed Ray Whitney and Jaromir Jagr in free agency, hoping to simultaneously compete for a playoff spot while rebuilding their roster with an influx of youth.
April 23, 2013
To be completely fair to the Dallas Stars, absolutely no one saw them competing for a playoff spot after the trade deadline, with the Stars trading away Michael Ryder, Brenden Morrow, Derek Roy, and Jaromir Jagr in the days and weeks beforehand. We all accepted that a fifth year without the playoffs was upon us, and you know what? That didn’t sound so bad if it meant the Stars could finally get a high draft pick.
Then the Dallas Stars went and won five straight games.
Suddenly, there’s hope. The Stars are right in the mix for a playoff spot. Despite two straight disheartening losses, the team still controlled their own playoff fate on April 23rd. A win against the San Jose Sharks would get them one step closer to the playoffs.
They battled hard and had a 2-1 lead heading into the third period. With just under 6 minutes left, San Jose’s Joe Pavelski tied the game. Unfortunate, but the Stars could still win this game, or at the very least, secure a point to make their path to the playoffs more feasible. Those thoughts didn’t last long.
Logan Couture scored exactly 30 seconds later and the San Jose Sharks would hold the lead, winning 3-2. Just like that, our hearts were broken all over again. We let hope grab us, thinking that maybe, the improbable was possible. This particular late-season collapse doesn’t sting as much as the two preceding years, but the culmination of all three is almost too much.
The Stars have one game remaining against the Detroit Red Wings, but it’s meaningless. Rookies like Matt Fraser, Reilly Smith, and Alex Chiasson will be heading back to Austin to lead the Texas Stars in what will hopefully be a long and fruitful run at the Calder Cup. They are once again looking at a mid-first round draft pick, assuming the Dallas Stars don’t miraculously win the draft lottery or that Joe Nieuwendyk doesn’t move up (a far likelier scenario). Head coach Glen Gulutzan’s contract will likely not be renewed, and Nieuwendyk himself could be gone as well if new owner Tom Gaglardi prefers to go in a different direction.
Five years without the playoffs. Five years of futility and wasted opportunities. Will 2013-2014 be the season it all changes? We can hope, but hope hasn’t gotten us very far lately.The Bureau of Economic Analysis announced today that U.S. real GDP grew at a 0.7% annual rate in the fourth quarter. That’s a bad quarter to be sure, and real GDP is up only 1.8% from a year ago. That’s a weak year judged by the U.S. postwar average of 3.1%, but is not far from the 2.1% annual growth we’ve been averaging since 2009:Q3.
One concerning detail in today’s report was that nonresidential fixed investment fell during the quarter, pulled down in part by slashed capital spending in the oil patch. Inventory drawdown (often an erratic component) and net exports each subtracted almost half a percentage point from the annualized Q4 growth rate.
Weakness in the global economy and strong dollar were surely factors in the drop in net exports. The U.S. is not immune to developing concerns in Europe, China, Japan, and elsewhere.
The Q4 GDP numbers produced a modest increase in the Econbrowser Recession Indicator Index up to 10%. The index uses today’s data release to form a picture of where the economy stood as of the end of 2015:Q3. That’s still way below the 67% threshold at which our algorithm would declare that the U.S. had entered a new recession.
With much talk of recession in the air these days, I was curious to look at some other indicators. UCLA Professor Ed Leamer suggested four useful rules of thumb. He noted that a recession is usually characterized by an increase in the unemployment rate of 0.8 percentage points over a 6-month period. Today’s unemployment rate is actually 0.3% lower than it was in June.
In a recession we’d likely see payrolls of nonfarm establishments fall by more than 0.5% over a 6-month period. They’re up 1% over the last 6 months.
The separate BLS measure of employment based on their survey of households is up 0.8%.
Leamer’s fourth suggested indicator, the Federal Reserve’s index of industrial production is down 0.6% over the last 6 months. But Leamer wanted to see a 6-month drop of more than 3% before calling it a recession.
Though I am concerned that even the 12-month change in industrial production is down.
Another indicator of weakness in the manufacturing sector is the ISM Purchasing Manager’s Index, currently at 48.2. Any value below 50 indicates that more responders are indicating declines rather than improvements in key measures. But an analysis of this indicator by Travis Berge and Oscar Jorda concluded that you’d want to see a value below 44.5 before calling it a recession.
And the non-manufacturing PMI is looking solid.
To summarize, the U.S. is unquestionably facing some headwinds from slow economic growth elsewhere in the world. But so far none of the indicators are consistent with the conclusion that we’ve already entered a recession.Chris Froome and Alberto Contador are set for more duels this spring at Tirreno-Adriatico and the Volta a Catalunya. The Brit who won yesterday's Vuelta a Andalucía-Ruta del Sol, has included the Catalan race in his schecule.
The rivalry between Froome and Contador has been set to be resumed in Tirreno (March 11-17) where Vincenzo Nibali and Nairo Quintana, will also be on the start line but now they are also expected to test each other in the Volta (March 23-29). Sky have informed Biciciclismo that Froome has decided to return to the Spanish race.
Interestingly, Froome and Contador have chosen the exact same schedule for the early part of the season, with Andalusia, Tirreno and Catalunya. Last year, the Brit had to skip the Italian race due to back problems and he only managed sixth in the Volta behind Joaquim Rodriguez, Contador, Tejay van Garderen, Roman Bardet and Quintana.
The duel between Froome and Contador at the Vuelta a Andalucía was spectacular. The Spaniard seemed to have the upper hand after the time trial and his win on the Alto de Hazallanas but the Sky leader turned everything around on the Alto de Allanadas to win the race by just 2 seconds.But Nintendo hopes players look elsewhere. Not at their 4K televisions, or at the Switch’s display. They want people to play video games by looking directly into the eyes of another human.
During a live-streamed presentation in Tokyo, the company showed off the concept via a title called 1-2-Switch. The software asks the player to ignore the screen and focus on their opponent. Among the collection of challenges is “Quick Draw,” a Western-themed duel. At a media event the following day in Manhattan, I watched as that child shot his dad dead using fast reflexes, a steely glare, and a bit of imagination. But I didn’t understand why this might be appealing until I tried it myself.
I played against a local man I’d just met, named Ryan. Each of us held one of the two controllers—Nintendo is calling them “Joy-Cons,” and they feel like smaller, curvier Wii Remotes, controllers from a previous Nintendo console. Seconds after meeting this stranger we were staring deeply into each other’s eyes. I realized then I almost never play video games that make you look directly at your opponents. Actually, I rarely look directly at people at all for an extended period—let alone strangers. It was thrilling. We hammed it up. We sought dominance through arched eyebrows, found advantage in a widened iris or a furtive glance.
The software takes pains to distract from the screen. When “Quick Draw” begins, a deep-throated John Wayne soundalike calls out in a smooth drawl, “Face each other.” If you peek at the screen you’ll find it covered with a thick banner admonishing you in text: “Look each other in the eye!” And so you do. What it and the other games in 1-2-Switch require—speedy reactions for a duel, consistent timing in sound-based ping-pong, rhythmic squeezing while milking a cow—is almost secondary to the drama playing out under your opponent’s eyelids. Ryan’s eyes were intense, but playfully so. After each round the surrounding skin would crinkle; this was all a put-on, that rare chance to strike innocent fear in another through wide-eyed intimidation. 1-2-Switch is Wii Sports with Eye Contact.
If that sounds unappealing, consider the modest games of playgrounds and school buses. Blacktops are littered with kids testing their interpersonal boundaries under the guise of play. First one to blink loses. Two for flinching. “Honey if you love me.” Not to mention traditional, head-to-head sports like tennis, boxing, and judo. Facing one’s opponent isn’t new to games so much as to video games, which largely have remained moored to the screen.
* * *
But not entirely. Over the last decade, a series of experimental and independent game makers have tried to bridge the digital and physical worlds more seamlessly. Most of these titles are prototypes or art projects, shown as part |
Vlaada answered. He was thinking, watching cards, character boards, dices. 'If I may suggest... Well, in my opinion you have problem here Ignacy. When players got wounded, they loose skills. This is bad.' he said.
'Are you kidding? This is awesome! It's like Die hard! You got wounded, you are bleeding, you have broken leg, you feel pain all over your body, but you can not give up, you need to fight!' That was exactly what I wanted. You got wounded, you loose skills, you have to try harder. 'It is like Bruce Willis, right? Wounded, bleeding but still fighting back!'
'Ignacy, it ain't a movie. It is a boardgame.' Vlaada replied. I don't know if Vlaada likes Die Hard, but at that very moment, he didn't look like he was a big fan of John McClane.
'Vlaada, c'mon! It's like in Die Hard movie! You know, Bruce Willis in torn shirt, lots of blood and fight till the very end. Bruce Willis never gives up. That is the feeling I want to have here in Robinson. I want you bleeding, suffering but still fighting for survive!'
'It's a boardgame. You are designer. Not director. Remember?'
***
'There is a serious problem here.' Vlaada said. 'When you get few wounds, you loose level of wounds and you loose skills of your character.'
'Yes, this represent that you are tired, hurt and you loose your abilities...'
'Take the story aside for a moment. Focus on problem. You get wounds when you are in troubles. When situation gets tough. Whey you have problem. But the game is not helping. It is knocking you down. You got wound, you are in troubles and what is more, game takes your skill away. It is double hit. You need tools to get away from problems. But here in Robinson when you are in troubles, game takes away your tools. You get the point?'
'Yep.' I may be John's McClane's fan, but I am not an idiot... 'But if character gets wound and there are no consequences, getting wound will not be problem! I need players to be afraid of wounds!'
'It doesn't work. This mechanism is bad. You are in troubles. You get wound and at the same moment you loose tools to scramble out of this shit. This is bad.'
He was right. He just took whole 'wound mechanism' and throw it to the bin.
I hate when people are right.
I took my prototype. I went to the room.
No, I was not crying. True John McClane's fans don't cry.
***
That night I didn't sleep well. To be honest I didn't sleep at all. Well, maybe two or three hours. Let's face it - if Vlaada Chvatil says that your game has a problem, you don't sleep. Right?
I spent few hours rewriting rules. Tried to find solution. I wanted players to be afraid of getting wounds but on the other hand I understood what Vlaada said about taking skills away. I changed levels of wounds that take away character's skills. I changed skills, now when you loose them you don't suffer as much. After few hours I had new set of skills, new levels and I was sure that now, when players got wounded, they will still have chance to fight back. But still, getting wound was bad, was something that players will try to avoid.
I caught Vlaada on breakfast. 'Got minute for me after breakfast?' I asked. 'Yes. Actually I wanted to talk with you. I was thinking about the game last night.'
I showed him my notes. I showed him how I changed levels and skills. I showed him how I changed wound rules and consequences of wounds.
'Is it ok? This is what you were talkin' yesterday?' I asked.
'Well... It is step in right direction' he said.
For all of you who don't get it –'step in good direction' is polite way of saying 'Man, it sucks. Try harder.'
We talked about other problems of Robinson for an hour. Then I packed Robinson, Convoy, my wife Merry and my daughter and we drove back to Poland. My prototype was devastated.
So here is my advice for all of you - think twice when you decide to take prototype to Czech next time...
To be continued...
[+] Dice rolls Search Categories Contributors Ignacy Trzewiczek
Merry Nowak-TrzewiczekSEATTLE (KOMO) -- A federal judge has ruled in favor of a group of bikini baristas in Everett, issuing a preliminary injunction against the city's rules and dress code for the workers.
U.S. District Court Judge Marsha Pechman wrote that the city's rules "are likely void for vagueness under the 14th Amendment and that they "fail to provide clear guidance and raise risks of arbitrary enforcement." The judge also says that the dress code -- an attempt by the city to get baristas to wear at least a tank top and shorts - likely violates the baristas' right of free expression under the First Amendment.
The baristas' lawyer argued in court last month that the city shouldn't be able to regulate clothing and that there was a "art form" to being a bikini barista.
The city argued the rules would reduce criminal conduct, including prostitution, at the stands.
Pechman said in her order that it isn't her responsibility to comment on taste or decorum but whether the "choice of clothing is communicative."
"The court concludes that it is. While some customers view the bikinis as'sexualized,' to others they convey particularized values, beliefs, ideas and opinions; namely, body confidence and freedom of choice. Moreover, in certain scenarios, bikinis can convey the very type of political speech that lies at the core of the First Amendment. "
The injunction means the coffee stands can continue to operate while the lawsuit filed by seven baristas and the owner of a chain of coffee stands called "Hillbilly Hotties" makes its way through court, The Associated Press reported.
The city of Everett said it is evaluating the ruling.
POLL: Do you think a dress code violates a barista’s First Amendment rights? Answer our poll below or Click Here.Mercedes-Benz has unveiled a new electric car developed in partnership with California-based Tesla Motors TSLA
This car, the 2014 Mercedes B-class Electric Drive, will be available first in the states before reaching other markets, according to Mercedes-Benz. It will go on sale early next year, first in just a few states, but will become more widely available later on.
The car is much a smaller Mercedes than Americans are accustomed to. Up to now, the smallest Mercedes available here has been the C-class, although the luxury carmaker will soon begin selling the smaller CLA-class. Even smaller Mercedes cars are expected to be available here, soon, however.
Electric car maker Tesla Motors helped Mercedes develop and is manufacturing parts of the new car's electric drive system, including the lithium ion battery pack, electric motors, on-board charger and other electronics. Besides producing its own car, the Tesla Model S sedan, Tesla already produces electric drive components for the battery-powered Toyota Rav4 EV.
New wheels from the New York Auto Show
The Mercedes Electric Drive will have a "quick charge" feature that will give it a range of 60 miles after just a 2-hour charge, according to Mercedes. With a full charge, which will take about 7 hours, it should travel about 115 miles. A 134 horsepower electric motor will let it accelerate from zero to 60 miles an hour in under 10 seconds.
The new car will come with a number of Mercedes-Benz luxury and safety features including a system that helps drivers stay in their lanes and active parking assistance.
Mercedes already produces a version of the B-class powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Hydrogen fuel cells turn hydrogen into electricity and water inside the vehicle.
Mercedes' parent company, Daimler (DDAIF), also produces the Smart Electric Drive, a two-seat car which will go on sale in the U.S. in May. An electric version of Mercedes' high-performance SLS AMG sports car is also expected to go on sale soon, although it has yet to be decided whether it will come to the U.S. That car will be powered by a 751-horsepower electric motor.In a season featuring the best managerial lineup in Premier League history this felt like the type of match we were promised. Two high‑tempo, dynamic sides with different attacking philosophies produced an enthralling end-to-end contest featuring mesmeric passing moves, incredible bursts of pace – and some quite dreadful misses.
Sergio Agüero pegs back Liverpool to rescue point for Manchester City Read more
Manchester City started strongly, enjoying good spells of possession and working the ball into David Silva regularly. Pep Guardiola deployed a 4-2-3-1 rather than his usual 4-3-3, continuing with Kevin De Bruyne in a deep midfield position and Silva at No10, after his switch to that system prompted a second-half improvement at Monaco in midweek. Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sané stretched the play, while Fernandinho charged forward from right-back as City focused their attacking down that side, causing James Milner serious problems.
Liverpool, however, worked their way into the contest, pressing effectively. The return of Roberto Firmino was crucial, both for his work rate without possession and his movement into deeper positions when Liverpool built passing moves, finding space in behind Yaya Touré. Meanwhile in Sadio Mané Liverpool have a right‑winger who spends more time in centre-forward positions, becoming his side’s most dangerous goalscoring threat. Nicolas Otamendi was isolated against him in the early stages, clumsily bringing him down to prevent his lack of pace being further exposed. From then Gaël Clichy barely advanced, in an attempt to deny Mané space.
City created better chances before the break, particularly with clever through-balls between Liverpool’s defenders to find Sané’s runs, although Silva also popped up in dangerous left-wing positions in behind and created a fantastic chance when receiving a through-ball from De Bruyne and flashing the ball across goal, which Sterling somehow failed to connect with, under strong pressure from Milner, and Fernandinho could only turn into the side-netting at the far post.
Pep Guardiola: Manchester City draw with Liverpool ‘one of my happiest days’ Read more
Liverpool took the initiative in the second half, through a mixture of superior energy levels and better pressing. A couple of occasions, when Mané and Adam Lallana sprinted back into defensive positions, underlined their tenacity and was in contrast to the lethargy shown by City’s attackers and, in particular, Touré. Milner’s opener from the spot, after Clichy was caught ball‑watching then fouled Firmino when desperately recovering his position, forced Guardiola to reshape.
He sacrificed the sluggish Touré and introduced right-back Bacary Sagna, prompting Fernandinho to become the defensive midfielder, where he provided extra energy and some tough tackles. Meanwhile, Silva dropped deep alongside him to pull the strings, De Bruyne moved to the right flank, and Sterling became the No10. This huge reshuffle worked: City got a grip of the game again, De Bruyne, typically, curled a wonderful cross in behind the Liverpool defence for Agüero to convert.
There should have been further goals, particularly for Liverpool. Their breakaways were fantastic but their attackers lacked composure – Lallana barely made contact from point-blank range after Firmino’s excellent knock-down, which perhaps explains why Firmino shot from a crazy angle shortly afterwards, rather than crossing for the unmarked Lallana. Mané, meanwhile, wasted an opportunity to breeze past Stones with a heavy touch. At the other end, Agüero blazed over from yet another right-wing cross.
It was breathless stuff and among all the talk of coaching philosophies this game was partly brilliant as it felt as if neither manager could control the utterly frenetic contest taking place in front of them.NEW DELHI India is not going through a slowdown, Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission said on Friday, rather its performance is'major' as compared with EU."What you're calling a slowdown would be a major performance in Europe. Nobody outside india is calling this a slowdown," he said.His statement assumes significance in the wake India's GDP for the first quarter nosediving to three-year low of 5.7% following which international agencies including the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and the country's central bank Reserve Bank of India have lowered India’s growth forecast.Juncker said that though a free trade agreement (FTA) with India, called Broad Based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) is the best way forward, talks on the proposed pact can resume only when the circumstances are right."I don't want to raise expectations we can't meet. Once the circumstances are right, we will resume with good faith," he said.The talks have been stuck for four years on slashing of import duty on European cars and alcohol besides recognising India as a 'data-secure’ nation to enable free flow of data between India and EU.On data protection, he emphasised on India's standards conforming with those of the EU."If India's standards of data protection converge with those of EU and for EU to recognise the conformity...conformity means various norms and systems," he said.Calling data the 'black gold of 21st century', the president said that exchange of data is involved in when Indian companies provide IT services to the ones in EU and this needs to be protected.He reasoned that because data protection is about privacy, the rights citizens enjoy offline should also be protected online and hence, India- EU should work together on data protection.The City of Fresno is on the attack again. They are willing to spend endless amounts of money to chase the homeless from one vacant lot to another. Why won’t they use some of their resources to provide a safe and legal campground where the homeless can live?
The City of Fresno tried a new approach in court today in their ongoing attempt to evict the homeless in an encampment at Ventura and F street in downtown Fresno. They dropped their effort to get a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) and convinced the judge to dismiss a case they had brought before the court.With the court hearings over, the city now plans to move forward with the evictions, claiming the “owner” of the property has asked them to clear the homeless people off the land. The city is expected to say the homeless are trespassing and subject to arrest if they do not leave.Some homeless advocates say the city has mis-stated the ownership issue of the property and coerced the “so called” owner into asking for the homeless to be removed. The legal owners of the property died and it is now in probate. Robert and Walt Williams were in court and testified that they owned the property. Walt Williams is the executer of the estate and will decide who owns the property. If the homeless advocates are correct and the property is not currently owned by the Williams’s, it could make any arrests that take place on Thursday problematic for the city. The homeless are talking about challenging any arrests that occur in court, through civil action.Bruce Rudd, Assistant City Manager, is telling the press tonight that they will try and force the homeless off the property tomorrow, starting at 8 a.m., without arresting anyone. Alan Simon, one of the homeless living on the vacant lot, told me that he can’t move. Simon has a cast on his leg and says he is not capable of packing up his tent and moving it. He says that he will stay and see what happens.The mood in the camp this evening was defiant, with most of the people I talked to saying they would not move. People said there was no place else to go. The City of Fresno has no campgrounds or other facilities where people can go. Rudd claims that The Rescue Mission has bed space available and that the homeless at F and Ventura should go there. Rudd did not tell the media that The Rescue Mission is for men only, that you have to sit through a Christian religious service before you get a bed, or that many homeless people will not go to the Mission because of the way they treat the homeless. Larry Arce, the Rescue Mission director, has sent his “disciples” into the homeless encampments to destroy their tents and other property.Rudd is also telling the media that the homeless should avail themselves to the other services available, so they can get off the streets. Other city officials attempt to take the moral high ground by saying they are trying to put an end to the terrible conditions at the Ventura and F street encampment. They do not, however, explain why the city has seemingly endless amounts of money to attack the homeless in court and chase them from one vacant lot to another, but no money to establish a safe and legal campground where the homeless can live.For earlier stories about the city’s attempt to evict the homeless from this property, see: http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/01/26/18636326.php ###Android 4.3 was released to Nexus devices a little over a month ago, but, as is usual with Android updates, it's taking much longer to roll out the general public. Right now, a little over six percent of Android users have the latest version. And if you pay attention to the various Android forums out there, you may have noticed something: no one cares.
4.3's headline features are a new camera UI, restricted user profiles, and support for new versions of Bluetooth and OpenGL ES. Other than the camera, these are all extremely dull, low-level enhancements. It's not that Google is out of ideas, or the Android team is slowing down. Google has purposefully made every effort to make Android OS updates as boring as possible.
Why make boring updates? Because getting Samsung and the other OEMs to actually update their devices to the latest version of Android is extremely difficult. By the time the OEMs get the new version, port their skins over, ship a build to carriers, and the carriers finally push out the OTA update, many months pass. If the device isn't popular enough, this process doesn't happen at all. Updating a phone is a massive project involving several companies, none of which seem to be very committed to the process or in much of a hurry to get it done.
Since it's really hard to push out an Android update, Google's solution is to sidestep the process completely. The company stopped putting all the good stuff in Android updates. It's not that good stuff isn't coming out at all, the exciting features are just not being included as part of a big Android release.
This year's Google I/O was a show of force for this new delivery concept. No new Android version was at the show, yet Google announced Google Hangouts, Google Play Games, cloud saving of game and app data, a complete redesign of Google Play Music and Google Maps, a new version of the Google Maps API, and new location and activity recognition APIs. Post I/O, we've seen seemingly OS-level features added like the Android Device Manager, a remote wipe and device tracking system, without needing to touch the base OS.
It's such a simple idea: Android updates roll out too slowly, so start releasing all the cool stuff separately. The hard part is making it actually work. But the first reason this is now possible is a little app that has finally come of age: "Google Play Services."
Calling Play Services an "app" doesn't really tell the whole story. For starters, it has an insane amount of permissions. It's basically a system-level process, and if the above list isn't enough for whatever it needs to do next, it can actually give itself more permissions without the user's consent. Play Services constantly runs in the background of every Android phone, and nearly every Google app relies on it to function. It's updatable, but it doesn't update through the Play Store like every other app. It has its own silent, automatic update mechanism that the user has no control over. In fact, most of the time the user never even knows an update has happened. The reason for the complete and absolute power this app has is simple: Google Play Services is Google's new platform.
Andrew Cunningham looked at this shortly after Google I/O, but now things are truly crystallizing. Google's strategy is clear. Play Services has system-level powers, but it's updatable. It's part of the Google apps package, so it's not open source. OEMs are not allowed to modify it, making it completely under Google's control. Play Services basically acts as a shim between the normal apps and the installed Android OS. Right now Play Services handles the Google Maps API, Google Account syncing, remote wipe, push messages, the Play Games back end, and many other duties. If you ever question the power of Google Play Services, try disabling it. Nearly every Google App on your device will break.
The reason for all the permissions and sneaky updates is best illustrated in that chart above. While the latest version of Android is on six percent of devices, Play Services rolls out to everyone in a week or two and works all the way back to Android 2.2. That means any phone that is three years old or newer has the latest version of Google Play Services. According to Google's current Android statistics, that's 98.7 percent of active devices. So at Google I/O, when Google announced their slew of new APIs, nearly every Android device was immediately compatible in a week. Play Services is a direct line from Google to the core of your phone, and, really, no one outside of Google is quite sure of just how powerful it can get.
Google Play Services takes care of lower-level APIs and background services, and the other part of Google's fragmentation takedown plan involves the Play Store. Google has been on a multi-year mission to decouple just about every non-system app from the OS for easy updating on the Play Store. Take a quick look at Google's Play Store account and you'll see a huge list of apps, many of which ship by default in Android. Gmail, Maps, Search, Chrome, Calendar, the keyboard, YouTube, and even the Play Store itself are all separately updatable.
The above list is a good representation of the current update situation in Android. Nearly everything that can be moved out of the main OS has been. The only features left that would require an OS update are things like hardware support, Application Frameworks APIs, and Apps that require a certain level of security or access (like the lock screen, Phone, and Settings apps).
This is how you beat software fragmentation. When you can update just about anything without having to push out a new Android version, you have fewer and fewer reasons to bother calling up Samsung and begging them to work on a new update. When the new version of Android brings nothing other than low-level future-proofing, users stop caring about the update.
This gets even more interesting when you consider the implications for future versions of Android. What will the next version of Android have? Well, what is left for it to have? Android is now on more of a steady, continual improvement track than an all-at-once opening of the floodgates like we last saw with Android 4.1. It seems like Google has been slowly moving down this path for some time; the last three releases have all kept the name "Jelly Bean." Huge, monolithic Android OS updates are probably over—"extinct" may be a more appropriate term.
Not having to package everything into a major OS update means Google can get features out to more users much faster and more frequently than before. Android feature releases can now work just like Google's Web app updates: silent, continual improvement that happens in the background. Your device is constantly getting better without your having to do anything or wait for a third party, and developers can take advantage of new APIs without having to wait for the install base to catch up. This should all lead to a more unified, less fragmented, healthier Android ecosystem.Deadspin published a feature last night that amplified the already-concentrated sense of dread among reasonable, well-meaning Americans. Some of you responded with emotional outbursts of hatred toward humanity in general. We feel you're owed something more uplifting today, so we've collected 10 sports GIFs to help restore faith in your fellow man or woman. Enjoy.
1. A-Rod Strikes Out In The Playoffs
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2. A-Rod Strikes Out In The Playoffs
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3. A-Rod Strikes Out In The Playoffs
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4. A-Rod Strikes Out In The Playoffs
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5. A-Rod Strikes Out In The Playoffs
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6. A-Rod Strikes Out In The Playoffs
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7. A-Rod Strikes Out In The Playoffs
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8. A-Rod Strikes Out In The Playoffs
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9. A-Rod Strikes Out In The Playoffs
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10. A-Rod Strikes Out In The PlayoffsBernie Sanders has made a name for himself by pushing in his presidential campaign for fundamental changes to the way financial institutions operate within the U.S.: He wants to reform the Federal Reserve, make ratings agencies nonprofits, and close the revolving door between Wall Street and government agencies. In a speech on Tuesday, he detailed plans—all of them highly ambitious, and many of them outside the purview of the president—that he hopes would make the banking system much more accessible to average Americans.
To Sanders, credit-card interest rates that top 20 percent and ATM fees as high as $5 are unacceptable. “The Bible has a term for this practice. It’s called usury. And in The Divine Comedy, Dante reserved a special place in the Seventh Circle of Hell for those who charged people usurious interest rates,” he said. Sanders said that if he were elected president, he’d push for a 15-percent cap on all credit-card interest rates and consumer loans, mirroring the rate cap credit unions must abide by for loans. And ATM fees, he said, shouldn’t be more than $2. “Big banks need to stop acting like loan sharks and start acting like responsible lenders,” he said.
Sanders’s plans represent an aggressive approach to rampant and growing economic inequality. But if he were elected president, his power to implement them would actually be quite limited. Many financial products are regulated at the state level, and when they aren’t, they are often governed by a federal agency such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, notes Mehrsa Baradaran, a law professor at the University of Georgia. “There’s not much a president can do for some of these things. As far as tinkering around with those usury rates, that is far outside of the realm of the executive office,” she says. Instead, a president would have to push for this agenda and then encourage regulatory agencies to carry out the reforms.Rutina Wesley has dropped some hints about what is to come for Tara in the fourth season of True Blood.
Tara left Bon Temps at the end of the last season but Wesley told E! Online that viewers will discover what happens to her.
"You're going to find out where Tara goes, and there's going to be some happiness for her," she said. "It won't last for long - this is True Blood.
"It's a new Tara and I think the fans are going to like it. She's not duct-taped, she's not tied up, she's got this personal strength, and I think it's really awesome to see her."
Wesley added that there will be more "little moments" for Tara and Sookie and continued: "We're going to get back to how I felt about Sam Merlotte, finding out that he was a shapeshifter, so we are going to have a little moment about that.
"And I think Lafayette's the only one that knows where I am, and he gives me some great advice."
True Blood returns for its fourth season on June 12 at 9pm on HBO.▼ with Mefjus
“I was producing Hip Hop music before. At some point my brother just took me to a Drum and Bass party with him, and I heard Drum and Bass for the first time and I was like: This is sick!”
We had a talk with the one of the winners of the Drum&Bass Arena awards, 2015. Mefjus is the winner in the category; ‘best album’. Why? Well, It’s safe to tell that, some of these tracks, were among your favorites this year – Suicide Bassline anyone…? Enough said. Mefjus wholeheartedly delivered, and then some more. The tracks themselves truly testify to this achievement. Now, a year after the release, Mefjus is not slowing down one bit; collaborations with Noisia, a dank remix of Ivy Lab’s Sunday Crunk, and the brand new EP called ‘Blitz‘, with Phace, on Neosignal, which came out yesterday. More than enough reasons to catch up with Mefjus. It’s time to get to know the man behind the artist!
Michael: How did working on the Emulation album influence your development?
Working on it was a really tough experience. I went to my physical and psychological limits.
Hajo: I heard the title track ‘Emulation’ took nine months.
Yeah, every element of the track was synthesized, so the preparations in sound design just took forever. The actual writing of the track wasn’t that difficult, but preparing it was long..
Anyhow, finishing the album, writing the album, and dealing with promotion and stuff you have to think about; it was just a really intense experience, and I’m really happy we pulled it off. I, myself gained a lot of experience out of it.
Michael: Did you make Emulation with Massive or FM8?
With FM8, totally.
Michael: Did you make your own patches or modify the already present ones?
With the Emulation track, I had for example 25 sessions. So it took let’s say eight sessions just to make different drums. Then I made just bass sounds – just opened a couple of instances of FM8, made some bass sounds, bounced them into a folder, and on to the next one.
Hajo: So you see these are a kind of puzzle pieces, which, in the end, fit together?
Yeah, definitely with this track. At the time, I understood FM-synthesis, but FM8 is a weird one. In the beginning I was trying to write a track, while still having the synthesizers in the project. I was still in 32-bits, so I couldn’t load a lot if FM8’s. The other big problem was that FM8 can be a bitch in terms of being random. Imagine a 16-bar loop, and you have your synthetic snare, kick-drum, or even a synth – it will sound the same for the most part, but the last bars will sound slightly different, if you forget to control one small parameter. This pissed me off so much so I was like: ‘Fuck it, I need to bounce them at some point,’ so yeah.
Hajo: I wonder, because Drum and Bass hooked you because of the tempo – are you as a person also very ‘upbeat’?
Yeah, I think so. I started making Hip Hop beats, but I always was a fan of Rock music, like Heavy Metal and stuff. I always had a thing for fast grooves I guess.
Hajo: The way you produce; is that also a method of fast working or is it more precise and into details?
More the second thing. I come from a background where I was a programmer, so we always had this thinking of approaching from a concept. Structuring your basic idea and then actually starting it. When I write tracks, I try to structure myself beforehand. Sometimes it’s completely the other way tho, but generally I would say I’m a structured person. When I listen to beats, I really like to play around with the grooves in a very tiny time manner.
Michael: Royalston once told me: “If you can make one bar sound good, the rest of the song is easy.” Do you agree?
Definitely, especially when I work with InsideInfo, there are those moments when we sit together for hours in the studio, and nothing really happens. Suddenly we agree that this bar is our thing. So, especially with collaborations, there’s this moment where you aim for the right ingredient. When I work solo, I tend to work differently.
Michael: It’s like waiting for the right moment and not forcing it?
Exactly, you can’t really force it. Sometimes u might end up sitting in front of Cubase for days and no magic happens.
Michael: How do you cope with it then?
When you are with another person it’s easy; the other one will say: ‘Dude, this is shit’, so then you move on. But being alone, I tend to get into a deadlock – after three days realizing it was a waste of time.
Hajo: So in the end you are refining something over and over and it’s not it.
Yeah, either it’s one sound you need to EQ the shit out of, or a Bass-sound you need to tweak or whatever. And then you realize: “The sound I had yesterday was way better.”
Hajo: It’s quite curious, because; you say you like structure, but when you are working together with, for example Phace, it’s funny because, he told me how you work together, in our interview from last summer. He also told me he’s more of a guy who takes a drink and just starts. How do you vibe with someone like that?
It really helps me actually, because I’m really set in my ways, when I do my own beats. So it really helps me when I work with other people. Working with Flo is really inspiring. I remember working on Impuls with Phace, and being super annoyed about a one bar loop. He said like: ‘Fuck it, let’s make a track out of it. Let’s have fun and bring in the funk.’ So, I thought by myself; ‘Oh shit, he’s right, we can clean the snares later, let’s get that vibe done’.
Michael: Can you tell more about the way you approach production?
Most of the time, I have a certain idea in my mind – let’s say from super heavy to super minimal. Is it straight grooves or is it broken beats, is it in triplets or whatever – That’s where I start usually. But it can happen if you just do sound design, and you make a cool sound, and say: ‘Okay, I want to build a track around this one sound’. So both ways can happen.
Michael: But do you work with a feeling, like following what you feel at the time, and not deviating from that?
I think it’s a healthy approach to make what you feel at the moment, but sometimes – I just speak for myself here – you are not creative at all. And then I just like to get my hours done in the studio. For example making drums, while being completely emotionless about it.
Michael: Do you think routine is more important than creativity?
It depends on yourself after all. I really try to put myself into a structured schedule in terms of going to work. For me it works, as I mentioned earlier.. If I’m not inspired to write this certain track, if I don’t have this cool sound laying around, I just don’t write tracks. I just make new sounds, new patches, or learn about a new synthesizer and read about new plugins and stuff.
Michael: So, your first release was around 2008/2009?
The first one was about that time indeed. But it was at a time I didn’t quite know how to do DNB stuff properly. I didn’t really know how to make beats compared to nowadays.. But you have to start somewhere I guess?
Michael: What got you into making Drum and Bass?
I was producing Hip Hop music before. At some point my brother just took me to a Drum and Bass party with him, and I heard Drum and Bass for the first time and I was like: ‘This is sick’. The textures, the drum patterns and tempo, yeah, that was the thing that hooked me.
The first record that really stuck was ‘Block Control’ by Noisia, I guess it was back in 2005. It was amazing.
Michael: Are you a classically trained musician? Like, do you read notes?
Yes, I can read and write notes. I played Jazz trumpet for about six years. But, the thing is, a trumpet is a monophonic instrument. Meaning you don’t know chords. It was something I had to read about. The thing is though; Drum and Bass is really limited in terms of keys – for me D-sharp is the lowest, and ultimately you end up in F# or G at the highest. So I work with a limited amount of keys anyway.
Michael: What’s your most cherished Dutch moment so far?
Obviously; working with Noisia – it was a fucking dream coming true. And seeing them just being super cool dudes was just wicked. I realized they were playing Disrupted – which was big news for me; seeing them play it at big festivals. I remixed a track for the Neosignal band project, which came out on Division. I came into contact with the label manager of the Noisia crew and we kept talking. At some point they invited me to a show in Groningen, and said: “If you want to stay a couple of days in the studio…” I was like: ‘Fuck yeah, let’s do that!’
Michael: So who are the upcoming artists you would like to mention?
From Austria, Phentix – he’s youngish; about 25 years. He’s a really cool and friendly dude doing SAE and helping his parents out with the music shop in the city. He’s a wicked DJ as well and a good producer. Basically he’s just an awesome person. He just did a track on ‘Cyberfunk‘, Xtrah’s music label. He also did a track with the Dutch guy Signal called ‘Onset’. (In the Radio mix below, starting around 20 minutes and 50 seconds) Signal is actually another guy worth mentioning..! I actually mastered his latest EP for Critical a couple of months ago. That was the first time I heard |
by at "But if you morons are lying to me you be on dish duty for the next month!", "morons" is changed to "idiots".
When Mordecai tells Rigby that Benson is going to be pissed, 'pissed' is changed to 'ballistic'.
The part when Muscle Man undresses and Benson tells him it's not a naked party is replaced with Muscle Man saying "Skips is going to be so surprised."
Mordecai and Rigby talking about screwing Skips is cut.
Meat Your Maker Edit
When Mordecai tells Rigby that he had pissed him off, 'pissed' is changed to 'ticked'.
Rigby telling Mordecai he was dead was changed to him telling him he was unconsious.
Skips crashing the can against his head is cut.
Grilled Cheese Deluxe Edit
When Mordecai and Rigby are watching the video, the part with the ostrich hitting the man in the crotch is cut.
The Unicorns Have Got to Go Edit
The unicorn flashbacks were cut.
"They peed on my lawn!" was cut.
When Benson calls Mordecai and Rigby morons, it is changed to idiots. However, if you listen carefully, when Benson says "idiots," it is the excact same sound clip as the line "idiots" before.
Prank Callers Edit
When Rigby says "Holy Crap" is replaced with "Holy Crud".
When Mordecai says "Crap!" it is changed to "Crud!"
Don Edit
When Mordecai and Rigby say 'Crap', it is replaced with 'Crud'.
"I DON'T WANT YOUR FREAKING SUGAR!" was changed to "I DON'T WANT YOUR STUPID SUGAR!"
Rigby's Body Edit
When Mordecai and Rigby are calling each other turds, 'turds' is changed to 'planks'.
"I told him he was full of it!" was cut.
Mordecai and the Rigbys Edit
When Benson says "Holy Crap", 'crap' is replaced with 'crud'.
Season 2 Edit
Ello Gov'nor Edit
the taxi eating the man was cut
When Mordecai shouts "Holy crap, it's real!" it's changed to "Oh man, dude, it's real!".
It's Time Edit
The Pajama Sisters 2 video is not shown and instead it just shows "Pajama Sisters 2 sucks." on the webpage.
Peeps Edit
Mordecai saying 'crap' is changed to 'crud'.
My Mom Edit
When Rigby calls Muscle Man and High-Five Ghost turds, 'turds' is changed to 'planks'.
"I should have trusted you two morons" was changed to "I should have trusted you idiots.
Party Pet Edit
This episode has some sexual content, so it was quite censored. Edit
Muscle Man's Line, "It takes guests with breasts and mine don't count!" was changed to "It takes guests with chicks and my mom doesn't count!"
Party Pete crotch-thrusting while he is at the door was changed to him tapping his foot. Even though this edit was made, the later crotch-thrusting wasn't cut.
Temp Check Edit
The scene where the redneck farts into the harmonica is changed to him putting a cazzoo up his nose and playing it.
Really Real Wrestling Edit
"What do you think, I'm a moron?" was changed to "What do you think, I'm a dummy?"
Over the Top Edit
The First Scene at the Hospital was cut.
The writing "McHooligans" on the bar is blanked out. Refering to this, Muscle Man's line "McHooligans! Round Two!" was changed to "Family Restaurant! Round Two!"
High Five Ghost's Line "Shotgun!" was cut, even though he wasn't refering to the handheld weapon.
When Death spits into Rigby's mouth, it is changed to him shooting a laser from his pinky.
The Night Owl Edit
Muscle Man's line "I can't wait to shove a key into that!" was changed to "I can't wait to peel donuts into that sweet piece!"
Season 3 Edit
Terror Tales of the Park Edit
In the House Edit
Muscle Man skinned alive was cut.
Benson vomiting as High Five Ghost got splattered alother Skips and Mordecai was cut.
Pops freaking out on the bed was cut.
Mordecai being thrown on the bookshelf was cut.
Slam Dunk Edit
Margaret's butt being seen was changed to a re-animated scene, from her left with her waving.
Gut Model Edit
No edits
Dead at Eight Edit
Muscle Man's line "You two better get that kid to bed, or I'll haunt you turds for the rest of your lives!" was changed to "You two better get that plank to bed, or I'll haunt you planks for the rest of your lives!" It is still unknown why Kid was censored.
Out of Commission Edit
The scene that looks like the Cart and a Red Car are having sex is cut.
At the end, when Mordecai says "Let's go get it!" was changed to Benson talking to them again saying "Mordecai, Rigby, did you get all that?"
Fancy Restaurant Edit
The scene when Maitre'd dies and drops his knife is changed to him still lying on the car but breathing.
Diary Edit
"You're whipped with a capital, Wappoosh!" was changed to "You're whipped with a capital, Whahizap!"
The Best VHS in the World Edit
"I Hear these guys break thumbs!" was changed to "I Hear these guys punch faces!" "Pay $1,000 or have our thumbs broken!" was changed to "Pay $1,000 or have our faces punched!" "I really enjoy my thumbs!" was changed to "I really enjoy my face!"
Fuzzy Dice Edit
The following was all cut:
Benson: Alright, I want everyone to line up, and when the balls drop...
(Mordecai and Rigby laugh and Benson sighs)
Benson: When the game starts, you throw, then get back in line!
Season 4 Edit
Exit 9B Edit
The flashback scene with Muscle Man skinned alive was changed to him throwing a block.
TGI Tuesday Edit
After the "balls" joke, Rigby's snicker and Mordecai punching him was cut.
Firework Run Edit
Hector's wielding a rifle is changed to a rocket launcher.
The Christmas Episode Edit
Quillgin shooting Santa was (quite non-sloppily) cut. The whole scene.
. Santa's gun wounds were painted out: Dude where's my wounds?
Quite a long scene of dialogue was just cut to "Trust me! I'm the real Santa Claus?
Family BBQ Edit
"You know your dad, always thinking with his chopper!" was changed to "You know your dad, always thinking with his helicopter!"
Country Club Edit
"It smells like barf!" was changed to "It smells like armpits!"
K.I.L.I.T Radio Edit
The disc making a hole in Donny G's Stomach was changed so that it gets attached to him instead.
Sleep Fighter Edit
The ostrich thing with the balls video was cut again.
Party Re-Pete Edit
Benson crotch-thrusting was froze so he wasn't crotch-thrusting.
Season 5 Edit
Silver Dude Edit
"God" is changed to "Dude".
A Skips in Time Edit
Skips spitting on a book is cut.
Survival Skills Edit
"See you on the other side!" was changed to "In fifty years, I'm gonna die of natural causes!"
Terror Tales of the Park III Edit
"Which do you prefer? Creamy or chunky?" was cut.
Bank Shot Edit
"The god of Basketball?" was changed to "Nice ride, dude!"
Season 6 Edit
Season 7 EditCEO Brian Goldner also talks about his expectations for 'Rogue One' and says the toy giant continues to believe that 2016 'Star Wars' revenue could be in line with 2015.
Sales of Frozen and Disney Princess toys boosted third-quarter financials at toy giant Hasbro to the company's highest quarterly earnings and revenue ever.
The company, led by president, chairman and CEO Brian Goldner, said Monday that its quarterly results benefited from Frozen and Disney Princess sales after winning the global rights to make them from Mattel as of the start of this year.
"2016 has been a strong year, including our third quarter, which marked the greatest revenue and earnings quarter in Hasbro's history," said Goldner. "We are well positioned for what we believe will be a good holiday season."
The exec said Monday that management continues to believe that 2016 Star Wars revenue could be in line with last year. Year-to-date Star Wars revenue is "up significantly through the third quarter" despite a slightly lower third quarter due to different merchandising dates in the two years.
Asked about Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Goldner said: “We are incredibly excited about this movie.” He added: "We also see the movie as having wonderful play patterns. You have seen some of the trailers, and you can imagine all the character play and vehicle play and role play that will come as a result of the movie."
Goldner added that in 2017 there will be the home entertainment release of the film and the second trilogy film. He concluded: "We have very strong expectations for Star Wars."
Hasbro’s third-quarter earnings rose 24 percent to $257.8 million, or $2.03 per share, up from $1.64 in the year-ago period. That exceeded Wall Street consensus expectations. Revenue rose 14 percent to $1.68 billion. Partner brand revenue grew 19 percent, driven by Disney Princess and Disney's Frozen, DreamWorks Animation' Trolls and video game franchise Yo-Kai Watch.
Quarterly girls category revenue jumped 57 percent to $462.0 million. Boys category revenue rose 2 percent in the third quarter to $605.5 million amid gains for Nerf and Transformers, as well as shipments of Yo-Kai Watch. The year-ago period had seen boys category revenue rise 24 percent amid the retail launch of Star Wars: The Force Awakens product.
Entertainment and licensing segment net revenue increased 8 percent in the third quarter over the year-ago period to $52.1 million, driven by growth in consumer products and digital gaming. Entertainment and licensing segment operating profit dropped 13 percent though to $14.1 million.
Asked about the outlook for Transformers revenue and how future films will help, Goldner said Monday that upcoming movies in the franchise will ensure that "different kinds of stories [are] being told, so not every movie will be the same, but every movie continues to add to the character and story of the property."It’s good business to keep it all in the family.
In an article on Sunday, The New York Times detailed, somewhat self-reflexively, the trials and tribulations of family-owned corporations after Rupert Murdoch announced that he was handing the reins of 20th Century Fox to his son James.
The article detailed perilous transitions at various mega-sized operations such as CBS and the New York Yankees.
While the Times concluded that family-owned stock do worse in bull markets and better in bear markets, that may not apply to all of them. According to analysts at UBS, mid- and small-cap companies that are controlled by one family have outperformed their peers significantly in the past decade.
UBS defines one family-ownership as a company where one family has at least 50% of voting right or more than 20% of voting rights and influence over top management or the board of directors.
According to the research, family-owned mid-cap businesses have increased 345% globally in the past 10 years. This far outpaces the global mid-cap index during that time, which gained only 72%.
Additionally, the value of family-owned businesses outperformed similar-sized competitors every region UBS analysed including Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the US.
UBS identified six reasons for the success:
Higher profitability: There is a growing body of literature on family ownership and performance. Most studies find a positive link between a family owner (defined as having a substantial stake or being an insider, e.g., director or CEO) and a higher level of profitability. Taking risks in the areas they know well: On the one hand, family firms display greater risk aversion by holding less debt; on the other, they show a higher risk appetite by diversifying less and founders are especially likely to have high risk acceptance (e.g., engage more in R&D spending). Disciplined capital allocation: Family firms engage in international ventures that have a solid operating rationale rather than the “empirebuilding” strategies that may drive noncontrolled companies. By being more selective in the first place, family firms subsequently have to take fewer divestment decisions. Generation matters: Higher profitability tends to be associated with the first generation, and there is evidence of a founders’ premium. A family firms ‘discount’ can be associated with the successor generation, especially when successors have management responsibilities and when there are multiple family members involved. However, floated companies might have surpassed this phase. Transparency is important: The “family premium” mostly applies to companies with high levels of transparency. Conversely, opaque companies trade at a discount, especially those firms with governance practices that may be questionable in other respects. Voting rights in excess of cash-flow rights negatively affect valuations. Family directorship seems associated with better governance, as measured by higher sensitivity of pay to performance, greater turnover pressure for CEOs and higher board attendance. More broadly, having a family as a large shareholder can be an effective governance set-up whether the owner is sitting on the board or not. This is effectively what Warren Buffett argued in his 1993 annual letter. Outside directors have little recourse against management in the case of dispersed ownership or of an owner/manager. Directors have a much greater ability to make a difference where there is a controlling owner not involved in management: “If they become unhappy with the competence or integrity of the manager, they can go directly to the owner (who may also be on the board) and report their dissatisfaction. This situation is ideal for an outside director.”
Of the US-based, family-owned businesses the analysts examined, they favoured Fortinet Inc. followed by Installed Building Products and Norcraft Companies.
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Follow Business Insider Australia on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.Trump blames money woes on 'difficulty' with Republicans
CLOSE Trump loaned his campaign more than $2.2 million last month, a huge chunk of the $5.6 million he brought in. Newslook
Donald Trump says the reluctance of some Republicans to get behind his candidacy is one reason he is way behind Hillary Clinton in the campaign money chase.
"I'm having more difficulty, frankly, with some of the people in the party" than the Democrats are having, Trump said Tuesday on NBC's Today show.
Trump spoke as new financial reports showed that his campaign began June with only $1.3 million in the bank, while Clinton had $42 million at the start of the month.
The presumptive Republican nominee brushed off the financial gap, saying he can self-fund the fall campaign if necessary.
"I can win it either way," he said, and "I may be better off winning it the opposite way than the more traditional way."
His campaign raised "a lot of money" during a nationwide tour last week, Trump told NBC, "but you also have to have some help from the party."
Fundraising was one of the reasons cited for Monday's dismissal of campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.
Trump praised Lewandowski's performance during the Republican primaries, but said the campaign needs to be re-organized ahead of the the fall election.
"We're going in a different direction because this is now different," Trump said on Today.
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/28KRzn6Press release: The Supreme Court permits the transfer of a library and archaeological artifacts from the Rockefeller Museum to West Jerusalem
July 21, 2016
July 21, 2016
In May of 2016 the Emek Shaveh organization appealed to the Supreme Court demanding not to transfer the Rockefeller Museum’s archaeological library and its archaeological artifacts. The petition was submitted following the Israel Antiquities Authority’s decision to transfer the library to West Jerusalem along with a collection of coins recently taken out from the museum. The Supreme Court decided to turn down the appeal, claiming that the Antiquities Authority is licensed to transfer them from Rockefeller museum to West Jerusalem. The Supreme Court further claimed that the Israeli law in East Jerusalem overrides international law, which prohibits the removal of cultural property from occupied territories. It is important to note that in our appeal we did not claim that it is necessary to disregard Israeli law, but rather, since this case is a matter of a customary international law, it is necessary to abide by it. This implies that in the future, if and when political negotiations take place regarding the future of East Jerusalem, it will also be difficult and even irrelevant to discuss the future of the artifacts and the library that was transferred to Israel.
On Tuesday, July 19 the court decided that the Israel Antiquities Authority is responsible for antiquities at the Rockefeller Museum and has the right to transfer the library and the archaeological artifacts from the museum to West Jerusalem. In doing so, the Supreme Court ruled that the archaeological artifacts at the Rockefeller Museum, most of which have been there since the British Mandate, are under Israeli possession, and Israel thereby has the right to take them. The Supreme Court ruled that the decision is to be based on Israeli law and that international law is irrelevant in the case of the Rockefeller Museum. It was stated that the fact that artifacts were taken out of the museum twice since the 1930s (the Dead Sea Scrolls and the coin collection), proves that there was never a policy to conserve the museum’s current state, and the Antiquities Authority’s decision to transfer the library and other artifacts would not be prevented.
Background
The Rockefeller Museum was built during the British Mandate (1938) and was the major museum of antiquities in Palestine. The museum was built with the contributions of John D. Rockefeller, who in addition to building the museum allocated a million dollars for its operations. The museum complex includes exhibition halls, storage rooms for archaeological artefacts, and a valuable library. The vision of the founders was to establish an international museum administered by an international council. Its board included representatives from Britain, France, USA, Sweden, the Arab countries, and a representative of the Jewish community.
The museum holds many important archaeological finds from the Jerusalem region and elsewhere in Israel/Palestine. Among the prominent finds are ancient human bones from caves in the Carmel in the north; a collection of gold jewelry discovered in the Tel al-‘Ajjul and Beit Shemesh; an ivory treasure from Megiddo; the Lachish Letters; stucco reliefs from the Umayyad palace in Khirbat al-Mafjar near Jericho; and carved stone lintels from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher dating to the Crusader period.
The museum maintained its international status until 1966 when the Jordanians decided to nationalize it. After the 1967 war, Israel took over the management of the museum and the Israel Antiquities Authority’s offices were housed there. The archaeological artefacts, the library, and the displays remained in place until the beginning of the 21st century. In the last decade the IAA began transferring archaeological finds out of the museum’s storage rooms. Over the course of the coming year it plans to transfer the entire library to the IAA’s new offices in West Jerusalem.
The Library
The oldest the books date to the 16th century and include rare manuscripts of pilgrims and scholars of the country. During Jordanian rule in East Jerusalem no new books were added to the library. Since 1967, Israel turned it once again into a substantial archaeological library and today it contains almost all reports on archaeological finds in Israel and the region.
In conclusion
The Supreme Court treated the artifacts in the museum as part of East Jerusalem – which is annexed to Israel, completely disregarding the fact that part of the artifacts originate in the West Bank from excavations that took place there during the British Mandate. The Supreme Court preferred to ignore the international law, which prohibits the transfer of cultural assets from an occupied territory to the domain of the occupying power. It also ignored the fact that Israel, too, has attributed a special status to the museum over the decades. The court’s decision resulted in authorizing Israel’s right to the archaeological artifacts in the museum and to the assets of the library. This implies that in the future, if and when political negotiations take place regarding the future of East Jerusalem, it will also be difficult and even irrelevant to discuss the future of the artifacts and the library that was transferred to Israel. The symbolic significance of this ruling is that Israel turned its back on a vision of the museum as a multicultural site open to the general public, where knowledge of the magnificent, diverse past of the space would be preserved for anyone who was interested in researching it or learning about it.
Link to the ruling (Hebrew) click hereGeneral Motors is washing its hands of the joint venture it operates with Toyota in California--the NUMMI plant in Fremont, Calif., where the companies teamed to build the Pontiac Vibe, and where Toyota builds the Tacoma pickup and Corolla sedan.
We've been telling you for months that GM probably has more money to make selling off its NUMMI factory in the San Francisco area, than it does in going ahead with another joint-venture with Toyota. That sentiment probably lingers at GM today, as the company confirmed it will put the NUMMI plant into the "old GM" and ostensibly, will sell it off as it sells other pieces of its empire.
That's once the plant stops building the 2009 Pontiac Vibe and once Toyota can find another place to build the Tacoma pickup and Corolla sedan, which are built in the plant. GM had owned the plant before it signed its joint venture with Toyota, but the ownership structure today, and the ownership of the real estate itself, isn't clear (we're awaiting word from GM PR).
A sale of the plant could mean a long wind-out as Toyota shuffles production around the U.S. A likely scenario could see the Tacoma and Corolla moving to Toyota's unoccupied plant in northeastern Mississippi, which had been built for the Highlander SUV, then was to build the 2010 Toyota Prius, but now sits mothballed, with the building enclosed but no tooling installed.
In a statement, GM said it's not ruling out future cooperation. "We have enjoyed a very positive and beneficial partnership with Toyota for the past 25 years, and we remain open to future opportunities of mutual interest,” the company said in a release.Why would one coding team drive itself to the edge of exhaustion to create a fully fledged video game—one featuring badgers—in the course of a single weekend? Why would 20? We sent our man in Australia to a 48 hour "game jam" to find out, and he came back with an amazing 24,000 word answer. If reading this piece doesn't make you want to whip out a laptop and do something creative, you may be dead inside. Here, then, is part one of our three part epic, covering the game jam's first evening; parts two and three will follow over the next two days.
Those three little words
"It's all about the food," says Truna.
It's Friday afternoon. I'm at Queensland University of Technology (QUT)'s Kelvin Grove campus in Brisbane, Australia, where 120 amateur and professional game developers are about to undertake a grueling test of stamina, nerves, and sanity. In a few minutes, at 4pm, they will receive three words. Then, in the following 48 hours, they must think up, prototype, and create a fully playable game based on those words.
Truna is the mastermind of this little competition-cum-social experiment in how to break a human being completely. She's the Brisbane International Game Developer Association chapter's "auntie" and a design lecturer at QUT. It is no exaggeration to say she is central to the local game dev community. Today, she is giddy at the creative energy around her.
But as she gives me the tour before she officially commences the competition, her real pride and joy is the kitchen, where a mountain of two-minute noodles sit beside a bucket of instant coffee packets, a box of bread loaves, and several jars of peanut butter. The kitchen, more than anything else, hints at the insanity that will take over the two coding rooms for the weekend. As Truna points out just how many noodles they have, several teams enter with supplies from the local supermarket: chips, energy drinks, pikelets (a kind of Australian pancake), and candy. Carbs, caffeine, and sugar.
"Behind there are two showers," she says. "They're kind of warm. Ish. For the first four people, at least."
Not that anyone is going to use them. If the teams want to complete their games, they will be at their workstations constantly for the whole weekend. The event is a physically and mentally draining challenge on pro and indie competitor alike. "I think they're all mad," Truna says. "All of them."
But a little madness never hurt creativity. Game jams are not a particularly new phenomena—nothing fosters creativity quite like tight restrictions. Here, the teams have 48 hours to present a fully fledged game to a panel of judges. These aren't prototypes. These aren't proof-of-concepts. These are games.
And the prize for all the tears, sweat, and possibly bloodshed? No cash. No game developer job. A mug of jellybeans. So why do the teams put themselves through so much torture just to make a game? To find out, I'm putting myself through my own 48 hour challenge: to document the entire game jam as it unfolds, completing a draft of this article as those around me complete their games. It isn't nearly as grueling as the challenge facing the contestants, to be sure, but hopefully my own insomnia will come to mirror theirs and provide some insight into just why they do this.
The contest takes place in two rooms: the main room consists of 16 six-person "indie" teams made up of equal part enthusiasts, university students, and former students. The other room hosts the four "pro" teams—professional, hardened game developers from local studios.
iOS heavyweights Half Brick, creators of games like Jetpack Joyride and Fruit Ninja, are represented by a team of designers and coders under the flag "For Science!"
and, are represented by a team of designers and coders under the flag "For Science!" A collective of developers from studios including Defiant Development, developers of WarCo, Voxel Agents, Cratesmith, and Strange Loop Games are working together in a "Alliance of Indies."
, Voxel Agents, Cratesmith, and Strange Loop Games are working together in a "Alliance of Indies." Another eclectic group features members from Sega Studios, Three Blokes, and Last Level, are all working under the alias "Heinous Agenda" (named after the Facebook game four of the six team members are currently working on).
Finally, there's the team of outsiders called "Convict Interactive," who have come interstate all the way from Wollongong just for this competition. (You don't need to know anything about Australian geography to know that a place like "Wollongong" is far away. From everywhere.)
Teams are lugging in their computers and connecting snakes of wires to power points and routers. Some groups, with their own sound designers, have sound boards and keyboards and guitars, while others have drawing tablets ranging from mousepad-size to intimidatingly huge. Other groups are ready to work solely on laptops and Macs.
It's nearly 4:00pm when all the teams converge on the indie room for the announcement of the three keywords. It comes via video. Yug, of ManaBar and AusGamers fame, addresses the crowd. He assures the contestants that they are certainly mad, and that everything will certainly go wrong. "It's all part of the charm," he says. Then he announces the three words:
Key. Badger. Suit.
Teams are out the door before the video ends, piling into the sunlight, onto the grass, onto the stairs, already throwing ideas at each other. Others huddle around their computers in tight scrums. Teams want to be prototyping within a couple of hours. Time is precious.
4:00pm
Brainvomiting
Truna sits outside in the courtyard between the indie and pro rooms, rolling a cigarette in the sun. "Look at it!" She points over at team Rockin' Moses, sitting on the grass across the courtyard. Arms are flailing and pens are scribbling. "I love it," says Truna. "I love it."
"Personally, I'd make an adventure game," she adds. "We haven't had an adventure game in the competition since 2008."
I ask her why the developers take part in such an insane endeavor, but she brushes my questions aside. "You can talk to me anytime, darling. Go listen to the brainstorming. This is the most exciting bit. This is when the magic happens!"
Magic, it would seem, means "lots of people shouting random sentences at each other." Few teams are saying anything that makes sense. Instead, all members are just saying whatever comes to mind, hoping something will stick. It looks less like brainstorming and more like brainvomiting.
I sit down with indie team Matchbox Battery, consisting predominately of QUT game design students who, like most of the teams, are trying to think of the most abstract descriptions of the three given words.
Isaac, who I am told is in charge of "particles," tells me, "We are thinking of 'keys' as in musical keys." James, one of the programmers, looks at Benn. "You'll be doing sound. You cool with that?"
Benn hesitates. "So I'll be doing like 80 percent of it?" he says. "Sure."
In the space of about a minute, Matchbox Battery discusses procedural generation, Terraria with badgers, and an environmental digging puzzle. They reject ideas as quickly as they think up new ones.
"Make it all 8-bit" says Benn. "That will make the sound easier."
Leaving them, behind the building I find pro team "For Science!" I ask Murray, a designer, if they have any ideas. He sighs and shakes his head. "Man. I got no idea what I'm doing here. I've been crunching all week."
Meanwhile, two teams have hit up the university pub on the far side of the courtyard. Indie team "Well Placed Cactus"—consisting of students from another local university, Griffith—pour out ideas as fast as they take in beer.
As I sit down, a programmer named Chris enthusiastically blurts out, "Holy shit! This game!" Tyson, the other programmer, explains the concept to me: "So you are in an AC-130, but British, and you are shooting badgers in jumpsuits at the enemy army."
Kai, the team's artist, frantically sketches everything the team says, regardless of how absurd it is. "We could make it black and white. Noir. Like the badgers," she suggests.
"WW1 parachute badgers?" someone says.
They are still debating how to implement the word "key."
"How about the location? Afgahnkeystan? Pa-keystan."
"No, we are doing World War Two."
"It could be a quay! Like, a harbour!"
They all drink their beer in a moment of agreeable silence.
Jack, the sound designer, constructively adds, "We could have bullet time with badgers as they go into their balls and explode!"
"You could call it Inglorious Badgers," I suggest.
"Yes!"
The ideas are flying hard and fast, but I still have no idea how the game will play, and I don't think they do, either. Jack does some research on his phone, discovering via Wikipedia that there are nine different types of badgers.
"They could be our types of ammo. Hey! Sea otters are a type of badger!"
Everyone says it at the same time: "Torpedoes!"
Chris is practically bouncing. "Guys!" he shouts, "Let's go make this game!"
Edward Badgerhands
I leave them to it as they order another round of beer and continue brainstorming. Around the corner at the same bar sits the pro team Alliance of Indies. They are downing beers and eating meat pies out of a tupperware container. "I made 40 of them," says Kieran, a Cratesmith Studios coder, matter-of-factly.
Matt Ditton, convenor of the Game Design program at Griffith University and a producer at Defiant Development, is talking through ideas. "You are a badger. Burrowing down to get treasure. You wear a suit. You don't like dirt..You are a classy badger?"
Thoughts shift. People correctly guess that most teams will be doing badgers as the playable character, and they decide to shift away from that approach.
Kieran pipes up. "Jack Skellingtonkey! Professional safe cracker!"
Kieran is writing down notes frantically as the team brainstorm. Simultaneously, Matt informs me, Kieran's pen is recording audio of the discussion. Supposedly, if he taps the page with the pen, it will tell him what people were saying when he was writing that note.
"It's a great brainstorming pen," says Kieran.
The team returns to the idea of Jack Skellingtonkey. They are now thinking of three playable characters, one for each keyword. The key will be able to unlock doors and safes. The suit can talk his way past guards. And the Badger
"He just throws shit down," says Matt.
"No," Tom protests. "Badgers are stealthy."
"Like an assassin?" asks Matt. "He digs the guards their graves!"
So it's a three-character bank heist game, but there's still a debate as to whether it is a Monaco (co-op 3 player) or a Trine (one player controlling three characters). The team is still debating this as I leave them.
On my way back to the other teams, I walk past Well Placed Cactus again. They call me over to hear their new idea.
"You are Edward Badgerhands! You suffered a horrible accident, lost your hands, and now your hands are badgers. You are going on this date with a girl, so it is a dating sim, but at the same time you must control the badgers and prevent them from mauling her to death while you try to sweet talk your way into her heart and her birthday suit."
"I liked the old idea better," I admit.
I wonder if perhaps they have passed the optimal mix of ideas and beer, but they don't seem too concerned with my disapproval.
One Lonely Developer
Back towards the indie room, I come across a single guy sitting by himself at a table. He has earphones on and sketches casually in a notepad, occasionally stopping and just staring into the sky. Truna lets me know that he is, in fact, a one-man team. Ash is his name, and his team is appropriately named One Lonely Developer. His day job is making Web apps, and I ask him what on earth drives him to do this, by himself, on his weekend off.
"It gives me an excuse to just mess with art and code and to be forced to do what I love," he says.
He's entered the competition several times before, but never alone. Every year he tries to make a browser-based multiplayer game and every year his team pulls up short of creating something shippable.
"So why don't you have a team this year?"
Ash sighs. "Well, after last year, my team really didn't want to come back."
I don't push for the story. I've heard of the competition's reputation. It has built new game studios and it has destroyed old friendships. Going alone means less voices arguing over the direction of the game, but it means a huge workload for Ash. Still, he seems unfazed and outlines several ideas he has to save time.
"I'll do the sound on GarageBand on the iPad, sprites will be sketched on my Wacom tablet and imported straight in to give it a sketchy look, and sound FX will be recorded on my iPhone in the recording mic."
Compared to the other groups frantically yelling absurd ideas over the top of each other, it's almost serene watching Ash conjure his game silently in his head and on his notepad, watching the sun set.On this weeks episode Matt and Aviv review SVU season 2 episode 17 - Folly! The guys talk about how even if the internet didn't exist, that they would still be doing exactly what they do each week on the podcast; watch and loving ridicule SVU. Matt and Aviv discuss how similar phone handsets and shower heads appear on TV. The guys also discuss their Thanksgivings respectively and Aviv mentions his favorite part of editing the podcast is bleeping things out. Also, Matt's social security number might be on the back of the Mona Lisa, the guys genuinely hope to set off a National Treasure style hunt for his social security number. Aviv goes into detail about how much he hates tupperware and why he hates it so much. Aviv also details how his mild face blindness works and how it is actually not like a green screen scenario. The guys also introduce their first ever mailbag segment! All this and more!
Rate and review us on iTunes, tweet at us @SVUPodcast or send us an email specialviewingunit@gmail.comEditor’s Note: This post is reposted in its entirety from the 204 E-News, the official e-mail newsletter for Indian Prairie School District 204.
On Monday, District 204’s music coordinator and fine arts department chairs presented the Board of Education with a redesign to the way students will receive instrumental education. The music teachers are moving the current 5th grade beginning band and orchestra program to 6th grade. This plan is based on a study of the district’s music program over the past two years and best practices nationwide. There will be no changes to chorus for 4th and 5th graders and general music education, which begins in kindergarten.
The shift to 6th grade will allow students to receive daily instrument instruction from a team of music educators from the start of the school year. The daily class time allows for more consistent delivery of instruction and enhances the ability for a teacher to evaluate a student’s progress toward mastering essential skills to best meet the needs of the individual student. According to the |
’s Emmys had an almost unbearable smugness to it.
Factor One was host Stephen Colbert, who — no matter your politics — has spent the past 10 months radiating self-satisfaction, too often mistaking speechifying for comedic monologuing. How interesting to see Colbert leading this year’s Emmys as a self-congratulatory exercise in rewarding television’s diversity — as opposed to the film industry, where progress has been slower.
Still, didn’t it strike Colbert, or any producer, as perhaps stereotypical at best, racist at worst, to have his unnamed black sidekick be the DJ? Who, by the way, was stationed way off to the side and probably backstage, separate and apart from the proceedings?
Dave Chappelle, who blew Colbert away in the few minutes he presented, clapped back at a room full of white people who think the problem solved. “I’m truly amazed how many black people are here,” he said. “I counted 11 on the monitor.”
Also curious was RuPaul, as an Emmy statuette, interviewed by Colbert in a skit that went down as a lame, dated parody of two gay men trading bitchy gossip.
“Honey, get out your china because I am ready to spill the tea,” RuPaul said, before he and Colbert descended into this tradeoff:
“Ooooohhhhhh!”
“Uh-huh, honey.”
“Uh-huhhhhh.”
It’s impossible to imagine such pandering attempted with any other minority group, but RuPaul has such goodwill — “RuPaul’s Drag Race” won multiple Emmys and has attracted guests from Wynonna Judd to Chelsea Clinton — that he was clearly meant to bring Colbert up. Instead, Colbert brought RuPaul down.
We hit the smugness apex toward the end of the night, when Charlie Brooker won an Emmy for an episode of his dystopian anthology series, “Black Mirror.” After lamenting that his dark vision of the near future was too “on the nose,” he offered up an idea to the room:
“Maybe if all the beautiful people in this auditorium could start to physically make love with each other, or yourselves, on the count of three, this world would be a far better place.”
Doubtless.
Related Video 0:23 Politics overshadows EmmysThe good wizards and witches of Hogwarts have to share the magic world with a sinister ilk. Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters inspire “everyone’s worst fear” with the Dark Mark, a snake slithering from the mouth of an ominous skull. Used to brand his followers, this Dark Mark cross-stitch is sure to add a splash of Avada Kedavra to your wall.
THE SUPPLIES
Harry Potter Wish List’s downloadable cross-stitch guide
Aida cloth
Embroidery hoop (9”+)
Scissors
Embroidery floss (black and gray)
Embroidery needles
Pencil
PREPARE THE AIDA
If your Aida cloth came rolled or folded, flatten it. You can either stack heavy objects (like books) on it, or grab two opposite sides and scrub it over a straight edge a few times.
When the cloth is relatively flat, place it in the embroidery hoop. Be sure to tighten the hoop so that the cloth cannot come free in the middle of stitching.
THREAD THE NEEDLE
Embroidery floss usually comes in six strands, but you only need two or three at a time if you want a thinner thread. Simply find the end of the thread and pull apart the strands.
Threading a needle can be tricky, especially with how small the eye of a needle is. It’s important to make sure the eye of your needle isn’t too small for the embroidery floss.
To thread a needle, hold the end of the thread between two fingers so only a very short length protrudes. Carefully set the eye of the needle over it and pull the thread the rest of the way through.
When you have pulled the thread through, tie two or three knots over each other at one end. This will ensure you don’t accidentally pull the floss all the way through the cloth.
WIZARDS BEWARE! Always exercise safety when using needles. Mind your fingers when threading through the cloth.
START THE CROSS-STITCH
Some crafters like to start from the center of the canvas as well as the center of the guide, which can make it easier to make sure the design is aligned neatly on the cloth. However, you can also start from one end of the design and work your way across.
When you start a cross-stitch, move the needle through the Aida from the back—that way the knot you tied remains unseen in the back, and your design will look seamless. Then thread back into a diagonally opposite notch. Repeat the process, moving the needle through from the back and into the diagonally opposite notch, crossing your first thread to make an X.
Make sure your stitch is snug. It should not be so tight that it rips through the Aida, but the X also should not look loose or sagged. Your design will look its best when you keep your thread consistent by making sure all of your /// stitches are layered over the \\\ stitches, or vice versa.
Not all of the stitches in the guide are full Xs—some are angled edges. To accomplish this, do the first half of the X and pull the thread back through to the front as you normally would. Instead of going back into a diagonal notch to complete the X, force the needle into the center of the X, piercing the cloth. The shape should look similar to a Y.
Continue the design with the same thread until it runs out or you finish. Cross out sections on the grid as you progress. When you are finished with an area, flip the hoop over to the back. Thread the end of the floss under a row of four or five stitches you have already made. Pull it snug and snip off any excess thread.
STITCH THE NEXT COLOR
When you have completed the first color, continue to the next color—we did gray second. Continue section by section until all the gray areas are filled in.
STITCH THE DETAILS
After filling in the two colors, it’s time to add some important details to the design: the teeth of the skull and the tongue of the snake. Rather than stitching Xs, you will have to create lines. Reference the guide for where to stitch.
FINISHED!
Welcome to the fold, Death Eater! Instagram and Tweet your Dark Mark with the hashtag #HPWLCrossStitch—you might even get retweeted by the official Harry Potter Film account! Remember to search the hashtag to see the creations of other Harry Potter crafters!The first time I came across the term ‘robotic surgery’, I imagined an android, much like C-3PO, performing heart or brain surgery in the operating room. However, I soon learned that this image was an inaccurate representation of robotic surgery. In reality, robotic surgery is the use of robotic intelligence to aid surgeons and enhance the way surgical procedures are performed. Robotics has been employed for medical procedures since the 1980s with the introduction of Puma 560, a device that was used to perform biopsies.
Today, there are multiple different types of robotic surgery systems. Two of the most commonly used systems are the Zeus and the da Vinci, which are comprised of a surgical console and a surgical cart with instrumentation arms. Both systems enable the main surgeon to sit at the console and control the instrumentation arms at the site of the operation. Some other features of these technologies are the da Vinci’s high definition 3-dimensional visualization of the operating field, and the voice-activated automated endoscopic surgical optimal positioning (AESOP) arm of Zeus (The Zeus system is no longer produced since its manufacturer merged with the da Vinci manufacturer, but it is still in use).
Robotic devices like Zeus and da Vinci have several advantages. The visualization system allows the surgeon to see the operating field in 3-dimensions with great depth and magnification. The instrumentation arms at the surgical cart are capable of performing fine movements with great range of motion. Computerized systems in the technology filter out shakes, tremors, and imprecise hand motions, making the surgical procedure smoother and more efficient. The small size of the instruments allows for smaller incisions, faster healing, and lower infection rates. In fact, a recent study found that in the case of prostate and kidney surgery, using robotic technology was associated with a lower risk of death or bleeding. These advantages come at a great price, however. The robotic instrumentation costs nearly $1.4 million dollars to purchase and $140,000 to maintain annually. There is also a cost of $1,500 - $2,000 in disposable supplies per procedure.
Nevertheless, in hospitals with access to robotic surgical technology, it is employed in a variety of surgical procedures including pediatric surgery; gynecologic surgery; cardiothoracic surgery; Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT); and urology. In 2010 alone, 98,000 robotic-assisted radical prostatectomies (removal of the prostate gland) were performed. In addition, robot-assisted surgery has been used for nephrectomies (removal of the kidney) and kidney transplantation. Head and neck surgery has also made strides as a result of robotic surgery where robotic systems have been used to perform trans-oral surgery of the oropharynx. Transoral robotic surgery of the larynx as well as minimally invasive thyroid surgery is also being investigated by ENT surgeons. In cardiothoracic surgery, robotic technology has been employed for coronary artery bypass as well as valve repair. Furthermore, last week surgeons at Toronto General Hospital reported using the da Vinci system to remove a cancerous lung lobe from a patient.
Morover, robotic surgery has implications for the field of telesurgery. In 2001, surgeons in New York performed the first remote surgical procedure, a robotic cholecystectomy (gall bladder removal) on a patient in France, using robotic technology and sophisticated high-speed communication systems. Canada has been at the forefront of telesurgery; Dr. Mehran Anvari, the founder of the Center for Minimal Access Surgery, has performed surgical procedures from Hamilton, Ontario on patients in rural hospitals hundreds of kilometers away. The future of telesurgery is promising, as surgeons may one day be able to remotely perform operations on patients in areas with limited access to surgeons. In addition, telesurgery enables wounded soldiers to receive immediate surgical care from a remotely situated surgeon. For this reason, in the 1990s, the department of defense invested a significant amount into research on robotic surgery. Another potential use of telesurgery is in training surgeons from a remote location. Shortages of specialist surgeons is a major problem in the developing world; it may be possible for trainees to receive advanced surgical training in their home countries from experts in North America and Europe using robotic technology. As the field of telesurgery expands, the legal and administrative implications will become an issue of interest. For example, if a surgeon in one country is controlling a robot-assisted device in another country, how will national medical licensure laws be applied?
In the meantime, research in the field of robotic surgery is rapidly advancing thanks to greater collaboration between different academic institutions. Researchers at the University of California Santa, Cruz and the University of Washington recently reported offering a new robotic surgical system known as the Raven II -- which was developed using funding from the National Science Foundation -- to major research centers at five institutions. They state that they have employed an “open source model” for the sharing of this technology to enable simultaneous collaborations at leading institutions in the field of robotic surgery. According to Dr. Jacob Rosen at UC Santa Cruz, access to this technology at large academic institutions has been limited, making it difficult to perform studies. They hope that the new collaborative approach will enable experts to study these systems more thoroughly and examine patient outcomes of robotic surgery more extensively. Other advances in robotic surgery are also being examined and include making the surgical arms smaller for finer surgery, as well as the development of instruments that can sense different structures and employ feedback mechanisms.
As the field of robotic surgery continues to advance it will be interesting to consider how residency programs will incorporate this technology into their training curricula. Currently it is reported that 7 percent of hospitals in the United States have da Vinci systems in their hospitals, but as hospitals continue to adopt this and other robotic technologies at a rapid pace, training of residents and fellows in robotic surgery will become more relevant. Some experts argue that as robotic surgery becomes more widespread, residency programs should incorporate competencies in this area into their curricula and ensure that residents have performed sufficient surgeries using robotic technology. We are still a long ways away from an android like C-3PO performing surgery by itself. But the advent of robots will change the surgical experience for surgeons and patients alike. And it will give surgeons, engineers, and other scientists plenty to work on as they further develop the field of robotic surgery and understand its benefits and drawbacks.
References
Y. Kakeji, et al. Robotic laparoscopic distal gastrectomy:â¨a comparison of the da Vinci and Zeus systems. International Journal of Medical Robotics and Computer Assisted Surgery, 2006; 2: 299–304
Newman JG, et al. Robotics and Telesurgery in Otolaryngology. Otolaryngology Clinics of North America, 44 (2011) 1317–1331
Orvieto MA, et al. Robotic technologies in surgical oncology training and practice. Surgical Oncology, 20 (2011) 203–209The following is from George Fitzhugh’s Cannibals All! or, Slaves Without Masters, pages 71-73. Look, if you call yourself a Southern Reactionary and haven’t read Fitzhugh, then get on it son. His works came in the late 1850s, and because they largely dealt with slavery, have been largely forgotten even among Rightists. But if I had to pick a standard-bearer of high test Southern Rightism, it’d be him. Highlighted passages bolded by me:
It seems to us that the vain attempts to define liberty in theory, or to secure its enjoyment in practice, proceed from the fact that man is naturally a social and gregarious animal, subject, not by contract or agreement, as Locke and his followers assume, but by birth and nature, to those restrictions of liberty which are expedient or necessary to secure the good of the human hive, to which he may belong. There is no such thing as natural human liberty, because it is unnatural for man to live alone and without the pale and government of society. Birds and beasts of prey, who are not gregarious, are naturally free. Bees and herds are naturally subjects or slaves of society. Such is the theory of Aristotle, promulged more than two thousand years ago, generally considered true for two thousand years, and destined, we hope, soon again to be accepted as the only true theory of government and society.
Modern social reformers, except Mr. Carlyle, proceeding upon the theory of Locke, which is the opposite of Aristotle, propose to dissolve and disintegrate society, falsely supposing that they thereby follow nature. There is not a human tie that binds man to man that they do not propose to cut “sheer asunder.” ‘Tis true, after their work of destruction is finished, they see the necessity of society; but instead of that natural and historical society, which has usually existed in the world, with its gradations of rank and power, its families, and its slaves, they propose wholly to disregard the natural relations of mankind, and profanely to build us states, like Fourierite Phalansteries, or Mormon and Oneida villages, where religion shall be banished, and in which property, wife and children shall be held somewhat in common. These social establishments, under a self-elected despotism like that of Joe Smith, or Brigham Young, become patriarchal, and succeed so long as such despotism lasts. That is, when the association loses the character intended by its founders, and acquires a despotic head like other family associations, it works well, because it works naturally. But this success can only be temporary; for nothing but the strong rule of a Cromwell or Joe Smith can keep a society together that wants the elements of cohesion in the natural ties that bind man to man; and Cromwells and Joe Smiths are not to be found every day.
‘Tis an historical fact that this family association, this patriarchal government, for purposes of defence against enemies from without, gradually merges into larger associations of men under a common government or ruler. This latter is the almost universal and, we may thence infer, natural and normal condition of civilized man. In this state of society there is no liberty for the masses. Liberty has been exchanged by nature for security.
What is falsely called Free Society is a very recent invention. It proposes to make the weak, ignorant, and poor, free, by turning them loose in a world owned exclusively by the few (whom nature and education have made strong, and whom property has made stronger) to get a living. In the fanciful state of nature, where property is unappropriated, the strong have no weapons but superior physical and mental power with which to oppress the weak. Their power of oppression is increased a thousand fold when they become the exclusive owners of the earth and all the things thereon. They are masters without the obligations of masters, and the poor are slaves without the rights of slaves.
It is generally conceded, even by abolitionists, that the serfs of Europe were liberated because the multitude of laborers and their competition as freemen to get employment, had rendered free labor cheaper than slave labor. But, strange to say, few seem to have seen that this is in fact asserting that they were less free after emancipation than before. Their obligation to labor was increased; for they were compelled to labor more than before to obtain a livelihood, else their free labor would not have been cheaper than their labor as slaves. They lost something in liberty, and everything in rights – for emancipation liberated or released the masters from all their burdens, cares, and liabilities, whilst it increased both the labors and the cares of the liberated serf.Nvidia announced a new, upgraded version of its Shield TV streaming box at CES 2017 that due to come out soon, but the company isn't leaving the original 2015 model out in the cold. As promised, the "Shield Experience Upgrade 5.0" update was released today for the older box, adding several of the new features that Nvidia announced for the upcoming 2017 version of the Shield TV, which the company announced is available today.
The update brings the 2015 Shield TV up to Android 7.0 Nougat, adds apps for Amazon Video, Twitter, NFL, and Comedy Central, and offers a new Nvidia Games hub as a centralized place to access games. Additionally, the GeForce Now cloud streaming has been upgraded to offer up to GeForce GTX 1080 graphics, while the local GameStream feature can now stream games from your gaming PC at up to 4K HDR.
Meanwhile, for users who want to upgrade, the new 2017 model, which offers improved performance and Google Assistant smart home control, along with the other aforementioned features, is available now for $199.99. The $299.99 version of the Shield TV, the Shield Pro — which adds a 500GB hard drive and comes with a free controller — is also now available for preorder, but no concrete release date has been announced.On Aug. 16, 1977, a volunteer looked over a stack of data from Ohio State's Big Ear radio telescope and saw something surprising. He grabbed a red pen and wrote down one word in the margin -- Wow!.
On Aug. 16, 1977, a volunteer looked over a stack of data from Ohio State's Big Ear radio telescope and saw something surprising. He grabbed a red pen and wrote down one word in the margin -- Wow!
DELAWARE, Ohio - If you call Jerry Ehman at home, you'll likely reach his answering machine. He wants to hear who's calling before he picks up. He's not anti-social, just cautious. It could be another alien fanatic. Or another reporter.
Both want to talk with him about the signal. The "wow" signal.
Though it's been nearly 33 years since he discovered a mysterious space signal, there is still a lot of interest.
After all, his find is the closest thing to alien contact that man has ever recorded.
Ehman was even mentioned by name in a 1994 episode of The X-Files called "Little Green Men."
"That was cute," he said.
Every time his name shows up in a newspaper story, on a blog or a TV series about aliens, new questions pop up about what happened on Aug. 16, 1977. Star Wars was still in theaters and Elvis had left the building that morning when Ehman began to decipher another stack of printouts from Ohio State University's Big Ear radio observatory in Delaware.
Decades later, Ehman, now 70, rattles off the sequence that made him famous: "6EQUJ5."
"Numbers we'll always remember," said Bob Dixon, 71, who was the assistant director of the Big Ear radio observatory during its heyday in the early 1970s.
Grant money from the National Science Foundation was rolling in, and SETI (the search for extraterrestrial intelligence) research was hot. The Big Ear, which had scanned the heavens for natural radio waves, was beginning to seek artificial signals. Alien signals.
And in 1977, just months before Close Encounters of the Third Kind opened in theaters, Ehman "heard" something that made him and the Big Ear famous. That something might have been the only alien "hello" we've ever heard.
When he was growing up, Ehman never put much thought into UFOs or extra-terrestrials.
"As far as I know, I've never been abducted," he said. "I'd never seen any aliens, so that didn't interest me."
His future, Ehman thought, was in agriculture.
And for a while, before he earned a doctoral degree in physics and worked in radio astronomy, Ehman considered becoming a farmer.
He spent his first 21 years in the hills of western New York. When he was 8, his family moved to a dairy farm.
Ehman went into high school ready to learn about raising crops. He even grew strawberries in a school agriculture program, but soon lost interest. It wasn't the same without his dad, who died when Ehman was 11.
So he focused on his other interest: science.
He studied at the University of Buffalo and then the University of Michigan before he went to Ohio State in 1967 to split his time between teaching electrical engineering and working at the Big Ear.
When he didn't get tenure at OSU in the early 1970s, he took a job at Franklin University teaching business classes. But he continued to work at the radio observatory without pay. He enjoyed the work.
Then one morning, he wrote down the word "wow" on a printout and everything changed.
"Oh, I want it to be a signal from an extra-terrestrial civilization," Ehman acknowledges.
Others do, too.
And some go to great lengths to find meaning in the six letters and numbers that Ehman circled in red pen.
Dixon said a man in Poland once called to tell him he had solved the puzzle.
"He said he spent 10 years studying this," Dixon said. "I tried to explain to him that there is no code, there's nothing to decode, that it makes no sense to talk about that."
Just another one for the "crazies file," as he likes to call it.
"I keep getting a call from a guy in the Netherlands," Ehman said. "Says he's got this theory - I could tell he was a flake.
"Now, when he calls, I've got my answering machine, of course."
The Big Ear was built in the late 1950s by electrical engineer John Kraus and operational by 1963.
The antenna, large as three football fields, spent seven years searching for newly discovered deep-space radio sources known as quasars. By 1972, Big Ear had recorded more than 20,000.
From 1973 to 1997, the focus shifted to narrowband radio signals, which are not natural. In other words, the telescope became a SETI scout.
Everything emits an electromagnetic signal or signature. This is why astronomers measure radiation from planets or other objects to learn about their chemical composition. An observer on a far-off planet might be able to measure the radiation Earth emits and learn that it contains hydrogen, oxygen, carbon and other elements and chemicals.
Each of these chemical signals occupies a distinct portion of the spectrum, a distinct frequency. Because hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe the OSU team chose the hydrogen frequency as its target.
The hope was that extraterrestials might think the same way as SETI researchers and choose that common hydrogen frequency to send us a radio broadcast.
For years, Ehman and others took their printouts and looked for anything that resembled a beacon signal.
The "wow" signal remains the solitary find.
In 1997, the program was shut down. The telescope was scrapped the next year.
Ehman continued to volunteer in Ohio State's radio astronomy program over the years, but stopped in 2008. He volunteers at his church and is considering getting an amateur radio operator license.
Although the Big Ear is no longer around, the search for alien signals has never really gone away. The University of California at Berkeley has a program called SETI@Home, which uses millions of home computers around the world to process data from radio observatories.
What took Ehman and others hours to do by hand is tackled by a computer in milliseconds.
The "wow signal," however, is not forgotten. In fact, it serves as a case study, a lesson in what works and what doesn't.
"It emphasized the importance of doing signal processing in real or near-real time in an interference-rich environment," said Jill Tarter, director of the Center for SETI Research.
If the computers sense a signal, researchers will immediately focus on it to see what it is.
That wasn't the case with Big Ear.
The radio telescope ran for three or four days at a time. Then it was shut down and the data was printed out. Once the 1-megabyte hard drive was cleared, the telescope was turned back on.
So by the time Ehman wrote "wow," the signal was long gone.
So far, the decade-old SE TI@Home program has logged 1 petabyte (1 million megabytes) of data. And it's possible, said Dan Werthimer, who directs the program, that there's a signal in there that contains decodable information - maybe a picture or a language lesson.
"It's looking more and more like the universe is teeming with life," he said.
Ehman agrees, but said he discovered long ago that some scientific fields are more about seeking than finding.
Ever since he wrote down "wow," Ehman and others have worked to rule out other causes: military experiments, distorted space waves, satellites, supernovae, black holes.
So far, the only explanation that seems plausible is intelligent life. Something. Way out there.
"But I can't prove that it was, and I can't prove that it wasn't," he said. "It's an open question."
So he hasn't lost any sleep waiting for the aliens to call.“Parisian suburban cities continue to take on colour”
A new street art festival is born: Wall Street Art Grand Paris Sud
Beginning in 2015, the street art festival of “Evry centre Essonne” welcomed about fifty artists in the six cities of the local council.
Henceforth the agglomeration community is called Grand Paris Sud. It has grown from 6 to 24 municipalities. A new street art Fest has been created and has been named “Wall Street Art”.
A great personality of Urban art in France, Gautier Jourdain now ensures the artistic direction and succeeds to Nicolas Laugero-Lasserre. Gautier is the co-founder (with his wife Mathilde) of the Galerie Mathgoth in Paris. He is also Artistic Director of the iconic MUR Oberkampf association in Paris (of which he is a founding member), as well as Artistic Director of the national program 100 Murs pour la Jeunesse “hundred walls for youth”.
While continuing the previous work, the idea is to give a second breath to the festival so that it still gains in notoriety.
The majority of the artworks that will be realized will be large murals on facades of buildings. Internationally renowned artists will be invited to participate in this project.
The first to participate in this event is David Walker. Here’s his most recent mural created in Seine et Marne (suburb area of Paris) in the heart of the town of Lieusaint. This is a portrait of a young woman named YULI.
After David Walker, some of the most famous street artists around the world will be invited to paint. Such as Case Maclaim, Fintan Magee, C215, Astro …
The next mural to be undertaken will be painted by the German street artist ECB. He will begin his mural on June 6th in the Pyramids neighborhood in Evry.
For More Information about “Wall Street Art Grand Paris Sud”: Twitter – Facebook – Instagram
Gallery:Image copyright Reuters Image caption Mario Draghi has said the ECB has "stepped up" its plans to act to prop up inflation in the eurozone
The eurozone economy saw anaemic growth in December and suffered its worst quarter for more than a year, a survey has indicated.
The closely watched Markit/CIPS composite purchasing managers' index (PMI) for December fell to 51.4 from an earlier estimate of 51.7.
But that was better than the previous month's reading of 51.1, which had marked a 16-month low.
The eurozone economy has seen 18 months of continuous, albeit weak growth.
Markit said its latest PMI survey, which combines the results of individual surveys of the construction, services and manufacturing industries, suggested the eurozone economy grew by just 0.1% in the last three months of 2014.
Persistently low inflation since the start of last year has led consumers and business to hold off making purchases or making investments in the expectation that prices will continue to fall.
The problem has been exacerbated since the summer by the falling price of oil. Brent crude has fallen by more than 50% since August to $51.54 per barrel.
The fear of deflation led the European Central Bank (ECB) to lower interest rates to 0.05% and begin an asset purchase programme to inject cash into the economy in August.
However, the ECB has resisted taking the same action as central banks in the US, UK and Japan by buying government debt.
Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said the weakness of the latest PMI surveys would "add to calls for more aggressive central bank stimulus, including full-scale quantitative easing, to be undertaken as soon as possible".
Grexit
He added: "The euro zone will look upon 2014 as a year in which recession was avoided by the narrowest of margins, but the weakness of the survey data suggests there's no guarantee that a renewed downturn will not be seen in 2015."
Analysts expect the ECB to announce its bond-buying programme - also known as quantitative easing - later this month. But some have suggested that technical aspects, such as whether the ECB will buy Greek government debt, may cause delays.
The ECB meeting on 22 January comes three days before a snap election in Greece, caused by the failure of the country's parliament to elect a president and concerns that the country might leave the eurozone.
Greek anti-austerity party Syriza is leading in opinion polls and has pledged to renegotiate the terms of Greece's €240bn bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.
Fears over a possible Greek exit from the eurozone and fears over global economic growth pushed the interest rate on German government debt to new record lows on Tuesday as investors sought safe haven investments.
The yield on German Bunds fell three basis points to an all-time low of 0.484%.
Some members of the ECB's Governing Council have yet to be persuaded of the merits of a bond-buying programme, most notably the president of Germany's Bundesbank, Jens Weidmann.
Inflation for the eurozone in December is widely expected to have fallen and could even be negative for the first time since October 2009. In November inflation was just 0.3%. On Monday, official figures showed that inflation in Germany, the eurozone's largest economy, had fallen to 0.2% in December.
Jennifer McKeown, senior European economist at Capital Economics, said that if inflation were to fall that far, it would "make the pressure for the ECB to implement quantitative easing at its January meeting irresistible".It turns out that the phantom cellphone vibration syndrome is fairly common. Ask around. See if you can find someone who believed the smartphone in their pocket was vibrating but found when they checked, there was nothing new. No call. No text.
There's a growing body of research on phantom vibrations and many of the other problems associated with technology obsession, all of which is explored by Larry Rosen, a professor of psychology at California State University, Dominguez Hills, in his new book, iDisorder.
Rosen, who earned his bachelors degree in mathematics before getting a Ph.D in psychology, examines technology's impact on our lives. His book, which combines the latest research with his own experience, anecdote and observation, warns about obsessive technological use and offers practical advice for keeping tech at bay.
In this interview, Rosen talked about some of the issues associated with unhealthy, or least unreasonable, levels of tech obsession.
What is iDisorder or technology addiction? Is it obsessive compulsive disorder, narcissism, depression, anxiety - none of this or all of the above? iDisorder is any psychological disorder that appears to be either caused by or potentially exacerbated by your relationship with media and technology. But, in fact, it's all of the ones you mentioned. Interacting with our technology can make us display signs and symptoms of everything ranging from depression to mania to narcissism to voyeurism - you name it. The research is all showing that it appears that these kinds of technologies can, unless we're watching what we're doing, lead to these kinds of issues.
If I check my cell phone every few minutes, what does that indicate? I would want to know what you are doing and what you are feeling when you do that. If you pick up your phone and check your text messages, and you go 'I got to text right back to this person,' I would suggest that what you're feeling is anxiety about not being able to check in. That's one of the underlying issues of obsessive compulsive behaviors. If you got on your phone every couple of minutes and I saw you make this big smile and say 'I got an email from an old friend and it felt so good,' then I would say that it's probably an addictive kind of behavior. It's that split between a level of addiction, meaning we're trying to get pleasure, versus our level of obsession or compulsion, meaning we're trying to reduce our anxiety.
Talk about the phantom vibration syndrome, where it feels as if the cell phone is vibrating but it isn't. Why does this happen? We're just starting to see research on this. I think it's a fascinating phenomenon. I think it comes again from anxiety. Our body is always in waiting to anticipate any kind of technological interaction, which usually comes from a smartphone. With that anticipatory anxiety, if we get any neurological stimulation, our pants rubbing against our leg for example, you might interpret that through the veil of anxiety, as 'Oh, my phone is vibrating."
And this syndrome is fairly common? Yes, I have not found anybody whom I've talked to, particularly males, because they carry their phone in their pocket, who can admit that it has never happened. There are a lot of people who say they are patting their pocket all day long.
Are phantom cell phone vibrations a reason for worry? The worry part comes from this: Is it overwhelming anxiety and is that anxiety getting in the way of anything else in your life? Most of the people will report that what it does is it gets in the way of their social relationships, because they are constantly focusing on reducing the anxiety about what they're missing out on their phone. At dinner, they're not paying attention to their family and kids. When they go out, they are not paying attention to a movie because they are always on edge and worried. If they are at a family gathering they are always checking their phone constantly. If it's that severe, then it's time to re-conceptualize what you are doing.On Dec. 31, 2015, New Year’s Eve, there was a wave of physical and sexual violence on women across Europe, including Austria, Switzerland, Sweden and Finland—but especially near the central train station of Cologne, Germany. Dozens of women were sexually molested, groped, and mugged; at least one alleged rape was reported. There is also the fear that some women did not even report their assault. A volunteer policewoman was among the women assaulted, and one young woman had a firecracker placed in the hood of her sweatshirt.
Perhaps the most terrifying aspect of this violent night, however, was the fact that these attacks appeared organized. Approximately 1,000 men of “Arab or North African appearance” came in groups and targeted women in the hectic crowds near the train station. They did not only target lone females, however; women have reported being harassed while they were with groups of their girl friends or even with their male partners.
Many have seen these attacks as a link to the million refugees that were let into Germany this past year. Conservative politicians have been accused of using the attacks to manipulate fears of “asylum seekers” and limit their arrivals, while left-wing politicians have been accused of downplaying the events to avoid such a backlash. German authorities have even been accused of covering up the backgrounds of the perpetrators, because this knowledge was not released for some time after the arrests themselves.
It is truly amazing what some politicians would do to prevent this negative reaction to refugees, such as take New Year’s Eve as an opportunity to lecture women on what they could do to stop this in the future rather than focusing on the perpetrators themselves. Henriette Reker, Mayor of Cologne, said that women should adopt a “code of conduct” to prevent similar attacks in the future, and that it is always possible to keep strangers (especially men) at least an “arm’s length” away. An interesting comment, considering anyone who has spent New Year’s Eve—or any major holiday—in a city knows that overly crowded streets are part of the deal.
Yet, somehow, women in their own country must find ways to keep a distance of several feet from all strangers, or run the |
ckney, the pastor singled out by the gunman, had fought on behalf of Gullah Geechee cultural preservation during his time as a state senator.
"The word genocide is one that a lot of people can't handle me using," Goodwine says. "Because so many people in the world don't realise that those were Gullah Geechee people that were massacred. Those were Gullah Geechee people whose rights were being violated."
It is a complicated issue, as Goodwine explains, and one that plays into a long-term struggle for the Gullah Geechee Nation. Their homeland is being threatened by gentrification. Their lifestyle is eroding. And all the while, very few people are aware that they are anything other than 'black'.
"That's a colour. That's not a culture," Goodwine says. "That's a way to make sure people think we're legend, and that we're something of the past, that you only find Gullah Geechee in a history book."
Disappearing under dollars and cents
A state away, on Sapelo Island, Georgia, Cornelia Bailey shares the concern that Gullah Geechee life is fading away. She is a local tour guide, historian and author of God, Dr. Buzzard, and the Bolito Man, a memoir of her life as a Saltwater Geechee woman.
Before the 1950s, Gullah Geechee communities like hers were thriving in the isolation of the Sea Islands. Now, Sapelo Island is one of the few with no bridges connecting it to the mainland. It claims the distinction of having the last intact sea island Gullah Geechee community in the United States, untouched by large-scale development.
"I always say, 'Lord, when there came air conditioning, we were in trouble,'" Bailey says. She has witnessed nearby St. Simons Island grow into a tourist destination during her lifetime. Vacation homes and hotels have flourished, and property prices have risen. "There was a time when most people didn't want these areas because they said it was infested with mosquitos. And now, everybody wants it."
Even in Hog Hammock, the town in Sapelo Island where Bailey lives, she gets offers to sell her land. The pressures make Bailey grim about the Gullah Geechee's future. "We will disappear in golf courses and condos. We will disappear under the dollars and cents," she warns.
Now in her 70s, Bailey has seen many of the traditions she grew up with disappear. As she sits in the shadows of her dining room, she remembers the days when she had to drive horses as well as cars.
No one sews fishing nets like they used to. And why bother with subsistence hunting when there is a grocery store on the mainland? Instead of rowing through a maze of wetlands, Sapelo's Gullah Geechee population can now wait for a ferry to come three times a day.
More and more, the Gullah Geechee are boarding the ferry to leave, while outsiders ride the ferry in, Bailey explains. She sees the population around her "aging and moving". There are no schools on the island, and few jobs.
The Sapelo Island's visitor centre, run by the state of Georgia, advertises a local Gullah Geechee community of 75, but Bailey says the number has actually tumbled down to around 50. "We just like that big number," she adds playfully. "It makes us sound good."
At that, she pauses. Her eyes linger around her single-storey house, its walls covered with memories. Newspaper clippings and family photos are framed on the wall behind her. A child's craft project - a paper plate transformed into a spider with googly eyes and pipe cleaner legs – hangs from the ceiling above her fridge.
There has been some hope for Hog Hammock's aging population, including the one-and-a-half-year-old great grandnephew that Bailey helps to take care of. As he blusters past the dining room table, Bailey quickly scoops him onto her lap, interrupting him mid-rampage. "The terrible twos came early," she says with a laugh, rubbing the child's tummy. He has already broken into a cupboard this morning and ravaged a box of Fruit Loops.
"If you don't have children in your community, you don't have a community," Bailey says. "You can't have a community of senior citizens. That's a retirement community. You have to have children to make a community grow."
In recent years, Sapelo Island has garnered national attention for its drastic rise in property taxes. Gullah Geechee feared they could lose their land, land passed down since emancipation, to tax auctions.
"It was like we went to bed one night and it was $300, and the next day it was $3,000. We were like, 'What's going on here?'" Bailey explains. Many of the tax hikes have been appealed and overturned, but the question of punitive taxation haunts many on the Gullah Geechee corridor.
Selling baskets, not pain
Gullah Geechee chef Benjamin Dennis IV decided early on to keep his family's property by any means necessary. Distant relatives had sold off their shares, and his late grandfather had received offers for what little remains.
"My granddaddy always said, 'My own grandfather worked hard for this, so keep it in the family,'" Dennis says. "There's no amount of money in the world that could compensate for owning your own land."
Dennis has carved a niche in Charleston's culinary scene, sharing his Gullah Geechee background through food. "I call it culture through food. It's a history lesson on the meaning of Gullah food, which is almost a lost art," he explains.
It is a gastronomic tradition rich with the smells of his grandmother's okra soup, her apple dumplings, her rice with shrimp caught straight from the local creeks, fried in rich bacon fat on a cast iron skillet.
But when Dennis works at student kitchens as a mentor chef, he meets high schoolers who live far from food markets with fresh produce, in what is known as 'food deserts'. The only stores close by sell liquor and potato chips, he says.
It is just another way Dennis sees the descendants of Gullah Geechee people drifting away from their fresh, subsistence-based lifestyle. "Some can't even afford to eat stuff that culturally their ancestors brought here. It baffles me," he says.
Dennis agrees that the Gullah Geechee may be facing a 'cultural genocide'. A big part of the problem, he says, is the lop-sided history. When he walks through the old-time grandeur of downtown Charleston, he sees monuments to white America and its complex relationship with race. But Dennis does not see the same complexity afforded to black history.
Instead, all he passes are stalls of souvenirs - prominent among them, the Gullah Geechee sweetgrass baskets sold for hundreds of dollars to the tourist hordes.
With black identity so simplified, so underrepresented, Dennis says it is "easy" to understand why a massacre would happen here.
He believes Charleston would not be Charleston without the Gullah Geechee presence, period. But as long as the "true story" of that culture goes unacknowledged, racism will continue to fester.
"What you see when you come to Charleston is sweetgrass baskets. It's an easy sell. Anybody can sell that," he concludes. "But can you sell the pain? Do you want to tell that story? I think it needs to be told, but they don't want to tell it. They don't want to ruffle feathers."
This article first appeared in a special edition of the Al Jazeera Magazine exploring race in the US. Download it for iPads and iPhones here, and for Android devices here.Saul Villeda, who leads a stem-cell research lab at the University of California, San Francisco, is not concerned about a black market for baby blood. ‘You sound like my mother,’ he told an anxious reporter for the New York public radio station WNYC’s science programme Radiolab in an interview last year. ‘She’s worried that all of a sudden 16-year-olds are going to go missing.’
Villeda’s mother has reason to worry, sort of. Her son’s research has found that blood from young mice can improve the learning and memory of old ones, and she’s certainly not the only one to wonder what this could mean for humans. In his lab at UCSF and his postdoc lab at Stanford, Villeda and colleagues injected old mice with blood plasma from young mice, and vice versa. They found that the senescent rodents learned quicker and grew more neurons after infusions from young blood, while the juvenile mice got correspondingly worse at learning new tricks. On Radiolab, after the reporter Lynn Levy explained just how much the young blood revitalised rodent brains, you could just picture the host Robert Krulwich, who is in his 60s, swivel his head menacingly towards his younger co-host Jad Abumrad. ‘Jad?’ he purred. ‘Come a little closer.’ Abumrad, laughing hysterically, yelped: ‘Stay away from me!’
‘It freaks me out a little bit,’ says Levy. ‘I feel like old women will be buying vials of baby blood.’ She’s not alone. Commenters on CNN’s online coverage of the research sounded just like Villeda’s mother. ‘There’s gonna be a rash of old people kidnapping young people and harvesting their blood,’ one wrote. Another asked: ‘I wonder how long it will be before poor teenagers are disappearing.’ One budding entrepreneur offered: ‘As a young person I will sell blood to the highest bidder.’
Krulwich is probably not going to actually drink Abumrad’s blood, but that’s the first place his mind went, along with the minds of Levy and Villeda’s mom and the commenters on CNN.com. Faced with the knowledge that the bloom of youth is transmissible, they all thought: ‘But what’s to stop old people stealing it from the young?’
This lust for youth has been around for a very long time in human culture. We don’t always try to steal youth outright, of course. There are also creams, potions, diets, regimens and incantations, dating at least back to the oldest surgical treatise, a 1600 BCE document known as the Edwin Smith papyrus, but likely reaching back before written language. But there is also a long history of renewed vitality coming at the expense of the young. Pope Innocent VIII, who died in 1492, might have been the first to imbibe the blood of young boys in an attempt to stave off the inevitable. (It didn’t work – the boys died and so did the Pope – though it’s also possible the whole thing is a scurrilous rumour.) A 16th-century Italian alchemist recommended shutting children under the age of 13 in a well-enclosed room, then siphoning out the air, which would be ‘filled with the breath and expired substance of these five young virgins’ and therefore have curative powers.
Like many of our most puzzling and fundamental errors, this one is the result of cognitive bias. No matter how much a culture congratulates itself on being science-minded, we wrestle with a deep-seated tendency towards magical thinking – in this case, sympathetic magic, the idea that one can exert magical influence through contact or kinship. As described by James Frazer in The Golden Bough (1890), sympathetic magic has two forms: ‘first, that like produces like, or that an effect resembles its cause; and, second, that things which have once been in contact with each other continue to act on each other at a distance after the physical contact has been severed.’ Taking pills of powdered animal penis to cure impotence would be magic of the first type; magic of the second type might include a voodoo doll seeded with fingernail clippings from the victim.
The first type of sympathetic magic, which Frazer also calls homeopathic magic, is deeply ingrained in the history of medicine. Frazer describes sympathetic magical cures for infertility, tumours, difficult childbirth, and other medical complaints. For instance, he reports that ‘the ancient Hindoos’ wrapped jaundice sufferers in the skin of a red bull, in the hopes that they will take on its ruddy colour. Folk medicine often posits that plants and herbs treat the organs they resemble; the pendulous tubers of orchid root, for instance, were supposed to be good for testicle health. The Renaissance physician Paracelsus believed that the body was a microcosmic version of the universe, with direct analogues for each organ in the planets. In 1796, the German doctor Samuel Hahnemann invented homeopathic medicine on the principle that ‘like cures like’.
It’s only in recent centuries, as old age has become more commonplace, that we have started to venerate youth
As the Missouri State University psychologist Carol Gosselink has pointed out, this species of magical thinking also extends to the way people think about old age. ‘The largest numbers of magical thinkers about ageing,’ she writes, ‘are the countless midlife and older people who squander incalculable money, time, and energy on products and services promising that the disease of ageing can be slowed, stopped, or reversed by anti-ageing products and services.’ It’s no surprise that these new magic users are swayed by a medical finding that suggests like may truly cure like.
Most of the cultures Frazer documented in 1890 do not, at least in his description, have potions or incantations for achieving youth via sympathetic magic. As Gosselink points out, old age was so rare in less-developed societies that people who achieved it were granted a certain amount of status and even a mystical cachet. Later, the elderly might have been mocked or isolated, but age was still not seen as an illness. It’s only in recent centuries, as old age has become more and more commonplace, that we have started to venerate youth; ageing is now associated not with fortunate longevity but with decrepitude and disease. And accordingly, our magical thinking has expanded to find mystical cures for loss of vitality. That’s why a strange light appears in people’s eyes when they hear about the mouse blood experiment. We are culturally primed to look to sympathetic magic as a means for curing what ails us, and old age is now regarded as a disease to be fought.
One day in the early 17th century, the recently widowed Hungarian countess Elizabeth Báthory went for a ride with a suitor and spotted a withered old woman. Báthory playfully asked her admirer: ‘What would you do if you had to kiss that old hag?’ ‘God save me from such a hideous fate,’ he said. This pleased Elizabeth, until the old woman looked her way and warned: ‘Take care, O vain one, soon you will look as I do.’
The countess was in her 40s at the time, and she began to fret obsessively about encroaching old age. When, sometime later, she struck a servant, the girl bled, and Báthory noticed that her own hands became smoother and younger where the blood touched them. This gave Báthory, who was a particularly vicious master and whose servants were only peasants, an awful idea. She would kill her servants and take daily baths in their blood to keep herself young.
This is a total myth, of course. Elizabeth Báthory did murder girls – between 40 and 650 of them, depending on which account you trust – but there’s no evidence that she was turning them into wrinkle cream. While the accomplices and witnesses examined at Báthory’s trial did not stint at giving gruesome testimony about her crimes, not one of them mentioned the famous baths of blood.
A person who kills in order to steal her victims’ youth is, to some shameful corner of the brain, understandable
Nevertheless, the legend of Báthory’s ghastly toilette was stated authoritatively by the scholar László Turóczi in 1729, repeated as fact by historians in the 18th and 19th centuries, and still persists today, even after the witness accounts were made public. The introduction of Valentine Penrose’s book The Bloody Countess (1962), one of the first works to focus on Báthory, begins: ‘This is the story of the countess who bathed in the blood of girls’ – even though the book excerpts some of the very testimony that proves she likely did not. Gore-soaked Báthory avatars have appeared in fiction and film, including Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897), which was probably inspired in part by the countess. Why is this image so indelible? Though Báthory’s murders were sensational, she has more hold on us as a proto-vampire than as a mere serial killer. The notion of stealing youth is so magnetic that it transcends fact.
The idea of the countess lounging in a bath of blood is no more dramatic than any of the true details of her crimes, which include a suspended cage full of knives, and an iron maiden decorated with real pubic hair. It persists not because it’s unusually lurid, but because it’s unusually plausible. A person who kills out of pure cruelty is a terrifying psychopath. But a person who kills in order to steal her victims’ youth is, to some shameful corner of the brain, understandable – which is, in many ways, more terrifying still.
If Báthory had been said to bathe in the blood of lambs instead of girls, would she be considered a monster? In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, she might have been lauded as a genius. In 1890s Paris, Charles Édouard Brown-Séquard promised rejuvenation – not to mention the reversal of many diseases – thanks to injections of ‘testis extract’. The testicles were thought to secrete a hormone that promoted youth, health and vigour. Some fashionable surgeons – notably Eugen Steinach, whose patients included the poet W B Yeats – advocated cutting the vas deferens to maintain these secretions in the body, but others, such as the surgeon Serge Voronoff, would physically remove healthy testicles from young animals, or even humans, and implant the glands into their patients. The vitality provided to a goat or monkey by his testicular secretions could supposedly be rerouted into the body of a human, with near-miraculous revivifying effects.
The idea of stealing youth, irresistible since before Báthory’s time, had no less appeal when the donor was an animal. (Though they weren’t always – in early experimental gland grafts at San Quentin prison in California, testicles from executed prisoners were implanted into living ones.) The medical profession might have been cautious (whether the donors were goats or convicts), but the public was convinced. People were so persuaded of grafting’s efficacy that the ethical discussion about the San Quentin experiments centred not on whether the procedure would work – of course it would work! – but on whether it was acceptable to extend a prisoner’s life. Meanwhile, in 1927, a Hungarian insurance company refused to pay an old-age annuity to a graft recipient, claiming that the operation had made him effectively younger than his physical age. One patient, Arthur Evelyn Liardet, intimated to The New York Times that, with the help of a few more monkeys, he might live to 150.
You can pick up skin cream made with sheep placenta or stem cells right here in the US
Gland-grafting fell out of favour by the 1930s, but it was replaced with cell therapy, which involved chopping up the organs of foetal animals and injecting them into the patient. Here, there were two kinds of sympathetic magic at work: the belief that healthy young animals could be sacrificed to rejuvenate humans, and that organ functioning could be boosted by injections of the same organ’s cells (a sheep’s liver shot would revivify an ailing human liver, for example). In 1953, more than 450 years after Pope Innocent VIII tried to cheat death with the blood of young boys, Pope Pius XII called on the cell therapy giant Paul Niehans to treat his fatigue and gastritis with injections made from embryonic sheep. The Pope recovered, though he later called on Niehans again to cure a crushing chest pain incurred after he tried to lift a heavy safe; Niehans diagnosed a diaphragmatic hernia, which he cured by oral infusions of specially prepared cells from full-grown Solanum tuberosum. In other words, he made the Pope eat a lot of mashed potatoes.
Niehans’s cell therapy clinic is still operating in Switzerland. For an undisclosed price, plus the cost of a hotel room, you can receive a course of revivifying injections of embryonic cells, plus ‘skin extract’ to rejuvenate your face – and for an extra fee they’ll throw in a pedicure. If you don’t want to go all the way to Lake Geneva, you can pick up skin cream made with sheep placenta or stem cells right here in the US. (‘Are these medical-miracle cells the secret to tricking ageing skin into acting young again?’ asked Elle of the stem-cell creams in February 2013. Miracle indeed.) Like Frazer’s research subjects hoping that the rosiness of bull hide would transfer to the jaundiced patient, we believe that, if we’re near youth, if we can ingest it or inject it or rub it on our skins, we’ll be able to harvest some of its power.
We might think ourselves superior to the inventors of the Báthory myth, but the idea of stealing youth still permeates popular culture today. In an episode of the US TV series The Simpsons called Blood Feud, for instance, the ancient Mr Burns is revitalised by a transfusion from 10-year-old Bart, who shares his rare blood type. After the procedure, the usually decrepit Burns glad-hands his way around the nuclear plant he owns, trilling cheerfully: ‘Hey there, Mr Brown-Shoes! How about that local sports team?’ ‘It’s funny, Smithers,’ he muses to his obsequious right-hand man. ‘I’ve tried every tincture and poultice and tonic and patent medicine there is, and all I really needed was the blood of a young boy.’
But now, there is scientific evidence that Mr Burns was right. The mouse blood studies out of Stanford and Harvard aren’t fiction, like the Báthory legend, or pseudoscience like Voronoff’s transplanted glands. They are rigorous investigations. And they suggest that something in the blood – possibly the protein GDF11, the subject of two recent Harvard studies, which is also present in humans – has the capability to reverse many of the effects of ageing. Amy Wagers, the lead author of one of the Harvard studies, discovered more than a decade ago that when old and young mice were joined via parabiosis – a procedure where the two animals are surgically attached so that they share a circulatory system – the old mice benefited while the young mice suffered. The recent studies zero in on the cause, showing that injections of GDF11 proteins can work almost as well as parabiosis, and they also expand our knowledge of which old-age ailments young blood can cure. We now have solid reason to believe that the old can become young again, at least in terms of memory, muscle strength and blood flow – but only at the expense of the young.
‘It’s better to have a good ageing rather than to become young again’
In the wake of these studies, it’s easy to imagine apocalyptic young-adult novels featuring blood farms where youth are drained on a regular schedule, or horror stories where teens are forced to literally sew themselves to the elderly. But Lida Katsimpardi, the lead author on the other Harvard paper, hastened to assure me that any medication developed from the mouse blood studies would involve synthetic proteins: ‘We don’t need actual blood.’ There will be no harvesting, voluntary or otherwise. Of course there won’t. When people are diabetic, they use synthetic insulin, not secretions ripped from the pancreas of a cow (or a person). Even therapeutic human growth hormone, explicitly marketed as ‘human’, is made in the lab through a recombinant DNA process. When we find that someone needs testosterone supplementation, we don’t force him or her to get monkey testicles implanted – at least, not anymore. The threat to the bloodstreams of tomorrow’s youth is all in our heads.
Katsimpardi has lofty ideals; when we spoke, she seemed indulgent but mildly weary of the fixation on using the research to make people younger. ‘It’s not really about rejuvenating everyone,’ she said. ‘It’s about finding factors to help with neurodegenerative diseases.’ Her grandmother died of Alzheimer’s, she told me, and while she had never seriously thought that she could discover a treatment that would prevent her from suffering the same fate, she’s long been fascinated with ageing – not how to prevent it, but how to make it happen in a healthier way. ‘It’s better to have a good ageing rather than to become young again,’ she said.
But if the new mouse research is going to help us age better, it will have to confront centuries of magic-fuelled medicine, and a folkloric and pseudoscientific literature replete with youth-stealing rites. The thought of this kind of vampirism – at once attractive and repulsive, horrifying and irresistible – is as ingrained in our psyche as any other superstition, and all the harder to banish because our fear of death and disease is so strong. That’s the challenge for anyone who eventually wants to adapt this research into something therapeutic: the ghost of Báthory on all our shoulders, whispering: ‘Youth is wasted on the young.’Boyd Warner treasures the memory of killing his first polar bear. It was 2003. For days he had stalked his prey on the frozen wastelands north of Pond Inlet, one of Canada's most isolated Inuit communities deep inside the Arctic Circle. His dog team picked up the scent of an eight-foot adult male and they hurtled over the ice: the hunt was on.
"It was one of those beautiful Arctic days," recalled Mr Warner. "We'd had about 14 hours of sunlight and were completely surrounded by nature. The moment of death comes quickly for the bear. You might track one for days through the ice but a single shot to the heart kills it instantly."
For wealthy modern-day trophy hunters, bagging a polar bear is the ultimate kill. Fourteen days in harsh conditions, requiring dog-sleds, Inuit guides and a heated tent camp, does not come cheap: the minimum bill comes to $35,000 (£24,000).
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Mr Warner is the man who helps them do it. Earlier this week, the 45-year-old Canadian, whose company Adventure Northwest is based in Yellowknife, sent this season's first group of hunters north to Pond Inlet, where they will track and kill up to six bears. "This is probably the toughest hunt you can ever do," he said. "The weather conditions are appalling and it takes a huge amount of patience. You're living in the Arctic where it can drop to -50C at night and everything is done with sled dogs. It's incredibly gruelling.
"This year we have a lot of Mexicans and Americans but you get hunters from Europe, mainly Norwegians and Poles. They are just genuine, ordinary folk with a lot of cash. They respect the animals enormously."
There are few animals more symbolic of the perils of climate change than the polar bear, which faces destruction as the Arctic sea ice melts away – the bears starve or drown because the distances they have to swim to find prey become too vast. Yet every year scores of wealthy hunters from around the world pay tens of thousands of dollars to travel into the frozen Arctic and bag themselves a coveted polar bear hide.
Canada, home to about 60 per cent of the world's 22,000 polar bears, is the only one of the five polar bear "range states" which allows outsiders to hunt them as a trophy sport. America, Greenland and Russia only allow their native Arctic populations to kill a quota each year whilst Norway has outlawed stalking altogether.
"I don't enjoy killing animals but I enjoy the hunt," said Mr Warner. "People find that difficult to understand but for me there is no paradox."
The kill quotas – known as "tags" – are also allotted for Canada's Inuit communities, many of whom choose to legally sell them onto outsiders willing to part with enough cash.
"Those 20 bears are going to get killed one way or another because the Inuits depend on them for food during the winter," Mr Warner insisted. "So it shouldn't really matter whether it is the indigenous population that is shooting them or outsiders."
When the animal is killed, usually with a shot to the heart just behind the bear's fore leg, the Inuits use everything apart from the liver, which contains toxic levels of vitamin A and has to be buried.
Most hunters are then allowed to take their polar bear hides back to their own country, so long as they have the completed paperwork. Last year the US banned the importation of polar bear hides but most countries, including Britain, place no restrictions on the skins.
Mr Warner reports that his business has been hit by the US restrictions. "The American ban on importing polar bear skins has definitely hit the Inuit communities hard," he said. "You're not going to part with thousands of dollars if you can't bring your trophy back."
The latest US-led scientific surveys suggest that up to two-thirds of all polar bears could be lost by 2050 – bringing the sustainability of hunting into question. Tackling the issue has been unpalatable for host governments because of the hunts' traditional role and ongoing economic importance in Inuit life. As the mercury rises, the fates of ursus maritimus, Mr Warner and the Inuit hunters will become ever more precariously intertwined.“The Walking Dead” actor Lennie James is in negotiations to join the “Blade Runner” sequel starring Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling.
Directed by “Sicario” helmer Denis Villeneuve, the film also stars Robin Wright and Mackenzie Davis. Cinematographer Roger Deakins will reunite with Villeneuve on the project.
The sequel, set several decades after the original, is written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green, and succeeds the initial story by Fancher and David Peoples, based on Philip K. Dick’s novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.” Plot details are still under wraps.
The movie hits theaters on Oct. 6, 2017.
Warner Bros. is handling domestic distribution, while Sony is taking on international distribution.
Alcon Entertainment acquired the film, television and ancillary franchise rights to “Blade Runner” in 2011 from the late producer Bud Yorkin and Cynthia Sikes Yorkin to produce prequels and sequels to the iconic sci-fi thriller. Cynthia Sikes Yorkin will produce along with Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove. Bud Yorkin will receive a producer credit.
Ridley Scott will serve as executive producer. Frank Giustra and Tim Gamble, CEOs of Thunderbird Films, will also executive produce along with Bill Carraro.
James is best known as Morgan on AMC’s hit zombie drama “The Walking Dead.” On the film side, he most recently portrayed James Brown’s father, Joseph Gardner Brown, in the biopic “Get on Up.”
James is repped by UTA, Independent Talent Group and the Lasher Group.12.
13.
17. MAGICAL SECRET DOOR
1
19A - The Large Vats
I provided actual jars for the players to stick their hands in :(
Acid was vinegar
Dirty Water was coffee
The third jar contained a very sludgy combination of Corn Flour and water.
Ever since I started DMing and researching the D&D world I have wanted to run The Tomb of Horrors. My addiction with Hirst Molds ultimately meant I would need to build the dungeon in order to do that.The majority of the build is made from Hirst Art molds.The lava tile's are made from 4-Bot Industries molds.Some of the dungeon dressings were made from Lady Sabelle Designs The Green Daemon Face was made and replicated by me.The module can be purchased HERE This post is organised by numeric references per the Tomb of Horrors booklet. I have not included a full picture of the dungeon yet. My players are still in the pillared throne room so I cannot post spoilers beyond where they are currently. I have not uploaded photos of rooms they have not found. I'm still hoping at least one of them dies ;)When it comes to websites, we have ever more sophisticated techniques at our disposal to block the ads that sometimes track our wanderings around the internet. But most of us spend much of our time these days in mobile apps that offer no transparency on how we’re being tracked or sold–nor tools for blocking that behavior.
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We must rely on operating system makers–primarily Apple and Google–to promulgate guidelines to developers on legitimate practices when it comes to tracking behavior, asking for personal information, and transferring data to remote servers. OS makers are also responsible for enforcing those requirements. The rules in place are very broad, and except for abuses that can be quickly checked by in-house reviewers, come into play most often when users and researchers report violations. Apple’s rules, for instance, require that apps must obtain someone’s permission before transmitting personal data, and have to describe how and where the data will be used. Apple doesn’t police these rules by performing network communication interceptions or demanding to audit remote databases. (The company declined an interview for this story.) “When applications ask for permissions, that is not really done in a manageable way,” says Franziska Roesner, an assistant professor in computer science and engineering at the University of Washington, who researches computer security and privacy. “iOS doesn’t know necessarily whether it’s reasonable for an application to use your location, and that’s why they ask the user,” she says. Apple has to rely on a developer’s disclosure as to what’s being done with that location data. Some of Roesner’s work tries to match up an app’s purpose and interface elements with the kind of permission being asked, to make sure a request isn’t misused. Many developers embed functionality in the form of third-party analytics packages and ad-technology code, which may associate seemingly innocuous user details with information collected from other sources. Thus, even if the data sent from an app seems benign in isolation, it might uniquely identify a user or be used for purposes that the developer is unaware of. Developers typically haven’t audited this code and couldn’t tell you in detail what it does. A recent case study was the app Meitu, made by a firm of the same name, which applies anime-like styling to people’s facial photos. The free app was available in China for years, but an English-language version went viral. When security researchers examined the software’s innards, they found that it was laden with analytics and ad packages, only some of which were linked to working code, and that it asked for extensive permissions in Android and iOS.
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Meitu told me at the time of the kerfuffle that it included certain geolocation and app-checking code to comply with advertising network requirements in China, where jailbroken devices can be used to defraud advertisers, and advertisers may demand that their messages be geofenced to appear only in certain regions. Apple confirmed that the app was and remains in compliance. In the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission can’t intervene on behalf of consumers unless there’s a suspicion that a company has either broken a law regarding information privacy, including COPPA (the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule), or that a company has made a representation about what it does and lied. The FTC’s site has a page on its lawsuits and results on data privacy, including ones related to apps. So what’s a user to do? Academics are on it. Two complementary efforts, which are in the process of cooperating further, will turn more control over to those with mobile devices to monitor app connections, helping to expose bad actors and poorly designed private data security transfers, and allow scrubbing private information or blocking it altogether from being sent. Listening In On Your Behalf A team led by Northeastern University’s Dave Choffnes, an assistant professor in its College of Computer and Information Science, developed ReCon, a sort of virtual private network (VPN) for personally identifiable data (PII in the field’s jargon). Unlike a regular VPN, which protects data in a secure tunnel between a user’s device and a data center or corporate server to prevent snoopers, ReCon also uses the VPN connection to act as a scanning proxy to examine all the data passing between your smartphone and the rest of the internet. It works by installing a network profile in iOS or Android, just like regular VPN services. ReCon can fully examine the contents of the unencrypted connections, which would also be in the clear for anyone on a public Wi-Fi network or other points of network interception when a VPN isn’t in use. Choffnes and his colleagues found some surprising practices. For instance, he says, GrubHub unintentionally sent user passwords to Crashlytics, a Google-owned firm that helps developers pinpoint code failures. When informed, GrubHub revised its code and had Crashlytics delete all the associated data that contained passwords.
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The group extracts data from app communications, and tries to determine what parts of it are PII. This is both harder and easier than it might sound. Most data is sent in a structured way, using an API and often in the standard JSON format, which groups data into a label (the “key”) and its associated value. But the team also applies machine learning, allowing it to identify PII more broadly, even when it appears without using any standard structure format, or shows up in surprising places. The ReCon project publishes some data derived from a few hundred early users, listing apps, the kind of data they passed, a severity score, whether a developer was notified, and when misbehavior was fixed (if indeed it was). For those who have installed the app, ReCon has a web-based console that allows users to block or modify information that’s sent. For instance, a user can block all examples of a given kind of PII, or block all location data sent from a given app. However, because some apps fail without |
he’s got speed and endurance,
But if you sign to fight him, increase your insurance.
This kid's got a left; this kid's got a right,
If he hit you once, you're asleep for the night.
And as you lie on the floor while the ref counts ten,
You’ll pray that you won’t have to fight me again.
For I am the man this poem’s about,
The next champ of the world, there isn’t a doubt.
This I predict and I know the score,
I’ll be champ of the world in ’64.
When I say three, they’ll go in the third,
10 months ago
So don’t bet against me, I’m a man of my word.
He is the greatest! Yes!
I am the man this poem’s about,
I’ll be champ of the world, there isn’t a doubt.
Here I predict Mr. Liston’s dismemberment,
I’ll hit him so hard; he’ll wonder where October and November went.
When I say two, there’s never a third,
Standin against me is completely absurd.
When Cassius says a mouse can outrun a horse,
Don’t ask how; put your money where your mouse is!
I AM THE GREATEST!”
― Muhammad AliSan Francisco Mayor Ed Lee announced this morning his plan to add an additional 40 light-rail vehicles to the Municipal Railway fleet in addition to 175 new light-rail vehicles already approved and expected to roll out in 2016.Members of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and the Board of Supervisors came out this morning to express their support for the mayor's decision to increase the number of trains in the new fleet.Lee said the new 215 trains will be a big boost to the city's transportation infrastructure and wouldn't be possible without the $500 million transportation bond measure approved by voters in the November election.The expansion aims to address the city's growing population and Muni's increased ridership, Lee said.According to Lee's office, the first batch of 175 light-rail vehicles have been purchased from Siemens for about $648 million and that the additional 40 light-rail vehicles are expected to cost about $210 million.To fund the expansion, the SFMTA will seek up to $153 million in California cap-and-trade funds as well as $57 million in funding from the SFMTA board of directors.The Metropolitan Transportation Commission is expected to partner with the SFMTA to guarantee funds to bridge the gap in the event that the request for cap-and-trade funds is not met.According to the mayor's office, there is also the possibility that the city will choose to purchase another 45 light-rail vehicles, bringing the total to 260.There are currently 150 light-rail vehicles in service in San Francisco, according to SFMTA spokesman Paul Rose.Rose said that riders can look forward to riding the new red-colored vehicles with longitudinal seating, similar to New York City's subway cars, by the end of 2016.Rose said San Franciscans have provided feedback on what they want to see in a new fleet and that many people wanted to see bicycles permitted on board and the trains were designed with them in mind.Rose said the SFMTA board would need to change their policy to allow bicycles since they are not currently allowed on Muni light-rail vehicles.SFMTA board chairman Tom Nolan said today that the new vehicles will last 10 times longer than those currently serving San Franciscans and will need far less repairs.Nolan said the existing vehicles have failures every 5,500 miles, but that the new trains are projected to travel up to 59,000 miles before the first needed repair.Nolan also said the new light-rail vehicles will have six moving parts in the doors, in comparison to the current fleet, which has around 200 moving parts in each set of doors. He said the change would greatly reduce the need for repairs.San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener stood beside the mayor today, saying he knows how frustrating it is for San Franciscans who are trying to get to work but cannot get on light-rail vehicles because they are at capacity.The supervisor said the decision to not only replace, but also significantly increase the light-rail vehicle fleet, is "incredibly exciting" and will meet the demands of an ever-growing city."Muni is completely over capacity," Wiener said. "We have to add capacity. If we do not increase significantly the number of people who can ride this system around San Francisco, we're going to see more cars on our streets, more congestion, more accidents, more pollution."Wiener said the MTC provides significant funding to local transportation agencies when they invest in their public transportation systems. He encouraged other Bay Area transportation agencies to expand their fleets and services as well.A Native American tribal leader protests Keystone XL in April of 2014. | Getty The new Indian wars in Washington How the Supreme Court and a divided Congress have stymied efforts by poor tribes to recover long-lost lands.
Custer’s long gone, but a hostile Supreme Court and divided Congress are still playing havoc these days with Indian tribes trying to get some of their lands back.
“With all due respect, there’s not anybody on the court who knows very much about Indians or Indian law,” says Rep. Tom Cole, an Oklahoma Republican who hails from the Chickasaw tribe. It’s little better in the House and Senate where the growth in Indian gaming has so poisoned the well that getting any relief for the tribes is harder and harder.
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The immediate issue is how Congress should respond to a 2009 ruling in which the justices narrowed the mandate of the Indian Reorganization Act that has guided federal policy since the New Deal. In the process, the court effectively created two new classes of tribes under the 1934 law and cast doubt on decades of land conveyances approved by the Interior Department.
“They literally overturned what both parties and successive secretaries of the Interior thought was the law for 80 years,” says Cole.
But getting a simple legislative fix is anything but simple in Congress, as major stakeholders have seized the chance to demand larger changes — not just in IRA but also the direction of Indian gaming.
Indeed, the whole Indian lands debate in Washington has turned 180 degrees. The fight is less about the justice of returning historic territory and more simply cash — whether measured in the revenues gained from casinos or property taxes lost for local counties. From Oklahoma to California, rich tribes play the political system to protect their share of the gaming markets. Lost is any perspective on the hundreds of poorer tribes just trying to establish some economic foothold and homeland for themselves.
“You’ve hit the nail on the head,” says Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) with a rueful laugh. But defying the odds, this Yale-trained orthopedist and rodeo physician has set out to mend these old bones and try to end the impasse this year.
The early spadework has been done in the form of hearings and discussion groups held since Barrasso took over the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs last winter. A first draft of his bill was filed in July. A manager’s amendment is now in the works. And the Wyoming Republican brings two important assets: his Western GOP credentials and the learning experience of having watched past efforts fail.
“Anybody who thinks they can solve this on their own has to be kidding themselves. What we’re trying to do is put a whole group together,” he says. “We have draft legislation. We’ve asked for input … Nobody’s saying `stop the process.’”
Nonetheless, the political obstacles remain huge. And no debate in Congress goes more to heart of the American experience.
“We didn’t invade Europe. Europe invaded the tribes. And just because that invasion was successful doesn’t mean we no longer want the tribes,” said William Rice, a tribal member himself and co-director of the Native American Law Center at the University of Tulsa. “We never gave up our rights to self-government, we never gave up our rights to territory. We’ve been recognized as nations since the days of the Founding Fathers.”
Land is inextricably part of this calculus, not just for the property itself but the opportunity to establish a tribe’s identity and sovereignty. That’s why IRA was such a watershed event, and Franklin Roosevelt’s administration billed it then as a “New Deal” for Native Americans after the destructive policies enacted by Congress in the late 19th century.
Prior to IRA, the federal goal had been more one of forced assimilation, imposing new blood rules on the tribes as to who qualified as a member and breaking up community lands. Between passage of the General Allotment Act in 1887 and 1934, total Indian land holdings had fallen by almost two-thirds, from 138 million acres to 48 million. Nearly half of what remained was better described as desert or semi-desert.
The new IRA law sought to go in the opposite direction by promoting self-governance and tribal sovereignty. Stop-loss provisions were put in place to protect the remaining lands. Most important to the current debate in Congress, Interior was charged with supervising a new lands-to-trust process by which tribes could bring lands under their control.
In the decades since, about 8 million acres have been added to Indian land holdings. But to the surprise of many, the 2009 court ruling said IRA only narrowly applied to those tribes that can prove they were both recognized and “under federal jurisdiction” in 1934.
It was a quirky little case, matching Rhode Island’s small Narragansett tribe against the Republican governor at the time, Donald Carcieri, and will have a place forever in the annals of Indian law. Just 31 acres were in dispute and it all turned on the legislative meaning of a single word: “now.”
But by ruling as it did, the Supreme Court cast a cloud over IRA and a much broader universe of land transactions covering thousands of acres more. Lawsuits have since popped up in states like Alabama. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) accuses the justices of imposing a “caste” system on Native Americans. Most striking is how raw relations are between the tribes and the court, once viewed as their protector.
The central question most often is where to draw the line between state and tribal authority, two competing sovereigns. It’s here where Native American professionals and legal experts say there has been a decided shift beginning with Chief Justice William Rehnquist and now his former clerk, Chief Justice John Roberts. In fact, the 2015 edition of the casebook, American Indian Law: Cases and Commentary, found that the Roberts court had decided 11 Indian law cases thus far and ruled against tribal interests in all but two of them, an 82 percent loss record.
“Every Indian lawyer, expert, close observer cringes every time they take a case,” said Joe Valandra, an attorney who has long been active in Indian affairs and gaming. “I will say there are folks on the Supreme Court who are reflexively anti-Indian,” said Matthew Fletcher, a professor of law at Michigan State University.
Robert Anderson once served in the Interior Department and now teaches law at the University of Washington and Harvard. He opts for the gentler-sounding: “anti-tribal sovereignty.” But the bottom line is still the same.
“They are definitely hostile,” Anderson said of the current majority. “It is all federal common law and the court is basically legislating through these decisions what the powers of the tribes are in the absence of particular congressional direction.”
“They are very protective of states’ rights,” Anderson said. “When Indian governmental powers run up against the states, they give a very hard look to the Indian powers. There’s a majority that wants to trim the Indian sovereignty back in favor of the states.”
Anderson’s description of the high court as “legislating” is telling here. And it illustrates what’s become a three-arena battle in Washington over who sets Indian policy.
The Constitution assigns that power foremost to Congress. But the current paralysis has created a void in which the court has been more aggressive on behalf of the states while the executive branch under President Barack Obama has championed the tribes.
This administration has sped up approvals for restoring lands to Indian sovereignty; more than 305,000 acres have been approved since 2009. And alarm bells are going off now in Congress over new proposed rules drafted by Interior to update the process by which tribes can seek recognition from Washington.
Leading the charge is Kevin Washburn, assistant secretary for Indian Affairs, a soft-spoken former law school dean who is of Chickasaw ancestry.
“I do think there is hostility among certain segments of Congress to tribal sovereignty in general,” Washburn says. “To some degree it’s a backlash against our own success. The Obama administration has done a lot of positive things for tribes and I feel this is a backlash against all the positive steps we have done.”
He welcomes Barrasso’s efforts at compromise. “We don’t agree with everything in it, but it looks like they’ve done some difficult thinking,” Washburn says of the Senate bill. “At this point after seeing so many efforts fail, I’m really grateful that someone’s willing to take up the task. He has bravely plowed forward.”
But there are flashes of anger in Washburn: moments which show his impatience with what he sees as the core injustice of the Indian lands debate and his growing concern that time is running out on the chances for a deal.
“You’ve not hidden your prejudices and I respect that … [But] I worry that your vision returns us to what some believe were the darkest days of Indian policy,” Washburn snapped back at Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) at a tense hearing before the House Committee on Natural Resources in May. And in an interview, Washburn mocks demands from Western Republicans that federal lands should be “returned” to the states by Washington.
“That’s just a misreading of history,” he says. “Most of it was not taken from the states. It was taken from the tribes. If they really wanted to return it, give it back, it would be given back to the tribes from whom it was taken in the first place.”
Navigating between the Supreme Court and executive branch, Barrasso wants Congress to reassert itself and address the issues at hand. He finds the court confusing but is frustrated too by Interior’s reliance on executive memoranda to map a path forward. From his experience, the tribes and local governments can work well together but clarity is needed to improve the process and avoid litigation for both sides.
“The idea is to add some certainty,” he says. “Because ever since the Supreme Court ruling, things have been pretty confusing for just about everyone … We want to allow tribes to take land into trust by statute, not by lawsuit and Interior Department memorandum.”
To give himself some running room, Barrasso broadly titled his bill, the “Interior Improvement Act.” Introduced in late July, the 15-page measure includes a retroactive provision to protect existing Indian lands from lawsuits born of the high court’s decision in Carcieri. But it would also tighten the lands-to-trust process going forward. Tribes would be required to be more specific about their development plans. Interior must give more timely notice to local towns and counties affected by the outcome.
“This goes beyond a fix,” Barrasso says. “This is a complete reform.”
That said, the challenges ahead are illustrated by the tangled politics of two states, California and Oklahoma, where the advent of Indian gaming has affected the landscape.
Total annual revenues for the industry nationally run near $28.5 billion, a number that dwarfs Washburn’s entire budget or tribal receipts from oil and gas revenues. But the dark side of gaming’s success has been the often poisonous tribal divisions it creates between the haves and have-nots. And this being Washington, the haves tend to be heard first.
In California’s case, public sentiment is running against further expansion of Indian casinos and some of the most successful gaming tribes are spending heavily to keep out new entrants — and perhaps block Barrasso.
This was seen just a year ago in the Proposition 48 ballot referendum fight, in which the “no” forces enjoyed a huge financial advantage and rolled up 61 percent of the vote against a new casino in the Central Valley that had been endorsed by Gov. Jerry Brown and the Democratic state Legislature.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has tapped into this state movement and is out front demanding that Barrasso do more to rein in what she calls “reservation shopping” by tribes, who want access to urban markets far from their historic lands.
“As currently implemented, there is effectively no limit to where a tribe may propose a casino,” she wrote in an Oct. 1 letter to the committee. And Feinstein proposes to reopen the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and insert tougher language that would require tribes to show a “substantial, direct, aboriginal connection” to any lands that are taken into trust for gaming.
A former mayor of San Francisco, Feinstein’s roots in local government make her naturally sympathetic with the added burdens on county officials imposed by the casinos. But her critics add that she and her allies are pulling up the draw bridge after they have already gained advantage on the other side.
In fact, the senator’s husband, investment banker Richard Blum, held an important stake in the Perini Corp. from November 1996 to January 2006 — a window during which Perini profited from major contracts to build some of the biggest tribal casino projects in California. And the “no” forces in the Proposition 48 fight received large contributions from some of the same tribes, enriched by their own casinos.
A Feinstein aide said she had no involvement in her husband’s business dealings and keeps all her assets in a blind trust. But there’s a significant overlap between those casino tribes that helped bankroll the Proposition 48 fight and the client list for Ietan Consulting, a prominent Washington lobbying shop on Indian issues.
Ietan’s principals share past ties to the Clinton administration, which was aggressive in promoting the spread of Indian gaming. But Ietan has since promoted what it calls the “Aboriginal Lands Coalition” — a collection of often wealthy tribes that fear gaming’s image and their own profits could suffer unless more is done to prevent new casinos far from historic lands.
The coalition has yet to endorse Feinstein’s language outright but clearly shares common interests with the senator and worries about the direction taken by Barrasso thus far.
“Allowing tribes to `leap-frog’ other tribes for better gaming markets would undermine public support for Indian gaming,” said Larry Rosenthal of Ietan. “Tribal leaders have met with Sen. Feinstein to discuss their concerns about off-reservation gaming outside a tribe's aboriginal lands.”
Oklahoma has its own set of haves and have-nots, but the politics break very differently than in California.
That’s because the often-preferential treatment enjoyed by a handful of dominant tribes has allowed them to largely corner the gaming market at the expense of the often-poorer Plains Indians. For these haves, the top priority for any Carcieri fix is to make it as broad as possible, then to protect their gains from future legal challenges.
This is seen in Cole’s own Carcieri bill introduced in the House in July and quickly matched by a companion Senate measure put forward in August by Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas).
Like Barrasso, Cole includes a retroactive section protecting against lawsuits. But he goes well beyond Carcieri and would ratify “any action” taken by the secretary on past trust deals quite apart from whether the tribe was recognized in 1934 or not. “It was drafted as broadly as possible,” an aide confirmed. “To address as many `fee-to-trust challenge scenarios’ as possible, and avoid further litigation on the issue.”
Cole’s approach has won the support of the Chickasaw tribe, which dominates the Oklahoma gaming market and has grown to be a major political contributor at the state and federal level.
“The Chickasaw Nation stands with Indian Country in urging Congress to enact a clean fix to the Supreme Court’s Carcieri decision," said the tribe’s long-time Gov. Bill Anoatubby. “We appreciate the efforts of Tom Cole and Sen. Jerry Moran for introducing legislation to accomplish that goal.”
Cole insists his bill was not tailored for any Oklahoma interest. And in Congress, he is well-respected as a voice for tribal rights far beyond his home turf. But Cole also likes to tell his colleagues: “Just remember when you are involved in Indian wars, be on the side of your Indians.” And his legislative language clearly serves the Chickasaw.
That’s because legal questions still hang over the tribe’s huge gaming empire, built on a series of rapid-fire land deals approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the first decade after passage of IGRA in 1988.
Because all such land-to-trust approvals constitute a “federal action,” an environmental impact analysis is typically required under the National Environmental Protection Act. Yet records show the well-connected Chickasaw often received categorical exemptions from BIA, even though the newly-acquired land was clearly being converted to a very different purpose.
A second legal question arises from how the BIA enforced the tougher standards set by IGRA for gaming on lands brought into trust after 1988. Here again the Chickasaw benefited from an expansive view of what qualified as “former reservation” lands in Oklahoma and was therefore exempt under Sect. 20 of IGRA.
An early draft rule circulated by the BIA in 2006 defined “former reservation” lands as those that are “within the jurisdiction of an Oklahoma tribe and that are within the boundaries of the last reservation for that tribe in Oklahoma.” But the jurisdiction clause was later dropped after the Apache tribe of Oklahoma quoted back BIA’s own language in challenging what grew into the Chickasaw’s Chisholm Trail casino in Stephens County.
The history of this case is telling of what still angers the poorer Plains tribes who have felt squeezed out of the gaming market. The lost revenues compound the inequities in how federal aid is distributed among the tribes.
Records indicate the land itself was acquired by the Chickasaw in 1992 and brought into trust soon after in 1993. The property fell within the old treaty boundaries, but the Apache argued that the Chickasaw had not exercised jurisdiction prior to the purchase and therefore did not meet IGRA’s standard for what constitutes Indian lands for gaming.
When BIA nonetheless signed off on the compact, the Apache brought suit. A federal judge remanded the case back to BIA in 2007, saying the administrative record is “so lacking in substance that it fails to provide a satisfactory explanation” to support the approval.
The following year the jurisdiction language was dropped from the final BIA rule without explanation. In 2010, the agency again approved the compact in a lengthy solicitor’s opinion that cited the less restrictive definition of a “former reservation.” In a final twist, the same 2010 legal opinion cited a tribal police substation on the site as evidence of the Chickasaw’s jurisdictional claims. But that station didn’t even exist at the outset of the case.
For sure, history played a big hand in how the Oklahoma gaming market took shape. The old Chickasaw treaty lands included a wide swath of southeast Oklahoma, near key highways and customers from Texas.
But the fast pace of BIA approvals also helped. In the 23 years from 1985 to 2008, an estimated 16,915 acres were brought into trust by BIA’s eastern Oklahoma regional office, according to government numbers requested by POLITICO. That’s almost three times the 5,713 acres conveyed into trust in western Oklahoma since 1980 — a much longer time period.
Today, public records of how much the state of Oklahoma collects in fees from each of the 30 tribe’s gaming operations are a good measure of who is enjoying the most revenues from gaming and who is not. The Chickasaw alone accounted for 35 percent of this in 2015. When the Cherokee and Choctaw gaming operations are factored in, the numbers show that just these three powerful tribes account for almost two-thirds of the market shared with 27 others.
“They essentially created a land rush for the preferred tribes who were given special locations to start to grab the market way ahead of everybody else and before the rules were equally applied,” said Richard Grellner, an attorney with a long history of representing the Plains Indian tribes. “Everything since then has been to move the goal posts to protect what was previously done.”
Given his own Chickasaw ties, Washburn must recuse himself from matters now involving the tribe. He remains proud of its success but admits too that fairness is not always served by the growth in Indian gaming.
“It’s not fairly distributed, that’s the heartbreak of it, “ Washburn said. But he then adds: “The fact is everybody used to be have-nots.”A Republican opposition researcher who reportedly tried to obtain emails thought to be stolen from Hillary Clinton's private email server committed suicide days after talking to the Wall Street Journal about his efforts, according to a report Thursday.
The Chicago Tribune reviewed public records that show Peter Smith, 81, killed himself in a Minnesota hotel room, leaving behind a statement that police called a suicide note in which said he was in poor health and his life insurance policy was expiring.
He was found with a bag over his head with a source of helium attached, according to a Minnesota state death record obtained by the Tribune.
Late last month, the Journal reported a series of stories about Smith, who claimed he was engaging in a mission to obtain lost Clinton emails hacked by Russians.
Those reports noted that Smith died about a week and a half after giving an interview to the Journal, but they did not say how he died.
After the reports were published, a man claiming to have been contacted by Smith to help with the email effort wrote a first-person essay claiming he was a Journal source and that he believes Smith was working with the Trump campaign.
In a blog post published on Lawfare, cybersecurity expert Matt Tait said Smith had a "deep knowledge" of the "inner workings" of Trump's campaign.
The Journal reported that Smith implied to people he sought to participate in the email effort that he was connected to several Trump campaign officials.
Smith named the Trump officials, including Steve Bannon, Mike Flynn, and Kellyanne Conway, in a recruitment document for his effort.
He had been seeking the more than 30,000 emails from Clinton's unauthorized server as secretary of state that she said were personal and deleted them rather than handing them over to investigators.
Though there is no evidence that Clinton's server had been hacked, former FBI Director James Comey said it is possible that it was breached.Most of us are aware of what happens to the body when we exercise. We build more muscle or more stamina. We feel how daily activities like climbing stairs becomes easier if we exercise regularly. When it comes to our brain and mood though, the connection isn't so clear. Leo Widrich, co-founder of social media sharing app Buffer, set out to uncover the connection between feeling happy and exercising regularly.
What triggers happiness in our brain when we exercise?
"Yes, yes, I know all about it, that's the thing with the endorphins, that makes you feel good and why we should exercise and stuff, right?" is what I can hear myself say to someone bringing this up. I would pick up things here and there, yet really digging into the connection of exercise and how it effects us has never been something I've done. The line around our "endorphins are released" is more something I throw around to sound smart, without really knowing what it means.
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Here is what actually happens:
If you start exercising, your brain recognizes this as a moment of stress. As your heart pressure increases, the brain thinks you are either fighting the enemy or fleeing from it. To protect yourself and your brain from stress, you release a protein called BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor). This BDNF has a protective and also reparative element to your memory neurons and acts as a reset switch. That's why we often feel so at ease and like things are clear after exercising.
At the same time, endorphins, another chemical to fight stress, are released in your brain. Your endorphins main purpose are this, writes researcher MK McGovern:
"These endorphins tend to minimize the discomfort of exercise, block the feeling of pain, and are even associated with a feeling of euphoria."
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There is a lot going on inside our brain and it is oftentimes a lot more active than when we are just sitting down or actually concentrating mentally:
So, BDNF and endorphins are the reasons exercise makes us feel so good. The somewhat scary part is that they have a very similar and addictive behavior like morphine, heroin, or nicotine. The only difference? Well, it's actually good for us.
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Don't do more, but focus on when
Now here is where it all gets interesting. We know the basic foundations of why exercising makes us happy and what happens inside our brain cells. The most important part to uncover now is, of how we can trigger this in an optimal and longer lasting way?
A recent study from Penn State shed some light on the matter and the results are more than surprising. They found that to be more productive and happier on a given work day, it doesn't matter so much, if you work-out regularly, that you haven't worked out on that particular day:
"Those who had exercised during the preceding month but not on the day of testing generally did better on the memory test than those who had been sedentary, but did not perform nearly as well as those who had worked out that morning."
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New York Times bestselling author Gretchen Reynolds wrote a whole book about the subject matter called The First 20 Minutes. To get the highest level of happiness and benefits for health, the key is not to become a professional athlete. On the contrary, a much smaller amount is needed to reach the level where happiness and productivity in every day life peaks:
"The first 20 minutes of moving around, if someone has been really sedentary, provide most of the health benefits. You get prolonged life, reduced disease risk - all of those things come in in the first 20 minutes of being active."
So really, you can relax and don't have to be on the lookout for the next killer work out. All you have to do is get a focused 20 minutes in to get the full happiness boost every day:
"On exercise days, people's mood significantly improved after exercising. Mood stayed about the same on days they didn't, with the exception of people's sense of calm which deteriorated."(University of Bristol)
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Make it a habit
Starting to exercise regularly or even daily is still easier said than done. At end of the day, there is quite a lot of focus required to get into the habit of exercising daily. The most important part to note is that exercise is a keystone habit. This means that daily exercise can pave the way not only for happiness, but also growth in all other areas of your life.
In a recent post from my colleague Joel, he wrote about the power of daily exercise for his every day life. Coincidentally, he follows the above rules very accurately and exercises daily before doing anything else. He writes:
"By 9:30am, I've done an hour of coding on the most important task I have right now on Buffer, I've been to the gym and had a great session, and I've done 30 minutes of emails. It's only 9:30am and I've already succeeded, and I feel fantastic."
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I've spoken lots to Joel about his habit of exercising and here are some of the most important things to do in order to set yourself up for success and make your daily exercise fun:
Put your gym clothes right over your alarm clock or phone when you go to bed: This technique sounds rather simple, but has been one of the most powerful ones. If you put everything the way you want it for the gym before you go to sleep and put your alarm under your gym clothes, you will have a much easier time to convince yourself to put your gym clothes on.
Track your exercises and log them at the same time after every exercise: When you try to exercise regularly, the key is to make it a habit. One way to achieve this is to create a so called "reward", that will remind you of the good feelings you get from exercising. In our big list of top web apps, we have a full section on fitness apps that might be handy. Try out Fitocracy or RunKeeper to log your work outs. Try to have a very clear logging process in place. Log your work out just before you go into the shower or exactly when you walk out of the gym.
Think about starting small and then start even smaller: Here is a little secret. When I first started exercising, I did it with 5 minutes per day, 3 times a week. Can you imagine that? 5 minutes of timed exercise, 3 times a week? That's nothing you might be thinking. And you are right, because the task is so easy and anyone can succeed with it, you can really start to make a habit out of it. Try no more than 5 or 10 minutes if you are getting started.
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The highest level of happiness happens at the beginning
As a quick last fact, exercise, the increase of the BDNF proteins in your brain acts as a mood enhancer. The effects are similar to drug addiction one study found. So when you start exercising, the feeling of euphoria is the highest:
"The release of endorphins has an addictive effect, and more exercise is needed to achieve the same level of euphoria over time." (McGovern)
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So, if you have never exercised before (or not for a long time), your happiness gains will be the highest if you start now.
What happens to our brains when we exercise (and how it makes us happier) | Buffer
Leo Widrich is the co-founder of Buffer, a smarter way to share on Twitter and Facebook. Leo writes more posts on efficiency and customer happiness over on the Buffer blog. Hit him up on Twitter @LeoWid anytime; he is a super nice guy.
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Image remixed from Julien Tromeur (Shutterstock).
Want to see your work on Lifehacker? Email <a href="mailto:tessa@lifehacker.com".Short essays from six transgender women--about their mothers.
Mandi Hauwert (36)
More than she'll know, my mom, the heroine of this tale—saved me. Out of her tumultuous youth arose a vigorously confident woman, a perfect role model to a young transgender girl. Mom inspires me. Her empathy, grace, and creativity constitute the woman I've become—one she's proud of I hope.
The mother-daughter dynamic is still new for us. She's one of my biggest cheerleaders along this journey; supporting me in my dreams, ensuring I had my mommy when I was reborn. Without her—I don't know—I need her more than ever.
Mom—what a revelation your life has been for me; it is my feminist guidebook. Your unbelievable struggles, sacrifices, and acceptance—reflect the kind of person I want to be.
We feel your impact; it is substantial in your children's lives. Not only the ones to whom you gave life but to those you've given a reason to live. Stand proud, head up high, and breathe.
Mom—I love you. Happy Mother's Day.
[Cindy] [Mandi]
Rachel Sutter (72)
Mom had passed before I came out, but I'm sure she knew I was transgender. Although, at that time she probably only knew I wanted to act like a girl. At a young age (around 7?) while my dad worked on automobiles in the driveway, I would help mom in the kitchen.
She taught me needlepoint, crochet, and sewing. She let my hair grow out when I was 4 or 5. When her dad (German heritage) came to visit, he made her cut my hair, saying I looked like a girl (DUH!!!!).
Around the age of 11—through the youth development program 4H—our club made wigs with yarn. We all played musical instruments and did a skit dressed like girls. My mom helped me into one of her bras and dresses. As we were ready to leave, a few CIS girls came into our dressing room and thought we were girls (YEAH). After the performance, we took a bow and the audience gasped.
I wish I could have come out to her.
[June]
Ariel Erskine (40)
A Mermaid's Reflections on Her Mother:
Not once in my 18 years as a mother was I allowed a moment of recognition on Mother's Day. This year that changes, because until now I had not allowed the world to see my true self: a woman and mother of three, instead of the man and father I was expected to be. Looking forward, to celebrating my role as a mother, I can't help but reflect on mine.
My mother and I differ so much—how we like our living spaces, what we eat, or how we communicate; this sparks fiercely emotional arguments. We'll spend hours disagreeing on the smallest details. However, this amazing woman taught me how to be a strong independent woman, able to take care of herself while overcoming a patriarchal and sexist society.
She's always loved me for who I am: a hippie kid skipping school to read Kerouac, a punk kid in a noisy band, a struggling parent victim to her impulsive decisions and now a proud, queer trans-woman and mother of three. I can only hope to be half the mother she is, and that my kids will love me as much as I love her.
[Ariel/ Proud Mom]
Diva Berry (55)
Momma!!!
Thank you so much for bringing me into this world on July 5th, 1961 at 7:30 a.m. Over the years, a lot has happened, and you have shown me that love is not summed up by how much money one has or their status in life.
I remember vividly, the words you told me when you first found out I was transgender. You said, "Be the best at whatever you do." Through my ups and downs, you were there. I know your life has been very challenging and I'm extremely grateful you didn't give up. The love you gave me when I was down, Lifted Me Up. When you saw my Life coming together, you encouraged me to go further!
Thank you so much for being such an inspiration to me. Life is so short, and I want to make sure to let you know how much I love you every day that passes!!!
I am proud to be the daughter of Betty Jean Jackson!
[Betty] [Diva]
Jessica Lynn (51)
Hey Mom, I'm writing you this quick little note to say, "Thank you." I could have never gotten anywhere without you. Yes, I know you gave birth to me, but you have been my Guiding Light and have been my biggest supporter in my life.
You are one of the strongest persons I have ever met in my entire life. I hope to be as strong as you as my journey continues; to become the very best person humanly possible. You have taught me to be true to myself, and I can never thank you enough to have been my biggest, hugest |
detail the aftermath of that request.
“She then bowed her head and closed her eyes,” the lawsuit states. “At the end of the prayer, Pope joined the students in saying aloud, ‘Amen.’”
Can you believe a public school would tolerate such diabolical behavior?
The AHA also took issue with a flier that promoted the club’s participation in the “Buddy Pack” program at a local food pantry. The packs are filled with food and given to elementary school students to take home over the weekend.
As egregious as feeding the poor might have been, the humanists were especially troubled by Mrs. Pope’s reading material. She was accused of owning a Bible. Yes, a Bible.
“This display violates the Establishment Clause as a student would reasonably perceive it as her promoting her religious views to her students,” the AHA said in a statement.
So what’s the school supposed to do – round up all the Bibles and host an old-fashioned book burning?
As for the cavorting with the Methodist charge – it turns out Mrs. Pope’s husband is a former youth minister for the local Methodist church – and he was invited to attend the club prayer sessions.
I spoke to the school superintendent on Monday and she sent me a statement noting they had not yet received a copy of the lawsuit.
“The district strives to respect and abide by the constitutional rights of its students and staff members,” the statement read. “It will vigorously defend against any claim that the district has taken actions which violate any persons’ First Amendment rights.
The American Humanist Association wants the judge to end all religious activity at the school as well as award monetary damages to the “offended” students, according to the lawsuit.
This over-the-top attack on Christianity is just unbelievable. Then again, what do you expect from a bunch of humanists who don't believe in anything that really matters?MADISON, Wis. -- Sam Dekker has connections.
The Wisconsin standout shoots texts to his buddy Aaron from the dinner table in his hometown of Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
Aaron (Rodgers) plays for the Packers. Maybe you've heard of him.
"You'll hear Sam say, 'I'm just texting with Aaron right now,'" said John Dekker, the junior forward's older brother. "He doesn't tell us what they're texting about. It's crazy when probably the best NFL player is texting your brother. Sam plays it cool."
When he wanted to mingle on the dating scene a few months back, he called matchmaker and friend Spike Albrecht -- yeah, the one who tweeted at Kate Upton -- and the Michigan guard hooked him up with a friend.
He took selfies with Oklahoma's Buddy Hield over the summer. He bonded with Memphis forward Shaq Goodwin at an AAU event a few years ago. They clicked over their collective affinity for alternative and rap music. Now they're pals.
"Genuine, good dude," Goodwin said. "He's someone you rarely catch in a bad mood. He's an all-around positive guy. Always positive, always in the gym. I'm not just saying that just for this interview."
Everybody loves Sam.
And why not? The 6-foot-9 Wisconsin forward and NBA prospect has that easygoing, your-favorite-friend-from-elementary-school kind of vibe. He'll bob his head to country music and then tweet about the new Rick Ross album. He's diverse like that. And he's funny, even when he's not trying to be.
Carol Dekker, his mother, can't keep a straight face around him.
He punched a ball that accidentally hit teammate Nigel Hayes in the head as he celebrated a win over Georgetown in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, a moment that earned a "Not Top 10" slot on SportsCenter.
"I still haven't forgiven him for that," Hayes said. "I'm gonna get him back one of these games. Hopefully the cameras are still rolling."
In Sheboygan, he's more of a hero than a celebrity.
His parents and brother still live there. He's certain he'll eventually join them, once his basketball career ends.
He had a "Leave It to Beaver" childhood in a house that rests near the oft-chilly shores of Lake Michigan. He writes the "920" area code on his game shoes to show his tie to the community of 51,000 in a state that's connected through locality, cheap beer and the Packers.
Last year's Final Four run increased Wisconsin's popularity, both locally and nationally. But Sheboygan -- and the rest of the state -- knew all about Dekker before that memorable run to Dallas. They were there in the beginning.
"I think I took it for granted a lot growing up, but now looking back, now that I don't get to go home as much, you realize how much your hometown means to you," Dekker said. "Friendships you made and people I know back home. I take a lot of pride being from Sheboygan, so I always try to put them on the map or shout them out."
Sam Dekker was the No. 3 scorer and No. 2 rebounder on last year's Final Four team. AP Images/David J. Phillip
LOCAL LEGEND
That spot. The one right there in the corner of the Kohl Center floor. That's where Dekker hit the shot.
In early December, Dekker reenacts the moment that etched his name into the granite of Wisconsin prep basketball history. One incredible rally that sealed the 2012 Division 5 state title for Sheboygan Area Lutheran High School changed his life.
He chuckles as he stands on the edge of the arc in the empty Kohl Center. He pretends to dodge the two Racine Lutheran defenders who weren't aware they were trying to swat fate as they rushed toward him on that final shot. He jogs along the sideline and raises his arms. He points to the stands that held thousands of supporters who drove two-plus hours to see it live.
"People were calling it the best shot in state history, but I kind of look at it like I look at everything: not too much emphasis," Dekker said. "I expected it to happen."
The folks in Sheboygan know exactly where they were and whom they tackled and how they danced when Dekker scored 12 of his 40 points in the last 50 seconds of that title game, a barrage that included the game-winning 3-pointer in the comeback win.
As it fell, John Dekker broke through the postgame melee and grabbed his little brother. Mom pushed past the chaos for an embrace too. Todd Dekker, who coached his sons in high school, jumped on the sideline in what became known as the "Dekker Dance." Local businessman Tryg Jacobson, who made a documentary about Dekker that's been viewed on YouTube nearly 30,000 times, kept filming. Principal Al Holzheimer held a rope that was supposed to keep fans in their seats.
But a metal fence wouldn't have stopped a city from spilling onto that floor.
"I think the coolest thing was that his last shot made as a high school player is at the place he's starting his college career," his sister, Hannah Dekker, said.
Dekker made last season's all-Big Ten second team after starting in all 38 games. Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports
It was the first time Sheboygan Area Lutheran, a yellow block of a school positioned near the end of a skinny, tongue-shaped road, had won a state title. The late-game drama made Dekker a viral hit.
But that journey began with pain. Dekker was everyone's little brother, a scrawny kid who got pushed around -- all in good fun -- by his older brother, who played for Division III Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, and his friends.
There was "Tackle Sam," a game that involved Dekker running with a football through a gauntlet of older boys. There was "Punt it off to Sam," which was essentially the same thing, except John Dekker and his pals kicked the ball to him. Oh, and "Sam at the Goal Line" -- you see where this is going -- always got physical.
Carol Dekker warned her youngest son about the damage he'd incur if he played with kids so much bigger and stronger than he. He never listened.
"He would get knocked around," John Dekker said. "He'd cry, go inside for 10 minutes and come back out."
Dekker was young when those around him noticed a competitive edge he couldn't silence. Behind the lighthearted demeanor is a dude who hates anything that impedes his path to victory. He's motivated -- not daunted -- by pressure.
"I think that's kind of what's driven me to this point," Dekker said. "I want to impress not only people; I want to impress myself the most."
He's bitter when he fails to do that.
He lost a meaningless game during his junior season of high school, and he was furious about it. Todd Dekker couldn't understand his anger. When Wisconsin lost to Ohio State in the 2013 Big Ten tournament, the seniors on that team took it hard. Dekker -- who was just a freshman -- felt like he'd let the veterans down. He sobbed in the corner of the locker room as the other youngsters sat near their stalls.
"His desire to improve is so big," Todd Dekker said. "Hoop was morning, noon and night for him."
That passion built Dekker into an elite small forward who'll be your best friend after the game but dunk on you and your mother -- if she gets in the way -- on the court. Collegiate coaches noticed the edgy talent's growth early in his career.
He attended a Wisconsin basketball camp as a sophomore in high school. It didn't take long for Bo Ryan to slide next to Todd Dekker and offer his son a scholarship.
"It was the feel for the game, the way he moved," Ryan said. "He liked to compete. It was a no-brainer."
In 2012-13, Dekker became the fourth Badger under Bo Ryan to start a game as a true freshman. Mary Langenfeld/USA TODAY Sports
MAKING HIMSELF (AND THE WHOLE STATE) PROUD
Kids don't stay home anymore.
Within the 2012 recruiting class, Dekker (No. 17 per RecruitingNation) was among nine top-30 recruits who picked colleges in their home states. The other 21 left home.
Sure, Dekker committed early, but a verbal commitment doesn't mean much in today's shifty recruiting climate. His decision to play at Wisconsin magnified his star power locally. The hype, the shot, the decision all birthed the grand buzz that preceded Dekker's return to the Kohl Center.
When Wisconsin reached the Final Four last season, Sheboygan's elementary schools sent banners and cards. People called. They texted. They congratulated him via Twitter and Facebook.
When Kentucky beat Wisconsin on Aaron Harrison's miracle 3-pointer that sailed over Josh Gasser's fingertips, they mourned with him.
"We didn't go to the game the night Kentucky played in the final," Carol Dekker said. "We were all still at the hotel in Dallas.... We couldn't go."
That loss still bugs him.
Dekker had 15 points and four rebounds in the Badgers' semifinal loss to Kentucky. Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
He'd been cracking jokes and laughing all afternoon. He'd been loose in a conversation with a reporter until that game came up. He looked ahead. He bit his lower lip.
"I wasn't mad he hit that shot," Dekker said. "I don't even know if I was mad we lost. I was just... I don't know. I wanted to win the whole thing so bad that I just couldn't believe we lost."
Dekker is averaging 12.1 points per game, 4.3 rebounds per game and 1.2 assists per game while shooting 51 percent from the field for the 12-1 Badgers. He's No. 43 in overall efficiency (among players used on a minimum of 24 percent of possessions) by Ken Pomeroy. He's a legit first-round prospect in next summer's NBA draft. LeBron James and Kevin Durant -- who both played Dekker one-on-one -- praised his performances throughout their offseason skills camps.
"You can learn so much from those guys watching them because they're so good," Dekker said. "It really helped my confidence."
A bad ankle has hindered his performance all season. He's missed practices and key stretches in big games, including a chunk of the second half in his team's loss to Duke.
But he doesn't make excuses. Dekker still wants to prove a point. The Final Four wasn't enough. He chose another season over the NBA because he knew the Badgers had another run in them. Frank Kaminsky could win the Wooden Award. Hayes is one of the most improved players in the country. Wisconsin's supporting cast is strong. And Dekker is a pro.
Not a bad mix.
"I think the way it ended [last year] made me want to come back 100 percent," Dekker said. "Just having a taste of it and feeling where we could get and the guys we had coming back and talking to my teammates. We wanted to do something different and special, and we were so close last year. Knowing we had the same crew coming back made me want to do it again and get another chance at that. All in all, I just wanted to get back and win a title."
Sheboygan will be proud of him, regardless of what happens in March and, perhaps, April.
"I think that's what he takes real pride in -- being a local kid and sticking around," John Dekker said. "A lot of recruits leave the state, and I think it's a big point to Sam that he stayed around and kind of helped put Wisconsin basketball back on the map the last few years."
This season, Dekker just wants to make the 920 -- and beyond -- smile.
Again.UNITED STATES - NOVEMBER 28: Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, D-Texas, speaks at a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center held by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus entitled 'One Nation: Principles on Immigration Reform and Our Commitment to the American Dream.' (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
WASHINGTON -- Several House Democrats walked out of a committee vote in protest on Wednesday, accusing their Republican counterparts of refusing to negotiate in a bipartisan manner over a job training bill.
While it's common for members of Congress to simply not show up for committee meetings, it's rare for them to actually boycott one.
"We didn’t come to this decision lightly," said Reps. John Tierney (D-Mass.), Rubén Hinojosa (D-Texas) and George Miller (D-Calif.), members of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, in a statement. "Unfortunately, we viewed boycotting this proceeding as our only alternative after many months of repeatedly requesting bipartisan negotiations and being rebuffed by committee Republicans."
"It would have been a dereliction of duty to continue to participate," they added.
Republicans were quick to criticize the walkout (seen in this video, near minute 51:00).
"Rather than present their ideas, Democrats offered a rote defense of the status quo and political theatrics," Committee Chairman Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.) said in a statement. "Both are a disservice [to] workers, employers, and job seekers."
The legislation at issue is a bill to reauthorize and reform the Workforce Investment Act, the largest source of federal funding for job training. Republicans want to consolidate more than 30 workforce development programs into a single fund, which they say would eliminate redundant programs and cut out red tape. Democrats say the plan would make it harder for vulnerable groups like the elderly and disabled to get access to the job training they need.
Committee Democrats argued that funding for job training had been a generally bipartisan issue until recently. After making little headway in negotiations, they sent committee Republicans a letter on Monday asking them to cancel the markup of the bill scheduled for Wednesday, saying that the GOP plan "eliminates programs for the sake of eliminating programs, without any independent evaluation of whether they are in fact duplicative of one another."
Nonetheless, Republicans went ahead with their markup and approved the legislation on Wednesday. Ahead of the vote, Kline said the reforms would save taxpayer dollars that are "wasted on failed programs" and leave workers "stranded in unemployment."
After discussion of the bill, Hinojosa said he would leave the committee meeting on principle, and he called on his Democratic colleagues to join him.
"I have concluded that I cannot be part of a political process that continues to be highly partisan and broken," Hinojosa said. "At this time, I urge my colleagues to join me in exiting this committee room."The Federal Trade Commission has fined two developers who claimed their mobile apps could cure acne with flashing colour, but there's still plenty of snake-oil on sale.
Colour therapy for acne does have medical credentials, but the FTC's ruling is clear that the frequencies generated by a smartphone screen aren't even close to what's needed, making the claimed cures baseless and forcing the developers of AcnePwner (Android) and AcneApp (iPhone) cough up $1,700 and $14,294 respectively.
Around 3,300 Android users apparently shelled out 99 cents for AcnePwner, while 11,600 iPhone users had to pay twice that for AcneApp. Both applications asked users to hold the phone screen against the skin for a few hours every day, during which it would flash suitable colours: AcneApp even cited a report from the British Journal of Dermatology to back up its claims.
A little basic arithmetic shows that even after paying off the FTC, Andrew N Finkle (developer of AcnePwner) will be up more than $500, while Koby Brown and Gregory W Pearson (responsible for AcneApp) will be almost two grand in pocket – not as rich as they thought they were, but the fine wouldn't be much of a deterrent either.
"Smartphones make our lives easier in countless ways, but unfortunately when it comes to curing acne, there’s no app for that," says the canned quote from FTC Chairman, Jon Leibowitz, which is loverly except for the fact that there are still plenty of apps claiming to cure acne (and just about everything else) through secret diets, prayer and the power of subliminal messages.
Oddly enough, quack medicine seems less prevalent in the Android Marketplace, compared to iTunes, but while it would be great to attribute that to the gullibility of Apple users, it's more probably a result of the size of the iTunes app store – after all, we know that iPhone users are already physically perfect specimens of humanity.
Apple did kick the psychic wart-remover out of the iTunes store, last year, so it will take action against wildly fraudulent claims. The two apps targeted by the FTC seem to have incurred its ire by claiming to apply a genuine therapy (colour treatment), making them too credible to be allowed to last.
But curing acne by positive thinking engendered through subliminal messages, for example, falls between the obviously false and the medically unproven, so such apps remain available for those who are short on snake oil. ®Arendelle High School. Anaheim, California. In such a well-known and populated city, it should come as no surprise that this high school is one of the largest campuses in Southern California. AHS hosts well over 3,000 students and these students are all on a journey. High school is just one chapter, a mere pit stop on the winding road that leads to the future. But that's not how she saw it…
"What the fuck?!" yelled Elsa. "This fucking noob tuber has no gun skill at all."
As she watched the killcam, she heard her best friend laughing through her headset.
"Ahaha! Dude, you're so fucking bad," taunted Anna. "7 and 14. Stop feeding their team killstreaks."
"Shut up! This game is shit anyways. It's filled with fucking no-lives."
"Well, I guess that makes you a no-life then! Considering this is basically all you did over the course of summer."
Listening to those words, Elsa reflected on the past 3 months of summer. Anna was right, she wasted her time at home, playing Call of Duty. Instead of going out to the beach, or partying with Anna and their "friends," the blonde isolated herself from the outside world. She wanted to forget everything about Junior year. In fact, she could care less about high school in general. It was filled with superficial people who were all self-centered and concerned only for themselves. This summer was used to get away from all of that.
"Hello? Earth to Elsa? Are you playing or what?" asked Anna, after a good 5 minutes of silence.
"Huh? Yeah, sorry. I was just doing some thinking…" replied Elsa. "The game hasn't ended yet? I thought we were getting raped."
"We were. And we still are. At this rate, we'd have to cap all three flags to try and come back."
"Alright then, let's try double capping with B."
BOOM! "DOUBLE KILL!"
"FUCKING A!" yelled Elsa, after she and Anna both died from another grenade launcher.
"Enemy nuke incoming! It's all over!" casted the Game Announcer.
"You're kidding… This son of a bitch got a nuke on us." said Elsa.
"Yup," replied the redhead. "Your fault, too. It was your call to try and cap B."
"Ok, genius. What else would you have tried?" asked Elsa.
"Haha! I'm just fucking with you! It's just a game, no big deal." said Anna
"DEFEAT" flashed on her T.V. screen and Elsa just shook her head and chuckled.
"God damn, you would think since I spend all my time playing this game, I'd actually be decent and not end up with a negative KDR."
Anna replied, "Whatevssss. It's time to check back in with reality soon. You ready for registration tomorrow?"
"Ugh, don't remind me. I don't want to go back to that godforsaken place."
"You may not want to, but you have to. Unless of course, you're fine with dropping out and becoming a bum. Since you know, you're already used to living like one."
Even though she couldn't see her, Elsa knew that Anna had the cheekiest grin on her face after mouthing those words.
"Oh, so you're a comedian now? You're hilarious!" replied Elsa sarcastically.
Anna laughed, "Relaaaax! I'm just messing with ya! Look, I know these past few years have been rough for you. Especially with what happened with your parents… But trust me, there's no way this year can be any worse! We've known each other since we were practically babies! And now look at us, you're a Senior! And well, I'm still only a Junior but I'm not gonna let you waste your last year of high school! You gotta come out of your shell."
In truth, Elsa realized that Anna was right. She knew there was no point in just sulking and feeling sorry for herself. But on the other hand, there was no reason for caring about school or the people in it. She just had to look out for herself and the few people she actually cared about.
"Thanks, Anna. But you and I both know that I couldn't give two fucks about school. It's just a waste of time, anyways."
"No, Elsa. Playing video games all day long is a waste of LIFE. You just have to stop being so pessimistic about things and maybe you'll have some eye-opening experience this year." lectured Anna.
"Since when did you become my psychologist?" scoffed the blonde, as she rolled her eyes.
"I'm not your psychologist," laughed Anna. "I'm your best friend and I'm just looking out for you."
"Yeah, yeah. I know," replied Elsa. "Thanks for the advice… I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow?"
"Of course! See you later, stinker," said the younger redhead as she signed offline.
Ugh, I don't understand why you're so excited about going back. You're insane. Why is high school depicted as this amazing experience that you'll never want to forget? I've lost so much in these past three years… Why am I still here? It's probably because of you. I couldn't even imagine being able to get through life, without you.
Tears flowed down Elsa's cheeks, as she sat there, overwhelmed with emotion.
Heh, if you actually saw me right now... What would you think? (sigh) I love you Anna. More than you'll ever know…
A/N: Hey everyone! Glad you decided to check out this little AU of mine. This fic was heavily inspired by "r9kElsa is Suffering" so the writing style may seem similar to that of AnonElsa's/kate-kane's. I do promise, however, that this story will distinguish itself as its own universe. Thanks for reading and please review! :)It is hard to think of a human social institution that has undergone more change in less time than has the family in the last several decades. Although the magnitude and rapidity of those changes are exaggerated by the unusual stability in the family from just after World War II until the mid-1960s, the 40 years since have seen a continuing evolution in a variety of ways. The changes in the form and functions of the family have provoked an assortment of responses from the political left and right, with the former largely tolerant or sympathetic to those changes and the latter critical of them.
What has been lost in the standard left-right debate is the crucial role played by the market economy in many of those changes. The result is that many on the right who offer at least lip service to the market order continue to resist the cultural changes that it has made possible (and that cannot be undone). Meanwhile, those on the left who embrace the dynamism of culture refuse to see or credit the dynamism of the market for making those changes possible and sustaining them. Those of us who value the dynamism of the free market and its power to expand the range of human freedom could do well to apply those ideas to the recent changes in the family and begin to see the ways in which those changes have resulted from the creative powers of the market and have thus expanded human freedom.
In making the dual claim that the market is a key reason why the family has changed the way it has in recent years and that such changes are good, I need to respond to one objection off the top. It is certainly true that various forms of government regulation, including, importantly, the welfare state, have influenced the direction in which families have evolved in the last 40 years. Any comprehensive analysis of the changes in the family would have to account thoroughly for those factors. My goal here, however, is to make the argument that the more fundamental and long-run changes have been the result of economic growth fueled by the market and that those changes have largely been good. The more recent changes of the last 40 years are simply accelerations of those longer-term trends.
Over history measured in centuries, the evolution of the family can be summarized as a movement of work from the household to the market, with the results being the liberation of human beings from unnecessary labor and a shift in the central functions of the family. Before capitalism, the family was both the central unit of economic production and the core political institution. In an economy based mostly on agriculture and secondarily on small crafts, economic production was largely for the family’s own survival and performed with the limited capital possessed by the household. With limited physical capital, labor-intensive methods of production were required, especially in agriculture, making larger families preferable. In addition, with limited financial resources and opportunities to store material wealth over long periods, having a large family was a form of old-age insurance. The family of the Middle Ages was an all-encompassing social unit, bound together by the need to survive economically.
In such an environment both males and females had to contribute in multiple ways to the survival of the household. Both worked the fields when possible, and older children both worked the fields and took care of younger siblings. The gendered division of labor that would characterize later families was not nearly as present. In addition, the bonds that brought together married couples and sustained families were not romantic love as we now understand it, but the more practical questions of “productive compatibility” and the politics of family status. The love-based marriage had to await the capitalist revolution.
The key event in that revolution was the advent of wage labor. As some accumulated sufficient capital to open early factories, they began to hire workers from outside their families to work the machines. This change in the conditions of production moved “work” from the household to the factory. It is wage labor that created the distinction between “market production” (earning income on the market) and “household production” (the products generated in the household such as cooked meals, cleaned rooms, child care, and the like). Wage labor separated “work” and “home” for the first time in human history, and the consequences for families were enormous.
Early in this process it was not uncommon for both parents and older children to be working in factories. As market-inspired growth continued, the wages firms could offer increased and families slowly withdrew child and then female labor from the market. The wages men were earning were sufficient to support their families, especially now that the shift from agriculture to industry meant that fewer children were economically necessary. As part of this process, children’s role in the family changed from being net economic producers to net consumers of resources. Thus the rising costs and declining (material) benefits of having children drove down the quantity demanded. A result, of course, was that parents could, with fewer kids and less need of their income, afford to invest in their education and training. It was growth fueled by the market that reduced the opportunity cost of educating children. And as children gained greater levels of education, their ability to earn income increased, creating even more such opportunities for the next generation.
Functions of Marriage Change
The market order also changed the fundamental functions of marriage and the family. As market production became increasingly separated from household production in the nineteenth century, the need to marry based on economic considerations declined. The progressive rise of democracy had also weakened the political basis of marriage. As a result, young people were more able to create marriages based on romantic love and other forms of emotional and psychological compatibility. The love-based marriage represented the progressive influence of individualism on the culture, having already conquered the economy through capitalism and the polity through constitutional democracies.
As many of the economic and political functions of the family moved out of the household and women and children moved back in, new functions arose to fill the vacuum. Increasingly families became concerned with psychological and emotional fulfillment, and childhood underwent perhaps the largest change. For centuries children had been seen as “mini-adults” who were expected to take on adult responsibilities as soon as they were able. The wealth that the market system brought changed that, ushering in what historians call the “sheltered childhood.” Now that women were not needed in the workforce and children could stay home and be educated, childhood became a time for kids to be “sheltered” from the adult world so they could play and learn, innocent of adult concerns.
At the same time women acquired new roles within the family. While in pre-industrial times women and men shared many of the tasks in the familial production unit, industrialization brought a (short-lived as it turned out) gendered division of labor where men occupied the public sphere of work and politics and women the private sphere of the home. A great deal of energy was spent during the Victorian era arguing that this division of labor was really a form of equality as men and women were assigned to their “separate spheres” in which they each excelled. The genders were not unequal, just “different.” By the turn of the twentieth century the male-breadwinner family was becoming the dominant form in the middle class and slowly spreading down the economic ladder.
Whatever the merits of this family form, two things were true: first, the wealth created by the market order had liberated women and children from the necessity of largely unpleasant work in industry; second, the form and functions of the family continued to evolve. This latter point is crucial because many today speak of the “traditional” family as if there had been one particular family form that had existed for centuries until the changes of the last 40 years. But even a cursory study of economic and social history indicates that the family’s form and functions have been undergoing significant changes at least since the earliest days of industrialization if not before.
Two things began to happen in the twentieth century that would eventually undo what looked to be a fairly stable family form. First, technological innovation slowly began to produce labor-saving devices for household production. Second, continued market-driven economic growth increased the demand for labor (including female labor) and continued to raise the real purchasing power of wages across the economy. The declining necessity of human labor in household production opened up the possibility that women might find employment in the market. The upward trend in female labor-participation rates does not begin in the late 1960s as many critics of the modern family seem to assume. It was a fairly steady growth that began in the 1920s and ’30s as modern home appliances and fewer children freed up women’s time and the increasing demand and higher wages for service-oriented labor enticed them into the labor force. The “Rosie the Riveter” experience of many women during World War II accelerated this trend slightly, but the growth in the number of working women was already well underway.
Traditional 1950s Family
The 1950s are often revered as the height of the so-called “traditional family.” There is some truth to this claim. Media portrayals of the male breadwinner/female homemaker family turned a common, though by no means exclusive, family form into an aspiration for millions by portraying it not only as common but as highly functional. The reality of the 1950s, as we now know, was that the women, and to a lesser extent the men, in such families were hardly as happy as their fictional counterparts made it seem. Plus, many more nonfictional wives were in the workforce than Ozzie and Harriet and Leave It to Beaver seemed to suggest—including, one might note, the actresses who played those stay-at-home moms! The data on female labor-force participation show the steady increase in working women throughout the decade.
The women’s movement of the 1960s, then, was hardly the cause of the “decline” of the family, though it did accelerate the longer-term trends. For one thing, there has been no significant change in the growth in female labor-force participation. For another, the continuing changes in the family were much more the result of economic dynamism than anything else. As family historian Stephanie Coontz argues in The Way We Never Were, the women’s movement was much more likely the result of more women having already entered the workforce than the cause of more doing so. With women entering the previously male public sphere of the market, the inequities between men and women became more apparent, thus leading to the bubbling up of a movement for change. Despite the way in which conservatives often portray the women’s movement as rising in opposition to capitalism, it would be just as accurate to say that it arose because of the wealth and opportunities capitalism made possible. In this sense, the dynamism of the market order goes hand in hand with the dynamism of culture, and the women’s movement is yet another example of the ways in which capitalism has both freed individuals from the coercive power of the state and promoted social equality.
In the decades since, these trends have simply continued apace, though several aspects are worth noting. Continued economic growth has had two important consequences. One is that the real costs of substitutes for household labor have fallen. The other is that real wages for men and women continue to rise. The combined result is that families need to engage in progressively fewer of the traditional forms of household production. Many of the historic products and services of household production can now either be made in the household much more easily (via microwaves, washers/dryers, and so on, all of which are notably cheaper than in years past) or can be purchased more cheaply on the market. Think of how even families of modest incomes eat out more frequently, pay for child care, have clothing dry cleaned, or even hire a housecleaner. Who, 30 years ago, would have imagined the growth in nail salons when such places were patronized by only the wealthiest women? The one notably distinct trend of the last 40 years is the large increase in women in the labor force who have pre-school-aged kids. The smaller size of families and increased real incomes of women, whether married or single, have made paying for child-care economically feasible in ways it was not previously, and the extension of formal education to ages 3 and 4 in some cases has accelerated this trend.
These developments in the economic realm have continued the shift in the major functions of the family from being largely economic to largely psychological. Marriage increasingly has become about being happy; having a family has become increasingly about the personal satisfaction from raising children; and the “sheltered childhood” of the Victorian era has become the “extended adolescence” of the 21st century.
Parents work the same or fewer hours in the market compared to years past but seem busier because they invest their “household labor” time in opportunities for their children, from the much-discussed “soccer moms” to dads taking kids to music lessons or academic-enrichment activities, and all other sorts of similar things. Purchasing and laboring for the combined investment-and-consumption good that is modern childhood has replaced many of the former activities of household production. Put differently, as the market has progressively taken up the tasks that were associated with the family-based household (from income-earning to substitutes for household production), the range of things the household produces has shrunk, leaving mostly the psychological. Modern families thus obsess about how they are doing psychologically, and they frequently exaggerate the psychological fragility of their children and overprotect them from failure, which often leads to problems when those children become more independent, for example, at college, and have to cope with disappointment and failure on their own.
Easier to Leave a Marriage
Of course as families have become more about love and emotional fulfillment, the demand for easier ways to leave marriage should be unsurprising. When marriage was a necessity for survival, especially for women, the expense and the rarity of divorce were perhaps understandable, even if it worked against women’s best interests in some cases. As marriage came to be based on love, so grew the desire to leave marriages that were not emotionally fulfilling. The no-fault divorce revolution of the 1970s, while certainly problematic in some ways, was again more effect than cause of changes in the family. Marriage had increasingly become about emotional fulfillment in the |
uckles.
"I'm actually in love with you. It's… kind of obvious now, I guess."
"I'm in love with you, too, Elsa. And for what it's worth, I really want to fight for this… for us." She smiled tenderly and looked down at their joined hands. "I... I think being with you will be the best thing to ever happen to me."
All Elsa could do for a moment was blush and grin. The word "fight" scared her; that would be a concern, of course. They probably would end up having to battle a lot of ignorance if they pursued each other. But somehow, finding both her sister and her soulmate, and them being the same person… she couldn't be unhappy about any of it.
"Alright. Okay, so… yes." Clearing her throat, she sat up a little more, still holding onto Anna's hand. "Um… sex. I was going to ask you at some point how that works with two women, but… we… seem to have tried that already. I think?"
"You pretty much have the gist of it down, yeah," Anna giggled awkwardly. "I mean, there is more to it but what we did is pretty much how two girls do… what they do."
Giggling along with her, Elsa whispered, "Probably without the butt stuff. You really surprised me with that — I surprised myself. But I mean… well, maybe next time I can try to pay more attention to your front-butt?"
"...My front butt?!" Anna laughed so hard that tears ran down her cheeks, collapsing against her sister's side. "H-Hehe, I- I think I would like that- Oh my god, you just called my vag a-" This sent her into another fit of giggles.
"Okay, okay!" Elsa snapped, though she was also laughing a little. "Sorry, I just… what, do people not really call it that?! I'm sure I've heard it a few times!"
"I'm pretty sure people use that term as a joke," Anna pointed out, still giggling, "because I've never heard it used for serious… not that I've had a lot of serious sex talks before!" she was quick to point out to her sister.
Now Elsa felt ridiculous, but she tried to push ahead. "W-well, I wasn't exactly… I just meant as opposed to your actual butt." Then she cleared her throat. "Do people really put their mouths on… um, vaginas? I really can't be sure what the point of that would be."
"Apparently, it feels really good?" Anna shrugged. "According to Esme, it's like when you use your fingers but… better, I guess." She blushed and gave Elsa a cute grin. "We'll have to put that to the test at some point."
"O-oh? We will?" But Anna's grin told her she was pretty confident, so she only breathed, "I… okay."
"Only if you want to," Anna reassured her. "Anything else?"
Elsa tried to think. "Well… I don't know a lot about this in the first place, so I can't think what to ask. Which one of us is… the man?"
"The beauty of being girls is there isn't really a'man'." She smiled, patting Elsa's hand. "We both just… do our own thing? Like I get you off, you get me off. It's not like we can have sex like how a man and a woman would, anyway, right? So why worry about it?"
"Guess that's true. And… well, I always kind of wondered what the point was, without procreation being possible. But after hearing you in there… I get it," she admitted with rosy cheeks.
Anna snuggled against Elsa and nuzzled against the crook of her neck with a blissful sigh. "I love you so much, Snowflake… I could honestly stay here like this, with you, forever."
Wrapping her arms more tightly around Anna, she whispered, "So could I. Wow…" She caressed her damp hair for a moment before adding in a hushed whisper, "Even if… we're sick for feeling this way, I don't think I could stop. Not now."
Anna smiled sadly. "Me, either." She placed a kiss on Elsa's shoulder. It nearly made Elsa break, but she felt too much overflowing love to let that happen. So instead, she merely kissed Anna atop her head.
"How did you turn out so perfect? I still remember you as a stupid little red-headed brat."
"And I still remember you being a stinker. A well-meaning, but very annoying, pushy stinker." Anna smirked up at her. Elsa took that opportunity to boop her nose with a finger. The redhead giggled and kissed her chin. "However, you were also the best big sister who spoiled me with chocolate and snowmen, so I forgive you."
After a second, Elsa began, "Do you think… we were… nah, that's stupid."
"What?" Anna asked, reaching up to rest a hand on Elsa's cheek. "No question is too stupid; what's up?"
"Do you think we were… kind of flirting back then? I know we were just kids, but kids flirt. I mean, straight kids do, sometimes. They don't really mean anything too deep by it, but it still… y-yeah." She felt foolish for answering, despite Anna's reassurances.
"Maybe we were." Anna lay a kiss on Elsa's chin. "Maybe we always knew, deep down, how much we love each other. Or maybe not. Doesn't matter that much now."
"I mean… if we did, that would at least explain why this seems so easy for us. I… I've never looked twice at another woman in my whole life! And here you fall back into my life and… and I'm pushing you into the shower wall!"
"Sometimes God makes the strangest soulmates," Anna chuckled. "And to be honest, as much as I cared for Esme… I never loved her a fraction of how much I love you." She blushed as she added in a whisper, "Geeze, I sound really sappy, don't I?"
"No worse than me," Elsa laughed. At least she could laugh now; she felt that much better, which was something. "So… next time, I'll put my mouth on your vagina? If that's okay?"
There followed a moment of startled silence. Her sister's cheeks went a shade darker, and her voice came out low and seductive as she whispered, "Or I could put mine on yours… show you what it's like to be overwhelmed with pleasure… it's the least I can do for your 'help' in the shower."
"O-or that." Swallowing thickly, she bit her bottom lip for a moment. "I… have been feeling a little… turned on? Right? That's what you call it? Listening to you in there, feeling you… I just can't get it out of my mind."
Anna wrapped her arms around Elsa's shoulders and nuzzled their faces close, her warm breath fanning the winter blonde's face. "Want to try it now, then?" she husked.
Elsa tried to answer. She did, but all she could do was nod. That was the closest she was going to come to giving Anna an affirmative, with her being so nervous. And Anna smiled brightly before leaning in for a kiss; sweet and passionate, her tongue gliding over Elsa's lip while Anna pressed their bodies so close that Anna was practically straddling her. A fluttering sigh of desire poured from Elsa instantly; was she that easy to turn on? Or was it just Anna?
"It'll be much easier if you lie down," she purred against her lips, teasing the fine hairs at the back of Elsa's head.
"O-okay." Shuffling down, heart beating a mile a minute, Elsa tried to reason that this was no big deal. Anna had come fairly close to doing this for her once before… but there's a difference between close and actually doing it. Still… "Do you want me to, um, get undressed?"
"I got it," Anna answered simply, drawing back so she was sitting on her knees, Elsa's body between them. She regarded Elsa briefly before resting her hands on the small sliver of belly exposed by her top, sliding them underneath and slowly starting to roll it upwards until the entirety of Elsa's stomach was exposed and the cloth was pressed against the bottom of Elsa's breasts. The blonde wasted no time whipping the shirt up and off; even though it made her self-conscious in front of Anna, it wasn't as bad as… other areas.
Noticing teal eyes riveted to her chest, she smiled softly. "Do you… like them?"
"They are as perfect as the rest of you." She planted a kiss on Elsa's chest, just above where the curve of her breasts started. "I love them."
A little sigh flowed from her as she let her hands fall to Anna's shoulders, lightly enough to be more reassurance than guidance. Anna lapped at the skin before kissing her way downwards, gently catching a nipple between her teeth and teasing it with her tongue.
"O-oh!" Elsa gasped out, back arching slightly; that was stupid, why would her body involuntarily push her towards the light pain? But she couldn't deny she enjoyed it, sensitive as that area was. Anna chuckled around the small nub and gave it a playful tug before releasing it.
"You are so cute."
Biting her lip, Elsa watched Anna's playful smile and wondered how anyone could ever have resisted her. But she said nothing. The redhead then kissed the stiffened nipple before starting to descend lower, kissing, nipping and lapping at her flat belly while her hands started working on Elsa's pants.
"This is a bad idea," Elsa half-joked, half-whimpered as she raised her hips slightly to let Anna take them off. "W-we just took a shower and now you're going to make me feel all… dirty again." She sincerely hoped that sounded sexy, and not like she was just whining. Anna simply chuckled and gave Elsa a heated look before rubbed a hand on Elsa's thigh, just short of where it met the warmth of her core.
"Well it looks like you're just going to have to be a dirty girl for me," she husked and gave the fine, damp blonde pubic hair a gentle tug, "because I'm not going to stop now, my sexy sister."
A weird little laugh floated out of her after the gasp from the tugging. "Mmhh… that's such a weird thing to say! Why does it make me feel hotter?"
Anna laughed before dipping down further, licking her lips as her thumbs caressed Elsa's folds before gently spreading them. "You ready?" she asked.
Even just the thumbs on them was driving her wild. She wanted to say "yes", but she didn't know if she could handle that much yet. So instead, she asked a question that only Anna could answer.
"Is… is it… do I look… okay down there?"
"Perfect," Anna purred and Elsa felt her shift closer and heard a deep inhale. "It even smells perfect, Elsa. But you didn't answer my question." She lightly tapped Elsa's petal with her pinky finger teasingly.
"HAH!" That was new, and intense! But she forced herself to focus on the question. " I… I guess… i-if you're sure you want to, then…" Her blushing face turned to one side. "Go on…"
Now that she had the green light, Anna didn't hesitate, and Elsa felt a mouth press against her folds and a tongue dipping into her sex, followed by the vibration of Anna's moan. Her head fell back as she felt those vibrations — and the tongue! Why was it so incredible? It wasn't even something intended to pleasure that area…
Or was it? Given how incredible it felt up against her, maybe there was something to this "oral sex" she had heard of but rarely thought about. Squirming back and forth, she raised her legs up a little further, opened them more. Trying to give Anna more room to work. Freckled hands abandoned their position so they could wrap around Elsa's legs, holding them securely as she happily continued her onslaught, if the noises she kept making had anything to say of Anna's enjoyment. And Elsa responded by throwing her hips up and into Anna's mouth; the movement came naturally to her, purely a response to the tongue and lips going wild on her.
The redhead's nose bumped Elsa's clit roughly during one of Elsa's frantic bucks. Instantly, she was thrashing and calling out, and one of her heels glanced off Anna's shoulder.
"What was that?!" she demanded.
Anna pulled away from Elsa's crotch, a smirk on her face as she snorted in amusement. "That, Sister Dear, is the reason why I was flailing around like a lunatic in the shower. Feels a little too good to keep your cool, doesn't it?"
Meanwhile, Elsa was panting and sweating already, and they had barely started. It really did feel wonderful. "Can you… do that again? SLOW! Just… just a little." She nodded and ducked her head back down, only instead of assaulting Elsa's core once again, Anna gave Elsa's clit a few slow lashes with her tongue.
It produced the same effect again, this time with the legs wrapping around Anna's back as if to hold her in place. Anna giggled and shifted, presumably to get comfortable as she kept up this new activity. She gently let her teeth graze the swelling nub before lapping at it soothingly, repeating the action a few times.
"AH! ANNA! Th-that hurts, I think!" She thinks?! Elsa wasn't sure if it hurt or not, but the words still came out of her mouth. "Ohhh… what are you doing to me?"
Anna stopped immediately at word 'hurt', drawing back as far as Elsa's legs would allow her to while regarding Elsa worriedly. "Sorry, the clit is… pretty much the most sensitive area on a girl, and it's really easy to… overstimulate. I didn't mean for it to hurt you." The redhead bit her lip. "D-Do you want me to stop?"
"No!" Elsa admitted. "It was just… y-yeah, that sensation was a lot, I was… surprised." Swallowing, she reached down to caress Anna's cheek, trying not to think too much about how her pretty lips looked glistening with her on them. "You… can keep going. Maybe with less teeth?"
"I can totally do that." Anna licked her lips before settling in for a third time, going back to her first course of action while occasionally giving Elsa's clit some attention. One of the hands on Elsa's legs retreated so that two fingers could join Anna's exploring tongue. When Anna's mouth retreated, those clever fingers slipped inside to replace them; searching for something.
"Anna, wh- what is- O-OH, are you inside me? It's so huge! Wait, what is it?" She knew what it probably was, but she couldn't make any assumptions; this was all-new territory for her.
"It's just me," Anna soothed, kissing the fine hairs of her pubic area. "Shh, let me do my thing, Sis; I promise this will make you feel wonderful. Do you trust me?"
Elsa's eyes narrowed slightly as she gazed down at Anna's shining face… but she felt too far gone to mind. Unless it was something extremely strange, she felt like she would let Anna do just about whatever she wanted. "I… I do."
"Okay, just relax." Anna kissed Elsa again before flexing the fingers inside of Elsa, thrusting shallowly and wiggling them occasionally.
It was like fireworks going off. With every thrust and undulation, she felt her heart seize — along with inner muscles she had never realised she owned, trying to catch the fingers and never let them go. How could she have been missing out on this?! It still terrified her, and she wasn't sure she would want to try it again… except that she probably would. At least, with Anna to guide her.
Anna smiled at her, locking eyes full of overwhelming love, desire and devotion with hers as the fingers continued their little adventure. The thrusts went a little deeper now, slowly and carefully stretching Elsa's walls until finally, a rough nudge found its mark.
"AaaaAAHHH!" she wailed, toes splaying and head thrown back so that she stared up at the wooden rafters. "Anna! What- NHH!"
"That's your G-spot," Anna explained, the redhead grinning proudly. "Esme explained that all women have one and it's a really important spot to focus on when women do this together." She thrust into that same spot, not hard but enough to trigger another response. "Feel good?"
"YES! Oh God yes, I- mmnnhhahh, ANNA YES!"
What was she saying? This was incredible! But they shouldn't be doing it — but everyone should be doing it! Elsa's mind felt like it was spinning as the fingers sent lightning bolts into her every atom, making her stomach flex and her back arch, her mouth fall open over and over.
Anna kept focusing there and soon her mouth joined in again, sucking and lapping at both Elsa's clit and her folds around the two digits. There was a look of contentment on her face and occasionally a moan of bliss would pass her lips as she steadily worked Elsa's body. All the while, Elsa was the perfect subject for her, thrashing and calling out her name, alternately trying to bite down on her fist to keep the sounds from getting too loud and trying to be quiet on her own.
"I love you," Anna murmured against her. "You look amazing and perfect and all I want to do is just… ravish you like this forever… because God, Elsa, everything about you makes me want to spoil you and love you and…" She went quiet and sighed, smiling at Elsa so softly as she watched her try to contain her feelings. "Let it go, Sis. You deserve it."
So Elsa did. The repeated thrusts up against… what had Anna called it? Her G-spot; that was it. There was only so much of that she could take, especially when combined with the lips and tongue that wouldn't stop assaulting the sensitive area around the thrusting.
"I… I think I'm going to pee again!" But it was different this time. At least, it seemed different. But she couldn't pee the bed, that would be terrible! "Wait… I… am I?"
Luckily, Anna giggled, "That's called an orgasm, Elsa; it feels really similar but it's not pee that'll be coming out." She pressed her mouth against Elsa's folds again. It was definitely going to be soon; even her inexperienced mind could tell that much. Her body was telegraphing it.
"Ooh… I… Anna, it's- YES! YES, MORE, RIGHT THERE, I'M- NnhhhAAAHHH!"
And then it happened. Fireworks, for real this time; she saw them sparking in her periphery. Felt them in every atom of her body. This was a feeling she'd never felt before, not anything even remotely like it.
And when Anna lifted her head and retreated her fingers, both her lips and her hand were glistening and wet and Anna didn't hesitate to start lapping at the substance on her hand like a grooming cat, humming with approval.
"You really…" Elsa wasn't sure what to say. Anna liked her flavour that much? It seemed so perverse… but then again, everything else they had done that evening had been, hadn't it?
"Hmm?" Anna looked up at Elsa with a playful twinkle in her eyes. "Want a taste?" she asked, offering her hand to her sister.
"N-no, thank you!" she said, flustered but laughing. "If anything, I'd be curious about your taste, not my own."
"Ooh, I'll remember that." The redhead fluttered her eyelashes prettily. "Did you enjoy yourself, Elsa?"
Rolling her eyes, she responded, "You have to know I did. That was…" After a moment of trying to come up with a word, she blushed and ducked her head. "I don't know. But wow."
"I'm glad I made you feel so good! Did it answer some questions for you?"
"It raised as many as it answered," she half-laughed, still blushing and panting but starting to even out a little. "But… yeah, I think I get it. I'm sure being with men is different, but I can see how that for lesbians, there is definitely nothing that's really'missing' the way I thought it would be." In a quieter voice, she added, "Not that I really had any clear image of what lesbian sex is before tonight…"
Anna straightened up, gently removing Elsa's legs from her shoulders before flopping next to Elsa in the bed. She closed her eyes and sighed, "Well that's pretty much the gist of it, anyway. I'm sure a more experienced lesbian could tell us some fun things to try, but we only have each other here, so…" She let out an awkward laugh before snuggling close to Elsa's bare body.
Wrapping her arms around Anna, Elsa thought about the last statement. Then she asked, "Are you… interested in bringing in other people? Because I'm not sure how I would feel about that…"
"That's not what I meant," Anna said, "just that there aren't any 'experienced' lesbians to ask for tips around Peterhouse. I don't want to add anyone into this. You're all I want."
"Okay, good," she sighed with obvious relief. "Because this is about all I can take!" Then she rolled just enough to let one arm and leg drape over Anna's form, drawing her in for a kiss…
At which point, she realised Anna still had her juices on her lips. Oh well; too late. Anna met her lips without hesitation, sighing happily and tugging Elsa on top of her almost completely. It was a curious flavour, not terribly strong; kind of sour. She wasn't sure if she liked or disliked it, but it wasn't nearly as disagreeable as she would have expected. Anna hummed and lapped at Elsa's lower lip for permission, wrapping her arms happily around her sister's neck, and Elsa welcomed her tongue. She slid her own along it, unable to fully believe both that they were doing this, and that they had waited so long.
"You taste so good, Elsa," Anna whispered against her lips, voice holding the same husky quality it had earlier. "God I love it - love you - so damn much. It drives me crazy."
Swallowing hard, she breathed, "Are you alright with that? Going crazy? I… think I am…" Another light kiss. "I don't think I could ever give this up if I tried. So… so I won't try."
"I'm perfectly okay with going crazy for you, especially when we're going crazy together — like a pair of crazy cat ladies!" Anna grinned at her own stupid joke before softening her gaze and smile into something warm and fond. "I'm glad you won't give us up…"
Another deeper kiss. This one lasted nearly a minute before Elsa broke off to gaze into her eyes. "I love you, Anna. I'm in love… I can't believe it, but I really am. In love with you, Moondrop."
Anna held her closer and her eyes became damp with tears despite her smile. "I know I said it like a million times, but… I love you, too, Elsa."
Their next kiss lasted a lot longer than the others. That way, they didn't have to talk about anything bigger, or more worrisome like their status, or who knew, or what God thought. Maybe it wasn't a perfect situation, but Elsa couldn't bring herself to care.
To Be Continued…I am the true ‘swinging voter’. In the numerous elections of my life (beginning with the Federal election of July 1987), my personal votes have been fairly evenly split between Labor and The Liberal, or Coalition, parties. As I write, in the week or so before the 2013 Australian federal election, I do not know which party/ies I will support. In what follows, then, I have no hidden agenda. The last thing on my mind is to influence which party you vote for. I do, however, want to insist that people who identify themselves as Christian should vote in a way that is informed by their faith, whatever decision they finally make.
While Christianity is not party political, it is political in the broader sense. At a fundamental level, faith concerns life in society—the word ‘politics’ comes from the Greek politeuō, meaning to live as a citizen. Everyone who is concerned with the life of our wider community (as every Christian must be) is ‘political’ in the larger sense of the word. In essence, what I want to do in this short article is outline how some basic Christian beliefs should – and should not – influence a Christian’s vote. I write with a dual audience in mind. I want to encourage Christians to be more thoughtful about their political opinions and I hope to demonstrate for the religious ‘spectator’ that, despite some rather potent counter-examples in North America, the ‘Christian vote’ is a vote for the good of the nation not an attempt to impose religious law on a secular society. I begin with how a Christian ought not to vote.
How Not to Vote
1. Precedent: ‘how we always vote’
Voting patterns are sometimes based on little more than family heritage (‘We have always voted for x’) or geographical location (‘Most people vote for y where I live’). I want to suggest that voting by personal or demographic precedent is not a thoughtful vote, and whatever else a Christian vote must be it must be thoughtful. Something as important as the way, and by whom, we are governed must be approached with seriousness and due reflection. Otherwise, believers are hardly loving God “with all the mind.” Christians must also resist the temptation, born of cynicism, to disengage from their responsibilities as voters and citizens. That would be to retreat from “loving one’s neighbour.”
Voting for a candidate simply because s/he is a Christian, or our brand of Christian, is morally suspect; it is a religious form of favouritism.
2. Christian favouritism
Secondly, and perhaps a little controversially, voting for a candidate simply because s/he is a Christian, or our brand of Christian, is morally suspect; it is a religious form of favouritism. Having Christians in parliament is no guarantee—or even indicator—that our nation will be marked by peace, justice, compassion, truth and so on. Sadly, history is littered with counter-examples.
By all means, a Christian may vote for Christian candidates who also have a track record for diligence, leadership and justice, but it would be irresponsible to favour men and women simply because they are known as ‘Christians’, attend churches or frequent prayer breakfasts and the like. Theologically speaking, good government is not the special preserve of believers. Chapter 13 of Paul’s epistle to the Romans makes clear that even the pagan governments of Rome were to be thought of as ‘established by God.’ Indeed, secular, non-Christian rulers are described by the apostle as ‘God’s servants.’ The point deserves deep reflection.
3. Economic prosperity
Thirdly, the main parties and most of the major media tend to make ‘economic prosperity’ a central election issue. This is a window into the soul of a country. However, Christians must seriously question a fixation with the ‘bottom line’. In a society such as ours, one without deep faith, economic prosperity may be the only measurable form of success, but the follower of Christ ought to think otherwise. Naturally, if one sincerely believes that national prosperity happens also to be the best way to achieve other, more important, goals for society, then the Christian will appropriately vote with this in mind. However, the believer should always remember the way the pursuit of wealth is given very short shrift in the Bible:
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs (1 Timothy 6:10).
If precedent, favouritism and prosperity are faulty grounds upon which to base the Christian vote, what factors should inform such political choices?
How a Christian Ought to Vote
1. Vote for others
Firstly and most importantly, a Christian vote is a vote for others, not oneself. It is fundamental to the Christian outlook that life be devoted to the good of others before oneself:
Honour one another above yourselves (Rom 12:10).In humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others (Philippians 2:3-4).
In the political realm Christians should use whatever influence they have to contribute to others, to ‘consider others better’ than themselves. This is a foreign concept for many. Typically, the small business operator decides to vote for the party that promises to do more for small business. Union members vote for the party guaranteeing more power to the Unions.
In their vote Christians must ‘consider others better than yourselves.’
Corporations with staffing issues tend to support the party offering the most flexible industrial relations policy. Aspirational voters favour the party they think will best help them climb the ‘ladder of opportunity’. Such voting considerations may not be wrong but they are inadequate for the Christian. Those who follow the One who gave himself up for us all will endeavour to put their private interests aside and seek instead to serve the wider community.
In short, in thinking through the policies of the Government, the Opposition and the minor parties, the Christian should not be thinking of him or herself—my family, my industry, my way of life. He or she will instead consider the wider public good. In their vote Christians must ‘consider others better than yourselves.’
2. Vote for the moral health of the community
Secondly, the moral health of our community provides another motivation for the Christian’s vote. Personally, I think the church has no right to seek to impose a Christian way of life on a largely secular society (‘What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church?,’ said Paul in 1 Cor 5:12). Having said that, as citizens who believe that a society’s health depends (in part) on living as the Creator designed, Christians will want to ponder: which party and/or policies will promote the values applauded by the Creator, the values of justice, harmony (nationally and internationally), sexual responsibility, honesty, family and mercy.
In this regard, we will want to think through such issues as abortion, environmental responsibility, stem-cell research, treatment of asylum seekers, same-sex marriage, care for the elderly and so on, and then factor our conclusions into our voting patterns. For the Christian, moral health far exceeds economic prosperity as an honorable goal for society. As the book of Proverbs says:
Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people (Proverbs 14:34).
This moral concern of the Christian will invite the description (by some) ‘right-wing’ or ‘conservative’. The tag is partly accurate, though in other respects the Christian stance will appear ‘left-wing’ and ‘liberal’. It is true that those with a classical Christian view of family will resist party support for same-sex marriage. Equally, though, Christians will be pained at the thought of punitive measures being meted out to genuine refugees and/or their separated family members. ‘Right’ and ‘left’ are incomplete descriptions. One of the blind spots of our modern public discourse is an inability to recognize nuance. We do not have categories such as ‘right-wing liberal’ or a ‘left-wing conservative’—Jesus, of course, was both and more.
3. Vote for the poor and weak
Thirdly, in voting for the ‘other’ the Christian will principally have in mind the poor and powerless. We will use our vote for those who need our vote more than we do. The mandate for this throughout Scripture is overwhelming:
Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked (Psalm 82:3-4).He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God (Proverbs 14:31).Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress (James 1:27).
A Christian vote is one sincerely motivated by a concern to see the disadvantaged cared for—whether they be the elderly, Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders, the unemployed, the homeless, refugees or drought-affected farmers.
Voting for the underprivileged in Australian society has traditionally been seen as a vote for the Labor Party—this is certainly how that party has historically understood itself. Others, however, argue that the most effective way to help the poor and weak is to increase overall prosperity, generating wealth across the economy and lifting the standard of living of everyone. This has traditionally been an argument put by the conservative side of Australian politics.
I do not want to make a judgment about either model. I simply want to insist, in the strongest terms, that a Christian vote is one sincerely motivated by a concern to see the disadvantaged cared for—whether they be the elderly, Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders, the unemployed, the homeless, refugees or drought-affected farmers. Whatever socio-economic model Christians believe in, they ought to vote for those who need their vote more than they do.
4. Vote for the gospel
Fourthly, almost by definition, Christians are to live for the eternal good of others (1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1). Concern for the advancement of the Christian message throughout Australia, therefore, will potentially play a part in a Christian’s voting patterns. Is one party better for the gospel than another? Probably not. Hence, I raise this purely as a ‘hypothetical’ issue.
One day, however, a particular policy may (humanly speaking) work against Christian freedom to promote Christ – the ancient Christians faced this in the harshest terms, as do many in other lands today. In our context, it may be that one day a major (or minor) party will propose banning voluntary religious education lessons in state schools.
Christians would be within their citizenly rights to seek to use their democratic privilege—the vote—to affect this policy. However such an issue will probably not be determinative for the Christian’s vote, since ultimately Christians believe the message of Christ moves forward by spiritual rather than human power and the other factors mentioned above must also be given their due weight.
5. Vote prayerfully
Finally, a Christian vote is a prayerful one. The Scriptures urge believers to pray for leaders and for governments. And, ultimately, believers will see this as more important even than their vote.
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:1-3).
It is a mistake, in other words, for Christians to pin their hopes for a nation on a political process. The ‘Christian vote’ will always remain a secondary tool in the church’s repertoire of involvement for the good of the world.
The connection between these sentences is subtle and fascinating. God’s people are urged to pray for those in power (vv.1-2a) with the result that ‘we’ (God’s people) can get on with the business of living peaceful and godly lives (v.2b). Moreover, this outcome somehow works to the pleasure of the God who wants all people to be saved (vv.3-4). In other words, good government enables the church to live its life of good works and God’s missionary desires to be fulfilled. This comes about not through the vote—as important as that is—but through prayer. Christian activism is expressed most pertinently on the knees.
There is nothing here about praying for a ‘Christian society’—whatever that is—only that prayers should be offered for the (secular) leadership of a nation so that God’s people can get on with their core business of living lives of peace and goodness and seeking to promote the news of ‘God as Saviour.’ It is a mistake, in other words, for Christians to pin their hopes for a nation on a political process. The ‘Christian vote’ will always remain a secondary tool in the church’s repertoire of involvement for the good of the world.
Dr John Dickson is Director of the Centre for Public Christianity and an Honorary Associate of the Department of Ancient History, Macquarie University (Australia) Originally published at publicchristianity.org
MoreThis article contains life changing tips on how to stop self limiting beliefs. Please share it using the Facebook and Twitter buttons above. Thank you.
Try as you might, you can’t NOT believe something.
Even if you believe in nothing, that’s still a belief! (That there’s nothing to believe in).
Okay. Now hold that thought and consider this:
You will never meet anybody who agrees with you about absolutely everything. Every person alive, or who has ever lived, had their own unique, peculiar set of beliefs.
Sure, there are enough people who share sufficient numbers of beliefs closely enough with you and me for us to be able to rub along. But just beneath the surface of each and every one of us are beliefs about life, luck, love, not to mention religion and politics, (didn’t I say not to mention religion and politics?), that we may find anything from odd to deeply offensive.
Now ask yourself, what do you believe about yourself?
Do others find you talented, attractive, clever or some other positive that you personally struggle to imagine about yourself? You know, the ones where inside you go, “Who, ME?”
Curious, eh? You and your friends, even your lover, can disagree about who and how you are!
But you’re missing a big truth that could not only save you from this unfortunate state of affairs, but also could change your fortunes and reshape your destiny.
Ready?
If no two people will ever agree about everything that means that, however they came by them, they’ve drawn their own conclusions and made up those beliefs.
That’s right! There is no universal Book Of Beliefs that will |
characters and even more dialogue! More, more, more! Let’s make this game as big as possible!
+ Extra Animator: An additional animator means two things: Animations will have more frames and will therefore be more fluid, and there’ll be more animations in general. We promise twice the amount of frames per animation; it’ll be smoother than your retinas can register! (Maybe not.)
Engine Change: This would require us to port all the current progress over and pay for more expensive licensing. Why would we do that? Because if we do, we can support pretty much any platform out there. It’ll also give us more creative control and will allow us to implement some special mechanical features we otherwise couldn’t include. How great is that?!
PS4, Xbox One, Wii U & 3DS: After 150k, every 80-100k onwards we'd be able to add another platform. This would include the Wii U, PS4, Xbox One & 3DS. In what order we'll unlock them is based on popular demand by you all! This is the big, big dream!
Help us make these ambitious dreams a reality!
Why kickstarter? This is behemoth of a project and we need to be able to work on it full time. We also need to pay for the production costs, including all of our developers and artists for art, animating, coding, voice acting, music & more.
Here are a couple of things that, with your backing, become a possibility for us:
The two lead developers, Fabian Rastorfer & Ben Miller, will be able to work on the game full time which will allow them to finish the game in its entirety.
The two lead developers will be able to work in the same room together, allowing for a much faster and more efficient workflow. (The game will come to you faster!)
We’ll be able to fully voice act the script.
We’ll be able to fully score the game.
We’ll be able to fully animate every action.
We'll be able to make the game as expansive as possible.
So, what exactly is the Kickstarter financing? We understand the uncertainty of backing a project on kickstarter and we want to make sure you know where your money is going:
A significant part of the finances go into production costs for everyone involved. At base level, this will allow us to work on The Wild Wild Pixel full time. It will also allow us to rent out a room where we can work in together, greatly affecting working speed & efficiency. (The game will come to you earlier and at a higher quality!) The rest goes into licensing, voice recording, music creation and, of course, your kickstarter rewards.
Fabraz is an independent media & game development studio that prides its diversity both in design, and its developers. Drawing from minds and talent found in New York, Boston, Berlin, Zurich & Bangkok, it is a breeding ground of creativity. Its most recent game, the critically acclaimed Cannon Crasha, was an action-strategy title released for iOS & Android and was featured as "...a sure-fire winner!" by Apple.
Besides game development, Fabraz is also behind the currently 5 year old and still running webcomic “The tale of Aeria”. Fabraz is about entertainment and experimenting in every possible media.
We want to make sure that YOU, the backer, gets as many goodies as possible! A few notes on the reward tiers:
1. Make sure to check whether it’s the DIGITAL or PHYSICAL tier! The physical tiers get all the digital prizes as well, but will also receive some physical objects on top.
FREE SHIPPING ONLY IN THE U.S! (Adds +20$ to your pledge for international shipping.)
2. We offer a few special tiers:
Early Bird: These are limited deals, first come, first serve! They include alpha access!
Friend Package: Get two copies of the game to give away to friends!
Alpha/Beta/Digital Access: Based on your tier, you get access to our alpha or beta testing phase! If you purchase any physical tier, you get all digital prizes as well.
Credits: Every backer, no matter how small, gets their name in the credits! Suh-weet!
(Digital and/or Physical) Soundtrack: The game will come with a kick-ass soundtrack you will want to listen to all the time! It’ll include over 30 tracks! Check the “Other” section if you want to listen to a few right now!
(Digital and/or Physical) Poster/Wallpaper: You can get this amazing poster, to hang up proudly in your room! Or set as your wallpaper.
(Digital and/or Physical) The Game: Anything past 10$ and you’ll get the game, either as a download or in a fancy physical case for your display shelf!
(Digital and/or Physical) Comic: Did you know that we have professional manga-ke among our midst? This 20+ page comic will tell a little side story with our protagonist, Jacques, drawn by our talented illustrator. A must-own!
(Digital and/or Physical) Booklet: Remember the golden days of game instruction booklets? We sure do and the Wild Wild Pixel will come with just that! Chock full of instructions, illustrations & extra lore.
VIP Access: This is a special room found in the game, that only our most supportive backers can get access too! Filled with little goodies, such as references to this kickstarter and other nonsensical objects to explore. Feel like a VIP (cus' you are)! NOTE: Nothing in this room contributes to the overall story or game but is simply a cool gimmick to explore and boast about.
Design an Object/Collectable: Based on your tier, you can either design a decorative object found in the game or you can design an entire room or collectable! Wow! The latter can be collected by Jacques and will come with some additional lore you can write in Jacques’ notebook.
Design a Character: Get the opportunity of designing an entire character found in the game! Depending on your tier, we’ll even let you voice him or her! How cool is that?!
Google Hangout: For our most amazing backers, we’ll organize a Google Hangout with a dinner we’ll pay for! Let’s chat and have a good time! Are you in the New York state? In that case, we’ll invite you to dinner in-person, our treat!
Our previous game Cannon Crasha, done in collaboration with Gango Games, was an action-strategy title for iOs & Android.
“Two castles, one kingdom. Win the battlefield by strategically shooting your cannon, controlling a small army and using wizard spells!”
It acclaimed critical success and was featured by Apple numerous times, while appearing on countless renowned sites including IGN, Kotaku, TUAW and more.
We uploaded some of our music tracks for your enjoyment, give them a listen!I recently purchased a Lightberry HD so that I could get the cool ambiilight colours with my TV. Despite there being information on the internet about how to set everything up, the information is fractured, brief, confusing, and a lot of times out of date. This guide aims to walk you through everything you need in regards to pre-purchasing, physically setting up, and finally configuring the software (Hyperion) to get the best from your Lightberry. If you are just simply looking for a quick review about the Lightberry HD, then golly gosh, I have one just here for you 🙂
This guide is pretty long, so I have created a little table of contents to help you jump ahead to anything…
1) What to buy/What do I need?
Exactly what you need will depend on what you want to achieve and your current home theatre and TV setup. I’ll run through the absolute must haves to actually get things working, and then we’ll talk about the different types of Lightberry kits which can be used depending on if you want standard 1080p video or if you are a cutting edge 4K viewer. If you already have all the kit then you can jump ahead to the setup part of this tutorial.
Raspberry Pi 3:
The Raspberry PI is basically a credit card sized computer, and this little guy is going to be doing all the processing of your picture to then send the information to the LEDS and make them light up all pretty like. The PI 3 is a quad core 1.2ghz computer which will run flavours of Linux from a micro SD, it has 4 USB ports along with a HDMI port to connect to your TV, and thankfully the model 3 does have onboard Wifi. You can buy the Raspberry Pi 3 direct from Amazon.
If you already have a Raspberry Pi, then you can use that, but the Pi 3 – model B ensures you have enough computing power to light the LEDs as smooth as butter.
Raspberry Pi 3 Power Supply:
The Pi 3 (or any other version for that matter) doesn’t come with a power supply. As above, you can buy an official power supply from Amazon.
Raspberry Pi 3 Case:
It’s probably a decent idea to get a case for the Pi 3, just make sure that you put the Pi into the case WITHOUT the Micro SD card inserted, else it will snap. I went with this case that fits perfectly, again from Amazon.
Lightberry HD Kit:
If the Raspberry Pi is the brains of this operation, this Lightberry HD kit is the heart. This kit includes everything that you need to get up and running (except the parts listed beforehand), the components of the kit are…
HDMI Grabber (2nd image above) – This is a smallish box which takes the input from a HDMi cable and then passes it to the Raspberry PI via USB. It also has a HDMI out port so that the image from your HDMI source can still be passed through to the TV. It also includes a physical switch to well, switch the HDMI between PAL and NTSC formats.
– This is a smallish box which takes the input from a HDMi cable and then passes it to the Raspberry PI via USB. It also has a HDMI out port so that the image from your HDMI source can still be passed through to the TV. It also includes a physical switch to well, switch the HDMI between PAL and NTSC formats. Lightberry LED Controller AKA level converter (3rd image above) – This is another little box that connects to the Raspberry PI via USB (or GPIO pinout) and also to the LED lighting strip. This box, as you can probably guess, takes the data that the Pi has analysed and turns it into signals that are sent to the LED strip to light up your world.
– This is another little box that connects to the Raspberry PI via USB (or GPIO pinout) and also to the LED lighting strip. This box, as you can probably guess, takes the data that the Pi has analysed and turns it into signals that are sent to the LED strip to light up your world. LED Lighting strip – The model of this lighting strip is APA102 (this is important to note later), and comes in 4meter and 5meter versions. For my 55″ TV I have the 5M version which resulted in a bunch of extra LEDs, but that’s cool as we will configure it so that they are simply always turned off. Also note that the 5M version requires power from the start of the strip and also from the end, whilst the 4M version only requires power from the start of the strip, the 4m version also allows you to cut away any excess lights you don’t need (don’t do that with the 5M version).
– The model of this lighting strip is (this is important to note later), and comes in 4meter and 5meter versions. For my 55″ TV I have the 5M version which resulted in a bunch of extra LEDs, but that’s cool as we will configure it so that they are simply always turned off. Also note that the 5M version requires power from the start of the strip and also from the end, whilst the 4M version only requires power from the start of the strip, the 4m version also allows you to cut away any excess lights you don’t need (don’t do that with the 5M version). Power cables and Hooks – Hopefully you know what power cables do. The hooks are used to stick to your TV so that we can run the lights around it. It’s worth noting that you are going to need 3 spare power sockets to plug everything, 1 for Raspberry Pi 3 (not included in this kit), 1 for the HDMI Grabber, and 1 for the LED controller which will also split into powering the end of the 5M LED strip.
You can purchase all these parts separately, and you can go for the older “non HD” model, but the best solution (and what this guide uses) is the Lightberry HD + HDMI FullHD bundle direct from Lightberry.
If you are a 4K user, then you will want to read this new blog post of mine about getting true 4k 60 FPS with lightberry. If you are thinking “Well, I might upgrade to 4K in the next five years and will buy the 4K kit for future proofing” then don’t bother, get the Lightberry HD kit and read my latest post. If you are unsure of what you need read about Lightberry and 4K first.
Pre-Loaded Micro SD Card:
Fist off, let me say that you can use any Micro SD card and that I will show you how to set everything up with your own SD card later in the guide. However, for ease of use and for “Plug and Play” I suggest that you just purchase a pre-loaded Micro SD card from Lightberry. The card that they sell is 8GB and comes loaded with OpenElec which boots directly into Kodi. I shall cover OpenElec and Kodi and what they do later, but basically this is the operating system that will be plugged into the Raspberry Pi and make everything work. You must have an SD card to make this work, you cannot load any operating system directly onto the Pi without an SD Card!
HDMI Splitter/Switcher (Optional):
Whilst the Lightberry HDMI grabber will take a single HDMI input, send that to the Raspberry Pi via USB, and then pass through the HDMI source to the TV, you may need a HDMI splitter to allow you to pass multiple HDMI inputs to your setup. Let me try and explain that a different way, if you have your Sky/Cable, your Bluray, your Apple TV etc all plugged into the back of your TV then as it stands you can only choose one of those to plug into the Lightberry HDMI Grabber and have the LEDs light from that source. If you want ALL of your devices to feed through the Lightberry HDMI Grabber then you are going to have to plug them into a HDMI splitter first so that the splitter/switcher takes all those inputs and outputs them as a single source into the HDMI Grabber.
If you have a Home Theatre system or AV receiver then you do not need a HDMI splitter as you can just use the single HDMi cable output from your receiver to your TV. Just to be crystal clear, AVR’s work perfectly fine outputting all sources through a single HDMI cable into the Lightberry HDMI Grabber.
You can get a 3 port HDMI splitter from Amazon.
2) Setting up and connecting the Lightberry HD kit
Ok, so we have everything purchased and delivered and it’s now time to physically set everything up. One thing to note here, I am actually writing this post about a week after setting up my own setup so I didn’t get chance to properly take photos of everything. I’ll try and note everything as clear as I can though, so it should be fairly easy to work out what you are supposed to do.
The image above is a very basic representation of how all the kit goes together. If you are using an AV receiver then it would replace the [HDMI Switch] part, or if you are simply using a single input (like an Apple TV) then you may not have a HDMI switch at all. Also note that the Raspberry PI doesn’t simply just connect directly to the LED strip, it actually connects via USB to the LED controller. The HDMI Premium kit as labelled in the above image is actually the Lightberry HDMI Grabber and is connected by HDMI to the TV and USB to the Raspberry Pi.
If you are here because you want to know how to configure the software and Hyperion then you can jump to that part of the guide.
Plugging in and connecting the Lightberry HD Kit:
I’m going to assume that you are doing a dry run of the setup and that you aren’t going to tidy everything up into it’s final position as soon as you are done. We are covering the physical setup here so you will still need access to the Raspberry Pi in order to add/remove the SD card, connect a USB keyboard, and also potentially jiggle the LED strip a little bit. Also note, don’t turn any of the power supplies on until the end of the setup.
Take everything out of the boxes right now and lay it out in front of you. For the Rasperry Pi you should hook it up to the power supply and also connect a HDMI cable from it to a port on your TV. Just to be clear, the Raspberry Pi HDMI out should go directly into the TV and NOT connect into the HDMI grabber. Unless you plan to use the Rasperry Pi as a media player (more on that later) then we’ll only be needing the Pi connected to the TV for the setup portion and it won’t be permanently connected to the TV.
Take the HDMI Grabber and connect it via USB to the Raspberry PI
Take your HDMI source and connect it into the HDMI IN port of the grabber. If your HDMI source is an AV receiver then just take that output cable and connect it into the HDMI grabber. If you are using a HDMI switch for multiple sources then hook those up and connect the output of the HDMI splitter/switcher into the input of the HDMI grabber.
Hook up the power cable of the HDMI grabber so it is ready to go, but don’t turn it on.
Now take the Lightberry LED Controller and connect it via USB to the Raspberry Pi
You should now be left with the LED light reel and an additional power supply. Go ahead and connect the power supply into the Lightberry LED controller, and note that this power supply has a splitter that turns one power output into two power outputs. Since you have just connected one power output into the LED Controller, the second power output is going to connect into the end of the LED strip, which is currently hidden in the middle of the LED reel.
Take your hooks out of the bag and prepare to get behind the TV to stick them all on it. They are going to look like this….
Now, one thing about the hooks. I recommend you just use them as a “shelf” for the LED strip which means that all the hooks are facing downwards. The LED strip is sticky so there is almost zero chance of the strip moving outward from the “shelf” part of the hook and falling off. If you point them upwards and an LED is behind the hook part then you are going to create a shadow against the wall. Long story short, you should place the hooks face down towards the floor in my opinion.
The hooks are super sticky, if you don’t get it stuck in the right position off the bat it is a pain in the ass to get it off. Take your time in working out where you want the hooks to go. Mine are positioned about 1 inch from the outer edge of the TV, almost exactly like the diagram above. Remember, I have 55″ TV and the above worked perfectly without any dipping or drooping from the LED strip. If you are rocking a 65″ or higher set you may want to add an additional hook along the horizontal positions.
Positioning and securing the LED Strip to your TV:
After you have worked up a sweat getting all the hooks stuck on correctly, then it’s time to run the LED strip onto the hooks and around the TV, and really get the underarm juices flowing.
You can run the LED strip from almost anywhere as the configuration file that we will make later will allow us to tell it where we started, but I recommend starting from the bottom left of the TV (facing the TV) and working around clockwise. Since you are going to be behind the TV doing this, then you will be starting from the bottom right and working your way counter-clockwise.
I actually ran the strips from the bottom left (behind the TV) and ran it clockwise and had no issues at all, but was confused by the config as it’s initial positioning is calculated from facing the TV.
Facing the back of the TV you want to take the first LED on the strip and have it facing outwards to the right at the very bottom right of the TV, work your LED strip up to the top right and then along the top of the set to the top left. Run it down the left side and then along the bottom until you get back to the bottom right. If you have some spare LEDs then double the strip back over the top of the bottom LEDs with your spare LEDs facing upwards.
you want to take the first LED on the strip and have it facing outwards to the right at the very bottom right of the TV, work your LED strip up to the top right and then along the top of the set to the top left. Run it down the left side and then along the bottom until you get back to the bottom right. If you have some spare LEDs then double the strip back over the top of the bottom LEDs with your spare LEDs facing upwards. Remember that the LED strip has a sticky back, but you have to peel that off. I put all the LEDs in place first and then peeled of the sticky part to get it to stick to the hooks.
For the bottom row lights, I actually had them “hanging” from the underside/bottom of the hooks and then the excess lights that i didn’t need ran back across the top of them and allowed the stickiness to stick both together holding up the strip. If you just try and stick the single outward facing bottom LEDs to the underside/bottom of the hooks without the excess LED strip running back across the top, then I am almost certain that they will end up falling down.
If you want a reference, my strip ran 38 LEDs across the top and bottom horizontals and 22 LEDs up the left and right verticals. That’s on a 55″ TV remember.
Now that your strip is in place, there are two last connections we need to make. The start of the LED strip (bottom left facing the TV, bottom right behind it) should be connected to the Lightberry LED Controller. The end of the strip (where ever that may have ended up) needs to connect to the second power supply output (with the first split power supply output already having been connected to the Lightberry LED controller).
Phew, you should be entirely connected and setup now. Let’s get ready to power everything up (don’t do it yet), but first we need to get the SD card for the Raspberry Pi ready to rock.
If you purchased the pre-loaded micro SD card direct from Lightberry then you can skip this next step. Just go ahead and insert the SD card into the Raspberry Pi for now and skip to the first run section.
If you have your own SD card and you need to load OpenElec onto it so your Raspberry actually boots and becomes useful, here is how to do it…
Burning an OpenElec system image to an SD card:
Before we actually go ahead and get everything loaded on the SD card, let’s just have a quick look at what exactly OpenElec is…
OpenELEC is an embedded operating system built around Kodi, the open source entertainment media hub. Home Theatre PCs are known to be hard to install and configure, and it can take a massive amount of time to keep them running. OpenELEC, on the other hand, is designed to be as lightweight as possible in terms of size and complexity, meaning your HTPC becomes no harder to configure than your satellite box or DVD player. With its small footprint, OpenELEC is also ideal for today’s small form factor systems, so you won’t need a big desktop computer in your living room!
So basically, OpenELEC is bootable linux operating system which immediately starts into Kodi. There is no traditional computer like GUI, you simply boot it up and then you are instantly using the Kodi Software. So what is Kodi you say?
Kodi® (formerly known as XBMC™) is an award-winning free and open source (GPL) software media center for playing videos, music, pictures, games, and more. Kodi runs on Linux, OS X, Windows, iOS, and Android, featuring a 10-foot user interface for use with televisions and remote controls. It allows users to play and view most videos, music, podcasts, and other digital media files from local and network storage media and the internet.
So basically, it is a media player. What the above description doesn’t tell you though is that that you can write plugins for Kodi, and Hyperion (the software which controls the LEDs) is actually a plugin for Kodi. Don’t worry about working out the Hyperion plugin though, it is part of the system image we will download.
One further thing I will say about Kodi is that if you are currently someone who watches movies through a USB connected to your TV then you are going to want to plug that USB stick into your Raspberry Pi and use Kodi as the player. Not only will Kodi allow you to play a million more file types than your TV can, but it will actually natively send the image information to the LED strip. If you watch any content directly through the TVs USB ports then you will never be able to get the Lightberry to ‘read’ that image. Only images from the Raspberry Pi or anything connected into the HDMI grabber will be processed by Lightberry.
Right, so onto burning an OpenElec image onto the SD card.
First off, go to the Lightberry Home page and click or scroll down to “Download”.
You want to download the latest version of the Lightberry OpenElec image, at time of writing the latest version is OpenELEC 7 beta3 for RPi2 / RPi3 – If you are coming here weeks or months after this guide was published then look for the version with the highest number, as that will be the latest.
– If you are coming here weeks or months after this guide was published then look for the version with the highest number, as that will be the latest. Only download OpenElec, and make sure that you actually save the Zip file. Do not open or uncompress the Zip file.
Do not worry about downloading anything else from that page.
Next we need to download the SD card ‘burning’ software to ‘install’ the system image onto the SD card.
Mac users should download ApplePi Baker, and Windows users can use Win32DiskImager – both are free.
The next part shows you what to do for ApplePi Baker, but it’s almost identical for Win32DiskImager except that you MUST run Win32DiskImager as administrator (right click > Run as Administrator)
Stick your SD card into your computer, and fire up ApplePi Baker.
Your SD card should appear on the left part of the screen.
On the right side of the screen, click [Restore Backup] and then select the OpenElec image that we downloaded earlier.
Once the progress bar is complete then ApplePi Baker should eject the SD card and you can remove it from your computer.
Slide the SD card into the Raspberry and get ready to fire everything up.
Powering everything up for our first run:
Ok, so after all this setup let’s get everything powered up and running. Turn stuff on in this order…
Raspberry Pi (make sure USB keyboard is connected)
LED Controller and LED strip power supply
Lightberry HDMI grabber power supply (ensure the PAL/NTSC switch is in the PAL position)
Switch your TV to the HDMI input that the Raspberry Pi is directly connected to
Hyperion (first run) Initial Configuration:
Once the Raspberry Pi has booted up then you should see it load into Kodi, you will be presented with a screen similar to this…
Setup your Wifi connection by using this quick 1 minute guide
After Wifi has been setup, hit the Escape key on your keyboard a few times to get back to the main menu
Using the keyboard you need to navigate to [Programs] > [Add Ons] and hit enter.
Now select Hyperion Config Creator, hit enter and it should load the config system. If it asks you for an update, then ALLOW THE UPDATE.
Now select Hyperion Config Creator, hit enter and it should load the config system. If it asks you for an update, then ALLOW THE UPDATE. It will first ask you to select the LED type, select the top APA102 option if you are using USB, or the bottom APA102 option is using GPIO.
It will first ask you to select the LED type, select the top APA102 option if you are using USB, or the bottom APA102 option is using GPIO. Now when it asks you to select the number of LEDs, count the LEDs both horizontal and vertical and input those numbers separately.
Now when it asks you to select the number of LEDs, count the LEDs both horizontal and vertical and input those numbers separately. Next up the config will ask you to download the best settings, I went with [YES] as we’ll just overwrite it during Hypercon configuration later anyway.
Next up the config will ask you to download the best settings, I went with [YES] as we’ll just overwrite it during Hypercon configuration later anyway. It will ask you where the LED strip starts, the starting position should be calculated from you facing the TV (bottom left if you followed this guide).
It will ask you where the LED strip starts, the starting position should be calculated from you (bottom left if you followed this guide). The config should also say that it has detected a grabber and should it use it? Obviously you should select yes. If no grabber can be found then double check you have everything connected properly!
The config should also say that it has detected a grabber and should it use it? Obviously you should select yes. If no grabber can be found then double check you have everything connected properly! The config should then inform you that the strip will show a rainbow, if you do NOT see the rainbow then don’t worry, we’ll fix this below. If you did see the rainbow, then…
The config should then inform you that the strip will show a rainbow,. If you did see the rainbow, then… It will show you a 4 colour image so that you can ensure the LED strip is showing the right colours. If your colours are slightly off or slightly in the wrong position then don’t worry as we will fix this during the Hyperion config part later in this guide. However, if your colours are completely off then you will need to rerun this config and 100% ensure you input the correct number of LEDs both vertically and horizontally.
Lightberry LED strip is NOT working/is black or blank/no Rainbow:
If your LED strip didn’t show the rainbow properly during configuration (as per the video above), or it keeps lighting up in completely random ways then you need to update the firmware on the Lightberry LED controller (level converter). Thankfully this is pretty simply, so go ahead and disconnect the LED controller from the LED strip and Raspberry Pi and then connect it to your PC/Mac via USB. Once you are all hooked up follow this very simple guide on the Lightberry site and update the firmware.
Once you are all updated, hook the LED Controller back up to the Raspberry Pi and LED strip and re run the hyperion configuration tool again. Everything should work this time providing you select the correct LED strip version from the Hyperion Config. If your LED strip still doesn’t light up then use trial and error to test each of the other LED options, if you still can’t get it to work after trying them all and you are 100% sure that the firmware on the LED controller update correctly then you will need to contact Lightberry Support via email.
Everything is working, what next?:
Now at this point you have a choice to make. If you want to start playing your movies from a USB stick inside Kodi then you should leave the Raspberry Pi hooked up to the TV via HDMI. However, if you don’t expect to use this setup for anything other than inputs that go through the HDMI Grabber then you can pretty much go ahead and unhook the Raspberry Pi from the TV and leave it running “Headless”.
We can, and will be using SSH to connect to the Pi in the future. As of right now you can pretty much kick back and enjoy the lightberry for what it is, but to really get the most out of it then we are going to have to configure and calibrate Hyperion to get the LED levels and timings correct, let’s do that in a second, but first I want to show you where the Hyperion configuration is saved on your Raspberry Pi.
The Hyperion Configuration File:
If you set up Wifi on your Raspberry Pi then you should already see it on your home network. On Mac/OSX you can open finder and you should have a network share called OPENELEC, on Windows you may have to find this manually but it’s super easy as you just type //openelec into the Windows Explorer bar and it will open the network share.
You can see there is a folder called Configfiles, inside this folder is a text file called hyperion.config.json – This file is where all the configuration of your LED positions, LED controller & Grabber, and Light settings amongst others are kept. You can actually go ahead and open this file through the network share to familiarise yourself with it. It will look a bit funky in Windows, but if you are using OSX then it retains the spacing and formatting. You can also search around the internet and find configuration files from other people, but you do not want to just copy and paste their file or overwrite yours because their LED numbers, positions, and other information will be completely different and you are likely just going to break your setup… and this is why we are going to use the HyperCon tool which will overwrite our file after we have calibrated everything correctly.
3) Configuring Lightberry HD and Hyperion using HyperCon Calibration
Whilst the Hyperion Kodi plugin works well for getting the Lightberry setup and working, it is very basic and it won’t correctly calibrate the colours against your wall or allow you to grab more of the picture. We are going to walk through using the HyperCon tool to do this.
What is HyperCon?:
HyperCon is a tool that is written in Java and it basically just builds a hyperion.config.json file based on the GUI settings that you set. It gives you much more ability to really make you Lightberry setup shine and is actually pretty easy to use once you get the hang of it.
Where can I download HyperCon?:
HyperCon can be downloaded for both Windows and Mac/OSX from the HyperCon Sourceforge page. Be sure that you have the latest version of Java installed before you download HyperCon and note that HyperCon is not going to be installed on your Raspberry Pi, install HyperCon on your laptop or any other computer which is on the same network as the Raspberry Pi.
Calibrating HyperCon:
So now you should have HyperCon open on your computer, and it will look like the image above. For this next section of the guide I am going to send you off to the official HyperCon setup guide as they have covered almost everything despite it being in somewhat broken English. I’d suggest you keep this guide open at the same time as there are a couple of things that are worth noting below…
Hardware Tab:
In the Hardware tab, the device is the model of your LED strip. If you bought the Lighberry HD kit around the time this guide was written then the “Type” will be AdalightApa102, the “Output” will be /dev/ttyACM0, and the “RGB byte order” will be BGR – it is a decent idea for you to actually open your hyperion.config.json before you go using Hypercon so that you can a) Back it up, and b) double check that current working setup type matches what I have just typed above. If it does not, then make sure you use WHAT IS CURRENTLY WORKING FOR YOU.
the “Output” will be and the “RGB byte order” will be – it is a decent idea for you to actually open your hyperion.config.json before you go using Hypercon so that you can Back it up, and double check that current working setup type matches what I have just typed above. If it does not, then make sure you use WHAT IS CURRENTLY WORKING FOR YOU. A note about this tab also, for some reason despite [Save]’ing the config data if you close HyperCon then it will reset the device Type and Output each time. Be sure to select your setup again if you tweak anything after closing and reopening the program else your LEDs will not light up.
LED Direction and number should be obvious, LED offset allows you to position the first LED correctly.
and should be obvious, allows you to position the first LED correctly. Image Process commands how much of the screen will be used for colour analysis, I have mine set quite deep but you will want to play with this to get it right for your setup. Do set the Overlap to 20 though, as it will create a much smoother transition between frames.
commands how much of the screen will be used for colour analysis, I have mine set quite deep but you will want to play with this to get it right for your setup., as it will create a much smoother transition between frames. Blackborder Detection: This detects any vertical or horizontal borders in the image, and acts a bit weird. If you are playing your movies and TV shows directly from Kodi on the Raspberry Pi then you can use a low setting here, something like 0.2 or 0.5, HOWEVER if you are watching your movies on something like an Apple TV or another computer which is sending the image through the HDMI Grabber then you are going to have to ramp this number up to something like 70 or even 80. Keep the mode on default.
This detects any vertical or horizontal borders in the image, and acts a bit weird. If you are playing your movies and TV shows directly from Kodi on the Raspberry Pi then you can use a low setting here, something like 0.2 or 0.5, HOWEVER if you are watching your movies on something like an Apple TV or another computer which is sending the image through the HDMI Grabber then you are going to have to Keep the on default. I must admit, Blackborder detection is annoying me somewhat. It does work on my setup which is a Mac Mini running Plex sending the image through the HDMI Grabber, but it can take a while to kick in on frame changes leaving the LEDs off for a noticeable amount of time. If you know much about this, please shout me in the comments.
Process Tab:
Notch the Update Freq. [Hz] to 40
Do NOT skip colour calibration, it is a bit of a pain, and it takes a little while but it will really |
the truth). I arrived to the rental service with a car without tyres, wheels destroyed, suspension in funny condition. After it I know that I can do everything!
Which driver would you pick as your favourite and why?
WRC have now great drivers, one better for jumps, another one for an action sideways picture, another one for the best portrait. But they are all very very professional.
WRC is still going through a bit of a rough period, but apparently we are seeing the light at the end of a tunnel. Your thoughts on the current situation?
The light at the end of the tunnel is the star that everybody involved in WRC is following, so the WRC can continue to grow, rally by rally with the help of all of us. I hope too that more manufactures will be in WRC in a near future.
Do you believe WRC and rally in general is a TV sport, or do you think Youtube is enough?
YouTube isn’t enough. In my opinion I think it’s a right for everybody in all countries to have an open channel that gives us everyday a 20/30 min brief of the day without paying for it. For example in Portugal we need to pay to see the WRC on a sports channel.
What are the three most important things you would change in WRC, if you had the power?
The dream of all fans around the world is to have a live coverage of some stages, rally by rally in a worldwide channel. For sure FIA and all involved are trying to do that, and me and fans are hoping it will be realized.
Any plans to get behind the wheel of a rally or racing car, or even pick up pace notes and do some co-driving? Or are you happy being behind the camera?
I am realizing my goal and dream in photography, but we don’t know the future and if I will give the opportunity to my colleagues to make a picture of me jumping 100 meters I call all of them!!!
The single most important tip you would share with young people, looking to learn motor sport photography and be the next you?
I am young too! The best tip is start working with your ideas and grow up with them, develop them and always listen to the opinions of the older photographers. If you want to start as the professional rally photographer, you must be motivated psychologically and physically for long long trips, long waits at airports, leave your family and everything behind and do it for them.
What are your plans for this season? Exclusively WRC, or do you have other plans as well?
All WRC and ERC events
Andre, big thanks for your time and best of luck in your photo adventures around the world!
Andre Lavadinho Facebook page
Andre Lavadinho websiteIn the first four games of this surprising, aggravating and gripping National League Division Series, Cubs starting pitchers have combined to allow the Nationals just one earned run and six hits in 22 2/3 innings.
Seven of those innings --- seven shutout innings --- belong to Kyle Hendricks, who delivered that outing in Game 1 and now takes the ball in the win-or-walk Game 5 tonight in Nationals Park.
Reliever Carl Edwards Jr., meanwhile, has one animated fist pump but a 19.29 ERA. Closer Wade Davis, meanwhile, has two saves but an ERA of 4.50. Combined, Joe Maddon’s Mr. Eighth Inning and Mr. Ninth Inning have allowed six of the 10 earned runs the Cubs have given up in this series.
Complete game, Kyle. You’re going to have to throw a complete game. Someone tackle Maddon if he makes a move out of the dugout until it’s time to join the on-field celebration.
If Bill Murray is going to play Maddon in the David Ross movie, can’t we let Murray handle the pitching decisions from here on?
Starting with losing three straight to the Marlins in the 2003 postseason (sorry, Cubs fans), Dusty Baker’s teams have lost eight straight games in which his team could’ve advanced (smile, Cubs fans).
After his magnificent Game 4 performance --- seven shutout innings, three hits and 12 strikeouts despite fighting some kind of illness all week --- Strasburg was asked if he had something to prove.
“Not to you guys,’’ he told reporters. “You guys create the drama.’’
And your manager creates the comedy.
Going back to the regular season, Strasburg has a 0.70 ERA and a 0.78 WHIP with 98 strikeouts in his last 12 starts. Talk about sick.
With one out in the sixth, Kris Bryant refused to bite on a 1-and-2 breaking ball the way he has for much of this series, then worked the count full, bringing fans to their feet because a full count was a rally for the Cubs to that point. And then Bryant swung through another pitch and took a seat for the third time. And then took a seat for the fourth time after he next at-bat. Just stay seated, son, because an on-base-plus-slugging percentage that’s worse than Jason Heyward’s is no way to win a World Series.
Baker moved Jayson Werth up to second in the order because that was part of the Nationals’ most productive lineup earlier in the season. Werth struck out twice in consecutive at-bats to leave four runners on base, including the bases loaded. Not as productive as you might think.
Before the series, Ben Zobrist opined that all the pressure was on the Nationals, who have good regular seasons but haven’t won a playoff series in forever. It’s not that Zobrist was wrong, it’s that in your lifetime did you ever imagine a Cubs player would be saying the pressure’s on the other team?
Now, though, ahem, there seems to be a good deal of pressure on the defending World Series champions.
Last call for Maddon’s “Bring on the Dodgers’’ thing to happen.
Miguel Montero tweet: “For the record I want the cubs to win so I get another ring.’’
Coincidence that the trailer for “The Last Jedi’’ debuted during Mitch Trubisky’s first NFL start? I think not.
ESPN analyst Jon Gruden warned people not to underestimate Trubisky. Hey, Jon, wanna coach him next season?
Jonathan Toews has two goals and five points in the Blackhawks first four games. He didn’t score his first goal until the ninth game last season. So, yes, Toews is off to a good start to the second Brandon Saad Era.
Saad scored his fifth goal in the Blackhawks’ 3-1 win over the Canadiens in Montreal on Tuesday. He didn’t rack up his fifth last season until the Blue Jackets’ 19th game. So, yeah, Saad also is off to a good start in the second Brandon Saad Era.
What’s up, Xavier Nady?Peel police rescued a toddler from a locked car in the parking lot of a Mississauga mall late Sunday afternoon.
At around 4 p.m., Peel Police received a report of two dogs trapped inside a locked vehicle at a mall on Argentia Rd. in the Winston Churchill Blvd. and Highway 401 area.
While attempting to locate the vehicle with the two dogs, an officer noticed a vehicle with a young child in it near the Urban Barns store on the west side of Winston Churchill. The officer broke the car’s window and rescued the child, who is believed to be about two-years-old, according to Peel Police
Police managed to locate the child’s mother in the mall and called an ambulance as a precaution.
They are still on scene investigating. There is no word if charges will be laid.A good pair of jeans is meant to make you look good and feel comfortable. If you go shopping and try on jeans that don’t fulfill these two factors, you should move along to the next pair. Many people need to try on up to 20 pairs of jeans before they find the right one, so don’t feel like jeans are not for you if you don’t find a pair that fits right away.
You also need to establish a buget, as this will narrow your choices. If you want a more expensive pair and don’t have the means, you can read some practical and some quirky ideas on MultipleStreams.org.
In this guide, we are going to look at the different types of jeans cuts: from straight leg jeans to skinny jeans and boot cut jeans and we are going to break down the different types or rises as well.
The crotch
Before we discuss the overall cut of a pair of jeans, we need to remind you that there are some details you need to pay attention to: first of all, the crotch of the jeans should be situated where your anatomical crotch is; there is no need to wear a pair of saggy jeans or a pair that is too tight. Wearing a pair of jeans that is too tight won’t make you look hotter; it will make you look like you’re in pain.
The rise
A second factor you need to take into consideration is the rise of the jeans. The rise describes the distance from the middle of the crotch seam to the tip of the pants’ waistband. Choosing the right rise for you can have a big impact on your appearance; it can make you look more proportionate and balanced.
Therefore, according to the rise, there are three major categories of jeans:
Low rise jeans
Low rise jeans are jeans that fit quite low on the waist. Also called “lowcut jeans” or “hipster jeans”, these are best to be worn by short or average-size men, but we think that generally low rise pants are not that sophisticated. Many short men wear low-rise jeans but still look out of balance. To discover whether you should wear low rise jeans or not, you should take a look at your whole body and not just at your legs. Men who have short legs in proportion to their torsos should opt for mid-rise jeans rather than for low rise ones, while men who have legs that appear longer in proportion to their torsos should definitely opt for low rise jeans.
Mid-rise jeans
Mid-rise jeans are designed to fall on your natural waist or very close to it. This style is probably the best way to go if you have an average body. We recommend that you should always try on a pair of mid-rise jeans when looking for a new pair, as mid-rise jeans will look good on almost anyone. This style is versatile and practical, it can be worn with almost anything and goes well with both tucked in shirts or with shirts that are not tucked in.
High-rise jeans
High rise jeans have very high waistlines and generally fit best on men who are over 6 feet / 1,80 meters tall and who want to wear their jeans on their waist rather than on their hips. High rise jeans look great on men who are tall and slender as well.
The cuts
When it comes to the cut of the legs, there are several types of jeans, each with its features. Therefore, you have:
Normal / Relaxed cut jeans
Jeans that feature a relaxed cut are best for casual settings. They are very versatile and can be worn with pretty much everything. Jeans that have a regular cut can be worn by most body types: they are a little boxy and roomy, but still structured and fitted at the same time.
Straight cut jeans
Straight cut jeans, also called “straight leg jeans” usually stand at your natural waist and are thin through the seat and the thighs. To find out whether a pair of jeans is straight cut, you should fold the ankle area over the knee area. If they have the same width, it means that the jeans are straight cut. This is a very classic look and it is appropriate in most casual settings.
Skinny jeans
Skinny jeans feature a very tight cut. Usually, skinny jeans look snug and look best on very thin men. Anyone can pull off a skinny jean, but they are generally not associated with serious men. If you want to wear pair of jeans that shows off your tights, but to still look strong and grounded, you can opt for a straight-cut jean or a slim jean as well.
Slim jeans
Slim jeans are similar to skinny jeans, but are not that tight altogether. They are a good alternative for those who like a very fitted pair of pants but either don’t like skinny jeans. This style goes very well on most body types and looks great paired with most shoes, including boots and sneakers.
Boot cut jeans
Boot cut jeans feature a cut that allows you to easily fit over boots, without having any extra fabric. These jeans are perfect for the winter time or for whenever you wish to wear high boots. The more exaggerated version of boot cut jeans are the so-called “flared jeans”, which have dramatic, bell openings. Flared jeans are not very flattering on men’s bodies, and have a 70s vibe to them, but, again, it is really all about the cut and your body.
Additional information
When you are buying pants online, always remember to measure not only your waist, but the length of your legs as well. The size of your waistline is the size you need to buy (35 inches = size 35 – if you use the metric system you can easily translate the size of your waist into inches. To convert, remember that 1 cm = 0.39 inches and 1 inch = 2,54 cm (or you can simply google your size and add “in inches”), but measuring the length of your legs as well will ensure you that you won’t receive a pair of jeans that are too short.
When you are shopping in a store, whichever type of jeans you choose to wear, make sure you try on several pairs before deciding for one. Always work with your body and don’t try to force anything on it that doesn’t fit. If you feel that you can’t find something suited for your shape, buy a pair that fits well in one place and is bigger in other areas and have it adjusted by a tailor. It is really impressive the difference a small change can make. This is a very practical thing to do for anything you can find online.
Also, another thing to remember is that blue jeans are neutral and can be worn with any color, pattern or texture. Dark wash jeans are dressier than colorful jeans or white jeans and can be worn with a lot more things than colorful jeans.
Taking these factors into consideration: the cut, the rise and the situation of the crotch is a great way to make your shopping experiences easier and to find the right pair of jeans faster than you’d expect.
Fraquoh and Franchomme
Further reading:
How to wear denim
Incorporating denim in your everyday style
The jeans and t-shirt combination done right
P.S. What type of jeans do you prefer to wear? What elements are you looking for when you are buying jeans? Share your thoughts, questions or feedback on the article in the comments below! For more style advice and fashion tips and cultural insights, you can subscribe to Attire Club via e-mail or follow us on Facebook or Twitter!
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MoreAn Afghan ‘refugee’ stabbed a teenage German girl to death in the southwestern German town of Kandel, German media report. The girl was reportedly shopping at a drugstore when the perpetrator attacked her with a 20-centimeter knife, stabbing her several times. The girl died of her injuries.
German news outlets were quick to identify the attacker as a ‘unaccompanied refugee’ from Afghanistan. It is, however, a common practice among young migrants entering illegally into Europe to register themselves as “unaccompanied minors.” The status as ‘minor’ gives them greater welfare benefits and more secure asylum status – not to mention the immunity from any future criminal prosecution. If a migrant “self-identifies” as a minor, the European immigration agencies are obliged to accept the claim without further investigations, often regarded as ‘intrusive’ by government authorities.
According to the German newspaper Die Welt, the attacker knew the victim and had threatened her in the past. Earlier this month, the parents of the teenager had filed a police complaint against the Afghan man.
German newspaper Bild Zeitung reported the crime:
A 15-year-old Afghan stabbed a girl of his own age in the town of Kandel, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
The attack followed an altercation between the teenagers at a DM retail store, the public prosecutor's office in Landau and the Rhine-Palatinate police headquarters confirm. The girl succumbed to her injuries in the hospital later.
Passersby overpowered the young Afghan after the crime that took place on [Wednesday] afternoon, and police detained him. [Author’s translation]
Last year, an Afghan ‘refugee’, who was charged with the rape and murder of a 19-year-old German girl in the city of Freiberg, claimed to be 16 at the time of the crime. He was found to be over 33, according to the legal documents presented before the court.
A facial analysis of the refugee ‘children’ accepted by the UK on humanitarian grounds from the notorious ‘Jungle’ migrant camp located in the French port city of Calais last year, assessed the average age of these “unaccompanied minors” to be somewhere around 25.
To counter embarrassing revelations, a UK Home Office spokesman claimed that fleeing their war-torn country had “toughened them up” and “so they've grown up a bit quicker.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Conservatives (CDU) are currently in talks with the left-wing Social Democrats (SPD) to form the next coalition government. Once Chancellor Merkel resumes her forth-term in office, Germany is expected to roll out a family-reunification program that could allow hundreds and thousands of refugees and “unaccompanied minors” to bring their families over to the country.
Germany is already facing a migrant crime wave. According to the annual crime report compiled by Germany’s Federal Crime Bureau (BKA), there has been over a 50 percent rise in the migrant crime compared to the year before. And these are just the official statistics. In recent years, German law enforcement agencies have repeatedly been accused of covering up migrant crimes, often under pressure from politicians pushing their ‘Refugees Welcome’ agenda.
With Chancellor Merkel staying the course on her open-door policy towards illegal immigration, Germany’s imported crime wave is expected to rise further.Sir, You Are Being Hunted is one of my most anticipated games of the summer, and new screenshots showing off breathless, terrified games of hide-and-come-kill-me aren't doing me any favors. Big Robot is just teasing me now, watching my fat little wallet run desperately across a procedurally generated British landscape.
Due sometime this month, last we heard, Sir will feature teams of tweed-wearing, shotgun-toting proper English robots hunting the player across an isolated island. With nothing but the clothes on your back and whatever tea and supplies you can scavenge from nearby villages, your task is to survive and escape. Judging from these new screenshots, getting cornered in a town won't necessarily mean game over for the prey. That said, I can't imagine a non-lethal way to get out of any of these predicaments.
We've been following Sir's development for a while, through the Kickstarter and the backers-only playable alpha phase. We'll be sure to update you when the game launches. Until then, feast your eyes on the rest of the screenshots below.Before this league game, Everton had become the first team in Premier League history to both score and concede in 16 consecutive league matches. So, a goalless draw against such a team tells you that Swansea’s newly developed pragmatism is effective in stopping the opposition from scoring but is also compromising on their ability to attack with spite.
[pullquote_right]“It could quite easily cost us if we don’t turn these into wins”[/pullquote_right]Everton have suffered only 3 defeats this season, which is as many as the league leaders, but have now recorded a massive 10 draws, which is only behind Stoke City’s 11. “It could quite easily cost us if we don’t turn these into wins,” said Everton manager David Moyes after watching his side failing to win a match they completely dominated.
Starting Line-Ups
The starting line-ups and formations of both teams reflected a plan especially made for their opponents on the day.
Swansea manager Michael Laudrup deployed Nathan Dyer as the centre forward in a bid to use his pace to implement the team’s counter-attacking ploy, while the in-form Michu played in what he claims is his preferred position just behind the striker. Dwight Tiendalli started at right-back for The Swans but Angel Rangel, who is the Welsh side’s first-choice right-back, was deployed on the right side of midfield to counter the lethal pairing of Steven Pienaar and Leighton Baines on Everton’s left.
In the absence of Darren Gibson, Moyes fielded Phil Neville (like he did against Newcastle) instead of Thomas Hitzlsperger (who started against Chelsea) to lend a bit of industry to Everton’s central midfield against a side known for its incisive passing. Moyes also chose to use Victor Anichebe over both Steven Naismith and Bryan Oviedo on the right flank, suggesting that an emphasis was placed on exploiting Swansea’s aerial problems from set-pieces and open play.
Match Analysis
The match was an open affair with neither side choosing to really press the opposition without the ball. While it was a typical Everton performance, Swansea’s was a highly uncharacteristic one – extremely defensive, defending very deep, ineffective in possession and no pressing high up the pitch.
As a result, Everton were allowed to make a massive 69.7% of their passes in the attacking half and 38.4% in the final third. Everton centre-back Phil Jagielka was allowed time and space to carry the ball forward. He attempted the most number of passes in the match (78) with an accuracy of 87%. More tellingly, 38 of those were made in the attacking half and 19 were made in the final third, which are huge numbers for a central defender.
The lack of pressing also meant that the away side did not win possession back in their attacking third even once in the match. They relied solely on counter-attacks and gambled on quick and incisive passing to produce a goal, and came close when Michu’s chip over Tim Howard struck the bar – a move that consisted of only three quick passes from back to front.
Swansea have averaged 75% passing accuracy in the attacking half this season, but were only a lowly 67% in this game due to the lack of numbers they had going forward. This, in turn, affected their ability to create chances – only 4 in comparison to Everton’s 16 chances.
When Laudrup set his stall out to defend deep, he was essentially gambling on the competence of his defenders, especially his two centre-backs. In reality though, it was Everton’s incompetence in front of goal that allowed Swansea to keep a clean sheet. Swansea City worked overtime to fend Everton off, making 50 clearances – exactly twice as many as the home side.
Although centre-backs Ashley Williams and Chico Flores made 32 clearances between them and the latter was arguably Swansea’s best player, they did ride their luck. Everton were completely dominant in the air. The home side won a massive 71% of their aerial duels in the match and won 65% of aerial duels when competing directly with Swansea’s defensive four. The home team should’ve scored at least one, if not two, goals. Gilt-edged chances were missed by Nikica Jelavic, Leon Osman and Sylvain Distin, and both Jelavic and Anichebe also saw their headers cleared off the line.
It is well-documented that the majority of Everton’s attacks come down the left flank. Swansea’s two right-backs (one of them placed as a right winger) certainly did keep Baines – the most prolific creator of chances in the league – relatively quiet. Everton responded to this ploy by increasing numbers on the left wing with Nikica Jelavic and Marouane Fellaini often overloading that flank in an attempt to free up Baines.
Such is the quality and importance of the English left-back though, that he did manage to create 7 of Everton’s 16 chances (3 from open play) but his trademark lung-busting runs into the penalty box were missing since he was well tracked throughout the game.
David Moyes’ side has always been lopsided in attack, favouring the left more than the right due to the difference in quality of players on either flank. But with the curious selection of Anichebe on the right wing and his natural habit of drifting naturally into the centre, right-back Seamus Coleman was offered little to no support in attack. Moyes did address this situation but perhaps too late in the game.
Steven Naismith was introduced into the game in place of Phil Neville with twenty minutes left on the clock, which meant Anichebe joined Jelavic upfront and Fellaini dropped into centre midfield alongside Osman. The rest of the substitutes were like for like swaps except for when Jonathan De Guzman replaced Nathan Dyer to shore up the away side’s midfield, which meant Michu shifted further forward.
Conclusion
It wasn’t the pretty performance that we have been accustomed to seeing from the Welsh club, but it has now been effective in two tough away matches – Stamford Bridge being the first. “For two games now, Wednesday and today, we didn’t have the ball as much as we are used to and still we performed so well.” It seems Michael Laudrup is doing well in inculcating pragmatism into his side. And as long as they don’t forget their idealistic principles, it is certainly an effective weapon to possess.As Trump was sworn in on January 20, there were protests on all seven continents to oppose his bigoted, right-wing agenda. This shows the raw potential that exists to build a powerful mass resistance. Socialist Alternative has helped lead the fight against Trump from the beginning, calling demonstrations across the country the day after the election, with tens of thousands showing up, and we continued that momentum by organizing mass demonstrations across the country on Inauguration Day.
It is crucial in the coming months and years that these demonstrations continue, but the fight against Trump also requires that we get organized. Without question the first weeks of the new administration will be met with anger, fear, and an insistence that Trump is “Not my President!” Yet this anger alone will not be enough. Socialist Alternative believes that to defeat Trump, our movement will need a socialist strategy to unite powerful mass movements of workers, students and all oppressed people. Without a socialist backbone, the movement can be misdirected and misled away from the bold, fighting tactics needed to stand up to this dangerous administration. We will need to be clear about who we can and cannot rely on, and must not limit ourselves to what is acceptable to Democratic leaders and their corporate backers. Our movement will need to be prepared to challenge not only this administration but the billionaire class itself. Socialist Alternative will be vital in this struggle.
Socialist Alternative is an organization of workers and young people who have led and won crucial battles for working people across the country. We launched 15 Now and led the fight for a $15 an hour minimum wage in Seattle, Minneapolis, Boston and elsewhere and were able to win the first city-wide $15 minimum wage in the country. We helped elect Socialist Alternative member Kshama Sawant in Seattle, the first socialist city councilmember in Seattle in 100 years. We have used Kshama’s position to help build a movement that has won a series of major victories, from the $15 minimum wage to helping block the construction of a $160 million police bunker to $29 million for affordable housing. Now, more than ever, with the impending right-wing attacks, is the time to build a fighting socialist movement and join Socialist Alternative and our struggle to not only to defeat Trump, but to build a better world!Indiana state Assemblyman Bruce Borders (IN.gov)
An Indiana Republican lawmaker wants to make it illegal for transgender people to alter the gender on their birth certificates.
According to Nuvo.net, state Rep. Bruce Borders introduced House Bill No. 1361 on Thursday, which states that “the gender listed on an individual’s birth certificate and permanent record made from the birth certificate may not be changed.”
Nuvo’s Amber Stearns pointed out, “According to the Indiana State Department of Health last year, the gender of a child born in Indiana is recorded by the state, but the information listed on the actual certificate itself is not. That can vary from county to county. A birth certificate from Marion County doesn’t look the same as a birth certificate from Posey County or Benton County. The design of a birth certificate can change at the will of county government.”
Because a person’s birth certificate is forever tied to the state in which they were born, transgender Indianans would be permanently unable to make any changes or amendments to their birth certificate gender.
Trans people’s lives are currently strewn with bureaucratic hurdles and catch-22s as they transition from one gender to the other. In some states you must have a birth certificate to obtain a driver’s license. Some states will not issue a drivers license to a person whose gender doesn’t match that on their birth certificate.
Passports, permits, visas and other legal documents all have various requirements that present specific challenges to trans people. To change one’s birth certificate gender can erase a vast array of obstacles for individuals in gender transition.
In addition to his job as a state representative, Borders works as an Elvis impersonator, dressing in spangled costumes and belting out Presley’s hits with a live band.
He will appear at The Main Event in Terre Haute on Saturday, Jan. 14 and at McCormick Creek State Park in the Oak Room at the Canyon Inn in Spencer, IN on March 3.More than two decades of cooperation in guarding weapons-grade stockpiles comes to an end, leaving the world ‘a more dangerous place’
One of the greatest boons brought to the world by the end of the Cold War was the agreement been the US and the countries of the former Soviet Union to cooperate in securing the USSR’s vast nuclear arsenal.
Under the 1991 Cooperative Threat Reduction agreement, better known as the Nunn-Lugar programme (after the two senators who persuaded Congress to pay for it) 900 intercontinental ballistic missiles were destroyed, and over 7600 warheads were deactivated. Some 250 tons of bomb-grade fissile material, scattered across the disintegrating superpower, was locked up and put under guard, so it could not be stolen and sold to the highest bidder. Tens of thousands of former Soviet nuclear weapons scientists and technicians were found jobs and salaries to help reduce the incentives to offer their expertise to rogue states and terrorists.
All in all, a pretty big deal, whose benefits will only be fully appreciated in their absence.
The spirit of cooperation that underpinned the programme has crumbled over recent years. Under Vladimir Putin’s leadership, Russia has increasingly bristled at the premise that it was unable to ensure the security of its own arsenal and fretted about Americans using the programme to spy on its nuclear secrets. In 2012, Moscow announced it would not extend Nunn-Lugar, but a replacement US-Russian bilateral nuclear security deal was cobbled together in its place a year later.
That deal, under the framework of the Multilateral Nuclear Environment Programme in Russia (MNEPR), was more limited. The US would not longer take part in the dismantling of weapons but would continue to assist safeguarding stocks of fissile plutonium and uranium.
Now, even that has fallen apart. In December, Congress voted to cut funding, in part because the Ukraine war, although unspent money in the programme could still have been used. A few days later however, as the Boston Globe reported, Russian officials broke the news to their American counterparts in a hotel overlooking Red Square that they were cutting off almost all cooperation.
As a result, no US-funded security work will be done at any Russian nuclear weapons sites nor will there be any joint security upgrades at any Russian facility where substantial amounts of weapons-usable nuclear material are stored.
Speaking by phone from the US, former Senator Sam Nunn, half of the Nunn-Lugar partnership that started the programme, said “the world is a less safe place because of this”.
There has been a race between cooperation and catastrophe, when you look at the possibility of catastrophic acts of terrorism. Cooperation has been running rapidly over the past twenty years, but this is a real setback...The Russians says they are going to spend resources to secure their materials and we have to hope they will. They have the expertise to do it, but they are under heavy economic pressure.
Matthew Bunn, a Harvard University professor and one of the world’s leading experts on the issue, said: “Nuclear security is dramatically better than it was in the 1990’s. The question now is how much those improvements will be sustained. Will there sufficient protection against insiders? Because all thefts up to now have been by insiders, not 20 guys coming in from the outside with guns blazing.”
Of the new US-Russian rift, Bunn said:A good POS tagger in about 200 lines of Python
Update: For a fast and accurate text-processing from Python, see http://honnibal.github.io/spaCy
Up-to-date knowledge about natural language processing is mostly locked away in academia. And academics are mostly pretty self-conscious when we write. We’re careful. We don’t want to stick our necks out too much. But under-confident recommendations suck, so here’s how to write a good part-of-speech tagger.
There are a tonne of “best known techniques” for POS tagging, and you should ignore the others and just use Averaged Perceptron.
You should use two tags of history, and features derived from the Brown word clusters distributed here.
If you only need the tagger to work on carefully edited text, you should use case-sensitive features, but if you want a more robust tagger you should avoid them because they’ll make you over-fit to the conventions of your training domain. Instead, features that ask “how frequently is this word title-cased, in a large sample from the web?” work well. Then you can lower-case your comparatively tiny training corpus.
For efficiency, you should figure out which frequent words in your training data have unambiguous tags, so you don’t have to do anything but output their tags when they come up. About 50% of the words can be tagged that way.
And unless you really, really can’t do without an extra 0.1% of accuracy, you probably shouldn’t bother with any kind of search strategy — you should just use a greedy model.
If you do all that, you’ll find your tagger easy to write and understand, and an efficient Cython implementation will perform as follows on the standard evaluation, 130,000 words of text from the Wall Street Journal:
Tagger Accuracy Time (130k words) CyGreedyAP 97.1% 4s
The 4s includes initialisation time — the actual per-token speed is high enough to be irrelevant; it won’t be your bottleneck.
It’s tempting to look at 97% accuracy and say something similar, but that’s not true. My parser is about 1% more accurate if the input has hand-labelled POS tags, and the taggers all perform much worse on out-of-domain data. Unfortunately accuracies have been fairly flat for the last ten years. That’s why my recommendation is to just use a simple and fast tagger that’s roughly as good.
The thing is though, it’s very common to see people using taggers that aren’t anywhere near that good! For an example of what a non-expert is likely to use, these were the two taggers wrapped by TextBlob, a new Python api that I think is quite neat:
Tagger Accuracy Time (130k words) NLTK 94.0% 3m56s Pattern 93.5% 26s
Both Pattern and NLTK are very robust and beautifully well documented, so the appeal of using them is obvious. But Pattern’s algorithms are pretty crappy, and NLTK carries tremendous baggage around in its implementation because of its massive framework, and double-duty as a teaching tool.
As a stand-alone tagger, my Cython implementation is needlessly complicated — it was written for my parser. So today I wrote a 200 line version of my recommended algorithm for TextBlob. It gets:
Tagger Accuracy Time (130k words) PyGreedyAP 96.8% 12s
I traded some accuracy and a lot of efficiency to keep the implementation simple. Here’s a far-too-brief description of how it works.
Averaged perceptron
POS tagging is a “supervised learning problem”. You’re given a table of data, and you’re told that the values in the last column will be missing during run-time. You have to find correlations from the other columns to predict that value.
So for us, the missing column will be “part of speech at word i“. The predictor columns (features) will be things like “part of speech at word i-1“, “last three letters of word at i+1“, etc
First, here’s what prediction looks like at run-time:
def predict(self, features): '''Dot-product the features and current weights and return the best class.''' scores = defaultdict(float) for feat in features: if feat not in self.weights: continue weights = self.weights[feat] for clas, weight in weights.items(): scores[clas] += weight # Do a secondary alphabetic sort, for stability return max(self.classes, key=lambda clas: (scores[clas], clas))
Earlier I described the learning problem as a table, with one of the columns marked as missing-at-runtime. For NLP, our tables are always exceedingly sparse. You have columns like “word i-1=Parliament”, which is almost always 0. So our “weight vectors” can pretty much never be implemented as vectors. Map-types are good though — here we use dictionaries.
The input data, features, is a set with a member for every non-zero “column” in our “table” — every active feature. Usually this is actually a dictionary, to let you set values for the features. But here all my features are binary present-or-absent type deals.
The weights data-structure is a dictionary of dictionaries, that ultimately associates feature/class pairs with some weight. You want to structure it this way instead of the reverse because of the way word frequencies are distributed: most words are rare, frequent words are very frequent.
Learning the weights
Okay, so how do we get the values for the weights? We start with an empty weights dictionary, and iteratively do the following:
Receive a new (features, POS-tag) pair Guess the value of the POS tag given the current “weights” for the features If guess is wrong, add +1 to the weights associated with the correct class for these features, and -1 to the weights for the predicted class.
It’s one of the simplest learning algorithms. Whenever you make a mistake, increment the weights for the correct class, and penalise |
compelling interest in hearing directly from Trump, even—or perhaps especially—when he’s saying things that are false, outrageous, offensive, or otherwise indefensible. And Twitter Q-and-A’s with the president or his spokespeople are not an inherently bad idea, as long as they don’t come at the expense of the professional media’s access.
The problem is the careless opportunism of Noto’s tweet. Twitter likes to think of itself as a public square, and it generally deserves praise for taking its role in political discourse seriously. The downside of the “mission-driven” culture at Twitter and other prominent Internet companies, however, is that it can lead people like Zuckerberg and Noto to conflate their own firms’ interests with those of society at large. The result is that, in many cases, they’re all too eager to disrupt things that would probably be better off undisrupted.
It’s nice that Noto followed up with a note of support for press briefings, although I don’t really buy that the reaction to his original tweet was based on “confusion.”
The White House press briefing is far from a perfect institution. But at a time when Trump is doing all he can to dismantle the checks on his power, the last thing we need are Silicon Valley titans sponsoring his assaults on democratic norms.Image copyright Damien McFadden Image caption John Brooker originally sculpted a few arches into the hedge before turning it into a dragon
A 75-year-old man said he spent 13 years crafting a "boring" hedge into a 150ft-long (45.7m) giant dragon.
John Brooker sculpted the mystical creature out of the 10ft-high (3m) privet alongside his rented farm cottage in East Rudham, Norfolk.
The topiary features bulging eyes, flaring nostrils and a crested back.
Mr Brooker said: "I was standing at my kitchen sink one day and thought the hedge was boring so decided to do something with it."
Image copyright Damien McFadden Image caption The design could have been inspired by his time in the Far East, where John Brooker met his wife
He spends up to three days every two to three weeks trimming the fairytale design back into shape and compared the task to painting the Forth Bridge.
The retired fan maker has got through four electric hedge trimmers and has to climb a pair of 6ft-high (1.8m) stepladders to sculpt the top.
"The farmer here is horrified when he sees me perched on top of the ladders," said Mr Brooker.
'Army days'
The hedge is by a public footpath and has attracted attention from walkers but Mr Brooker is modest about his eye-catching creation.
"My wife is the gardener, I just cut the lawn and do the hedge," he said.
Image copyright Damien McFadden Image caption The hedge is trimmed back every two to three weeks as it grows at a "prolific" rate
"She was pleased though as she has something interesting to look at.
"I think the dragon came from my days in the Army. I did two tours in Malaysia so the dragon must have been in my subconscious."
His wife Pippa, a former graphic designer, helps to guide the design, which is constantly refined.
"I've added wings and the top was quite plain but every year I add another couple of lines for definition," he said.
"I was always told by my maths teacher that I had a good eye for drawing a curve.
"There is a sense of what is right when your hand moves. Very rarely have I cut out something I wanted to keep."The decades since 1932 have seen repeated public rejections of democracy. The most recent came with political protests by the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) in 2013-2014, which called for military intervention to oust the elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra.
The PDRC acted as a catalyst for the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to stage a coup on May 22, 2014, which once again derailed Thailand’s democratic progress. The PDRC movement was the starkest example in recent history of Thais’ rejection of democracy, with millions openly embracing military governance.
Since the 2014 coup, some Thai and foreign observers have been misled into believing that the return to “business as usual” means Thailand is now politically stable. But this perceived calmness is only a consequence of the NCPO’s political suppression of opposition groups, and not a reflection of real unity and reconciliation.
“We have basically been treated the same all along since the 2014 coup – being followed, monitored and told what we can and cannot do, because they [the military] say we should avoid making trouble. ‘The country is now doing well and the military is paving the way towards democracy.’ This is what they told us,” said a red-shirt from a rural area in Ubon Ratchathani province, commenting anonymously.
His report is typical of many that detail suppression of free speech and politics outside the capital, Bangkok, as a consequence of the NCPO’s campaign of “attitude adjustment”, “visits”, “informing the people”, and “giving guidelines”. The tide of criticism goes largely unreported in the mainstream media, instead finding voice in social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
During three years of NCPO rule, Thailand has faced strong criticism from international partners, including the European Union, the United States and the United Nations. The junta has rigorously defended itself, using the rhetoric of “domestic matters”, “Thainess” and “cultural uniqueness” to dismiss its obligations and commitments to international laws and universal principles of democracy, such as compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Meanwhile the NCPO, with support from the PDRC, has been rather successful in demonising democracy at home, while claiming to have reinstalled “Thainess” as part of the reform process.
Evidence of that success comes in growing calls for the military to stay on in power so it can fulfil its mission of national reform. However, political observers and millions of Thais are now questioning whether the country is actually undergoing genuine reform, or rather being returned to where it was before the bloodless revolution of 1932.
In fact, Thainess is being utilised by the military with great effect as both a political shield and weapon to convince citizens that their national pride lies in Thailand’s history of avoiding colonisation by the British and the French. The message – that foreigners (specifically Westerners) have different sets of values – is one that has helped the NCPO secure power. This and other cultural values work against the cultivation of democracy in Thailand, and are being utilised by certain groups to justify the country’s retreat from democracy.
When the NCPO launched a reconciliation process in March this year, those invited were asked a set of 10 questions. One stood out: Does comment or criticism from outside the country generate or escalate Thailand’s internal political conflicts? This leading question was intended to frame the government’s critics (especially outside interests and observers) as a threat to national security.
With its military might and self-legitimised political power, the NCPO has waged a successful propaganda programme over the last three years, significantly reinforcing the pre-existing social hierarchy and obedient mindset of many Thais, and effectively suppressed opposition and challenges to state power. It has also managed to demonise pro-democracy groups who oppose military rule, labelling them as troublemakers.
Thais have long been taught to be respect people according to seniority and social status. These principles continue to be recognised as a source of national pride – part of the “Thai character”, while understanding of the concept of equality and dignity of all humans goes neglected. The concept of human rights, a core element of democracy, has been underplayed by the Thai education system and the cultural values it cultivates in youngsters.
Thai students show little recognition of human rights. Recently, a student at the elite Chulalongkorn University stated “I don’t know human rights, because it is not what I have learned. I am doing a Fine Arts degree.”
It won’t be easy to convince millions of Thais that military intervention is not a shortcut to democratic progress. Gradual evolution is in fact key for democracy, as observed in the United Kingdom which acted as a blueprint for Thai democracy.
Nevertheless, Thais must not mistake democratic principles as a devaluation of Thai cultural heritage and Thainess, because ultimately, democracy is intended to create a more equal society in which everyone is accepted and respected as a human being.
This 85th anniversary of our democracy offers us an opportunity to acknowledge that it is not only Thailand that is culturally unique, but every nation. However, the people of all nations have the right to expect certain similar things – namely, equality, liberty and freedom. Thailand must decide whether it wants to become a fully-fledged democracy, or allow democracy to die of old-age under military rule.
Titipol Phakdeewanich is dean of the Political Science Faculty at Ubon Ratchathani University, and a visiting fellow at the Centre for the Study of Globalisation and Regionalisation at the University of Warwick in the UK.Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius Looks Like Brave Frontier, With More Focus On Story
By Sato. November 19, 2014. 1:55am
Another one of Square Enix’s upcoming Final Fantasy smartphone games is Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius, which is in development with Brave Frontier makers A-Lim. 4Gamer shares their latest report from an event where the developers share more about the game.
As shown in the first-look at the screenshots above, the game actually looks quite a lot like Brave Frontier. The developers from A-Lim stated that while it may look like their own title when it comes to combat, it’ll have a completely different system.
In Brave Exvius, you’ll get to walk around in fields and dungeons, as you advance through the story, which is based off the image behind the Final Fantasy series, and what they’re known for. Their goal is to make it into something you don’t often see from a smartphone title.
While the game is still in development, with both Square Enix and A-Lim putting their knowhow to use, they already have a good feeling of how it’ll turn out to be, as they feel that the “fun” from the earlier Final Fantasy series is well alive in Brave Exvius.
The above is a look at some artwork for the game, by Yoshitaka Amano. As previously reported, the game will feature characters from past Final Fantasy titles, and will also place an importance in storytelling to go with its addictive combat. More details are expected to be revealed soon.
Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius will launch this winter in Japan for Android and iOS.A Brampton man and woman have been accused of forcing an 18-year-old woman into prostitution, following a lengthy investigation by the Toronto police Human Trafficking Enforcement Team.
Police allege the victim was lured into prostitution by a man and forced to provide sexual services. She was then “given” to another man and woman who also forced her into prostitution.
In November, the woman managed to escape and contacted police.
One man was arrested, and that launched the investigation, which resulted in two search warrants that were executed Wednesday, and the arrest of the two Brampton residents.
Police allege photographs were taken of the victim in various stages of undress, and those photographs were posted on backpages.com, and sexual services advertised. She was allegedly forced to provide sexual services for clients in several hotels and residences in the GTA, according to police.
They say the money clients paid went to the man and woman.
The victim is from Toronto, but has ties in the GTA, according to police. They believe other women may have also been forced into prostitution in a similar fashion and are asking for possible victims to contact the sex crimes unit at 416-808-7474.
Denneil Morgan, 34, of Brampton is charged with two counts of human trafficking, three counts of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, and one count each of exercising control, procuring, sexual assault, and possession of the proceeds of crime.
Kiesha Shaunte Ripley, 23, of Brampton is charged with two counts of human trafficking and one count each of exercising control and procuring.
Peel police Chief Jennifer Evans told a Town Hall meeting in Brampton Thursday night that human trafficking is on the rise in the GTA. Young women are being lured into prostitution by men pretending to be their boyfriends, and are then forced to do “unspeakable things.”CLEVELAND, Ohio - U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown was in town Monday lobbying for a bill he introduced that would expand a program giving tax credits to lower-income workers.
His Working Families Tax Relief Act would make the Earned Income Tax Credit program, which is currently only extended to 2017, permanent. The bill seeks to increase the amount low and moderate income taxpayers could receive in refunds, and the legislation would make it easier for single taxpayers without dependent children to qualify for EITC.
Currently it is difficult for single taxpayers without dependent children to get EITC. The bill by Brown, Democrat of Ohio, would also enhance and make permanent the Child Tax Credit.
"This $2- 3,000 (received from EITC) has helped bring millions out of poverty," he said after a news conference Monday at the nonprofit Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland in the city's North Broadway neighborhood. "That can be a lot when you're making $19,000-a-year."
Juanalicia Duran agrees. Speaking at the news conference, she said she has used NHS' free tax preparation services, run by volunteers, to receive EITC.
"This is the one time of year, I know I can pay off my bills," she said of the money she received because of EITC. "I live paycheck-to-paycheck.
State Rep. Mike Foley, Democrat of Cleveland, also at the news conference, said this would be the first year Ohio would have its own EITC program. He said residents would be eligible for five percent of what they received from the federal EITC.
The federal EITC, provides the credits based on several factors, including a worker's earnings, martial status and number of dependent children. However, supporters of expanding the program say it is difficult for single workers, especially those without dependents to qualify. The most a single worker can receive is under $500 a year. A working family with three children may be eligible for more than $6,000. Currently working families with at least two children qualify for an EITC equal to 40 percent of the family's first $12,570. Brown's bill would increase it to 45 percent.
Brown introduced the bill in April, but the push to expand EITC when President Barack Obama in his State of the Union address Jan. 28 called for making it easier for single workers to take advantage of EITC. While several Republicans in Congress say they are in favor of the tax credit for the working poor, they believe such enhancements to the program should take the place of raising the minimum wage. A bill before Congress would raise the hourly federal minimum wage to $10.10 from the current $7.25. (The minimum wage in Ohio is $7.95. ) However, Brown - and the president - supports both EITC expansion and raising the minimum wage as part of a larger effort to increase living standards for low-wage workers.
"Who can oppose rewarding work?" Brown said both of expanding EITC and increasing the minimum wage.
Lou Tisler, executive director of NHS, agreed. He said the program was not only good for individuals, but also the local economy. He said the 600 working families who participated last year in in the nonprofit's free tax preparation program, received a total of $1 million through the EITC program. He said his group does the free tax prep because the money working families receive often go back into housing.
"Refunds are commonly used to pay utility bills, pay rent or mortgages and save for the future," he said.
Partisan politics and a broader, philosophical difference between Democrats and Republicans could make Brown's proposal a challenge to pass in a divided Congress.
Brown has 32 co-sponsors for his bill, but the co-sponsors are all Democrats, and it will take at least a handful of Republicans to overcome potential procedural blockades if the bill ever gets to the Senate floor.
And never mind that when Obama brought up EITC expansion, he gave a special nod to Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, rather than to Brown or other Democrats. Obama said that "I agree with Republicans like Senator Rubio that it doesn't do enough for single workers who don't have kids. So let's work together to strengthen the credit, reward work, and help more Americans get ahead."
Brown said Monday he didn't feel slighted.
"The president wanted Rubio, and the Republicans, to step up, and do the right thing," he said.
Brown said Rubio and other Republicans have said they support EITC, but they haven't introduced or supported legislation to expand the program.
Rubio indeed says he wants to help more people.
But his approach is different from the one that Obama -- and Brown and other Democrats -- want. A day after Obama's speech to the nation, Rubio went on Michael Medved's syndicated radio show and said he agrees that it is important to help people, but he wants to do it by replacing the EITC with what he called "wage enhancement."
That means, essentially, offering a subsidy for qualifying individuals who live on the cusp of poverty and cannot wait for a refundable tax credit at the end of the year. Rubio also wants to take money that the federal government spends on anti-poverty programs and send it to the states, which he says could develop programs more suitable to their residents' needs.
Rubio, who has shown interest in running for the presidency, has not spelled out the details of his wage enhancement proposal. But it would "allow an unemployed individual to take a job that pays, say, $18,000 a year - which on its own is not enough to make ends meet - but then receive a federal enhancement to make the job a more enticing alternative to collecting unemployment insurance," he explained in a speech on Jan. 8, the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty.
"Unlike the Earned Income Tax Credit, my proposal would apply the same to singles as it would to married couples and families with children," Rubio said. The benefit "would arrive in sync with a monthly paycheck rather than a year-end lump-sum credit. And it's a better way of supporting low-income workers than simply raising the minimum wage."
As for Obama's EITC proposal, Rubio told Medved, "I think we've identified the same issue, but his prescription for it seems to be'more of the same,' and that's problematic."
Also problematic, say Republicans including Rubio and Ohio U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, is excessive fraud and abuse in the EITC program. Portman last week said that while the EITC "is vastly superior to welfare programs that often provide financial incentives to stop working," it nevertheless is wasteful and inefficient.
The federal government has made as much as $132 billion in improper EITC payments over the last decade, Portman said, citing an August report by the Treasury Department inspector general for tax administration.
Brown said the improper payments didn't suggest tax filers were engaging in fraud.
Instead, it may have been a misunderstanding of EITC rules. Many supporters of the program point to the complexity of the program's rules, shown by the IRS publishing a 62-page reference guide, Brown said a common mistake is for divorce parents may both end-up claiming the children, when only one is permitted to do so. Tisler said studies have shown that mistakes are often made by tax preparers, because they have incentive to get larger refunds to increase fees.
The IRS estimated that based on its audits, 21 percent to 25 percent of EITC payments in 2012 were paid in error, according to the report.
On the one hand, that high rate, involving a minimum of $110.8 billion and a maximum of $132.6 billion, reflects an improvement when recent years are compared with those a decade ago. In 2003 alone, improper payments represented a rate of as much as 30 percent, the audit showed.
The IRS acknowledges errors in the program and said its efforts to protect taxpayers in 2012 protected about $4 billion in erroneous EITC payments. And several groups, from the liberal Center of Budget and Policy Priorities to the independent Taxpayer Advocate Service within the IRS, say the EITC overpayment rate may be exaggerated because of sampling errors and recovery efforts, among other things.
Furthermore, the IRS audits are not always correct.
That occurred in 43 percent of such cases in 2002, when the recipients "were entitled to virtually all of the EITC they claimed," said a written statement from Nina Olson, the national taxpayer advocate, to a congressional subcommittee in 2011. "That is, their original audit results did not accurately reflect their eligibility for the EITC."
The inspector general's report nevertheless questioned the IRS's ability to do more.
Supporters also say the EITC problems pale when compared with tax problems involving rent and royalty payments and farm income. Brown said it wasn't just limited to these areas.
"There is significantly more fraud in corporate and business returns and than by the people turning to EITC," he said.
Portman, in a news release and on a website highlighting government waste, said that ten years' worth of overpayments would be "enough to send every family in America a check for $1,000 - or to fund nearly a decade's worth of customs and border security."
How this might affect Democratic efforts to expand the EITC is unclear. Portman, for example, may not be dead set against expansion. Brown said Monday he wants his Republican colleague to support his bill.
Despite his concern about waste, Portman supports the EITC, said his communications director, Caitlin Dunn, "because it encourages work, unlike many other anti-poverty programs. It's also a much more effective way to help low-income working families than raising the minimum wage."
Plain Dealer Washington Bureau Chief Stephen Koff co-authored this report.NBC said it will drop its affiliation with WHDH-TV (Channel 7) and launch a new network-owned station in Boston in January 2017, the biggest shake-up in the local television market in two decades.
In a memo to employees on Thursday, the network said the new station, dubbed NBC Boston, would carry the NBC programs now seen on Channel 7 as well as new syndicated shows. The station will have a local news team, adding to the expansion that has already taken place at New England Cable News and Spanish-language station Telemundo Boston, which like NBC are owned by Comcast Corp.
The memo did not say which channel would carry the new NBC station.
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The change would be the biggest local channel switch since WHDH and WBZ swapped affiliations in 1995, with NBC going to Channel 7 and CBS to Channel 4. The plan was announced just days before the Federal Communications Commission deadline for TV stations to participate in an auction that could further alter the Boston media landscape.
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WHDH owner Ed Ansin, who told the Globe last month that NBC was planning the move, said he will not go quietly and has assembled a legal team to challenge the network’s decision. The media mogul said the network has told him that it may move its programming to WNEU-TV, a New Hampshire station that NBC owns and currently broadcasts Telemundo on Channel 60. WNEU would broadcast NBC Boston and Telemundo from the same transmitter, Ansin said.
“We are going to contest it,” the 79-year-old billionaire said in an interview at Channel 7’s office in Boston. “I have a feeling a year from now we will still be the NBC affiliate. That’s how serious we think the violations are.”
Among Ansin’s concerns are whether it is in the public interest for NBC to move its programming to a station that reaches half as many people as WHDH’s signal. Comcast took control of NBC about five years ago, but not without caveats from the FCC. Ansin said that under the FCC agreement, Comcast and NBC committed to maintaining a certain level of free over-the-air broadcasting.
Ansin also is exploring whether Comcast would become too dominant in the Greater Boston market. Comcast provides cable to many homes, and through NBC also owns NECN, Comcast SportsNet New England, and Telemundo.
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An FCC spokesman declined to comment.
Ansin, who has a long history with NBC, also met with Senator Edward Markey on Thursday to discuss whether Comcast’s move would violate any FCC rules.
“As a longtime supporter of universal service and free, over-the-air local broadcasting, Senator Markey intends to closely scrutinize the impacts any deal could have on viewers in Massachusetts,” Giselle Barry, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Democrat, said in a statement.
Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh also weighed in, quoted in a Channel 7 press release Thursday night saying: “One of my concerns is that it’s unclear of what the future of NBC will be in the city of Boston.”
NBC officials would not elaborate on why they ended their agreement with Ansin. NBC Boston will be available to over-the-air viewers, not just to cable subscribers, as some observers had speculated.
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Anticipating concerns about the range of the new station, the memo said network executives were “expanding our over-the-air coverage of the market and are currently looking at a variety of options to accomplish that.” Another scenario is for NBC to try to buy another local station.
Networks prefer to own and operate their own stations in major markets because it is more profitable. Ansin has said that NBC told him in September that the network would not renew its agreement and offered $200 million to buy a portion of WHDH. Ansin balked at the figure, saying it was too low. An NBC spokeswoman said the network was only interested in buying a part of WHDH’s signal and did not offer him that much money.
Daniel Lyons, a professor at Boston College Law School who studies telecommunications issues, said Ansin’s chances of blocking the move depend on the details of the agreement between him and NBC.
“This is primarily a contractual dispute, and the resolution will turn largely upon the terms of the affiliation agreement between NBC and WHDH,” said Lyons. “It’s worth fighting for.”
Ansin and NBC have famously sparred through the years. The Ansin family has been in the television business since it bought WSVN-TV, the NBC affiliate in Miami, more than a half century ago. But in the late 1980s, NBC acquired a rival station in Miami and moved programming there, which forced Ansin’s station to become a Fox affiliate.
In 2009, Ansin defied the network’s orders to air Jay Leno’s new prime-time talk show. After a weeklong standoff, Ansin relented, though NBC ended up pulling the comedian’s show less than a year later due to low ratings.
Asked if he could have done anything to change NBC’s mind about dropping his affiliation, Ansin was emphatic.
“No,” he said. “They made up their mind that they wanted to own a station in Boston. That’s what it all comes down to.”
If Ansin loses his battle with NBC, he said he would operate Channel 7 as an independent station with a focus on news. He said he would even add staff to support more newscasts. The Channel 7 newsroom currently has about 200 employees, many of them working part time. Ansin went through a similar experience in Miami and ended up building a powerful new station, relying on breaking news and flashy graphics.
“It was the best thing that could have ever happened to that station,” said Ansin. “News people like a challenge.”
More changes in the local TV market could be in motion. Ansin, whose Sunbeam Television also owns WLVI-TV (Channel 56), said he wants to sell the station in the FCC’s spectrum auction. The FCC wants to buy local TV signals from stations willing to go dark and has valued WLVI as high as $452 million. Ansin bought the station for $113.7 million in 2006.
Ansin, who expects other owners of local TV stations to also participate in the auction, said he plans to broadcast Channel 56 from the WHDH transmitter.
NBC has already been upgrading and expanding its studio in Newton, where NBC Boston will set up alongside NECN and Telemundo. On Thursday the network named Mike St. Peter, the general manager of NECN and Telemundo Boston, to lead NBC Boston. St. Peter will serve as president, overseeing all three channels.
The network also announced new on-air personalities who will join NECN and are expected to appear on NBC Boston when it launches: Pete Bouchard, who previously was WHDH’s chief meteorologist; Melody Mendez, previously a morning anchor in Chicago, who will come on board as a weekday morning anchor; and Joy Lim Nakrin, who worked as an anchor-reporter on WFXT-TV in Boston and will become an afternoon anchor and evening reporter.
St. Peter said he plans to hire dozens of other staff, including reporters and producers, for NBC Boston. Still, St. Peter said viewers can expect a “blended workforce,” meaning reporters who appear on NECN may also be seen on NBC Boston.
“It’s a very competitive market. We’re going to put the best news product on the air we can,” he said. “We have a good running start.”
NBC said it will drop its network affiliation with WHDH-TV in January 2017 and move its programming to another station. One scenario is for NBC to broadcast from WNEU, a station the network owns, though its signal reaches half as many as people as WHDH.
Shirley Leung is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at shirley.leung@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @leungAs if Franklin Graham's comments on MSNBC Tuesday weren't bad enough, CNN decided to bring him on to "explain" and give him a second bite at the Obama-hating apple. This time he was careful to wrap his statement that the President wasn't really a Christian in the mantle of the anti-abortion wedge.
Here is what he said on MSNBC, among other things:
"Islam sees him as a son of Islam... I can't say categorically that [Obama is not Muslim] because Islam has gotten a free pass under Obama."
Wednesday, Kyra Phillips gave him a chance to clarify his answer. First he said he could not vote for Obama because he supported abortion. Okay. Whatever. But then he went on with it.
PHILLIPS: OK, so Franklin, let me ask you this, Franklin then. As long as the president supports a woman's right to have an abortion, will you continue to believe that he is not a Christian? GRAHAM: No, I've never said, Kyra, I never one time said I don't believe that he is a Christian. Only God knows a man's heart. Only God knows your heart or my heart. And all of these other candidates, their claim to faith you have to accept what they say. And you have to also look at how a person lives their life. But as it comes to the president, this issue is a big stumbling block for me. It's going to be a big stumbling block for many Evangelical Christians. That is the way it is. He's the one who made the issue by supporting abortion and so he has to live with that.
Later, he expanded:
GRAHAM: Kyra, I don't question the president's faith. If you had that banner up on your show, I questioned the president's faith. I'm not questioning whether he's a Christian or not. I disagree with his position on abortion. This is a big issue and I believe it goes against God's word. It goes against God's standards. So this is a problem for me and a lot of Evangelicals. Again, he's a nice guy. I like him as a person, but he's absolutely 100 percent dead wrong on this issue. He will have to stand before God one day and give an account to God on this issue. I'm not going to have to answer it because I believe that life is safe. I believe its sacred and every life should be protected from the womb to the grave.
Subtle, but effective. What Graham said, in effect, was that anyone claiming to be Christian who does not oppose abortion is not really a Christian. And as the interview went on, he made that position abundantly clear, despite admitting later in the interview that his mother would probably kick him in the shins for being political instead of sticking to preaching. Well, consider this post a verbal kick in the shins from a mother who thinks you're being ridiculous, dogmatic, and sticking your nose into people's business where it does not belong.
Here's a fact: Abortion is a legal procedure which the Supreme Court has said women may seek and receive without being treated like a criminal. Here's another fact: The President of the United States took an oath which he swore on the Bible to uphold and protect the Constitution. Since abortion is has been ruled to be legal by the arbiters and interpreters of the Constitution (the Supreme Court), the President is duty-bound to honor that, regardless of his personal beliefs. Period. And that is what he'll be accountable for, here and hereafter.
I'd like to give a special thanks a hell of a lot to CNN for giving Franklin that platform to walk back his nonsense Muslim comments while taking the opportunity to amplify our time-machine trip back a few decades to those times where abortions were done with coat hangers and the Pope had locked up the Pill. Because you know, those were the good old days. Right?
Oh, and Franklin? I'm pretty sure you're right about your phone not ringing. I doubt there's much you could have to say to the President after these past two days.Aaron Gilmore said it is important to tell people about sexual abuse. Picture: Richard Robinson/NZ Herald
AARON Gilmore was not even a teenager when he was sexually abused by a family friend who he regarded as a second mother.
But when he reported it to police years later they told him they couldn’t see what crime had taken place.
Ken Clearwater was 12 years old when he said he was sexually violated by a woman and asked to do things he could never comprehend and was left scarred, ashamed and broken.
He never reported that abuse or named the woman involved.
Both men carried a deep shame for years, worried that police and society wouldn’t believe that they had been abused by women.
Both men believe this is why males don’t come forward to report it.
Now a father-of-two children and the owner of a dancing school in Auckland, Mr Gilmore told news.com.au the grooming began at 11 after Hendrika Margaret Shaskey noticed he was a troubled kid craving attention.
She was jailed for five years for the sexual violation of Mr Gilmore in 2003.
Initially, Shaskey was charged with cruelty to a child but this was upgraded to sexual violation.
In 2005 New Zealand law was changed which raised the maximum jail term to 10 years for any “sexual connection” with a person under 16.
While the NZ Dancing with the Stars performer has learned to cope with what took place during his formative years, it left him feeling numb and like a shell. He said he felt he was unable to escape from the abuse.
“Consent can’t really be given when you’re in that state no matter how immature or mature you may feel,” he said of the abuse which went on until he was 18.
“She (Shaskey) was genuinely nice to me,” he said. “I didn’t have that kind of relationship with my own mother, I even called her my second mother.
“She won my trust.”
When alarm bells started to ring as the abuse became more sexual, he said she assured him it was their special secret.
He began to stay over and eventually moved in with Shaskey after his parents accepted her home was closer to his high school.
It was what he called a “typical grooming story”.
What started as hugging and kissing on the cheek soon progressed to much more but as the months wore on he said he became more uncomfortable with the situation and wanted out.
Aaron Gilmore is a vocal advocate for sex abuse survivors. Source:Supplied
But when he told her he said she “burst into tears” and threatened to tell his parents, telling him it was all his fault.
“I was a shell, I shut down, I just existed,” he said.
Feeling trapped, he felt he had no choice but to stay. He managed to escape the situation when he was 18.
But it wasn’t until he went to counselling at 22 that he finally had the courage to report what took place. With the help of his partner and mother of his two children he went to the police.
The police reaction was one he will never forget.
“The officer said ‘I’m failing to see a crime here’ and my partner lost it,” he said.
While justice was eventually served, Mr Gilmore said it has been a long road to recovery and he still struggles with society’s view of sexual abuse.
He also said people needed to stop thinking men or boys enjoyed such abuse or that it was “good practise” as that wasn’t helping men talk about it.
‘SHE VIOLATED ME’
Ken Clearwater was just 12 years old when he said he was sexually violated.
Already having suffered a rape at the hands of a man, he never expected to be abused by a woman.
“She sexually violated me and wanted me to do things to her that I couldn’t even comprehend,” the Christchurch man said of the second assault.
That abuse, which followed a rape six months earlier, destroyed the tiny amount of innocence and trust he had left.
Alan William Davies was arrested and spent time in jail for abusing the young Ken after being charged with two counts of indecent assault.
Ashamed, he didn’t report the abuse at the hands of the woman or tell anyone out of fear no one would believe a “confused” boy.
“She made me lie on the bed beside her, she started touching me sexually and got me to touch her,” he told news.com.au
“I was scared and couldn’t get an erection and she laughed at me and said I wasn’t a real man, and she was right I was a frightened boy.
Ken Clearwater today, and inset when he was a boy pictured around the time of the abuse. Source:Supplied
“After the abuse that happened to me I went from a happy little boy to a nasty angry sarcastic person.”
More than 50 years later, the father of “two beautiful daughters” still has difficulty trusting women.
“I struggle with relationships with women and feel that when I am in it I am trapped,” he |
job, observers put Gen. Hawk Carlisle, the widely admired head of Air Combat Command.
That Hyten is not a fighter pilot would, in years past, have been considered a serious handicap. Now that’s reversed. Carlisle is an F-15 pilot, and has also flown C-17s. That, I heard during AFA, is believed to count against him with this administration, particularly with the civilian who leads the service. Why does being a pilot matter? Here’s what one former senior Air Force officer said in an email.
“The Secretary hates white, male fighter pilots… It’s a sophomoric and immature criteria… stereotyping at best, and harmful to the Service and Nation at worst, because exempting those individuals excludes the most experienced, capable, and visionary for the job,” this former officer writes. “The key criteria should be who is the best person for the job—not what weapon system they spent the first half of their career operating. The service didn’t select ‘fighter pilots’ for the top job in the past. They choose the person with the best characteristics for the position. It just so happens that those are the same characteristics required to fly the most demanding weapon systems that the Service possesses.”
Having spoken with a wide array of senior Air Force officers for years, I can confirm that many of them believe James harbors deep suspicion of the motives of the uniformed service when they offer advice with which she disagrees. This seems to pervade the Obama White House, which has made very has made very clear on repeated occasions that professional military advice that contradicts what the White House thinks is not welcome and may be characterized as challenging civilian command of the military. (Perhaps the Harvard-lawyer heavy administration could become more comfortable with conflicting military advice if they thought of it as legal advice. Your client may hate it, but it’s good for him or her to know. You still get to choose what you’ll do.) Look at what happened to former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel when he and then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen, Martin Dempsey stuck to their guns on defense spending and whether to use force in Syria.
Does our former senior officer think Hyten can handle the job, even though he’s not a pilot?
“Hyten will make an excellent CSAF, he’s smart, savvy, and forward looking,” the former officer says. “His challenge will be addressing warfighting issues with the other service chiefs who posses decades of warfighting experience that he does not have.”
More importantly in the long run, I think Hyten’s selection could mark an important turning point for the Air Force. Space is key to a wider array of the military on a day-to-day basis than are fighter aircraft or bombers and has always been a highly prized but very separate part of the Air Force. While that separate culture offers certain benefits to the space community, it also means space is often not considered central to the Air Force budget or to its mission.
While this administration has lately embraced space and accepted the painful truth that space is now a key battlefield, a Chief of Staff who is a true space advocate could help better integrate his people with the rest of the service and demonstrate to everyone how truly important they and their missions are. Hyten’s nomination would also send a very clear signal to China and Russia — and to our fellow Americans — that the United States truly understands how important space is and values those who have mastered the domain.Sharks are often seen as terrifying predators of the ocean; we need merely look at Jaws or even their giant interlocking sharp, jagged teeth to understand why they are usually seen as ‘evil’ or ‘monstrous'
Yet surprisingly, as outlined in a new study these often feared fish have friends, well at least companions they like to swim alongside for years.
The study was undertaken in Southern Australia with Port Jackson sharks. Researchers monitored how the sharks interact with each other analysing their social networks to better understand the shark’s behaviour. However, they never expected to find that these sharks not only have the ability to recognise friends but also to sustain lasting friendships.
Culum Brown, the study author, said in a statement:
“One of the exciting things about this research is that we found the large aggregations that these sharks form in the breeding season is not a random collection of individuals.”
"These sharks prefer to hang out with other individuals who are similar to them."
The Port Jackson shark is a migrating shark. They travel from Jervis Bay to Tasmania and return back to Jervis Bay the following year to commence the breeding season. Researchers used this migration to analyse the social patterns of the sharks. They tagged a group of sharks and used their social network analysis as well as acoustic readers implanted on the ocean floor to track them.
The results, published in the Royal Society Open Science showed that sharks upon returning to the breeding ground will not only find the exact same location where they were the year before but also will spend most of their time with the same individuals and often of the same sex. Jo Day, co-author from Taronga Zoo explains:
"Both males and females return to the same rocky reef to breed year after year, which is unusual for sharks, but it means that these sharks establish long-term relationships over many years,"
The study aims to shatter the misconception that they are the ‘mindless killers’ portrayed in popular media and film.
After all, fish are friends, not food.Spoiler for Jekardahhh 1962 - 1982 :
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Quote: Original Posted By choopy► nih ane tambahin suasana bandara kemayoran
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Sekarang Gedung Kesenian Jakarta
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Sumbar :
Sqalah satu perubahan di tahun 2014Dulu Bioskop CitySekarang Gedung Kesenian JakartaDaerah Pasar Baru Belakang kantor Pos besar JakartaSumbar : http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gedung_...senian_Jakarta
Sumber Dari Om Bowie, Google, the Netherland Archive Center, Detik, majalah Life, IA Family, Indonesia Tempo Dulu, dll....Terima Kasih...TORONTO – When Ryan Nelsen took over as head coach of Toronto FC, a handful of players made the leap across the pond with him. Unknown players like Hogan Ephraim and John Bostock followed Nelsen to Canada and the path from England to Toronto was paved.
But who would have thought that in a few short months, world-class players like Jermain Defoe and Júlio César would tread that very same road to TFC?
Nelsen is well-connected, of that there is no doubt. He and Júlio César played together at Queens Park Rangers, and the goalkeeper noted during his introductory news conference on Friday, that he decided to join Toronto FC because of that relationship.
“I want to thank Ryan, really, for the relationship he’s established with players he’s formerly played it,” TFC general manager Tim Bezbatchenko said. “It just shows the type of player and person Ryan is, that people are reaching out to him and are excited to play at a club with and for him.”
Nelsen sees these signings as natural upgrades to his roster. The acquisitions of Steven Caldwell, Bradley Orr and Defoe were made to better his side, not merely to link up with former teammates.
“I keep in contact with a lot of ex-players,” Nelsen said. “As soon as I got a sniff of that [opportunity to acquire Júlio César], it didn’t take long to register how important it would be for Julio to be amongst our guys. His reputation on the field is second to none, but off the field he’s a leader, a winner.”
More remarkable is that in the span of a few short weeks, Toronto FC has accumulated three players expected to head to this summer's FIFA World Cup – potentially four, should Bright Dike make the Nigeria roster.
And the moves have helped change the perception surrounding Toronto FC management, with returning veteran Dwayne De Rosario admitting he wouldn't have returned to the team he so famously left in scorn had it not been for the presence of MLSE president and CEO Tim Leiweke and Nelsen.
Júlio César’s move is born on equal footing.
“Julio could have gone to a lot of places to get games for the World Cup and to get fit and ready to go, but he chose Toronto and Major League Soccer,” Bezbatchenko said. “That’s a testament to what this league has done and what this club has done in terms of leadership in the last six months.”Check Update #2 on our 90 day Money Back Guarantee for the Rexfly Casting System
Whether you want to get the most out of a new rod or give a whole new life to your current fly rod, the Rexfly will revolutionize the way you fish. Rexfly has been tested in both fresh and saltwater on steelhead, redfish, striped bass, snook, trout, bass and panfish and it works flawlessly.
I have been fly fishing since I was 12 years old. All the casting over the years caused tendonitis in my right elbow to the point that two years ago it was so painful I was faced with possibility I would have to give up my life long passion. I had to come up with a way to make it lighter and easier to cast a fly rod and along the way I discovered I can cast farther than I ever could before, I no longer wrap my line around my fly reel, along with other advantages over the traditional mounting of a fly reel on the rod. I even inadvertently came up with a fantastic rod holder.
LANDING FISH WITH THE REXFLY
Today’s fly rods are amazingly light and fast. As a result reel manufacturers are scrambling to make their reels as light as possible so they don’t slow down these ultralight fly rods. What you are left with are such delicate reels with so much aluminum carved out that they costs hundreds of dollars and need to be treated with care. Drop a reel or even set it down too hard and you have just dented the rim of the fly reel ruining a spool that can cost hundreds. Some reel manufacturers even machine their reels out of titanium to save weight resulting in a reel costing thousands of dollars.
As light as a reel can get, you will always have the weight of the line and backing. A high quality 6 weight reel with fly line and backing weighs 7 ounces when dry. Get it wet and you have now weighed down your fly rod with half a pound of weight. That half pound adds up when you cast thousands of times during a day of fishing.
EURO NYMPHING FOR BIG STEELHEAD
The Rexfly fits any fly reel and any single handed fly rod. It uses quick release reel and rod adapters made of lightweight, corrosion-proof aluminum. All you need is a phillips screwdriver like the one that you likely already carry around on your multitool. It works with all weights of fly rods from your 1 weights up to the heaviest single-handed tarpon rods (unless they have some really super long fighting butt I’ve never seen before).
The reel is held on a chest plate that is held in place with one nylon strap around the neck and another around the chest. The chest plate fits under your fly vest and you can strip out line and reel line back in while the fly reel is on your chest just as you would with it mounted on your rod. In addition, with the line hanging straight down from your chest, your fly line is not getting tangled around your gear, forceps, clippers, zippers, etc. as you cast.
The fly rod can be re-attached to the fly reel by simply sliding the rod back on to the reel. This automatically disengages the reel from the chest plate and you can now cast or play a fish just as you would with the traditional setup. When you hook a fish you no longer have to worry about the line wrapping around your reel as often happens with the traditional setup. If you've broken a fish off or worse had your rod pulled out of your hand when this happens you know exactly what I mean. By waiting for the fish to take out any slack line before your re-attach the rod to the reel, you effectively avoid have the slack line wrap around your reel.
DOUBLE-HAUL DISTANCE CASTING FOR STRIPED BASS
With the Rexfly, you don't need to buy such expensive fly reels. Weight is no longer an issue and you can use larger reels that carry more backing so you don't get spooled by that bonefish or permit you spent all day chasing. You can even get away with having fewer fly reels and just getting extra spools for your different weight fly rods.
If you have any doubts about how light and easy it is to cast without the weight of the fly reel slowing down your cast, simply go out to a park or parking lot and start casting your fly rod. Take your reel off the rod and put it in your pocket and in 5 minutes of casting you will realize how amazing it is to cast without the reel. Sidearm casting becomes effortless. Double-hauling is a breeze. Casting a 6 weight rod feels more like you're using a 3 weight. Don't take my word for it, try it out for yourself.
Not only will the Rexfly help any fly fisher improve their casting, it allows those with only one arm be able to get out and enjoy fly fishing. As a former Marine and combat veteran I spent a lot of time fly fishing when I returned home. For me it was the best way to get my mind off of the horrors of war. I need to get the Rexfly in the hands of our wounded veterans so they can know the peace, tranquility and healing powers of fly fishing. Without any modifications the Rexfly allows a one-armed individual to cast, strip out line, and reel in a fish. Once the Rexfly is in production, I will donate as many Rexflys as needed to nonprofit groups like Project Healing Waters that take our wounded veterans out fly fishing.
Rexfly is ready for production. I am seeking help from the Kickstarter community to pay for some minor tooling changes and the initial production run. With this I will be able to get the Rexfly out to the fly fishing community and the disabled before fishing gets hot this Spring!
Thanks for checking out the Rexfly and please let everyone know about this project.Our easy Margherita Pizza Soup recipe has all the satisfaction of a freshly baked pizza, but in cup form!
This fun soup has the flavors of margherita pizza, right down to the fresh basil and melty mozzarella cheese, but it’s deconstructed for a creative twist. Perfect for a casual family dinner.
Kevin calls me the soup whisperer… and I’ll happily embrace the nickname because I LOVE SOUP! Whether it’s a spicy Thai Pumpkin Corn Soup, a cold summer soup like Ajo Blanco, or a classic Potato Soup, soup is my go to, I want to chill out in the kitchen and make something from scratch happy place. And you can tell because I have lots of soup recipes on the blog including another pizza soup!
You can’t have too much of a good thing! So, here’s a quick and easy soup that’s a twist on Margherita Pizza. It’s one of the simplest and most satisfying pizzas ever created, with a simple tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and basil. It’s rumoured to have been created for Queen Margherita after the unification of Italy, but the veracity of these claims are disputed. The neapolitan pizza has been around for at least 200 years in the region of Naples. No matter when, and for whom, this simple pizza was concocted, it’s undisputably delicious!
Our Margherita Pizza Soup is inspired by this legendary pie. It has a simple tomato base with onion, garlic and herbs and is topped with melty mozzarella cheese and fresh basil. And of course you can’t forget the crust, so we’ve made some parmesan pizza crust breadsticks for garnish!
It tastes fresh with the sweetness of tomatoes, the saltiness of cheese and that licorice-y bite of basil. Just as good as pizza, but with a fun deconstructed twist. I mean, how cute is this yummy tray of Margherita Pizza Soup looking? Mmmmmmm!
Print Margherita Pizza Soup Prep Time 5 mins Cook Time 40 mins Total Time 45 mins This easy soup has all the satisfaction of pizza- but it's served in a cup! It's also part of our Wall-e Family #diydatenight. Check it out here. Course: Appetizer or Main Course Cuisine: Fusion, Italian Servings : 6 servings Calories : 185 kcal Author : Vintage Kitty Ingredients Margherita Pizza Soup 1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 28oz can fire roasted crushed tomatoes
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock Garnish 6 oz whole milk mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh basil
pizza crust breadsticks Instructions Margherita Pizza Soup Preheat oven to 350F Heat oil in a dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat. Saute onions and garlic until softened and golden. Add in spices, tomatoes, and stock and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring often, about 30 minutes, or until flavors come together. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish Divide hot soup into oven safe mugs and place them on a cookie sheet. Top with mozzarella and bake until cheese has melted, about 3-5 minutes. Chiffonade the basil and sprinkle on top the soup. Serve with breadsticks and grated parmesan. Recipe Notes Pizza Crust Breadsticks: Preheat oven to 450F. Roll out one small pizza crust dough into a rectangle (about 8 by 12 inches). Slicing along the short edge, cut the dough into 1/2 inch strips. Take each strip, bend it in half and twist. Place twists on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush twists with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and parmesan. Bake until lightly browned.
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Fried Mozzarella Balls with Pumpkin, Sage and Caramelized Onions
Take your party to the next level with these Fried Mozzarella Balls. They are crunchy on the outside, gooey on the inside and served with Yogurt Herb Dip.
Italian Vegetable Casserole
This Italian Vegetable Casserole is a hearty and healthy main course dish that will satisfy even the pickiest of vegetable eaters! So cheesy and flavorful!
Rosemary Sweet Potato Rolls
One dough, two uses! These Rosemary Sweet Potato Rolls are the perfect side to your meal but the dough can also be used for pizza and can be prepped in advance and frozen.The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has explained how technology is changing the capital markets and where it could potentially end up in the future.
In his keynote address [PDF] to the Carnegie Mellon University in Adelaide on Wednesday, Greg Medcraft, chairman of ASIC, highlighted that the emergence of blockchain technology could -- if it takes off -- have the potential of changing the existing financial system.
Medcraft believes blockchain technology, the underlying system that facilitates bitcoin trading, could potentially change the financial system in four main ways: Automate the entire buy and sell process, including removing the waiting time to settle trades; eliminate the need for third-party intermediaries between buyers and sellers; reduce transaction costs; and improve access to cross border trading.
"Naturally, harnessing this potential will depend on the integrity, capacity and stability of blockchain technology and processes," he said.
"It will also depend on industry's willingness to invest in, and make use of, new ways of settling and registering transactions. The potential is, nonetheless, enormous. Industry is seeing that potential and is looking to see how it and the markets might benefit."
Commonwealth Bank of Australia's CIO David Whiteing made a similar point suggesting block chain could "change the way we view not just payments, but business processes".
"We also believe it will help and develop innovations we can't yet even think of," he said.
CBA has formed a consortium with other banks worldwide, including Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland, to design and develop "disruptive ledger" technologies based on the blockchain system.
Medcraft however warned that while there are opportunities with blockchain technology, there could be potential threats, too. He said that it is still unknown how blockchain will evolve but suggested it could "threaten" the trust and confidence investors have in the existing financial market.
"Blockchain potentially has profound implications for our markets and for how we regulate. As regulators and policymakers, we need to ensure what we do is about harnessing the opportunities and the broader economic benefits -- not standing in the way of innovation and development," he said.
"At the same time, we need to mitigate the risks these developments pose to our objectives. We also need to ensure those who benefit from the technology trust it. And, at the end of the day, we are working to ensure that investors and issuers can continue to have trust and confidence in the market."
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission granted digital currencies the status of an official commodity on Thursday. The commission urged bitcoin operators must immediately ensure that their companies are legally registered under applicable trading laws and regulations.
Last month, the Australian Senate made a similar suggestion for bitcoin to be made an official currency, despite the fact that the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) had previously ordered for bitcoin to be treated as barter instead.
The Australian Senate Economics References Committee in its Digital currency-game changer or bit player report, argued that treating digital currencies as barter means it gets taxed twice, making its use difficult and uncompetitive.
"The committee is of the view that digital currency should be treated as money for the purposes of the goods and services tax," the report said.“Palestinians don’t want to dance in the darkness,” Mahmoud Zwahre from the Palestinian village of al-Masara shouts in our ear over the deafening chants of the crowd. “Advocacy is the most important thing that people outside Palestine can do,” adds the Palestinian Popular Resistance Coordinating Committee member. “Because in Palestine is the struggle, here is the advocacy and then there is the change.”
Around 2,500 men, women and children attended a demonstration outside London’s Israeli embassy on Saturday, as part of an International Wave of Solidarity for Palestine, called for by the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Since 1 October, 41 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers and over 1,600 injured. Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem and Israel are participating in mass demonstrations to stand against 67 years of occupation, oppression and ethnic cleansing. The ‘Oslo generation’ of young male and female protesters is inspiring solidarity efforts around the world.
To follow Palestinians’ lead, Sarah Colborne, director of Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), strongly urged demonstrators at Saturday’s London protest to wave only the Palestinian flag. “We are here united for Palestine and it is this flag that connects us. It is a symbol of Palestinian struggle, justice, peace and freedom.”
Addressing the crowd, Glyn Secker from Jews for Justice for Palestinians spoke of the hypocrisy of the Israeli state and international community. “Push a people you have impoverished to the extremities of endurance, push and push again and they will respond with the only repertoire available to them – stones and implements against the overwhelming force of the fourth most powerful army in the world. Then, with all the hypocrisy you can muster, blame them for the violence.”
Metres away from a lone figure brandishing an Israeli flag, he added, “As one of many Jewish voices, we proclaim our anger and sorrow – Israel you do not speak for us. Not in our name.”
Yaman Birawi from the Palestinian Forum in Britain took to the stage to speak of the growing unity of Palestine between the young and the old and the different political parties. “This has given hope to a third Intifada, an uprising, because enough is enough!” he said, before beginning the familiar chant of “Free, Free Palestine!”
Mahmoud Zwahre agreed with the previous speakers. “The situation is different to other waves of uprising, inside Palestine and outside; there is a massive participation of people from all over historical and occupied Palestine. I know that the political atmosphere outside has not changed and mainstream media remains biased, but the way to change it is by organizing these actions.”
A leader in his community’s struggle in Palestine, Zwahre has a unique perspective on solidarity efforts, and is optimistic. “This is not the atmosphere of the first intifada internationally, but it can come step by step. Palestinians are not the people who are going to have cycles of intifada forever. So now is the time for people outside Palestine to increase the pressure and resistance.”
After the confines of the organized demonstration where police and stewards squashed protesters into a small area, direct action group London Palestine Action coordinated acts of creative dissidence in central London. Around 150 people stopped traffic in Oxford Street – London’s busiest shopping street – before forming a human chain in Oxford Circus and marching to the BBC headquarters to protest against biased media coverage of Palestine.
In front of London’s double-decker buses, Palestinian performance poet and activist, Rafeef Ziadah, warned companies such as G4S and Elbit systems, an Israeli weapons company and a previous target of London Palestine Action, to stop arming the Israeli government. “The games are over and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement is going to shut you down!” roared Ziadah, to loud applause.
For some, it was the first direct action in which they had participated. One London student explained that as she cannot be in Palestine, she thinks that it is important to build solidarity and pressure in Britain using many different forms of protest, so that “people you are supporting know they are not alone.”
Creative dissidence is one of the most “in your face forms of action,” says Sara, media spokesperson for London Palestine Action. The group believes that the publicity puts companies supporting the Israeli occupation under the limelight. As actions often result in a loss of profit, this also provides an incentive for the companies to divest or end their contracts with the Israeli government.
“We chose Oxford Circus because it would be the most visible place: we wanted to show that there was solidarity for the Palestinian resistance.” And it isn’t just about Israel, Britain is complicit, Sara adds. “The colonial violence, the killing and the occupation has to stop, and the right of return for Palestinians and full equality for Palestinian citizens of Israel guaranteed.”Liberal digital media companies are threatened by the policies they support, as a growing wave of leftist blog writers resorting to unionization threatens these companies’ survival.
The Writers Guild of America East organized Gawker as its first unionized digital media outlet in June 2015. Although Gawker was bankrupt in less than a year later, for unrelated reasons.
Since then, the WGA has been able to unionize a growing stable of liberal digital sites including the Huffington Post, VICE, The Root, ThinkProgress, Fusion, Salon and Gizmodo Media Group.
So far this year, the WGA has unionized workers at MTV News, Group Nine, and the Thrillist. In addition, The Intercept’s 32-member investigative journalist staff voted to join last week.
The 4,500-member Writers Guild of America East and 20,000 brothers and sisters of the Los Angeles-based Writers Guild of America West dominated the writers who create television and films for the major media conglomerates for 50 years/ But now the digital space has captured over 25 percent of all advertising revenue.
So far, WGA East has organized the staffs of 11 mostly hard-left Internet publishers. The new 550 union members now represent more than 12 percent of WGA East’s membership, and about 4 percent of the combined national WGA total membership.
Union organizers claim that writers who unionize can look forward to minimum salaries for work, attribution credit protection, residuals, healthcare, and pension benefits. Unions are also telling digital millennials they should organize in the hope that amplified media coverage will cross over into the unionization of other industries.
But opponents of unionization comment that unionized digital writers will go the way of newspaper writers over the last decade. A June 2016 Pew Research Center survey found that 36 percent of U.S. adults learned something about the election campaign in the previous week from a print newspaper. That compared to 44 percent from radio, 65 percent from digital, and 78 percent from television.
The Writers Guild of America is currently in final negotiations before a threatened strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which produce movie studios, broadcast networks and cable channels.
The last WGA strike lasted for 100 days in 2007, but that effort backfired as viewers simply went online. The Associated Press reports: “Hollywood is hoping to avoid a crippling work stoppage like the 100-day strike of 2007 that put prime-time TV into reruns and blockbuster movies on hold.”
Perhaps the biggest challenge to unions organizing digital media is that many of the most highly-paid writers have created their own celebrity status. The New York Times motto, “All the News That’s Fit to Print,” means nothing online. The days of a few local newspapers and three television networks controlling access to public thought is over.An international group of researchers have discovered a technique in manufacturing nanostructures that has the potential to shrink the size of electrical and optical devices.
The research, from the University of Minnesota, Argonne National Laboratory and Seoul National University, is published in Nature Communications.
Combining several standard nanofabrication techniques – and low-tech adhesive tape – researchers at the University of Minnesota created extremely thin gaps through a layer of metal and patterned these gaps over the entire surface of a four-inch silicon wafer.
According to the University of Minnesota, the smallest gaps were one nanometre wide, which is said to be much smaller than most researchers have been able to achieve. In addition, the widths of the gaps could be controlled on the atomic level, thereby providing the basis for producing new and better nanostructures that are at the core of advanced electronic and optical devices.
One of the potential uses of nanometre-scale gaps in metal layers is to shine light into spaces much smaller than is otherwise possible. Collaborators at Seoul National University, led by Prof Dai-Sik Kim, and Argonne National Laboratory, led by Dr. Matthew Pelton, showed that light could readily be shone through these gaps, even though the gaps are hundreds or even thousands of times smaller than the wavelength of the light used.
Researchers are very interested in forcing light into small spaces because this is a way of boosting the intensity of the light. The collaborators found that the intensity inside the gaps is increased by as much as 600 million times.
‘Our technology, called atomic layer lithography, has the potential to create ultra-small sensors with increased sensitivity and also enable new and exciting experiments at the nanoscale like we’ve never been able to do before,’ said Sang-Hyun Oh, one of the lead researchers on the study and a professor of electrical and computer engineering in the University of Minnesota’s College of Science and Engineering. ‘This research also provides the basis for future studies to improve electronic and photonic devices.’
Sticky solution
One of the most surprising outcomes of the research is that adhesive tape was one of the keys to the discovery as etching one-nanometre-wide gaps into metals is not feasible with existing tools.
Instead, the researchers in Oh’s team constructed the nanogaps by layering atomic-scale thin films on the sides of metal patterns and then capping the structure with another metal layer. No expensive patterning tools were needed to form the gaps this way, but it was challenging to remove the excess metals on top and expose the tiny gaps.
Whilst trying to work out how to remove the metal films, University of Minnesota Ph.D. student and lead author of the study Xiaoshu Chen found that adhesive tape could remove the excess metals.
‘The Scotch tape works nicely, which was unexpected,’ Oh said in a statement. ‘Our technique is so simple yet can create uniform and ultra-small gaps like we’ve never been able to do before. We hope that it will rapidly be taken up by many researchers.’
Their research paper – Atomic layer lithography of wafer-scale nanogap arrays for extreme confinement of electromagnetic waves – can be found here.That points to there being a lot of entrepreneurs and innovators that could do a lot with high-speed internet," she said.
Szuchmacher says Google Fiber isn't scared off by other providers in the market. In Austin, she said, Google Fiber competes with four other companies.
"We will
Szuchmacher said Google Fiber is looking to Dallas for expansion because it has one of the highest job growth rates in |
eyes when she ditched that for her evil, sexy gimmick which got her a place on Smackdown. She not only has an amazing figure right now but her wrestling and mic-skills are on point, making her one of the best female wrestlers in the company. Her impressive ability to learn and improve makes her quite a bright talent for the WWE who'll definitely be here for the long run.
13 Bray Wyatt
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THEN: Before he was the "Eater of Worlds" in the WWE, Bray Wyatt was actually the big man for the Nexus as he was "Husky Harris", a powerful wrecking ball who did all the dirty-work for the faction. That gimmick didn't do any good to him, as he had to take some time off to work on his physique which was at an all time low, as he was extremely overweight for a wrestler and he really needed to shed some weight and find himself an intriguing character to make it back in the WWE. He started to work on his body and finding himself a gimmick which would make him relevant to the fans.
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NOW: Wyatt took some time off to work on his physique and did so extremely well, as he soon became Bray Wyatt, a cult leader of sorts who controlled his family consisting of Luke Harper and Erick Rowan and he soon got everyone's attention with his hypnotic, philosophical promos which dazzled everyone. Though Wyatt has been rather held back by the WWE since becoming this character, his transformation from the messy Husky Harris into the terrorizing Bray Wyatt is spectacular as he needs to be praised for how well he changed himself after his horrible first run in the WWE.
12 Nikki Bella
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THEN: Nikki Bella took her time to get to the top of the WWE's Divas Division, but when she did, she was out to set records as she remains the longest reigning Divas Champion in the company's history and is one of the hottest stars in the WWE right now. When she initially debuted alongside Brie as the mischievous sisters who often deceived everyone to win matches, she didn't really look as good and ready to be a WWE wrestler, as she was lacking that sexy element which the other divas had at the time, but the way she developed her body into a stunning wrestler is remarkable.
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NOW: The way Bella developed herself since her debut in the WWE in 2008 is nothing short of amazing, as she not only trained herself to become a much better wrestler but the way she made herself look into arguably the sexiest woman in the WWE is remarkable and Nikki now looks at her best, even after suffering some bad injuries in the past few years. Bella is one of the Divas who WWE advertizes as much as possible (also making for her own reality show in Total Bellas) but you can't blame them for it because she's got the body which can attract anyone to their product.
11 Baron Corbin
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THEN: Baron Corbin is probably one of the most impressive wrestlers in the WWE right now, mostly because of the fact that he didn't really have any experience in wrestling before joining WWE in 2012. He played in the NFL before joining the company and didn't really have the best of figures when he initially joined the company; this picture of Corbin's lacklustre shape at the time goes onto show how much he had to work in order to make it big in the company and he took the challenge and ravished it.
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NOW: Corbin went from looking like this pale punk to a professional, beast of a wrestler as he was booked to dominate over just about anyone in his NXT days and has continued that domination ever since making his main roster debut earlier this year. The way he's developed his craft and honed his wrestling skills ever since joining the WWE is remarkable as he can easily make it to the bigger stages in the WWE if he continues his impressive form.
10 John Cena
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THEN: John Cena might be the "Face of the WWE", but when he first arrived in the company back in 2000 working in their developmental Ohio Valley Wrestling, nobody could've imagined that he would become this big. Cena had this blond hair and looked like a geek with that kind of look and even though he had a muscular frame, he was still lacking that look and "it" factor which defines a WWE superstar which he'd find in the next years as Cena showed signs of his amazing dedication for the product right from his OVW days where he had to do a lot of things to become a WWE superstar.
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NOW: The way Cena went onto develop himself from that blonde haired geek into the face of the WWE is spectacular, as he worked a lot not only to hone his wrestling skills, but worked a lot of late nights to make his figure into one which can be noticed by everyone as Cena's amazing passion for the product was the reason he was heralded with so much glory by Vince McMahon. Cena never took time off and was working for the company whenever they needed him, as he has recently attained a lot of mainstream attention and looks to be taking a more part-time role in the WWE right now. Cena's amazing transformation since his early days in the WWE goes onto show how his dedication has now made him into a world-wide superstar.
9 Sasha Banks
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THEN: Sasha Banks is "The Boss" of the WWE's women's division right now, but she needed a major makeover when she joined the company in 2012. Banks was undoubtedly an amazing wrestler right from her early days, but she needed time to get the proper gimmick and had to do a lot of work in order to attain the proper figure for her "Boss" gimmick as she had to train a lot in order to become a boss herself. Banks has since changed up her appearance to become one of the best women wrestlers in the company.
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NOW: Since her early days in the company, Banks has improved by strides and has not only improved her in-ring work, but her mic-skills as well. Her appearance has also become much more wrestling appropriate from what she looked when she joined the company in 2012, as her sexy red-haired appearance along with amazing work in the ring makes for the complete WWE superstar. She rightfully rules over the division along with Charlotte right now, as they are going to take the division to newer heights in the future.
8 Brock Lesnar
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THEN: Brock Lesnar has probably one of the best figures in the history of wrestling as the "Beast Incarnate" had his first wrestling experience in the WWE in 2002 and looked like quite the amazing specimen right from his first day in the company. He attained a lot of success in the company because of his amazing figure and wrestling skills, but he looked to be a bit too buffed up at times during his Ohio Valley Wrestling days and would only get better physique wise in the next years, as he worked even harder to make himself into an absolute beast of a man in the next years.
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NOW: If someone is to think that Lesnar's figure from his first days in the company was sensational, then he'd only get better physique wise after joining the UFC and returning to the WWE later on. Lesnar now looks like an absolute monster with that amazingly toned yet muscular figure as he has the strength of a giant and the agility of a cheetah as well, as he goes onto show why he's being paid so much by the WWE and held in such a lavish regard by them, as the Beast Incarnate's rise in the last decade is nothing short of spectacular.
7 Luke Gallows
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THEN: Luke Gallows might be this destructive machine in the WWE right now along with Karl Anderson, but not many can remember that he was in the company once back in 2007 when he was "Festus", who was mentally challenged and unresponsive but became a raging beast after the bell rang for a match. Festus was quite the horrible gimmick which ruined Gallows' reputation in the company at first, making him leave the company and hone his skills somewhere else.
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NOW: Gallows would prove his potential in the Indy circuit after leaving WWE, as he became a part of the Bullet Club and had quite the destructive tag team with Karl Anderson at New Japan Pro Wrestling. But he was recalled by the WWE for his impressive work elsewhere earlier this year, as he looks to be quite the sadistic, mean beast right now unlike that horrible, disrespectful gimmick that was Festus and the fact that even Vince McMahon cannot remember that he was Festus goes onto show how much he has transformed since his first days in wrestling.
6 Tye Dillinger
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THEN: Tye Dillinger might be the "Perfect 10" right now, but he had to really work hard to get where he is as Dillinger first signed a developmental contract with WWE back in 2006, appearing on TV a bit as Gavin Spears. Before that, he even appeared in a segment on WWE TV where Shawn Michaels superkicked Stan (which was Dillinger as an extra). Dillinger really struggled in his early years with the company, and had to leave in 2009 to gain some more experience in the Indy circuit.
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NOW: Dillinger would return to the WWE in 2013, as he struggled to find the right gimmick at first this time but found the "Perfect 10" gimmick last year which got him extremely over with the WWE fans, who absolutely loved his gimmick and charisma. Dillinger also looks very good in the ring and has a superb shape for a WWE wrestler, as the main roster looms large for him in the future as his amazing hard-work to not give up and prove his doubters wrong has reaped its rewards now, as the "Perfect 10" is in quite the perfect shape right now.
5 The Miz
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THEN: The Miz might be an "A-Lister" in the WWE right now, but he was in quite the terrible shape when he joined the company way back in 2004 as a participant in their "Tough Enough" competition. He looked like this geek who just graduated and didn't seem to have anything on the wrestler's at the time, as his spiky hair and arrogant attitude made you hate him right from the beginning. The Miz was signed up by the WWE soon after his Tough Enough run ended, as he had to work hard in order to achieve whatever he would in the WWE in the next years.
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NOW: The Miz has since changed up his looks amazingly, as he now looks like a champion-material wrestler who is not only very good in the ring, but also has the looks which can be advertized heavily by the WWE. "The A-lister" might have looked like a dork in his early days in the company, but he now looks like a face which can represent the WWE very well as his amazing change in looks since his early days goes onto show how hard he has worked to attain the position he is in now.
4 Sheamus
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THEN: Sheamus was a promising wrestler in the British Wrestling scene before he came to the WWE, as he applied for the company and got quite the weird try-out, which turned out for him to play an extra as a security guard who were hired to take down D-Generation X, but in turn received a pedigree from Triple H to end his night. But his performance as the security guard actually managed to impress the officials, as well as his previous wrestling work, who gave him a developmental contract to hone his skills in FCW as he took the opportunity and ran with it.
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NOW: Sheamus has come a long way since then, as he looks like a bonified star right now in the WWE physique wise and even though he might look "stupid" to some because of his weird style, he has established himself as one of the more experience stars in WWE right now. Not only does he look like a beast, but his impressive growth in WWE led him to get a role in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie to get him some mainstream attention as well. The Celtic Warrior's transformation from his early days in WWE is quite obvious, as hard work and dedication towards his improvement has rewarded him greatly.
3 Dolph Ziggler
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THEN: "The Showoff" Dolph Ziggler has a lot of female fans drooling over him right now in the WWE, but that wasn't the case when he initially joined the WWE as part of the Spirit Squad in 2005 as Nicky. He was a male cheerleader who looked like a dork that nobody could really stand. Ziggler had to go through some humiliating stuff thanks to D-Generation X and found himself back to developmental after the Spirit Squad angle withered away and needed to do some real work to become a prominent singles wrestler in the company - and that he did.
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NOW: Ziggler completely changed up his appearance after his "Spirit Squad" angle as he transformed himself from the dork "Nicky" to the show-off Dolph Ziggler and attained quite a lot love from the fans because of his phenomenal shape. Ziggler has also transformed him into a superb athlete in the ring as his amazingly toned body is complemented by his superb wrestling skills as the "Show-off" has every right to do so because his hard-work has made for one of the sexiest bodies in the WWE and has fans wooing over him.
2 Daniel Bryan
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THEN: Daniel Bryan pulled off one of the most amazing underdog stories of all time in the WWE when he won the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXX defeating all 3 members of Evolution, but he also had to fight his way to get in the WWE's good books. Bryan had a figure which the WWE normally hates when he came in as part of the Nexus in 2010, as he was too small and skinny to really make it in the big leagues in the WWE and even though he was an amazing wrestler, he couldn't make it big if he didn't improve his physical appearance as this skinny wrestler would pull off quite a remarkable transformation in the next years.
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NOW: Bryan worked really hard to prove all his doubters wrong as he took his time to improve his physical appearance into a more "main-event level" one as he attained quite a lot of popularity with his "Yes Movement!" and looked like a real man with that amazing goat beard which got him over with the fans. Bryan kept looking amazing in the ring and very good physically until he had to retire from wrestling earlier this year, as he might have cut his beard and lost his wrestling hand since becoming Smackdown GM, but he still has the crowd behind him and has the looks which lights up every wrestling fan's face when he appears.
1 Seth Rollins
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THEN: Seth Rollins might go around calling himself as "The Man" in the WWE, but he was barely a proper man when he joined the WWE in 2010 when he was still getting the hang of things in somewhere as big as WWE and had to spend some years in developmental to transform him into a WWE superstar. Rollins went by the name of Tyler Black in the Indy circuit, as this picture from his early Florida Championship Wrestling(FCW) days goes onto show how pale, skinny he looked at the time and how much he needed to work on in order to make himself into a top level superstar in the WWE.
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NOW: Rollins has since transformed himself into an incredible athlete, as he can rightfully call himself "The Man" right now with that incredible physique of his, as he not only kept the amazing athleticism of his, but also transformed him into an A-plus player in the WWE. Rollins is someone who has a long way to go into the WWE as he still has a lot of years in him, as the Man has one of the fittest figures in the WWE right now and had to work tremendously hard in order to transform himself from the young, agile Tyler Black into "The Man" Seth Rollins in a few years time.We could also incorporate the color orange in symbolic sunflower meanings. Referring back to the chakra system, orange is associated with the sacral chakra (Swadhisthana), and is linked with areas of creativity, expansion, fertility, reproduction (of all types).
Orange is also a powerful color to use in aspects of self-acceptance, and a great tool to auger self-confidence. Perhaps the sunflower might be a useful symbol in meditation as a means for bolstering security and confidence. Check out my page on chakra color meanings for more information on this aspect of symbolism.
Sunflower Meanings Connected with the Sun
Sunflower meaning is mostly derived from solar (sun) symbolism which deals with…
Light
Life
Growth
Warmth
Action
Vitality
Pleasure
Provision
Actually, the symbolism of water comes into play with sunflower meaning too. According to Ted Andrews in his book Nature-Speak (awesome book), water builds up in the cells of the shady side of the sunflower’s stem and pressure forces the blossoming head in a steady arc toward the direction of light. Water carries powerful symbolism of force, emotion, cleansing and purification. Check out more water symbolism here.
Check out these great reference books, which I highly recommend. These have been mentioned, or have inspired me in the writing of this article.
I hope you have enjoyed these thoughts on symbolic sunflower meanings. Be sure to check out the links below for more related content on this website.
As always, thank you for reading.
May all your sunflower moments be sunny!
Brightly,
AviaRumors abound that the live-action Hollywood adaptation of Akira will be a trilogy with Christopher Nolan involved.
After Warner Bros. acquired the rights for Katsuhiro Otomo’s classic anime and manga in 2002, the western movie adaptation has been damned to Hollywood production Hell. Keanu Reeves, Brad Pitt, Robert Pattinson, Jaume Collet-Serra, and even Kristen Stewart have been attached to the project and then passed off to gently die among the annals of movie magic.
Now with Leonardo DiCaprio’s company, Appian Way, brought aboard, and with Sons of Anarchy and Daredevil screenwriter Marco J. Ramirez involved, it seems that production may be one step closer to actually revving its engines.
With a source close to Warner Bros. reporting that the project may span three films, there should be a sigh of collective relief for fans of the original manga which was quite extensive and even caused issues during the production of the original anime. This same source also reported Christopher Nolan has met with a previously attached filmmaker to talk about the project.
Nolan’s connections to Warner Bros. and history with DiCaprio through Inception, give weight to the insider’s information. Whether or not Nolan would actually be directing or lending a hand as a producer like he did on Man of Steel is left to speculation.
With Nolan’s track record and Hollywood’s love of trilogies there could be hope yet we’ll actually see a live-action Akira make it past pre-production, until then we’ll have to wait and see as Nolan’s next project, set to release in 2017, is still shrouded in mystery.
Are you excited for a movie adaption of Akira to finally make its way to the big screen? Let us know in the comments below or on social media.The official website of the Sushi Police 3D CG anime announced on Tuesday that pop group Perfume is collaborating with Los Angeles-based rock band OK Go to perform the song "I Don't Understand You" as the anime's theme song. The groups perform the collaboration under the name " OK Go × Perfume."
Perfume and OK Go stated that they are fans of each others' work, and both previously made cameo appearances in music videos for each others' songs ( OK Go's "I Won't Let You Down" and Perfume's "Pick Me Up"). OK Go also attended Perfume's Los Angeles concert during the pop group's 2014 international live tour, and talked with Perfume afterwards. The talk is shown in the WE ARE Perfume -WORLD TOUR 3rd DOCUMENT documentary.
Yasutaka Nakata (Capsule) handled the new song's arrangement.
The official website of the Sushi Police anime previously streamed a trailer:
The anime's title refers to a term used by western news sources such as The Washington Post to refer to the Japanese government's initiative to offer official seals of approval to overseas Japanese food restaurants. The 2006 initiative was a response to overseas restaurants that labeled themselves as Japanese food restaurants, but served other Asian foods, or just bad food.
As the 2020 Tokyo Olympics leads to a boom in sushi worldwide, the anime's story follows the leader Honda (played by Akira Yamashita ), the data analyst Suzuki ( ifMASACA ) and the android inspector Kawasaki ( Hiromitsu Okamoto ) — three men of Section 9 who investigate foreign restaurants. The other characters include the World Food Culture Organization's Director General Carlos and secretary Madam Fuji, and food critic Sarah ( Yumi Kikuchi ).
The series will premiere on Wednesday at 25:00 (effectively 1:00 a.m. on Thursday morning) on the Tokyo MX station to mark the station's 20th anniversary. On the following day, it will be available on Google Play, Amazon Prime Video, and other online services.
Director Tatsushi Momen of creative studio KOO-KI is working on the project with writers Ichirō Kusuno and Kōtarō Andō. The Fukuoka-based creative studio has previously won awards at Cannes Film Festival for its commercials.
KOO-KI shopped the " Sushi Police " project at Cannes in May. The promotional poster received a nod from The Hollywood Reporter's "Cannes Poster Awards," which recognize "most amusing and over-the-top promotional materials from the festival's market."
KOO-KI's website refers to the project as a short anime series.
Source: Music NatalieVia Bay City News
San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi estimates as many as 1,000 criminal cases will be reviewed following the racist and homophobic text messages allegedly sent by four San Francisco police officers.
Adachi and his colleagues said today that their office has already identified 120 cases involving two of the four officers and said those cases could get thrown out beginning as early as next week.
District Attorney George Gascon said he was “deeply disturbed by these text messages” and said that “in order to ensure our criminal justice system is fair and equitable,” his office will also be assessing every prosecution in the past 10 years in which the officers participated.
Adachi said its important to go through those cases that the officers touched since the racist statements in the text messages reflect attitudes of hatred that “were not born overnight” and may have impacted their conduct as officers.
Although the four officers who are being investigated were not named by the Police Department, their respective lawyers confirmed their identities are officers Michael Robison, Michael Celis, Rain Daugherty, and Noel Schwab.
San Francisco Supervisor Malia Cohen said today that she is concerned that as many as 10 officers, including a captain, may be associated with the text messages, a sampling of which were released publicly on Friday.
Department Reactions to Offensive SFPD Text Messages
San Francisco Police Department spokesman Albie Esparza said the four officers were reassigned last month to jobs in which they have no contact with the public during a department probe of the messages, which were sent to and from disgraced former Sgt. Ian Furminger’s personal cellphone in 2011 and 2012.
The messages were discovered by the FBI in an investigation of thefts by Furminger and two other officers of money and property seized from suspects in 2009.
Furminger was convicted in federal court in San Francisco in December of four felonies related to the scheme and was sentenced by U.S.
District Judge Charles Breyer last month to three years and five months in prison. Furminger resigned from the force after being convicted.
Some of the messages were made public Friday by federal prosecutors in a court filing opposing Furminger’s request to Breyer for release on bail while he appeals his conviction. The FBI previously gave the texts privately to the Police Department.
In Friday’s filing in the Furminger case, prosecutors alleged the messages show the former sergeant was “a virulent racist and homophobe” and argued the judge should take that into account in deciding whether to grant him release during the appeal.
Breyer turned down Furminger’s request for bail during appeal on Monday. He is due to begin serving his sentence on April 3.
The prosecution brief indicates which messages Furminger sent and which were sent to him by officers and other people between October 2011 and June 2012, but it does not name the correspondents. It says the examples are “some of the messages” sent during that period.
Many of the examples include references to the Ku Klux Klan, demonstrate support for white power, and insult black people as well as those of various ethnicities.
“There is no place in the department for bias,” Esparza said.
Esparza said San Francisco police Chief Greg Suhr expects the investigation to be completed within 30 days and that any results showing that an officer was biased “will be forwarded to the Police Commission with a recommendation from the chief for termination.”
Dismissing the officers isn’t enough, Adachi said today.
Adachi said the issue of bias within the police department goes much deeper and that the department’s culture and training needs to change.
Adachi said he doesn’t know if there are additional messages of this nature or just how many people might be involved in the communications.
Matt Gonzalez, the chief attorney at the public defender’s office said today that, over the years, he has listened to many clients claim that officers lied in their police reports or gave false testimony before a judge.
Gonzalez said that police are called on to testify in court everyday and that people’s lives rely on an officer’s credibility, but he said that these offensive SFPD text messages “cast a cloud over the officers.”
He said his office is reviewing cases related to these officers to ensure that innocent citizens who came in contact with corrupt officers do not end up behind bars.
Gonzalez said this “horrible behavior” by the officers compromised their cases and that “nobody would want them on the stand” given their bias language in the text messages.
Adachi said, “The messages make clear the utter contempt these officers had for the people they were sworn to protect. You can’t simply set aside this kind of extreme bias when you go to work. It affected who they chose to detain, search and arrest. It affected which witnesses or crime victims they chose to believe.”
Community members who have long been worried about bias displayed by officers patrolling the city streets expressed their concerns at the public defender’s office today.
Nico Bremond, a 22-year-old San Francisco resident and graduate of the University of San Francisco, said he remembers being told as a child that police would look at him differently because he is Latino and African American.
“I’ve witnessed profiling toward myself, my friends, my family,” Bremond said.
However, Bremond said the extent of racial bias by police didn’t hit home for him until his apartment, which he shares with his roommates who are also Hispanic males, was burglarized.
Bremond said he and his roommates reported the incident to police only to be accused by them of dealing drugs.
He pointed to the irony that the one group of people they could call on to help accused them of being criminals.
“It’s a scary thought that there is white supremacy in the police department,” Bremond said today.
De’Anthony Jones, a 22-year-old San Franciscan and a former member of the San Francisco Youth Commission who grew up in the city’s public housing projects, said today he too is worried that the culture of bias runs deep in the police department.
Jones, who is African-American, recalled an encounter with a police officer who refused to shake his hand.
Jones said he hopes to see more people of color on the police force, but said that the hatred displayed in the text messages sheds a negative light on the department, making that goal more difficult.
He said police, much like citizens, have developed a “don’t snitch” culture, in which officers fail to report bad behavior within the department.
The public defender’s Racial Justice Committee co-chairs Christopher Hite and Rebecca Young, released a 10-point plan today, which they think could be a starting point for police reform and transparency in San Francisco.
According to the public defender’s officer, the Racial Justice Committee was formed in 2013 and partners with the University of Pennsylvania’s Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice to track and remedy racial disparities in San Francisco’s criminal justice system.
Young said she is “saddened and shocked by profound racial hatred” that the officers exhibited and said it highlights a need for police to address officer’s explicit and implicit biases before they impact the community.
Hite said the public defender’s office is calling on the department to provide all officers with training on implicit bias so that they can understand how their personal biases could interfere with their jobs.
The public defender’s office also called for annual reviews to determine whether field training officers are passing along biases to other officers and to determine whether complaints regarding biases exhibited by field training officers have been made and if they were adequately addressed.
The plan also calls for the Police Department to make every effort to assign positions in black and brown communities to those officers who live in the communities they are patrolling.
San Francisco Supervisor London Breed said that she too hopes the city will work harder to bring San Francisco youth into the police department so they can serve the communities in which they were raised.Montreal is a city of dichotomies: European and American, elegant and insouciant, romantic and restrained. Montreal boutiques are equally varied in feel, though there’s a sartorial undercurrent that plays across local brands—an embrace of the female form, a celebration of femininity, and at times, a bit of Bardot-esque pomp thrown in for fun. Montreal is not surprisingly home to Second Clothing Company, the design house behind Yoga Jeans—a premium line of Made in Canada denim that promises the kind of unparalleled comfort and flexibility that renders the possibility of yoga done while donning them a reality. More than the executing fully-garbed sun salutations, the Yoga Jean intrigue for me came with a promise of flattery for a womanly figure—articulated as a brand goal “to make women of all body shapes, ages, and walks of life feel confident, beautiful and sexy.”
The great news is that tall women of all body shapes and sizes now have a spectrum of Yoga Jean choices, courtesy of the exceptionally fun and stylish Method Boutique.
Method Boutique is the Ontario-based destination for an on-trend range of tall girl staples, from wrap dresses to suit separates to deliciously cozy knits. But even more exciting, Method is the purveyor of an exclusive and expanded selection of Second’s Mid Rise Skinny Yoga Jeans in 38″(!!!) inseams in a palette of gorgeous, saturated shades, from a very on-trend peach to a near neon icy blue to soft gray, as well as classic denim, rinse, and black washes.
I had the pleasure of trying both the Mid Rise Skinny Yoga Jean in the chalky purply-pink Lilac shade ($110.50), as well as the Mid Rise Skinny Yoga Jean in a brilliant Cardinal red ($110.50). The red was the more intuitive choice of the two colorways for me, but still somewhat of a risky move. Given both my age and generous, former-athlete thighs, I tend to shy away from brights on bottom, opting instead for more conservative washes and minimizing cuts. After trying the jean in Cardinal, however, I was assured that bright can be flattering in the right fabrication—in the case of Yoga Jeans, a thick, 19% poly-spandex stretch blend that holds its shape while providing shaping (side pocket-free for an even smoother silhouette). The mid rise offers full hip and lower waist coverage for a lovely corseted effect, and though I generally find a 38″ inseam most preferable for wider-legged styles to be worn with heels—the 38″ here offers a nice bit of ankle scrunch for visual interest. Plus, a happy reminder that even those of us 6’4″ and above don’t ever have to settle for exposed ankles!
Though remarkably soft from first tug on, I did try a vinyasa sequence while wearing them to appreciate the full experience of the jeans and put their comfort and flexibility promise to the test. I am happy to report that my transitions from pose to pose were not in the least bit inhibited by my jeans (only by my own clumsiness). And arguably, their most specialized feature was one I discovered while on the mat—a carefully-curved waistband, which meant they stay put on my curvy frame, no hoisting needed when I finished the sequence. As a habitual jean hoister and tugger (and sometimes, belt loop ripper), this feature is nothing less than transformative.
I highly recommend Method’s Mid-Rise Skinny Yoga Jeans for tall women of all shapes and sizes seeking quality, attention to fit, and more expansive denim color options. Particularly, this style is an Editor’s Pick for tall curvy women constantly struggling with waist gapping, jean sliding, and trying to find a skinny jean with enough heft to be flattering. Next up: my recommendations for wearing Method’s pastel denim skinnies for fall.Advertisement
Leaning back nonchalantly with his hands thrust casually into the pockets of his black body warmer, there is nothing about Salman Abedi’s relaxed demeanour that betrays his monstrous intent.
Yet minutes after these photographs were taken, he would detonate the nail bomb in his backpack, killing 22 people, many of them children, and maiming dozens more.
Though facing his own death, too, there is nothing about his manner or his appearance to separate him from the countless other young men hanging around Manchester city centre last Monday night.
He blends in with the crowd with his casual attire: a £65 Hollister body warmer, his best £150 Nike Air Jordan trainers, a black baseball cap, navy jeans with turn-ups.
In one still, he stares ahead as his hand rests in his pocket, perhaps checking the trigger of the explosive device that he would use to murder teenagers and young children at the Ariana Grande concert in the Manchester Arena.
Was his hand on the trigger? Salman Abedi on the night that he travelled to the Manchester Arena and detonated a bomb after the Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people and injuring 119
The possible last movements of the bomber, who travelled by tram to the Arena and may have got in the lift from the station into the venue
These images, taken from CCTV cameras, were released yesterday by detectives piecing together the final movements of the callous killer.
And in both pictures, the police have blacked out the background, suggesting they wished to protect the identities of people standing next to him at the time.
The exact location of the image has not been given by officers, but it is believed he could have been in a lift on the way to the Arena's box office.
Only the straps of the rucksack – a bag containing tricyclic acetone peroxide, bolts and nails – are visible in the pictures. At 10.30pm, he detonated the ‘highly sophisticated’ device, that injured 119 people.
The images were released yesterday as:
Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said that the ‘fast moving and complex investigation’ had made ‘significant progress’;
SAS trained security guards were dispatched to the Costa del Sol to protect British tourists;
It was claimed MI5 was warned by the FBI in January that Abedi was planning an attack in Britain;
Home Secretary Amber Rudd said Britain can expect more terrorist atrocities if Jeremy Corbyn becomes Prime Minister;
The bomber’s younger brother allegedly confessed to involvement in the plot;
Police made further arrests – taking the total to 13 – and later evacuated an area of Moss Side in Manchester as bomb disposal officers searched an address;
The UK terrorism threat level was reduced from critical to severe, indicating an attack is highly likely, but not expected imminently.
Hairdresser Abdallah Forjani (left) with cousin Salman Abedi (right)
Before setting off for the arena, Abedi carried out the final assembly of the bomb at a £75-a-night flat on Granby Row, close to Piccadilly station, which he rented four days earlier. He had flown into the city via Turkey and Germany.
If he travelled on a tram for the short journey to the arena, it would have taken only nine minutes. It is also possible that the images were taken on board, or as he waited.
Mr Hopkins said last night: ‘We are gathering a detailed picture of Abedi as the investigation develops and now need people to tell us if they have any information about his movements from May 18, when he returned to the UK, through to Monday night. The whole team are working round-the-clock. We have around 1,000 people involved in the investigation alone.
‘In the past five days we have gathered significant information about Abedi, his associates, his finances, the places he had been, how the device was built and the wider conspiracy. As a result of the arrests and searches which have taken place, we now have many further lines of enquiry. We have more than 1,500 actions we are pursuing.’
It is believed that Abedi may have funded his terror with a £7,000 student loan for a course at Salford University, despite the fact he had dropped out.
It is thought he may have been given his loan for the 2016 academic year, even though he did not continue his degree. Abedi funded flights to Libya and three flats in Manchester, but never held down a job.
It also emerged yesterday that Abedi’s younger brother, Hashem, detained last week by authorities in Libya, has allegedly admitted buying the components of the device.
This is the moment armed police raided the south Manchester red brick semi home of concert suicide bomber Salman Abedi
The 20-year-old is said to have told interrogators that he and his brother supported Islamic State, and claimed that the attack was carried out in revenge for the conflicts in Syria and Iraq.
The brothers left Britain to visit their parents in Libya after stockpiling the bomb parts, before Abedi returned to carry out his deadly mission. It was also claimed Hashem planned to carry out an attack in the capital Tripoli.
Following his alleged confession he could face extradition to the UK and stand trial over Britain’s worst terrorist atrocity since 7/7.
Ahmed Bin Salem, of Libya’s Special Deterrents Force, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Hashem knew what Salman was doing. He knew he was planning an attack but did not know exactly when.
‘He |
's a tremendous mess of disorganized, disparate data, like the Internet or the news, we're quite comfortable letting a series of calculations determine which ones are the most important or interesting.
So, why is an algorithmic solution for congressional redistricting such a pipe dream?
In part it's because it is surprisingly hard to define, or at least reduce to a set of rules, what a "gerrymandered district" is. Writing a formula for drawing districts requires us to define how funny-looking is too funny looking. And what is funny, anyway?
"The idea is that circles are the best shape for districts," said George Washington University's Daniel Ullman, talking about one school of thought. "Unfortunately, they don't tessellate well." This was apparently a joke, because the room burst out laughing. For the rest of the afternoon, the word tessellate never failed to produce giggles. (Tessellate means to tile together, as in an M.C. Escher drawing.)
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There are more than 30 ways to look at the shape of a district and put a number on how screwed up it is. Many practitioners, for example, have treated the district like a free-standing puzzle piece, finding the center of gravity and calculating the square of the distance of each point from that center—what's known as the moment of inertia in physics. The lower the score, the better; districts that are long and dispersed will have many points far from the center of gravity, while compact districts will have fewer. (There are variations on this method, like summing the squares of the distances between individual people in the district. This way, a district isn't penalized for vast swaths of unpopulated area.)
These calculations are usually grouped under the idea of "compactness" of a district, which has found its way into many state regulations. The most interesting proposal of the afternoon came from a Caltech grad student named Alan Miller, who proposed a simple test: If you take two random people in a district, what are the odds that one can walk in a straight line to the other without ever leaving the district? (Actually, it's without leaving the district while remaining in the state, so as not to penalize districts like Maryland's 6th, which has to account for Virginia's hump.) This rewards neat, simple shapes. But it penalizes districts like Maryland's 3rd, which looks like something out of Kandinsky's Improvisation 31.
Miller's point is that, by just about any measure of "compactness," one can imagine highly gerrymandered districts that still score pretty well. He and his co-authors prefer the term bizarreness for his measurement. Basically, it's an easily quantifiable standard that could contain gerrymandering without punishing legitimate districts that are funny-looking by necessity.
Still, how much does the shape of a district really tell us about the degree of political monkey business? If a district has to take a few odd turns to encompass a diverse, competitive group of voters, is that a bad thing?
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Part of the difficulty of this debate is that no one can agree on the definition of a "perfect distribution"—that is, what the demographics of a district's population should be. Should they match the demographics of the whole state? Probably not; this would require slicing up urban areas like a pizza into different districts and would award a highly disproportionate number of seats to the majority party in the state. But the goal isn't necessarily to have the distribution of seats match the distribution of Democrats and Republicans in the state. If that were the idea, we could just hold elections the way many European countries do it. (One of the presenters said he gave a similar talk in Bulgaria, where the audience was totally perplexed at how complicated we make it here.)
The best idea of the session, which was arranged by Scientists & Engineers for America, came from Sam Hirsch, who is not a mathematician but a lawyer. He thinks redistricting should be a public contest that uses the law and the metrics developed by mathematicians as a scoring system. It's kind of like a Netflix Prize for redistricting.
Under the Hirsch plan, any public proposal would have to comply with the law and current standards for equal population, continuity, and so forth. For all the plans that passed this threshold, there would be three further metrics:
County integrity (matching district lines with county lines when possible);
Partisan fairness (roughly half the districts should be more Democratic than the state as a whole, while the other have should be more Republican—the system doesn't include third parties);
Competitiveness (a little more complicated, but recalculating previous election data according to the new districts).
The advantage of a plan like Hirsch's, which draws heavily on a lot of the mathematicians' research, is that it's quantifiable. Once plans start rolling in, any future proposal would have to score higher on those three metrics to be considered. And it would be fairly easy to substitute metrics if a particular state wanted, say, to value compactness (or nonbizarreness) over county integrity.Image copyright Tracey Fidler Image caption Tracey Fidler says her son was grieving for the loss of his father Kris Jarvis
The partner of a cyclist killed by a drink-driver is being prosecuted after her son missed a number of days at school following the death.
Mother-of-five Tracey Fidler, from Reading, has been taken to court by Reading Borough Council for the non-attendance of her now 11-year-old son.
She says Adam, who was aged nine at the time his father was killed, was "grieving" and "in a state".
Reading council said it was urgently trying to find a resolution.
The next hearing will be at Reading Magistrates' Court on 9 October.
'Unbelievable'
Ms Fidler, who denies the offence, could be fined up to £2,500, given a community order or jailed for up to three months.
She said being in court for her son not attending Battle Primary Academy enough times was "unbelievable".
Image caption Adam failed to attend school while he was "grieving for his dad" said Tracey Fidler
Image copyright Morland and Jarvis family Image caption John Morland and Kris Jarvis were killed on 13 February 2014
She said: "He wasn't going to school basically because he was grieving for his dad. Since the incident he's been suffering big time.
"He wasn't off school because he was truanting, he was off because he was grieving.
"He's scared his mum is going to be taken away from him now. I'm just dreading the outcome."
Ms Fidler is representing herself in what is a civil prosecution.
Her fiancee, Kris Jarvis, 39, who worked for Reading council, died on 13 February 2014 when he and his friend John Morland were hit by Alexander Walters, 31, from Purley-on-Thames.
A petition set up by Mr Jarvis's sister-in-law Amy Parks asking for proceedings to be dropped has attracted more than 6,500 signatures.
Reading council said it had "made contact with the family with a view to urgently meeting with them and finding a resolution".A former banker who has been swinging with her husband for four years says their unusual sex life has made her feel more empowered than ever.
Jackie and John Melfi, both 52, regularly sleep with other men and women, go to swingers events together and even treat each other to surprise threesomes.
Now the pair, from Texas, say they are determined to debunk the myths around the swinging lifestyle
Unusual lifestyle: Jackie and John Melfie, 52, engage in sex with other people (both men and women), go to swingers events together and even treat each other to surprise threesomes
Jackie - who has six children from previous marriages and five grandchildren - says swinging has given her freedom to explore her sexuality in a non-judgmental environment, which has made her marriage even stronger.
'Most of the time, when you say you're into swinging, people think your relationship is lacking honesty, or there is some deception involved,' she said.
'But it's great for my and John's trust and communication. I believe it's to thank for the success of our relationship.
'It keeps me young. Being introduced to the lifestyle encouraged me to say yes and try new things in life. I've learned to let go and I'm no longer concerned about what people will say.'
Jackie added: 'Being encouraged to be openly sexual as a woman has blown my mind. Exploring and having positive reinforcement and affirmation from my partner is great too.'
Jackie on holiday in Iceland. The mother of six says the swinging lifestyle has given her freedom to explore her sexuality, which has made her marriage stronger than ever
While the couple usually meet sexual partners at swinging events, they sometimes treat each other to a surprise threesome.
John, who has two children and two grandchildren from previous relationships, explained: 'I once got an attractive man to come into our bedroom and surprise Jackie while we were having sex.
'I've also organised for a friend to stay with Jackie and keep her "entertained" when I've been out of town before.'
He says that while some people might find their lifestyle 'odd', he loves seeing how 'happy and confident' it makes his wife.
'Our love is real and we're just like any other married couple,' John insisted.
While the couple usually meet sexual partners at swinging events, they sometimes treat each other to a surprise threesome. They have been swinging for around four years
Jackie and John at a swingers event in Texas. Jackie admitted that in the beginning, 'I had some misconceptions as I'd been taught swinging wasn't positive at all'
The pair at a swingers party. 'Having so much love and compassion coming from John in that situation made me realize all the possibilities of swinging,' said Jackie of their first encounter
The pair started dating after Jackie split from her second husband. Despite feeling their 'instantaneous connection', Jackie was a little surprised when she found out that John owned a number of swingers' clubs.
She says: 'Due to John's work, the topic came up pretty early on. I'd grown up in a traditional and conservative household where we went to church three times per week.
'John, on the other hand, had always been very open-minded and had his first threesome after graduating from high school.
'I had some misconceptions as I'd been taught swinging wasn't positive at all – I thought the couple must not love each other, or were using it as an excuse to cheat.
After discussing it for a few months, Jackie finally felt comfortable enough to give 'the lifestyle' a try.
Jackie said: '[Swinging] keeps me young. Being introduced to the lifestyle encouraged me to say yes and try new things in life. I've learned to let go and I'm no longer concerned about what people will say'
The couple discuss their sex life in a candid video on their website. They both attend swingers' clubs and events and meet like-minded people through adult social networking sites
'Meeting John gave me the freedom to explore that side of myself,' she said.
The couple found a man on Craigslist who was willing to meet them in his hotel room.
'I was really surprised,' said Jackie. 'I'd been so nervous and had so many fears going into it, but it was so different from anything I'd experienced. There were so many emotions and they were all incredibly positive.
'It really did bring us closer. Having so much love and compassion coming from John in that situation made me realize all the possibilities of swinging.
'Everything suddenly fell into place and I was free to express myself sexually.'
After that experience, the couple started swinging more regularly with both men and women. Within a year of the two of them first meeting, they were husband and wife.
Through their website, the couple have coached and counselled thousands of curious people trying to decide if swinging is right for them. They help others by sharing their experiences
Now, four years on, they attend swingers' clubs and events and meet like-minded people through adult social networking sites.
Jackie says: 'There could be months in between experiences, or we could spend an entire weekend with someone. For it to be enjoyable, there needs to be a lot of trust and a high level of emotional comfort.'
'John and I talk about everything and share our fantasies with one another. If John makes a comment about an attractive woman walking past, it's not a taboo. I love that we can do that together.'
She added: 'Our children are happy for us too – they see me and John as role models and ask for advice. I'm glad I've been able to show my kids the positive impact an 'open' marriage can have.
The pair started dating after Jackie split from her second husband. Jackie admits she was a little surprised when she found out that John owned a number of swingers' clubs
'It's fostered a lot of honesty and openness. My children feel comfortable talking about sex with me and expressing their feelings.'
In 2015, the couple set up their website, openlove101.com, to educate anyone wanting to experiment, and to debunk the misconceptions of swinging.
Through the site, the couple have coached and counselled thousands of curious people trying to decide if swinging is right for them. They help others by sharing their personal experiences and knowledge.
'When you imagine the typical swinger, it's the '70s image of swapping keys and wife-swapping But it's much more than that,' said John.
'In my clubs, a lot of people come just to watch, to be watched or to soak up the sexual atmosphere. Swingers are really varied people, you don't just have to swap partners to be one.'Getty Images
Who says there’s nothing to do in Buffalo?
Well, Willis McGahee did. Or was it Marshawn Lynch? Maybe both.
Regardless, Buffalo has a Dave & Buster’s. And it’s not far from the hotel where the Jets are staying. And the Jets went there on Saturday night.
According to Brian Costello of the New York Post, coach Rex Ryan ditched the usual night-before offensive and defensive meetings for the trip to the oversized arcade. Ryan still conducted the usual Saturday night team meeting before cancelling the offensive and defensive sessions.
As Costello points out, the Bills could use the corner-cutting as a sign that the Jets lack the proper respect for their opponent. And even if the Bills’ coaches don’t believe that, it makes sense to use anything possible to get their players motivated.1800 and After: Waterboarding Banned by European Governments With the advent of the “Enlightenment,” many countries ban the practice of waterboarding, with at least one calling it “morally repugnant.” Waterboarding has been around since the 14th century, known variously as “water torture,” the “water cure,” or tormenta de toca, a phrase that refers to the thin piece of cloth placed over the victim’s mouth. Officials for the Spanish Inquisition were among those who waterboarded prisoners; the Inquisition, recognizing the potentially lethal effect of the practice, required a doctor to be present when a prisoner was waterboarded. Historian Henry Charles Lea, in his book A History of the Inquisition of Spain, will describe waterboarding as follows: “The patient strangled and gasped and suffocated and, at intervals, the toca was withdrawn and he was adjured to tell the truth. The severity of the infliction was measured by the number of jars [of water] consumed, sometimes reaching to six or eight.” Waterboarding actually refers to two separate interrogation techniques: one involving water being pumped directly into the stomach, and another that features the steady streaming of water into the throat. The first, according to author Darius Rejali, “creates intense pain. It feels like your organs are on fire.” The second will be the method later preferred by US interrogators, who will use it on suspected terrorists. This method is a form of “slow motion drowning” perfected by Dutch traders in the 17th century, when they used it against their British rivals in the East Indies. In 2007, reporter Eric Weiner will write: “[W]aterboarding has changed very little in the past 500 years. It still relies on the innate fear of drowning and suffocating to coerce confessions.” [National Public Radio, 11/3/2007] Entity Tags: Darius Rejali, Spanish Inquisition, Henry Charles Lea, Eric Weiner Timeline Tags: Torture of US Captives
November 4, 2007: Judge: Waterboarding Is a Crime Evan Wallach, a New York judge who teaches the law of war at two New York City law schools, pens an editorial for the Washington Post protesting the argument that waterboarding has somehow become legal. Wallach, a former Judge Advocate General officer in the Nevada National Guard, recalls routinely lecturing military policemen about their legal obligations towards their prisoners. He writes that he always concluded by saying: “I know you won’t remember everything I told you today, but just remember what your mom told you: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” He is proud to note that the unit he was with, the 72nd Military Police Company, “refused to participate in misconduct at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison.”
Waterboarding Is Real, Not Simulated, Drowning - Wallach then explains what waterboarding is. It is not “simulated drowning,” as many media reports characterize it: “That’s incorrect. To be effective, waterboarding is usually real drowning that simulates death. That is, the victim experiences the sensations of drowning: struggle, panic, breath-holding, swallowing, vomiting, taking water into the lungs, and, eventually, the same feeling of not being able to breathe that one experiences after being punched in the gut. The main difference is that the drowning process is halted. According to those who have studied waterboarding’s effects, it can cause severe psychological trauma, such as panic attacks, for years.”
Prosecution of Waterboarding as Torture Goes Back to 1898 - Wallach notes that after World War II, several Japanese soldiers were tried and executed for waterboarding American and Allied prisoners of war. One former POW, Lieutenant Chase Nielsen, testified: “I was given several types of torture.… I was given what they call the water cure.… Well, I felt more or less like I was drowning… just gasping between life and death.” The waterboarding of POWs was one of the driving forces behind the US’s organization of war crimes trials for senior Japanese military and civilian officials. Wallach writes: “Leading members of Japan’s military and government elite were charged, among their many other crimes, with torturing Allied military personnel and civilians. The principal proof upon which their torture convictions were based was conduct that we would now call waterboarding.” (Weeks later, torture opponent Senator John McCain will cite the Japanese prosecutions in a presidential debate—see November 29, 2007). Wallach notes that as far back as 1898, US soldiers were court-martialed for waterboarding Filipino guerrillas during the Spanish-American War. More recently, a group of Filipino citizens sued, in a US district court, the estate of former Phillipine President Ferdinand Marcos, claiming they had been waterboarded and subjected to other tortures. The court awarded the plaintiffs $766 million in damages, and wrote: “[T]he plaintiffs experienced human rights violations including, but not limited to… the water cure, where a cloth was placed over the detainee’s mouth and nose, and water producing a drowning sensation.” In 1983, a Texas sheriff and three of his deputies were convicted of violating prisoners’ civil rights by subjecting them to a procedure similar to waterboarding (see 1983). Wallach concludes: “We know that US military tribunals and US judges have examined certain types of water-based interrogation and found that they constituted torture. That’s a lesson worth learning. The study of law is, after all, largely the study of history. The law of war is no different. This history should be of value to those who seek to understand what the law is—as well as what it ought to be.” [Washington Post, 11/4/2007] Entity Tags: Evan Wallach, Washington Post Timeline Tags: Torture of US Captives
November 29, 2007: Japanese Soldiers Tried, Executed for Waterboarding American POWs, McCain Notes Republican senator and presidential candidate John McCain (R-AZ) says that during World War II, Japanese soldiers were tried and hanged for war crimes involving the waterboarding of American prisoners of war. “There should be little doubt from American history that we consider that [waterboarding] as torture otherwise we wouldn’t have tried and convicted Japanese for doing that same thing to Americans,” McCain says. He notes that he forgot to bring this piece of information up during the previous night’s debate with fellow Republican candidates; during the debate, he criticized former Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA) for refusing to say what interrogation techniques he would rule out if president. “I would also hope that he would not want to be associated with a technique which was invented in the Spanish Inquisition, was used by Pol Pot in one of the great eras of genocide in history, and is being used on Burmese monks as we speak,” McCain says. “America is a better nation than that.” Waterboarding is banned by US law and international treaties. “If the United States was in another conflict, which could easily happen, with another country, and we have allowed that kind of torture to be inflicted on people we hold captive, then there’s nothing to prevent that enemy from also torturing American prisoners,” McCain adds. [Associated Press, 11/29/2007] Entity Tags: Willard Mitt Romney, John McCain Timeline Tags: Torture of US CaptivesIt’s time again to update your miners. cgminer has just released version 3.8.1 of their command line mining software. You can download the application from the following location:
http://ck.kolivas.org/apps/cgminer/
The change log is included below:
Version 3.8.1 – 11th November 2013
– Revert “Send a zero length packet at the end of every usb transfer on windows
in case libusb internally has batched them into one maxpacket sized.”
Version 3.8.0 – 10th November 2013
– api update version to 2.0 and remove GPU form API-README
-Remove now unused scrypt files.
– api.c remove all GPU/gpu references and correct code as required
– Rudimentary removal of GPU OpenCL and Scrypt features from api.c
– Reorder configure alphabetically for devices to compile and fail if no support
is selected to be compiled in.
– BaB update/format some comments
– BlackArrowBitfury early GPIO V1 driver
– Fine tune the reading of results in bitfury driver to not lose any across work
restarts or corrupt due to store results not parsed during restart.
– Send a zero length packet at the end of every usb transfer on windows in case
libusb internally has batched them into one maxpacket sized.
– Framework for ntime rolling, keep looking for OP_USB_INIT replies when other
packets received
– Configure source for a new BaB driver
– sha2 allow external access to some macros and the K array
– Fixed a math issue when reporting fan speed on the status line.
– Use the main hashlist to store work done in the bitfury driver and remove work
from the list by time, thereby fixing the duplicates at startup. Count hardware
errors for when no match occurs.
– Add a get and queue helper work function.
– Remove GPU mining code.
– Use libusb’s own zero length packet support unless we have to emulate it on
windows since only libusb knows for sure if it’s needed.
– Unlock the avalon qlock while sending tasks to not hold the lock for an
extended period.
– Sleep in avalon send task on return to the function to allow other code to
work during the sleep period.
– Send zero length packets when terminating a usb write aligned to
maxpacketsize.
– Do the driver flush in avalon code lockless since it can lead to deadlocks.
– Reset the work_restart bool after the scanwork loop in case the driver flushes
work synchronously.
– Only check for the stratum clean message if we have had a valid message.
– Get rid of the stage thread since all work can be asynchronously added now via
hash_push anyway.
– Remove the now incorrect faq entry regarding scrypt difficulty.
– Check for fatal read errors and break out of the read loop in avalon.
– Send errors are basically fatal in avalon driver so break out of the send
tasks loop.
– Make the avalon driver return -1 for hash count when usb fails, allowing the
main loop code to send it the shutdown flag.
– Break out of the hash work loops when a failure is detected instead of
dropping into mt disable.
– Use usbutils’ own ftdi parser for avalon and the ftdir’s own latency for
managing timeouts since we can wait on reads with completely asynchronous
reads+writes.
– Use usbutils’ own cps function for slowing rate of usb writes on avalon.
– Fix build for no libcurl
– Check length before submitting sync transfersKnowing an iOS devices serial number is useful for a wide variety of reasons, from checking warranty status, determining if it’s eligible for a free repair from Apple, checking unlock status, checking for iCloud Activation Lock, insurance purposes, repairs, registering a phone for a variety of services, amongst other reasons. We’ll show you how to find the serial number on any iPhone, iPad, or iPod, quickly.
There are two ways to quickly uncover the serial number of any iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, one of which is done directly on the device itself through the iOS settings application, and another which can be accessed on any connected computer through iTunes. It doesn’t matter which method you use, if the device is the same, the serial number attached to it will be the same too.
Finding a Device Serial Number in iOS Settings
For every iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, regardless of system software version, you can find the serial number of the device through iOS Settings:
Open the Settings app in iOS if you haven’t done so yet Go to “General” then choose “About” Scroll down to find the “Serial Number” entry, this alphanumeric code is the devices serial number you are looking for
That applies to all versions of iOS and on any iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch model.
If you’d rather find the serial number of an iOS device from a computer, you can do that too with iTunes.
Find an iOS Device Serial Number from iTunes
You can also quickly retrieve an iOS device serial number from iTunes by doing the following:
Connect the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to the computer with a USB cable Open iTunes and select the iOS device At the primary “Summary” screen for that device, look for ‘Serial Number’ – for an iPhone it will be underneath the capacity and phone number
As you can see neither of these methods are particularly complex, though unlike finding a serial number of a Mac, you can’t have it spoken to you without enabling separate text to speech settings in iOS.
It’s worth mentioning another method to find an iPhone serial number or iPad serial number: the box it came in. If you still have the original box that the device shipped in, the serial number will be printed on the outside of the box with the other defining specs of the hardware. This can be helpful in particular if you don’t have physical access to the device but you do have access to the box.
Though the serial number may look totally random, serial numbers are assigned to devices in an orderly way, with details about the devices factory and machine ID, the week of production, the year it was manufactured, the color, and the storage size of the model. You can decipher this information about the device by reading the serial and knowing the format as it applies to the iPhone or iPad, though it does vary per model and per device.Employees working in a wide range of industries that need sterile gloves with no allergies and maximum hygiene, from food service cut resistant gloves to factory work nitrile disposable gloves to medicine and everything in between, rely on nitrile surgical gloves to keep themselves and those they serve safe. These gloves often provide the last line of defense between you and your clients and the harmful germs that can create serious acute and long-term health issues. While they are an essential element of infection control, and an inexpensive way to keep your employees and your customers safe, it’s common to overlook the glove inventory until it you come to the realization that it’s running critically.
The Highest-Quality Bulk Nitrile Gloves for Less
It’s important to realize, however, that not all black nitrile or vinyl gloves are created equal nor are puncture resistant, or have chemical resistance to increase hand protection. Whether you’re chopping vegetables or handling delicate medical waste, the last thing you want is to risk dangerous skin exposure and contamination. BulkNitrileGloves.com is a proud distributor of Infi-Touch exam gloves, the highest-quality, most durable and reliable nitrile disposable glove on the market.
Bulknitrilegloves.com offers the strongest puncture resistance and most affordable nitrile gloves (powdered or non powdered, latex exam gloves or nitrile exam gloves) in bulk for those who need the best disposable nitrile gloves. Give your customers and your employees the safety they deserve with no allergic reaction from low quality rubber gloves. Call bulknitrilegloves.com today at 877-898-2057 to place your order.Linda Forsell is an award-winning photojournalist based in New York. For the past five years she has worked extensively on women’s issues in the world. Her project Children having Children is a two year long commitment to following the lives of young mothers below 15 in Guatemala, where almost a quarter of all babies are born to teenage mothers - and 90 per cent of those are fathered by a relative. A shocking 30 per cent are the result of rape by the girl's own father. The project has been exhibited extensively throughout Guatemala during 2015, and received recognition from the Visura Grant.
Above: Amelia is being transferred after a C-section. She is in pain after several complications during her delivery. Complications like haemorrhage, eclampsia and CPD are much more common in child birth when the mother is not fully developed.It's been about three years since the show ended, but somehow we just got a huge bit of "Breaking" news.
Yeah, your life has to be pretty messed up to make you throw pizza on the roof of your house. (That's just wasteful, bro.) Now we finally know more about how Walter White got to that point in "Breaking Bad." Namely, show creator Vince Gilligan and co-showrunner Peter Gould filled us in on why he left his old company, Gray Matter.
In the series, we learn White co-founded Gray Matter Technologies along with his friend Elliott Schwartz. White is dating his lab assistant, Gretchen, but he suddenly leaves her while spending 4th of July weekend with her family. He sells his shares of Gray Matter to his partner for $5,000. The company is later worth billions, Elliott and Gretchen get married and White goes on to, you know, die in a meth lab. (And they all lived happily ever after.)
The real reason White left Gray Matter, which serves as part of the motivation for the character's dark turn, has remained a mystery, but while chatting with The Huffington Post about "Yo Soy Saul," an original song created for "Better Call Saul," Gilligan and Gould also finally opened up about one of the biggest unanswered questions from the series:
Here's why Walter White left Gray Matter.
"Breaking Bad" actress Jessica Hecht, who plays Gretchen, mentioned in an AMC Q&A that Walt left the company and their relationship because he felt inferior. Gilligan confirmed this was true to HuffPost, saying, "She's correct, and that's what I explained to her and to [Bryan Cranston] before they shot that big scene between the two of them where they were at the restaurant."
The scene Gilligan is referring to takes place in the Season 2 episode "Peekaboo."
"It ends with him being so nasty to her saying, 'Fuck you,' and then she leaves tearfully," said Gilligan. "In my mind, the interesting thing here -- and I always kind of hate to nail it down so explicitly -- but let's put it this way, most viewers of 'Breaking Bad' assume Gretchen and Elliott are the bad guys, and they assume that Walt got ripped off by them, got ill used by them, and I never actually saw it that way."
Gilligan explained that the truth is more nuanced. It all stemmed from White's feeling of inferiority while spending time with Gretchen's family.
"I think it was kind of situation where he didn't realize the girl he was about to marry was so very wealthy and came from such a prominent family, and it kind of blew his mind and made him feel inferior and he overreacted. He just kind of checked out. I think there is that whole other side to the story, and it can be gleaned. This isn't really the CliffsNotes version so much. These facts can be gleaned if you watch some of these scenes really closely enough, and you watch them without too much of an overriding bias toward Walt and against Gretchen and Elliott," said Gilligan.
Gould added, "I think the interesting thing is not exactly what happened but the fact that Walt hasn't let it go over all these years. He has no perspective on himself. He gets to the point where all he can really do is try to justify everything that he’s done."
Gould believes Walt did finally change at the very end. "He was there for one thing: to take care of his family," he said.
"The short answer here is that I think people tend to think of Gretchen and Elliott as the villains because they're a couple of rich happy people, and they seemed to be arrayed against our hero, 'Walter White,' but the truth may be not so quite on the nose," said Gilligan.
So there you go, Walter White. The reason you left Gray Matter had to do with feeling inferior.
Admitting that is the first part of the healing process. The second part is not throwing your pizza.As the clock ticks down to August 2 — the date by which Congress must raise the national debt limit in order to keep borrowing money to fund the government — don’t be fooled into thinking this is another fight pitting Democrats against Republicans.
This battle is Republican versus Republican. It features John Boehner John Andrew BoehnerEx-GOP lawmaker joins marijuana trade group Crowley, Shuster moving to K Street On unilateral executive action, Mitch McConnell was right — in 2014 MORE (R-Ohio), the Speaker of the House on one side, and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor Eric Ivan CantorPelosi warns GOP: Next president could declare national emergency on guns Ousted GOP lawmaker David Brat named dean at Liberty University business school Trump, GOP seek to shift blame for shutdown to Pelosi MORE (R-Va.) on the other. And right now Cantor is winning big.
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Cantor outflanked the Speaker last week when he quit Vice President Joe Biden Joseph (Joe) Robinette BidenBannon: 'Zero' doubt Trump will run for reelection Bernie is back with a bang — but can he hold on to his supporters? Klobuchar backs legalizing marijuana MORE’s bipartisan negotiations to raise the debt ceiling. Cantor, who had previously praised the Democrats in the talks for laying out $2 trillion in cuts over 10 years, decided he did not want the adult responsibility of agreeing to anything that far-right critics might view as a tax increase.
So he took a walk on the negotiations without telling Boehner John Andrew BoehnerEx-GOP lawmaker joins marijuana trade group Crowley, Shuster moving to K Street On unilateral executive action, Mitch McConnell was right — in 2014 MORE. Incredibly, Cantor first announced he was out of any dealmaking with a call to the Wall Street Journal. Now there is a new and profoundly rude way to announce a political divorce.
The bottom line is that Cantor’s decision to abdicate any pretense of being a political leader set a trap for Boehner. The Speaker is now politically exposed to fire from every direction as he goes into the final phase of negotiations with President Obama and the Democrats.
Wily Senate Republicans, led by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellHouse to push back at Trump on border Democrats block abortion bill in Senate Overnight Energy: Climate protesters storm McConnell’s office | Center-right group says Green New Deal could cost trillion | Dire warnings from new climate studies MORE of Kentucky, have made it clear all along that they are content to stand aside and make snarky comments about unreasonable, populist “Young Guns” Republicans who won’t support any tax hikes. The message from the disinterested McConnell has been that it is up to Boehner and Cantor to get a deal that will win support from those wild-eyed Republicans in the House. But now Cantor is missing in action — gone.
Without Cantor, Boehner is unlikely to have any backing from the rest of the GOP leadership in the House for a deal that includes a tax hike.
And if Boehner fails to make a deal out of fear of losing his troops to Cantor, then Boehner’s political future is in danger.
With no deal, Boehner will become the bull’s-eye for Wall Street’s fury as the economy implodes with a likely double-dip recession, higher interest rates and lower bond ratings. The voting public is also sure to be upset about unpaid salaries to soldiers and unpaid benefits to Social Security recipients. All the while Cantor waits to take over as Speaker.
We live in an era of public loathing for Washington politicians who fail to get anything done because they are so lost in the politics of polarization. All that anger will be dumped on Speaker Boehner — and Boehner alone — because Cantor has walked off the playing field. A Pew poll released last week found 42 percent of Americans say Republicans will be to blame if the debt limit is not raised. And a very lonely Boehner will be the high-profile public face of congressional Republicans when the public assault begins.
To quote a top aide to Senate Democrats who spoke to the National Journal: “Cantor just threw Boehner under the bus. [By quitting the budget talks Cantor admitted] there will be a need for revenues and Cantor doesn’t want to be the one to make that deal.”
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Already Democrats are unloading on Boehner — not Cantor.
A Friday night briefing by Obama administration officials focused on rebutting Boehner’s description of increasing revenue as “job-killing tax hikes.” To the contrary, the president’s economic team says small business and the middle class are not in their sights for any tax increase. They pointedly say they are asking Boehner to match GOP calls for cuts to health and retirement entitlement spending, notably |
David Hasselhoff in the role of an elder Michael Knight. Finally, the character we care about most, KITT, has been officially confirmed as a Ford GT500KR. The voice of KITT will also be none other than Will Arnett, husband of Saturday Night Live's Amy Poehler and ex-alum of the TV show Arrested Development.There will actually be three versions of KITT in the show: a 540-hp standard version of the character named KITT Hero, a super high-speed version that's heavily modified for combat called KITT Attack ( click here to view his body changes), and a driverless version called KITT Remote. According to NBC, KITT in the modern era is a supercomputer capable of hacking anything that plugs into a wall, and thanks to progress made in the area of nanotechnology, its body can shift both its shape and color. Follow the jump for the official press release from NBC, including a brief rundown of the premier's storyline.[Source: NBC]
PRESS RELEASE:
UPDATED 'KNIGHT RIDER' REVS UP TO RETURN TO NBC FOR SPECIAL TWO-HOUR MOVIE EVENT ON FEBRUARY 17 AS NEW KITT CAR IS REVEALED
BURBANK, Calif. - December 12, 2007 - As "Knight Rider" -- NBC's iconic 1980s television classic that became a runaway success, comes roaring back to life on the network with an updated sequel that will air as a two-hour movie event on Sunday, February 17 (9-11 p.m. ET) -- NBC unveiled the new customized KITT Ford Mustang to be featured in the series in a press event held at NBC's Burbank Studios today.
The movie stars Justin Bruening ("Cold Case," "All My Children"), Deanna Russo ("NCIS," "The Young and the Restless"), Sydney Tamiia Poitier ("Veronica Mars," "Grindhouse") and Bruce Davison ("Breach," "Close to Home"). In addition, David Hasselhoff (NBC's "America's Got Talent") -- who starred in the popular lead role as Michael Knight for four seasons during the original series -- returns as the same character in a special guest-star appearance. Will Arnett (NBC's "30 Rock," "Blades of Glory") will provide the voice of KITT.
Dave Bartis ("Heist," "The O.C.") and Doug Liman ("Mr. and Mrs. Smith," "The Bourne Identity") serve as executive producers.
NBC also has an arrangement with Ford Motor Company that provides for a unique content opportunity that makes the Ford Mustang one of the stars of the movie.
The three cars to be employed in the series include the KITT Hero -- a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR that is playing the part of the everyday Hero car with 540 horsepower; the KITT Attack -- a super high-speed version of the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR Hero car that transforms into Attack mode with the help of air-ride technology and specialized body parts -- and a KITT Remote, which is a driverless Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR version of the Hero vehicle.
As the original story resumes, the new KITT (Knight Industries Three Thousand) is absolutely the coolest car ever created: its supercomputer capable of hacking almost any system; its weapons systems efficient; and its body -- thanks to its creator's work and nanotechnology -- is capable of actually shifting shape and color. Plus, its artificial intelligence makes it the ideal crime-fighting partner: logical, precise and possessing infinite knowledge. It is the ultimate car -- and someone will be willing to do anything to obtain it.
Sarah Graiman is a 24-year old Ph.D candidate at Stanford University, following in her genius father Charles' (Davison) footsteps. But when men attempt to abduct her, Sarah receives a mysterious call from KITT warning her that he's a creation of Charles, who also invented the first KITT 25 years ago -- and that her father is in serious danger.
Sarah and KITT track down her best friend from childhood, Mike Tracer (Bruening), a 23-year-old ex-Army Ranger, whom Sarah hasn't seen since he left home at 18. Having served in Iraq, Mike is now jaded and lost and initially resistant. Eventually he agrees to help Sarah and the two set out to discover who's behind the attempt to procure KITT and find Charles. Along the way, Carrie Rivai (Poitier) plays the agile yet tough FBI agent who has a long-standing friendship with Charles and Sarah. Due to those ties, she is brought into the mix to help in the search.
David Andron is supervising producer and writer. Steve Shill ("Dexter," "The Tudors"), also a co-executive producer, directs the two-hour movie from Universal Media Studios and Dutch Oven Productions.The Denver District Attorney’s office has charged Calvin Johnson, 44, of first degree murder for the New Year’s Day death of Teodora Leon III.
The probable cause affidavit released by the Denver DA discloses that Johnson was on parole from the Department of Corrections (DOC), and was living in a tent in areas near 10th Avenue and Lincoln and Broadway.
The Department of Corrections has confirmed to Complete Colorado that Johnson was recently held up by Colorado Department of Corrections Deputy Director of Parole Alison Morgan as an example of how parolees can be transitioned from prison back into society. At a Joint Judiciary Committee meeting on December 16th, Morgan told members of the committee:
I’d like to tell you briefly about a, a parolee that, um, has some significant mental health issues. He, uh, was acting out. He was threatening staff. He, uh, he has coped through his time in prison and on parole by threatening and being aggressive. And his thought was to do this again to hopefully um be revoked because he didn’t want to be accountable and he didn’t want to be on parole. And our community-based organizations came together and the parole officer came together, uh, the mental health specialist, and we all sat down. And we came up with a plan to, to really challenge this parolee to try. And we, um, we each pooled a little bit of money and commitment to, to work with this parolee to launch him to be successful. Um, he didn’t completely like the idea of the plan we put together for him and he tried to play us off of each other. And we all came back together again and said yeah it’s not to work that way. And ultimately he chose to, um, actually buy a tent, and he’s living in the alley behind our Lincoln Street parole office, but he’s figuring it out on his own. But it was a tremendous collaboration between parole, mental health, and the community-based organizations. And, and that’s how all of this is working, really very successfully.
Listen to the audio here:
The parole department has had notable morale problems ever since the murder of Department of Corrections Director Tom Clements in 2013 by a parolee, Evan Ebel.
As Complete Colorado reported in March of 2015, the DOC suffered the loss of their parole director who did not last one year on the job.
In June, the union of state employees tried to harvest dissatisfaction among parole officers after an incident where a parole officer was shot at in Aurora.
In November, we noted that drug use by parolees has been on a steady, four-year climb.
Send us tips at CompleteColorado@gmail.com.
Correction: Based on early press releases from the Denver Police Department and Denver District Attorney, the first edition of this article incorrectly identified the victim of the alleged murder as Leon Teodora. The victim’s name is Teodoro Leon III.
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commentsThe Palestinian delegation to the United Nations successfully initiated an informal meeting of the Security Council on Israeli settlements in the West Bank that is to be held on Friday and to be attended by representatives of B'Tselem.
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According to the UN's website, the "Arria-Formula meeting," which is how Friday's discussion has been defined, is a "very informal, confidential" meeting that enables "Security Council members to have a frank and private exchange of views."
It is believed that this meeting is the Palestinian delegation's first step in a plan to have the Security Council issue a resolution against Israel regarding the settlements.
Friday's meeting will take place at 10am EDT (5pm Israel time) and will be co-chaired by Angola, Egypt, Malaysia, Senegal and Venezuela. The meeting's title is 'illegal Israeli Settlements: Obstacles to Peace and Two-State Solution.'
UN Security Council (Photo: EPA)
B'Tselem's executive director, Hagai El-Ad, will present an up-to-date summary of West Bank settlements to the 15 countries that sit on the Security Council. "This is the most important international forum that deals with the occupation and perhaps the only one that can promote significant action on the matter," he said.
"This will be one of the most important diplomatic opportunities in the history of B'Tselem," El-Ad added. He explained that he would repeat on Friday that "the occupation is not an internal Israeli matter, and the Israeli public is not authorized to decide if it wants it to continue. It is a clear international matter."
A press release from his organization stated, "The responsibility for ending the occupation and the human rights violations that it entails lies first and foremost with Israel, yet this reality will not change as long as the international community stands idly by."
Israel's permanent representative to the UN, Amb. Danny Danon, criticized the meeting, saying, "The Palestinians continue to look for a way to bypass direct negotiations and are generating diplomatic terrorism against Israel. It's sad and disappointing that precisely on days of self evaluation and prayers for the unity of the people of Israel, Israeli organizations are giving moral cover to the persecution of Israel at the UN."
Peace Now announced that it would not be participating in the meeting. However, Lara Friedman of Americans for Peace Now will speak—her organization is affiliated with but not subsidiary to the Israeli Peace Now.
The Israeli organization did take the opportunity to condemn Danon, stating, "Danon needs to explain that this year alone, Israel built 1,200 new housing units in the territories. Danon needs to explain that there is no Palestinian people and in the opinion of the Israeli government, a two-state vision isn't forthcoming.1950 Buick convertible, using styling cues from the Buick Y-Job
The Buick Y-Job was the auto industry's first concept car, produced by Buick in 1938.[3] Designed by Harley J. Earl, the car had power-operated hidden headlamps, a "gunsight" hood ornament, electric windows,[4] wraparound bumpers, flush door handles, and prefigured styling cues used by Buick until the 1950s and the vertical waterfall grille design still used by Buick today. It used a Buick Super chassis, indicated by the word "Super" located above the rear license plate.
The car was driven for a number of years by Harley Earl, until he replaced it with a 1951 model car. Sometime after that, the car was restored at the Henry Ford Museum, until 1993 when it was returned to the GM Design Center.[5]
The "Y" in the name has two explanations:
All experimental cars were called "X", so Earl simply went to the next letter in the alphabet. [6]
The "Y" designation was selected by Earl because it was used extensively in the aviation industry denoting the most advanced prototypes.[4]
In 2001, Buick recreated the Y-job with modern advancements called the Buick Blackhawk drawing extensively from the Y-job.
Buick Y-Job, the first concept car Front view
Rear viewF3 Furthers its Expansion into Hearthstone
Over the past few months Flipside Tactics has dabbled in Hearthstone as it is a game that we are all fans of. But now we couldn’t be more excited to be expanding our Hearthstone division into a direction where we can begin to make a slash in the game. With the addition of five new players to the roster, be sure to keep an eye out for more Hearthstone content, steaming, and tournament appearances by F3 players.
The F3 Hearthstone division now consists of the following:
Matt “Sloth” Kemerer
Austin “Ereath” McIntyre
Robert “BlueDew” Werner
Claire “Chandyland” Chan
Jason “Zyferous” Yang
Pablo “Dusturn” Lorenzana
Kelvin “Kayce” Cheung
James “CanucksJC” Choi
Along with this announcement, we will begin a series of weekly free to enter events for all you Hearthstone fans out there. This weeks event will not only be free to enter, there will also be a $20 cash prize to the winner. Be sure to sign up right now and reserve your spot. The event will begin at 10 pm EST and will be streamed over on twitch.tv/flipsidetacticsThe Oculus Rift and HTC Vive are curently the world’s most advanced consumer virtual reality headsets.
As of this week, they have both officially launched and consumers are deciding which system they will purchase. For some, this decision is simply too insurmountable and some early adopters are ordering both a Rift and a Vive. The obvious upside of having both systems is that you won’t have to decide between the unique benefits, content, and features of either system. But now, a surprising new benefit has been discovered: both the Rift and the Vive can be run at the exact same time using only a single specially designed computer.
Notable virtual reality Twitch streamer Zimtok5 – known by many simply as “Zim” – plugged both his Oculus DK2 and HTC Vice Consumer version into a single high-spec PC.
“I was just tinkering in back of my computer and I noticed the extra HDMI port. That’s when the thought first hit me and I thought ‘why not give it a try?’ So I plugged my new Vive and the DK2 into the ports that they required and I was able to run both Lucky’s Tale [Rift] and Job Simulator [Vive] at the exact same time,” Zim said via Skype.
According to Zim, his computer – while significantly more advanced than the average office desktop – is only slightly more advanced than any other VR ready PC. What makes his rig truly unique is the GPU setup.
Most VR computers are running a single NVIDIA GTX 970 GPU, but Zim’s uses two. These two cards are linked and their power is shared through a combined software/hardware “bridge” that is known as a Scalable Link Interface or SLI.
What makes this particularly notable for VR applications is that each NVIDIA GPU contains its own HDMI port. HDMI ports are essential for relaying audio and video data between the computer and the HMD (head mounted display).
Zim found that these simple additions to his computer allowed him to run both the Rift and the Vive concurrently with, “no visible latency whatsoever.”
“It just functioned,” he said.
The exact specs of Zim’s PC can be found below:
System Processor: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0 GHz Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 x 2 (SLI) Memory: 16 GB DDR3 RAM Peripherals Head Mounted Display: Oculus Rift DK2 & HTC Vive Headset: Sennheiser PC 360 G4ME Microphone: RØDE NT-USB Racing Wheel: Logitech G27 Driving Glove: Bosch Gardening Gloves Flight Stick: Thrustmaster T-Flight Hotas X Chair Vibrator: ButtKicker Gamer2 Voice Bot (“Belle”): Voice Attack
The one caveat to this process when it comes to widespread commercial use is that Zim’s Rift was a developer kit, not the more advanced consumer version that recently began shipping. However, based on the results he is seeing and what he knows of the two headsets, Zim does not expect his results be any different if he was using the CV1 over the DK2.
Zim will be demonstrating his wife and himself taking advantage of this dual-running setup via a live stream on his Twitch channel on Sunday April 9 beginning at 9pm GMT.
Zimtok5 is based in Scotland and streams on Twitch every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday between 9pm and 12am GMT.
Tagged with: htc, job simulator, luckys tale, oculus, rift, video, ViveImage: Tuomo Hutri
Director Selma Vilhunen’s movie Little Wing (originally Tyttö nimeltä Varpu) has won the Nordic Council film prize, which was handed out at Finlandia Hall on Wednesday evening. Like all the prizes, it is worth about 47,000 euros. The sum is divided among the director, screenwriter and producer. In this case, Vilhunen was the writer with Kaarle Aho and Kai Nordberg as producers.
The feature film centres around a troubled adolescent (Linnea Skog) and her relationship with her mother, played by Finnish pop star Paula Vesala.
The award jury said deserved the prize because “Vilhunen manages to capture big and fundamental emotions using very small gestures, and proves that she has a sensibility as a director and screenwriter beyond the ordinary,” adding that “she cleverly plays with how girls and young women are often treated on film” while steering clear of clichés.
Vilhunen told Yle that she was “particularly touched that the story of a 12-year-old girl would get this kind of recognition. This is also a nod to future female filmmakers,” she said.
The prize was first handed out in 2002, when it went to Aki Kaurismäki’s Man With a Past – which went on to earn an Oscar nomination and the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival.
Little Wing is Vilhunen’s first feature film. She has also directed several documentaries including Hobbyhorse Revolution, which last week won the Cinekid Lion for Best Children’s Film Audience Award in Amsterdam, as well as the Oscar-nominated comedy short Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?
Mälkki scores Music Prize
The 2017 music prize went to conductor Susanna Mälkki.
Last month, her appointment as Chief Conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra was extended until at least 2021, just as she began her first season as Principal Guest Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
“Mälkki is a versatile and dedicated maestro of both the classical and contemporary repertoire. Having forged her own path through the world of classical music, she now ranks among the top international conductors,” the Adjudication Committee said.
Mälkki was not able to attend the ceremony, so her brother, Mikko Mälkki, accepted the prize and statuette on her behalf from former winner Pekka Kuusisto during a ceremony at Helsinki’s Finlandia Hall.
RePack wraps up environmental prize
Finnish startup RePack scored the Nordic Council environmental prize for its returnable and reusable packaging service for e-commerce. Its carrier bag is made of recycled plastic bags and can be reused up to 20 times.
“The product turns the environment into a business opportunity, using accessible and innovative techniques to draw attention to opportunities for recycling and highlight the unnecessary use of resources and generation of waste,” the jury noted, adding that “the company also works with consumers to reduce the volume of waste”.
Literary prizes to Denmark, Sweden and Finland
Finnish illustrator Linda Bondestam shared the young readers’ literature prize with the late Swedish writer Ulf Stark for their book Djur som ingen sett utom vi (Animals Nobody Has Seen Except Us, translated into Finnish but not English so far). Stark died in June.
Danish writer Kirsten Thorup received the Nordic Council literature prize for her novel Erindring om kærligheden (Memories of Love), which has yet to be translated into English or Finnish.Azure Power, an Indian solar producer, has been awarded the right to build a 100 MW solar PV project in India at an auction held by Indian power generation company NTPC Limited.
Held as part of Indias ambitious National Solar Mission, the NTPC auction had a total project capacity of 1 GW, with Azure Power securing a favorable rate of INR 5.12/kWh ($0.08/kWh) for the solar plant, which will be constructed in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
This winning rate is 11% higher than the first two auctions priced in the same solar park, which were won by SunEdison and Japans SoftBank for a tariff of just INR 4.63/kWh ($0.07/kWh, but nevertheless represent a competitive strike price for India.
Azure Power beat nine other companies to secure the 100 MW project. A total of 150 MW was auctioned off during the tender, which was announced exclusively for PV projects that will use domestic solar cells and modules made in India as part of the government-backed Make in India campaign.
We are proud to have successfully brought down the cost of solar power by almost 71% from INR 17.91/kWh to INR 5.12/kWh in this project, said Azure Power CEO and founder Inderpreet Wadhwa.
Azure Power has recently secured a further 150 MW solar project in the state of Punjab, securing the rights to develop with a winning bid of INR 5.63/kWh. The developer has also filed for a $100 million IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in recent weeks as it eyes funds for further expansion.Sheriff Tracy Murphree in Denton, Texas, isn’t backing down from a Facebook rant that blamed Monday’s terrorist attack at a concert in Manchester, England, on gun control laws and political correctness.
“I ran on a conservative Republican platform,” he told the local CBS station. “I don’t think it should be any surprise to anyone.”
Police in Manchester say the attack, which left 22 dead and dozens injured, was the work of a suicide bomber.
Murphree, however, pointed his finger in a number of other directions.
“This is what happens when you disarm your citizens. When you open your borders without the proper vetting,” he wrote on Facebook on Monday. “When you allow political correctness to dictate how you respond to an enemy that wants to kill you.”
Murphree, who has threatened to assault members of the transgender community for using the restroom, claimed “the left” wants to “submit” to an “ideology that treats women as property, kills gays and women and christians with complete impunity.”
He wrote:
“Folks this is an enemy hell bent on killing you. Committed to forcing you to convert or die. This enemy will strap bombs to their own body and blow themselves up killing children. I’m sick of it. You better wake up America. While you are distracted by the media and the crying of the left, Islamic Jihadist are among us and want to kill you. What will it take? This happening at a concert in Dallas or a school in Denton County? If we don’t do something quick this country will die of political correctness and the fear that someone’s feelings may be hurt. It may very well be to late for Europe.”
The comments drew a sharp response from the local chapter of the Council on American–Islamic Relations, which called it an “Islamophobic rant.”
“We call on Sheriff Murphree to reaffirm his pledge, and that of his officers, to serve and protect all Denton County residents regardless of their faith, ethnicity or national origin,” Nikiya Natale, the chapter’s civil rights director, wrote on Facebook. “We are concerned that someone obligated to provide equal justice for all holds such inaccurate, stereotypical and divisive views.”
And while some of Murphree’s supporters agreed with his comments, other residents were disturbed by them.
“I was shocked,” Denton resident Sarah Gramblin told the local NBC station. “I don’t trust that he’s going to treat everyone equally under the law, and that really worries me.”
Murphree had called his earlier comments on assaulting transgender people in restrooms a “mistake,” told the NBC station that his post was directed at terrorists and not the Muslim community.While some arguments and staements made in this article are backed up by the evidence and explained clearly, and while i am glad to see sex workers and sex worker organisations rightfully referenced as the key stakeholders and those with the expertise to be leading and informing debates about sex work law reform and policy change.... it was a bit disapointing to see the author still seemingly fail to understand the difference between decriminalisation of sex work and so called 'legalisation' or licencing frameworks.
Decriminalisation is not "no regulation" but rather means that its a whole of government regulation- sex workers are not governed by a special set of criminal codes and laws dictating minute details of our lives and work- and relegating the vast majority of us into a criminalised sector- for minor things such as advertising using the wrong words, or failing to comply with overly restrictive registration and surveillance regimes.
Agains, while its reassuring that the true impact and colours of the swedish model are touched upon- as a form of social control and something that has massively negative effects on sex workers- in terms of undermining our rights and driving isolation, stigma and discrimination (as well as deportations)...its disapointing that the basics around decriminalisation and "legalisation" have been (once again) so poorly misunderstood and articulated...Steven Soderbergh's Southern heist comedy stars Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Daniel Craig, Katie Holmes and Hilary Swank.
Logan Lucky is a redneck Ocean's Eleven. For his first feature film in four years, Steven Soderbergh has snuck back in on a back road with a goofy and steadily amusing tale of born losers in West Virginia who try to hit the jackpot by divesting an auto raceway of a few million bills. This loose and shambling tale with a very attractive cast is highlighted by a wonderfully wacky, show-stealing turn by Daniel Craig as a down-home career criminal.
There is definitely an audience for this likeable but no-big-deal film and probably even two — aficionados of the director and cast, as well as good-time-seeking Middle Americans — so the onus is on the very indie distributors to find it; this would be a great August drive-in picture if many outdoor screens still existed.
Working with a script by first-time writer Rebecca Blunt, Soderbergh has made the sort of breezy, unpretentious, just-for-fun film that scarcely exists anymore, one almost anyone could enjoy. In terms of milieu, it overlaps with the two Magic Mike outings, that being the working-class South (Soderbergh hails from Georgia and Louisiana, it should be remembered), and it gives off the same sort of gently rollicking good-time vibe.
And they all star Channing Tatum, who this time turns up a few steps lower on the socio-economic ladder — and even further down the IQ scale — as Jimmy Logan, a heavy equipment operator who loses his job in the opening scene, has forfeited all custody rights to his daughter with ex-wife Bobbie Jo (Katie Holmes) and has no prospects when he heads over for a drink at the roadside bar tended by his Iraq War vet brother Clyde (Adam Driver), who has a prosthetic lower left arm he doesn't always manage to keep attached; it's the first casualty of a funny set-to with an obnoxious British race car driver (with the Thomas Pynchon-worthy name of Max Chilblain), played by a virtually unrecognizable, frizzy-haired Seth MacFarlane.
So what do these down-on-their-luck good ol' boys do to turn things around for the Logan family after several generations' worth of abject, poverty-ridden, impressively sustained failure? It might just be time to try their luck on the wrong side of the law. Jimmy's bright idea is to rob the mother lode of NASCAR, the Charlotte Motor Speedway, during the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend. And just how do they intend to pull this off? Well, it so happens that Jimmy worked construction on the infrastructure of said-same race track. Therefore, he says, “I know how they move the money,” which is through an elaborate system of tubes in the bowels of the giant stadium.
While not nearly as well dressed as the Ocean's gang, an ace team is assembled to pull off the unlikely heist. Given their range of associates, the brothers must start in jail, which is where they track down the one-and-only Joe Bang (Craig), a man known for blowing up bank vaults; no one inquires as to whether or not Bang is his real name. Of more immediate interest, however, is how the once-and-possibly-still-future James Bond has been decked out with short-cut white hair that makes him distinctly resemble Robert Shaw in From Russia With Love, so this is the closest the actor will ever get to playing a Bond villain.
The fact that Joe still has five months to go behind bars presents no problem, as he reassures his cohorts that he can break out of prison and then back in again before anyone is the wiser. Making the operation even more of family affair is the sister (Riley Keough) of Jimmy and Clyde (that could have been an alternate title). With this crew running the show, further mishaps inevitably ensue, including one very big one — and at two hours, Soderbergh perhaps does let the whole thing go on a few minutes too long, even if the final twists hit the spot.
Blunt's script is full of giddy inventions and gives the actors some good stuff to play with, but there is the sense that one more serious pass at it might have made it a bit tighter, more spirited and authentically low-down. A few moments, particularly early on, also betray a whiff of condescension to the characters.
The actors seems to be having a great time, however, and this proves contagious. Craig, Tatum and MacFarlane all find good comic grooves and stay in them. Driver's reserved sincerity is perhaps intended as an underplayed contrast, but in practice just means that the actor doesn't come off as winningly as do his co-leads. Hilary Swank pops in late-on as a special agent who tries to get to the bottom of the heist, while Katherine Waterston is wasted in a nothing part.
Still, this is a good-times film that doesn't put on airs, dress to impress or pretend to be something it isn't. It just aims to please, and does a pretty good job of it.
Production companies: Trans-Radial Pictures, Free Association
Distributor: Bleecker Street
Cast: Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Seth MacFarlane, Riley Keough, Katie Holmes, Katherine Waterston, Dwight Yoakam, Sebastian Stan, Brian Gleeson, Jack Quaid, Hilary Swank, Daniel Craig, Jesse White
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Screenwriter: Rebecca Blunt
Producers: Gregory Jacobs, Mark Johnson, Channing Tatum, Reid Carolin
Executive producers: Michael Polaire, Dan Fellman, Zane Stoddard
Director of photography: Peter Andrews
Production designer: Howard Cummings
Costume designer: Ellen Mirojnick
Editor: Mary Ann Bernard
Music: David Holmes
Casting: Carmen Cuba
Rated PG-13, 119 minutesSee the best costumes of Tokyo Halloween 2016
With Halloween Eve behind us and All Hallows’ Eve upon us, devilishly good times are in the air here in Tokyo. While other areas of the metropolis might have appeared routine and unexceptional, spots like Shibuya and Roppongi saw a blowout of costumed revelers in utter celebratory mode for days before the real McCoy and night of. While that may not sound like a big deal to some of you Westerners out there (heaven knows you party hearty for weeks in advance), know that a few years prior Halloween was basically a nobody around these parts, finding only pockets of participants. Shibuya in particular now has the potential to be one of the biggest Halloween street parties in the world.
Update at 12:00 pm, Nov 1 – Halloween night in Shibuya
The Halloween costumes in Shibuya veer much more towards the creative. No shortage of minions, swat teams and the undead.
Update: Halloween in Roppongi at 10pm
Halloween in Roppongi this evening was a giant street party with tens of thousands of revelers, so many that one lane of Gaien Higashi Dori was closed to traffic to accommodate the pedestrian overflow. Despite the area’s rep for being a bit seedy, everyone was in a festive Halloween spirit.
Friday, October 30th in Shibuya
DJ Police Encore
Just like last year, the notorious DJ Police are out in full force…and more voluminous as well. One passerby summed up their presence perfectly, “There’s way more than last year. They’re just out to completely irritate people…and I guess keep the peace.”
Also at the helm was some zombie enforcement…
…and some cheeky zombie foes.
The Morning After
And by 8:30am, the Ghostbusters (and regular clean up folks) have the streets spic and span already!
Watch this next More Videos New Video: Getting Wifi In Japan Our guide to prepay SIM cards, wifi routers, cafe wifi and other places to quickly find wifi whilst visiting Japan.Share
Many of the PlayStation 4 apps and functions only just became available to test, while a few others are still being rolled out. With that in mind, we will continue to test the system throughout the week, and we will update this article accordingly.
It’s not enough to just be a gamer anymore.
Hardware makers know that you’re using any number of devices at any given moment, even while you’re in the act of fragging dudes in the latest shooter, and the next generation of consoles has been designed with that in mind. While Microsoft markets the Xbox One as an “all-in-one entertainment” box and Sony’s messaging courts hardcore gamers, the consoles’ features tell the full story: These are both all-in-one boxes that cater by design to a variety of entertainment needs.
So which one belongs beneath your television? We’ve only just begun to hunker down with the Xbox One, so we can’t yet say with certainty. But after spending some serious time with the PlayStation 4, we know Microsoft will have its work cut out for it. Here’s what Sony’s next-generation PlayStation is all about.
Unboxing video
Before you begin
It should be a given that you’ll need the 300MB day one patch, titled update 1.50. Without it, many of the PS4’s primary functions – including anything more than basic online connectivity and DVD/Blu-ray playback – simply won’t work. If you get a PS4 on launch day but then take it somewhere without an Internet connection – people in the military, take note – you’ll need a way to get online for the quick patch.
The PS4 is the best console gaming experience yet
That’s the nature of electronic products these days. Hardware and software developers alike know they have the safety net of post-launch patches. This leaves us in the position of having to judge the system based not only on what it is, but what it will be, and could be. And the PlayStation 4 is a powerful gaming device with excellent potential.
Features and design
The PS4 is relatively small, packaged in a simple black chassis, and it features a sloped front occupied by a disc slot and touch-sensitive power and eject switches. You just swipe your finger across the face to start the system; it’s slick, but having some form of haptic feedback to confirm your touch would be nice. A light bar on the top turns blue to signal it’s powering up, white when it’s smoothly running, and yellow when it’s powered down. It isn’t a very useful feature, but it is a stylish one that will define the look of the system.
The console runs very quietly, except when you put a disc in for the first time. The spinning disc is noisy and creates a noticeable vibration. Every game you play is automatically installed on the replaceable 500GB hard drive, but you can still play the game while it loads. Once the install is done, you just need the disc in the drive whenever you want to play, for authentication. After installing the newest updates, you will only have about 375GB left, though. Upgrading to a higher capacity internal hard drive is recommended, although not essential.
Sony PlayStation 4 Compared To
Controller
The DualShock 4 is a massive improvement over previous Sony controllers. It’s a long-overdue redesign, shaped by input that Sony collected from developers during the PS4’s pre-production phase. First-person shooter games in particular benefit from a specific type of controller, one with triggers and a longer frame to grip than previous Sony controllers offered. With FPS titles being so popular, it made sense to design with that group in mind, though it should be noted that the DualShock 4 works just fine with other types of games as well.
Gamers with large hands will engulf this controller.
The D-pad is unchanged, but the face buttons are digital rather than analog now, with a springier, clicky feel when you press them. The newest addition, the touch pad, is hard to miss. Situated in the center of the DualShock 4, the touch-sensitive surface can track finger movement, allowing for swipe motions in games, and it can also be pressed down on like a button. There’s a lot of potential here for developers to marry “traditional” video game commands with what we see in mobile games. It will be interesting to see how this feature evolves post-launch.
We’re left with the Options and Share buttons. “Options” is a different name for what gamers know as a start button, plain and simple. The Share button is a bit more unusual though – and unique. Tapping it brings up a share menu; press and hold the button to take a screenshot that you can upload, or press it twice to begin a new gameplay recording (this only works with games; the service deactivates itself for apps like Netflix). Up to 15 minutes of footage can be saved, and then uploaded to Facebook. You can also go through the share menu and stream video to Twitch or Ustream.
The controller sports a speaker with its own audio channel, meaning it won’t simply play the same sounds you would hear through your TV speakers or headphones. You also get dual haptic feedback, an evolution of rumble features that allows for the vibration to shake either side of the controller as well as the whole thing. In addition, there’s improved gyroscopic control and a light bar on the front of the controller that integrates the Move technology, so long as you have a PlayStation 4 Eye camera connected. The light bar also acts an identifier for when multiple controllers are connected to the same system, with |
lin and the URA asking for "an extremely transparent process" in Lexington's RFP process and requesting that the authority should strongly consider housing that is available to residents of any income."Affordable housing needs to be not a nice sounding statement, but instead a fully embraced position by the Urban Redevelopment Authority," wrote B-PEP CEO Tim Stevens in the letter.URA board member and former state senator Jim Ferlo said the URA has always stood for the creation of housing for low- and middle-income families, and is not ruling out the possibility of finding a developer who will include affordable housing and spaces for small, local businesses on site.A time and a place for a community meeting for the Lexington Technology Center redevelopment has not yet been scheduled.NBN Co vows to continue targeting leakers in wake of critical Senate report
Updated
NBN Co has vowed to continue targeting leakers in the wake of a critical report from a powerful Senate committee.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) raided the office of then-senator Stephen Conroy and the home of his staff member last year and seized thousands of documents.
The AFP was investigating a leak to Mr Conroy's office regarding NBN Co.
Mr Conroy claimed privilege over the documents, but an NBN Co staff member photographed them as they were seized.
He believes these photographs were used to identify who leaked the documents.
"The whole purpose was to send a chill through staff," he says.
The Senate Committee of Privileges has handed down its report into the incident and expressed concern the staff were targeted.
"Information discovered during the execution of the Brunswick warrant may have assisted in identifying persons of interest in the investigation," the report stated.
"The committee remains concerned at the potential that unauthorised use of this information may have adversely affected an NBN Co employee."
Two NBN Co employees were sacked in the wake of the raids.
NBN Co told the committee it used other information to identify the staff involved in the leak.
In a statement sent to the ABC, It has defended its conduct.
"We take seriously any potential crime or breach of employee code of conduct, such as the theft of company materials, and will continue to take a zero tolerance approach in the best interests of the company, its shareholders and the Australian taxpayers," it said.
"We acknowledge the Committee has conducted an investigation and arrived at a decision. Any ongoing investigation is a matter for the AFP."
The committee upheld Mr Conroy's claim of privilege over the documents.
"NBN Co has well-established and well-documented whistleblower policies and procedures available on NBN's public website," it said.
"These policies and procedures are compliant with the stringent requirements of the Public Interest Disclosure Act and are designed to protect public officials who wish to disclose... their genuine concerns regarding potential wrongdoing or maladministration."
It has ordered the AFP to return them and ruled they cannot be used in any police investigation.
"I feel vindicated on behalf of the Parliament, not particularly for myself, but for the Parliament," Mr Conroy said.
"The Parliament has drawn a line in the sand and said you can't use police to intimidate whistleblowers from giving information to politicians. I think that's an incredibly important principle."
The AFP said in a statement it was aware of the outcome of the Senate Privileges Committee decision.
"The AFP will now consider the report findings," the statement read.
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, police, telecommunications, parliament, australia, canberra-2600
First postedThe award for vilest politicization of the tenth anniversary of 9/11 goes to the AFL-CIO. The organization has chosen to hijack the moment and turn it into a plea for anti-austerity union activism. Consider this message from AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka posted on its website.
His big metaphor is doors. On 9/11, first responders ran through “doors to danger and became America’s everyday heroes.” True enough.
Then: “Doors opened within us to each other. We came together. We flew the flag. We comforted one another. In our grief, we found the best in ourselves.”
But, wouldn’t you just know it: “other doors opened, too—doors to hate, suspicion of ‘others’ and self-centered greed. Our fear was twisted into something much more dangerous.” Can you guess who opened those doors? “Wealthy CEOs, anti-government extremist front groups and frothing talk show hosts—from the Rush Limbaughs and Glenn Becks to the Koch brothers, Karl Rove’s American Crossroads group, Americans for Prosperity, the Club for Growth, FreedomWorks and the American Legislative Exchange Council—also pushed open the door to hate.”
Trumka left out the doors of tragedy exploitation. The ones that take him from 9/11 heroism to the Koch brothers, Rush Limbaugh, and Karl Rove in the span of a few paragraphs. Here’s the sickening finale.
I remember that other door that opened on 9/11—the door to our better selves, to our understanding that we are one and our values require us to care for one another.
That’s what sent 347 firefighters to their death at the Twin Towers 10 years ago. It’s also what sent firefighters to stand with teachers in Wisconsin even though Gov. Scott Walker had exempted them from his attack on public employees. It’s what moves employed people now to demand good jobs for the 26 million Americans who are looking for work. It’s what gives us the courage to take on a crumbling economy and the politicians preaching austerity and ignoring our jobs crisis—to take them on and say, “We are America. We are better than this. And we are one.”
To respond substantively would be to join in the political exploitation of 9/11. Luckily, the above is self-shaming and self-discrediting, and requires no further comment.1). Malik Hooker, S, Ohio State
Height: 6-2. Weight: 205.
Projected 40 Time: 4.47.
Hooker to me is one of the best players in this draft regardless of his position. His place in the draft may drop out of the top ten because of a hernia and a torn labrum. That could set up a team to get an absolute steal in this draft with him. Hooker can do it all, he has the strength to play in the box and is quick enough to cover any receiver on the field. Hooker has excellent ball skills and drives down hard on the ball.
2). Jamal Adams, S, LSU
Height: 6-1. Weight: 211.
Projected 40 Time: 4.50.
Adams is very close to Hooker, he is quick, aggressive and can cover the entire field. Like Hooker, he can cover any receiver on the field even if it’s a tight end. I look for Adams and Hooker to be Pro Bowl caliber players very quickly at the NFL level. Adams best attribute is probably his instincts especially in zone defenses he has an innate sense of where the ball is heading and he breaks on the ball very quickly.
3). Justin Evans, S, Texas A&M
Height: 6-0. Weight: 193. Arm: 30.88. Hand: 9.75.
Projected 40 Time: 4.58.
Evans will be a strong safety in the NFL, he can step up and play in the box as an eighth defender. He has decent coverage skills but will play strong safety in the NFL and he will be a solid player at the next level.
4). Obi Melifonwu, S, Connecticut
Height: 6-4. Weight: 219. Arm: 32.63. Hand: 8.75.
Projected 40 Time: 4.53.
Obi is a freak athlete and a team will fall in love with him at the combine and pick him during the end of the first round. He has a great Senior Bowl and moved up everybody’s draft board. He has great size and tremendous athletic ability and is solid in coverage. He is a little bit of a project, but he has tremendous upside.
5). Jabrill Peppers, S, Michigan
Height: 6-1. Weight: 208.
Projected 40 Time: 4.40.
Peppers to me is a great athlete, but he does have problems in pass coverage. I look for Peppers to be more of a hybrid linebacker/safety in the NFL. I could really see Peppers slipping out of the first round.0 SHARES Share Tweet
The UK’s post-everything band Devil Sold His Soul have somehow flown under the radar for years, but don’t let that distract you from the fact that the band has released albums of incredible quality – Blessed And Cursed being a definite career highlight. Their most recently release, the EP Belong/Betray, continued the band’s passionate blend of post-hardcore, post-metal, and ambient soundscapes, and now the band has released a new single in the form of “The Reckoning”. a roaring track benefiting Marlets Hospice. The song has a special connection to the fallen Tom Searle (Architects), as this organization took care of Tom in his time of need – and will continue to provide said treatment for others. A worthy cause, to be sure. More than that, it’s a killer song that will probably wreck you as it collapses under a wall of crushing guitars. You can listen to the song below, as well as read a lengthy statement from the band.
Editor’s note: The original post was slightly misleading, as it read like the song was written for/about Tom – it was not. It simply benefits the hospice center that took care of Tom, and Martlets Hospice is a worthy cause to donate to.
A message from the band:
“We have been a band for over 12 years. Along the way we have met some of the best people and shared some of our most treasured memories. But, as in life, those good times are inevitably interrupted by more testing ones. This song represents our struggle as a band and as individuals during those most difficult moments and reflects on how we got through them and moved forward.
“It’s been 2 years since we last released new material and they’ve been pretty tough years for us. I began to question the existence of the band, I think we all did at times.
This song is about dark days, it’s right from the heart, it’s as honest as I could be about recent times and it tells of our struggle and a hope that we’re beyond it.” – Paul Green
Not long after we had written this song we found out the tragic news of Tom Searle’s passing. This really came as a huge shock to us all, as it did to countless other people around the globe. We have felt a special affinity with Architects having been part of the same scene since we formed back in 2004, following similar paths in the early days and touring together over the years. We have always had the utmost respect for them as musicians and as people. We wanted to be able to show our support for those closest to Tom and for those who cared for him. Therefore we would like to donate all proceeds from this track to The Martlets Hospice as a tribute to the life and work of Tom and the legacy he leaves behind. We hope the money raised can be used to help those with terminal illnesses and support those close to them in their time of need. Please donate for this great cause. Thank you.”
Paul, Jonny, Jozef, Leks, Paul and Rick – Devil Sold His Soul
[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=2378648709 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]
LEAVE A COMMENTSimply put, Lightroom presets are saved copies of all the adjustments made to the settings of a particular image that can then be applied to other images.
It doesn’t matter if one setting was adjusted or every single one, a preset can be created to reflect any amount of changes.
Once a preset is saved or you’ve finished installing Lightroom presets you got online, you’ll quickly be able to apply all of those previous adjustments to any other image with a single click.
There are a variety of Lightroom preset types, but the most common is the develop preset. These presets include adjustments to anything made in Lightroom’s Develop module. (If you don’t recognize the Develop module by name, it’s the screen where you’re playing with all the sliders!)
Other common types of Lightroom presets include curves presets, export/import presets, and metadata presets. We’ll touch upon most of these throughout the rest of the guide, but unless we specifically state otherwise, we’ll be almost always be referring to develop presets.The silent spy drone that could stay in the sky forever
Laser used to beam power to drone
Recharging system kept craft in air for 48 hours
A silent spy drone has been kept in the air for 48 hours using a radical new laser power system.
Military scientists from Lockheed Martin were able to wirelessly beam power to the drone to increase its flight time by 2,400 per cent.
They say the system could eventually keep military spy drones in the sky forever.
The Stalker Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) flight time to more than 48 hours. This increase in flight duration represents an improvement of 2,400 percent.
Lockheed Martin's stalker drone in flight
The small, silent UAS is already used by Special Operations Forces since 2006 to perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.
'We’re pleased with the results of this test. Laser power holds real promise in extending the capabilities of Stalker,' said Tom Koonce, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works Stalker program manager.
'A ground-to-air recharging system like this allows us to provide practically unlimited flight endurance to extend and expand the mission profiles that the Stalker vehicle can fulfill.'
The Stalker UAS was modified for the indoor flight test to incorporate the power beaming technology from LaserMotive.
It makes it possible to wirelessly transfer energy over long distances using laser light.
At the conclusion of the flight test, held in a wind tunnel, the battery on the Stalker UAS had more energy stored than it did at the beginning of the test.
The test was concluded only because the flight had already surpassed the initial endurance goals set by the team.
'This test is one of the final steps in bringing laser-powered flight to the field,' said Tom Nugent, president of LaserMotive.
'By enabling in-flight recharging, this system will ultimately extend capabilities, improve endurance and enable new missions for electric aircraft.IF anyone needed reminding about the best – perhaps only – way out of the financial predicament Rovers have put themselves in, then it came yesterday with the release of the figures that showed how much each Premier League club earned from playing in the top flight last season.
Newly crowned champions Chelsea took top billing with a record-breaking haul of £99m.
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But equally eye-watering were the amounts made by the three clubs who were relegated.
QPR and Burnley raked in £65m from their sojourns in the Premier League while Hull City made £66m.
The riches on offer for promoted clubs are now greater than ever before.
But to get back to the top flight Rovers are going to have to improve significantly on the performances they produced in 2014-15.
However, with a Financial Fair Play embargo weighing heavily on their shoulders, that will be easier said than done.
Not that Rovers can have anyone but themselves to blame.
They were not a member of the Football League when the FFP rules were first announced in April 2012.
They were, however, aware of what would happen if they overspent in their first season back in the Championship.
But that did not stop Rovers from paying out the best part of £40m in fees and wages during that disastrous first summer following relegation.
It was a gamble that backfired badly and it is why the club, up to now, has had no choice to but to swallow its medicine while attempting to pick up the pieces.
Rovers, though, must change their current subservient stance if QPR are not punished too.
It was galling to see the newly relegated Hoops splashing out £3.5m on Swindon duo Massimo Luongo and Ben Gladwin last week.
As they were in the Premier League last season, QPR are entitled to make signings for cash.
But it still leaves a bitter taste in the mouth seeing as they are yet to suffer any form of sanction for breaking the same rules that Rovers were found to have broken in the 2013-14 season.
As Rovers remained in the Championship, they were embargoed.
As QPR were promoted to the Premier League, they were supposed to be hit with a fine.
But as the Hoops are challenging the legality of the Football League’s FFP rules for the Championship, that fine – and a huge one at that – has not yet come their way.
With less two weeks to go until the fixtures are released, a decision one way or another is needed.
But if QPR are let off the hook, then Rovers should mount a challenge of their own.
As getting out of the division is going to be hard enough without one of their rivals flouting the rules that were supposed to bring ‘fair play’.The results are at odds with several other recent national and university polls
Published 10:22 PM, April 11, 2016
MANILA, Philippines – Liberal Party standard-bearer Manuel Roxas II and his running mate Leni Robredo led the mock polls held in the first week of April at the Ateneo de Manila University's 3 campuses.
Roxas topped the polls with 37.2% of the vote – or 875 of the 2,351 votes cast for president. Robredo received 74.86% of the vote for vice president, or 1,760 of the total votes.
According to the Ateneo Task Force, a total of 2,351 students, staff, and employees participated in the mock polls. The group noted, however, that "the number of actual voters does not constitute a representative sample of all eligible voters in the university."
The mock polls were conducted at Ateneo's Loyola Heights, Rockwell, and Pasig campuses on these dates: March 29 for grade school and high school; April 2 for School of Government and Graduate School of Business; April 4 for Loyola Schools/Central Administration; April 5 for the School of Medicine and Public Health; April 4 to 8 for Graduate School of Business; and April 7 to 8 for Law School.
Two voting stations were set up inside each campus. Each of the stations had 3 to 6 laptops for the voters. They filled out Google Forms with the general question: "If the national elections were held today, who would you vote for in the following positions – president, vice president, senatorial candidates?"
The Ateneo poll participants chose the following next to Roxas:
Rodrigo Duterte, with 28.29% of the votes cast, or 665 votes
Grace Poe, with 13.7% of the votes cast, or 322 votes
Miriam Defensor Santiago, with 11.23% of the votes cast, or 264 votes
Jejomar Binay with 3.02%, of the votes cast, or 71 votes
More than 6%, or 154 voters, did not choose a presidential candidate.
Pre-election surveys conducted nationwide by polling firms have always placed Roxas second to the last.
For vice president, Ateneo voters chose the following after Robredo:
Ferdinand Marcos Jr with 10.38%, or 244 votes
Alan Peter Cayetano with 8.55%, or 210 votes
Francis Escudero with 2.89%, or 68 votes
Antonio Trillanes IV with 0.89%, or 21 votes
Gregorio Honasan II with 0.47%, or 11 votes
A total of 1.96% (41) of voters abstained from selecting a VP candidate.
In the latest Social Weather Stations survey, Marcos is the front runner, while Robredo is tied for the second spot Escudero.
Senatorial candidates
When it came to the senatorial elections, Richard Gordon was the top choice among Ateneans. He was followed by:
Richard Gordon, with 13.60%, or 1639 votes
Risa Hontiveros, with 12.88%, or 1552 votes
Leila De Lima, with 11.65%, or 1404 votes
Frank Drilon, with 9.06%, or 1092 votes
Francis Pangilinan, with 9.05%, or 1090 votes
Ralph Recto, with 8.44%, or 1017 votes
Sergio Osmena III, with 7.40%, or 892 votes
TG Guingona, with 6.56%, or 790 votes
Migz Zubiri, with 6.03%, or 727 votes
Panfilo Lacson, with 5.89%, or 710 votes
Win Gatchalian, with 4.81%, or 580 votes
Joel Villanueva, with 4.62%, or 557 votes
Richard Gordon’s placing first also contradicted national survey results. The latest Standard Poll put Ateneo’s first placer in the 10th to 15th position.
The results of the Ateneo mock polls were at odds with the Xavier University’s mock polls in February, where Duterte led with a commanding 65.13%.
The Eastern Visayas Regional Tertiary Schools Press Conference mock poll in February also put the tough-talking mayor from Davao City in the lead with 39.6% of the vote.
At the University of the Philippines, a poll held across 3 campuses saw Miriam Defensor Santiago clinch the top spot with 56.2% of the vote.
The Ateneo polls were conducted in coordination with various units of the university, such as the Office of the Vice President for Social Development, Information Technology Research Management Office, Office of Human Resources and Management Organization Development, Ateneo Task Force 2016, and Ateneo Statistics Circle, which led the tabulation and consolidation of data. – With reports from Lou Gepuela and Mark Barnes/Rappler.com
Mark Barnes is a Rappler intern. He is a 3rd year Communications student at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology majoring in journalism.– August 8, 2014
Also published on Truthout, Daily Kos, and Alternet
“Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
As founder and president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), a civil rights organization founded in 2005 to combat unconstitutional proselytizing in the U.S. Armed Forces, I don’t shock easily. However, a recent, truly SHOCKING allegation and charge by the American Family Association’s “Director of Issues Analysis” Bryan Fischer has parachuted well beyond the realm of error, landing roughly along the porous frontier separating blithering idiocy from criminal insanity. This fundamentalist Christian monster is a liar and I will prove it.
Recently, devastating reports dating back to 2010 have shown that athletes at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) have participated in wild benders off campus involving binge drinking, drug use, sexual assaults, gang rapes and all manners of debauchery unbecoming of Academy cadets (indeed, unbecoming of human beings). Investigations at USAFA (which is my alma mater and the alma mater of four of my children) implicated 32 cadets, half of whom were football players and three of whom were later court-martialed and expelled. This news comes after the Academy was humiliated by a report released in January 2014 which showed that a massive 45 reports of sexual assaults came from USAFA in 2012-2013, compared to 15 at the U.S. Naval Academy and 10 at West Point.
Many of us can see that the problem is rooted in a breakdown in good order, morale, unit cohesion and discipline among the ranks of cadets, as well as a USAFA campus culture long permeated in blistering misogyny and poisonous religious fundamentalism. Bryan Fischer proposes a different “theory”: the fault lies with yours truly, Mikey Weinstein.
In a recent article posted on Renew America, a so-called “grassroots” website founded by perennial electoral loser and Christian supremacist Alan Keyes, Fischer made the appallingly spurious claim that my constitutional advocacy is directly at fault for the oath-shattering epidemic of wild partying and sexual assault at the Academy.
Why is that?
Back in 2004, before MRFF even existed, ex-USAFA Football Coach Fisher DeBerry gleefully hung a banner in the locker room of USAFA’s football team, the Fighting Falcons. The banner bore a “motivational slogan” of a clearly sectarian nature, reading “I am a Christian first and last… I am a member of Team Jesus Christ.” Seriously, folks, I can’t make this up.
Cadets, staff and faculty at USAFA were livid, and for good reason. For many, this represented the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back at a USAFA campus that had earned a deservedly deplorable reputation for being a hotbed of Christian fundamentalist dominance and fanatical religious bigotry. One year later, while we may have well made obvious note of DeBerry’s nefarious action of Christian crusading at taxpayer expense, it would have been merely one among many religious assaults on the USAFA campus, clearly denoted in a lawsuit we filed against the United States Air Force.
Fast-forward nearly a decade, and not only has the reprehensible Christian supremacy persisted at the Academy, but we at MRFF are dealing with a constant stream of death threats and related grotesquely lurid messages, imprecatory prayers, and spurious allegations emanating from brimstone-tinged, rabid hatemongers. Bryan Fischer’s words fall deeply and quite deliberately into this category:
When the light of the world is removed, the world — including the locker rooms of football teams — is plunged into moral and spiritual darkness. Bottom line: there is a solution to the Air Force Academy’s problems. Remove the cause — Mikey Weinstein and his atheistic trouble-making — and find another coach like Fisher DeBerry and turn him loose to bring the spirit of Christ back to the Academy. I can flat out guarantee you that rapes will diminish, drug use will diminish, and cheating on tests will diminish. And the Academy will regain some of its lost luster. Your move, Air Force.
What is this idiot Fischer saying here? Well, besides the dog-whistle call for my “removal,” what we have is a claim that the glorious “Bryan Fischer-DeBerry Christian gospel” should be compulsorily forced on USAFA cadets. Otherwise, we can expect cadets to continue to rape, pillage, abuse drugs, and cheat on tests (and, according to Bryan Fischer, you can thank ME for it). These grossly base and vile lies from Bryan Fischer are akin to the claim that without racist white folks serving as a moral compass for people of color they won’t survive, or without heterosexuals leading gays, the LGBT community faces certain doom. Whether Fischer agrees with THOSE sentiments is a matter of speculation, but we wouldn’t be surprised if that turned out to be the case.
Let’s talk about timeline, shall we? I might add, at this point, that it is most critical to recall the initial USAFA rape and sexual assault scandal hit the national and international media like a cyclone and went viral way back in 2003, when the world learned that a mind-blowing 70% of female cadets reported sexual harassment and 12% were victims of rape. This was a YEAR BEFORE I began my active fight against the fundamentalist Christian tyranny at USAFA and essentially TWO years before MRFF was even founded. USAFA’s fundamentalist football coach, Mr. DeBerry, ignobly hung around for another FOUR years after that initial rape and sexual assault scandal! How do ANY of these actual, verifiable facts support the reckless lies and accusations of Bryan Fischer that I’m somehow to blame for USAFA’s ongoing rape and sexual assault disgrace?
This is far from the first time that Fischer has uttered such odious falsehoods and nonsense – it’s not without reason that his organization, the American Family Association, is listed on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s index of domestic hate groups alongside the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi organizations. Fischer has described gay sex as “domestic terrorism,” he has bandied about the foul trope that homosexuality and pedophilia are directly linked, and he’s called for kidnapping the children of same-sex parents through an “Underground Railroad.” Want more? Ok, in addition to calling for the removal of ALL American Muslims from the U.S. Armed Forces, last year Fischer ludicrously claimed that the U.S. military is preparing to wage war on evangelical Christians, who “may have to be neutralized by lethal force.”
Fischer’s words may be outrageous, dangerous, and laced with reckless disregard of any veracity, but he is far from alone in his putrid Christian extremism – and many of his ilk enjoy privileged positions throughout the U.S. military, including at USAFA. In fact, central to the dominionist Christian strategy to affect a complete takeover of the U.S. Military has been the frenetic fundamentalism at USAFA. Our client base at USAFA alone currently consists of 387 cadet, faculty and staff MRFF clients, 312 of whom are practicing Protestants or Roman Catholics. As a result of MRFF’s steadfast efforts of civil rights activism, the USAFA campus has been the site of a raging battle between the forces of secular, Constitutional democracy and superstitious, theocratic Christian fundamentalist extremism.
We at MRFF are proud to have won many significant constitutional victories at USAFA and throughout the entirety of the Department of Defense (DoD). It seems that Bryan Fischer is not a fan of MRFF’s ceaseless advocacy. His liar’s voice is one among many in a twisted choir of fear and visceral loathing summoned by our defense of the civil rights of our brave war-fighters, cadets, faculty, veterans, and DoD civilian personnel. More than a decade of experience in our bitter struggle against fundamentalist Christian fanatics and bullies in our nation’s armed forces has taught us all too well that the degree of our success can be measured by the preposterously false, over-the-top attacks publicly launched against us.
Let the record show that fundamentalist Christian monster Bryan Fischer is a liar, and I have now proven it.
Share this page:The Celtics have chosen the status quo at the trade deadline, though, according to league sources, there is question about just how much of that was by actual choice.
What’s clear is that by not being able to deal for a significant talent at this time, Danny Ainge has turned up the pressure on himself to have a very big summer.
The word from around the league, over the last several days in particular, was that Ainge was growing very protective of this year’s Nets pick and the ability to be a player in free agency. Though some took that as a posturing, others who dealt with him believed it to be the case when the Celts held the line in certain negotiations.
Ainge will have another chance to remake his roster in the days leading up to the June 22 draft, and that picture will come into greater focus in the May 16 draft lottery. But if he is unable to make a trade for a needed star at that time, he and the Celtics will be staring down the barrel on draft night and in the free agent signing period.
As it stands, the Nets will be delivering no worse than a top four pick in what is said to be a strong draft. While it is certainly true that teams have tanked their season to get a shot like this — process-trusting and all that — it will nonetheless be incumbent on Ainge to hit on this choice. In a year with potentially transformative players in the top reaches, Ainge has to get one.
And even if he does, there will be further burden to make a score in the free agent market. NBA sources said the Celts were very reticent to give up their ability to sign a maximum-level player this summer, and it will be interesting to see whether they have a fair expectation of success in this area.
Ainge was most definitely not able to get what he was seeking this week, at least not at the price he was willing to pay. In the cases of their two biggest targets, Paul George and Jimmy Butler, there were roadblocks they and the other clubs were unable to overcome.
According to sources, the Celtics did include the Nets’ first-round picks (2017 in a swap positions scenario, 2018 unencumbered) separately in their offers. The Chicago negotiations, which have been going on in some form for more than a year, were difficult on a number of fronts, the first of which was the Bulls’ tough choice of whether to even make him available. After taking the ’17 Nets pick off the table, the Celtics were said to be willing to include it, albeit with protections. But things truly dissolved when Chicago, looking to remain competitive in its rebuild, couldn’t find common ground with the C’s on the number and quality of core players that would be involved in the deal.
The first choice of both the Bulls and Pacers was to keep their star and build around him, but Indiana’s move to listen to offers for George was short-circuited by reports that his plans were to either win in Indy or go home to the Lakers as a free agent after next season.
That pretty much ended the fight for the Celtics — and everyone else — at the deadline. Beyond that, the C’s were unable to get P.J. Tucker from Phoenix (he went to Toronto), and word from a Western Conference source is that Memphis ultimately chose not to make JaMychal Green available.
The Celts really weren’t in on anything else of substance.
Anger on the part of some over the failure to go after DeMarcus Cousins is curious on two counts. One, the Celtics have a former Cousins teammate on the roster, and one would think they would have made a play if Isaiah Thomas had told Ainge the talented-but-impulsive center would be a great fit here. Second, in that the C’s weren’t going to surrender this year’s Nets pick, they likely wouldn’t have been able to give Sacramento the ’17 first-rounder it wanted as part of the package. Kings owner Vivek Ranadive was also said to be enamored of Buddy Hield, which allowed the front office to sell him on the deal with New Orleans.
Through it all, the Celtics maintained a stance that projected a seemingly odd confidence about the offseason in a business with so much uncertainty. As for whether Ainge believes he has this thing wired, be advised that some of his peers are wary.
“Danny wasn’t taking the Nets picks or really anything off the table,” said one league executive, “but the fact he was so comfortable waiting for the draft and summer scares the (expletive) out of me.”
Of course, that doesn’t help the Celtics in the present as the Raptors and Wizards improved their rotations. If the sole goal was to get incrementally better right now, the Celts clearly failed. But it’s obvious to Ainge and most everyone else that, without a deal for Butler or George, this team is a sound underdog in a playoff series against a healthy Cleveland.
So if you aren’t going to compete for a championship this season, is there anything you were after now in the market that won’t be there in June — and maybe even at a better price?
If they keep the pick, the Celts will draft in a zone from which most franchise players are derived. But even that will require some measure of patience.
The Celtics got Jaylen Brown out of the No. 3 overall pick last year from the Nets, and it’s interesting to note that, while two years younger at a similar stage, his rookie season compares very favorably to what Butler did in his first two years. There is evidence to suggest better players are at the top of this June’s dispersal, but the C’s still have to make the right pick.
Ainge could have avoided that by pushing his chips into the middle for either Butler or George, giving the Celtics following the splash it desired. But by folding these cards and waiting for the next hand, he’s probably shown more brass — well-founded or not.
Now, rather than being able to fall back on the need for a worthy dance partner to make a big trade, he will be dealing with the draft and free agency, where it’s all on his ability to make the right pick and, in the latter case, convince a marquee player to come to the Celtics.Streams of electrically charged particles from the Sun and outer space are turning out to be major players in our solar system's cosmic drama. They help shape planetary atmospheres, sterilize exposed surfaces, and even bring possibly life-supporting oxygen to an icy Jovian moon.
In their latest act, solar protons (the nuclei of hydrogen atoms) allow our own supposedly arid moon to make enough water every day to offset evaporation and maintain trace amounts of moisture all over its surface. Forget those bone dry textbook images. In September, several research teams made the case for a damp moon in Science online. A decade of data from several spacecraft showed water concentrations up to a liter per ton of lunar "soil". The European Space Agency (ESA) confirmed that finding with a study of its own announced last month. That's still pretty dry. But MIT planetary scientist Benjamin Weiss says that, given it might be easy to recover the water, "I think this makes it a promising resource for astronauts."
The water trick works like this. Lunar "soil" is a loose mix of dust grains that soaks up protons in the so-called solar wind. Trapped between the dust grains and absorbed, the solar protons react with the oxygen there to make water. They continuously make enough to offset the water that evaporates back into space. A European-supplied instrument on board India's Chendrayaan-I craft now orbiting the Moon found the data to back up this scenario.
They also contained a surprise. One in five of those incoming positively charged solar protons bounced back without joining the water project. Instead, it picked up an electron, became electrically neutral, and escaped the grasp of the magnetic fields that guide the electrically charged solar wind. Stas Barabash with the Swedish Institute of Space Physics says that's something "we didn't expect to see."
This potentially opens a whole new field of space observations – using the paths |
More InformationJOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Anglo American Platinum (AMSJ.J), the world’s top platinum producer, said on Friday it would cut about 4,800 jobs, laying off 3,300 workers and paying off the rest, and will redeploy 1,600 more.
Trucks leave an Anglo American Platinum (AMPLATS) processing plant near Rustenburg in this October 12, 2012 file photo. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/Files
Job cuts are a sensitive issue in South Africa, where the unemployment rate is more than 25 percent and mine labor violence rooted in a union turf war has killed dozens of people over the past 18 months, mostly on the platinum belt.
The platinum arm of global mining group Anglo American (AAL.L) had plans in January to cut 14,000 jobs but reined in its plans in the face of a fierce backlash from the government and unions. Workers remain unhappy with the final result.
“We have said no single person should be forced to go home, it should all be voluntary packages or natural attrition. We are very disappointed,” said National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) spokesman Lesiba Seshoka.
President Jacob Zuma and the ruling African National Congress (ANC) are keen to keep job losses to a minimum before elections next year and want to contain mining unrest, which also triggered damaging sovereign credit downgrades last year.
“This is about the best outcome that we could have so that the company can still do what is necessary to make itself profitable,” said chief executive Chris Griffith.
“Returning the company to profitability will protect more than 40,000 jobs. If this company runs into the ground, there will be 40,000 people who lose their jobs, not 3,000,” he told journalists on a conference call.
Amplats said “approximately 500 other opportunities” would be found, but did not give further details, bringing the total jobs affected under its restructuring plan to as many as 7,000.
The typical South African miner has around eight dependants, many of whom are subsistence farmers and live in rural areas far from the shafts, and so job losses have wide consequences.
The country’s mines employ about 500,000 workers, a third fewer than before the end of white rule two decades ago, while the population has grown by over 40 percent since 1990.
WAGE TALKS, GOLD STRIKE
Pay negotiations in the platinum sector started this month, and on Friday the NUM served gold producers with a notice they would strike from Tuesday after wage talks broke down.
Huge wage hikes or strikes would hit Amplats’ bottom line hard just as it strives to recover from last year, when low prices for the metal used to cap emissions in automobiles and a wave of violent wildcat stoppages pushed it into the red.
The Association for Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), which represents the bulk of Amplats’ workers after wresting tens of thousands of members from the NUM in the labor conflict last year, wants rises of more than 100 percent.
Griffith said the industry in South Africa, which sits on about 80 percent of known global platinum reserves, had its back to the wall.
“We are not playing games. This is an industry in real trouble. About half of this industry is making a loss.”
Amplats’ return to profitability hinges on the reconfiguration of its strike-hit Rustenburg mines where it plans to cut production by 250,000 ounces initially and by a further 100,000 ounces in the medium term.
Benefits are expected to start feeding through from next year when the 2.6 billion rand ($252 million) cost of the operational reshuffling is expected to be outweighed by long-term cost savings of 3.8 billion rand a year by 2015.
The new boss of Amplats’ parent Anglo, Mark Cutifani, said on Thursday the group remains committed to its South African platinum mining business but only if it pays its way, saying “nothing is sacrosanct”.
He also rounded on the “cowards, thugs and murderers” he said were behind South Africa’s mining unrest - a veiled reference to AMCU, which has been accused by critics of using intimidation to grow its membership, allegations it denies.
($1 = 10.3205 South African rand)TERRADES, Spain — A vacationing French family of five fell or jumped off a seaside cliff during a desperate attempt to escape a raging wildfire, with the father and one of his children plummeting at least 65 feet to their deaths, authorities said Monday.
Flames forced the family and about 150 other tourists out of their cars Sunday night as most were returning home to France, and the group scrambled down hillsides toward the beach in the border town of Portbou to escape the blaze, said Deputy Mayor Elisabet Cortaba.
The fires that broke out Sunday in several parts of the Catalonia region forced more than 1,400 people to stay the night in shelters. Fires were still burning Monday in many places, with roads cut off because of the billowing smoke.
The family became separated from the rest of the group on their way down the hillsides and ended up at the edge of a very steep cliff with only one way out as the fire fanned by heavy winds approached them, Ms. Cortaba said.
They could not climb back up because of the fire, so the mother tried to scale down the crumbly cliff-face, but lost her grip and fell, said Tony Buixeda, the town’s port manager, who was at the scene in a boat and saw the desperate family atop the precipice.
One of the family’s teenage daughters told other rescuers she jumped, but Mr. Buixeda said he did not know whether the rest jumped or fell because he was already swimming toward the mother.
Some witnesses “said they threw themselves off, others said they fell,” Mr. Buixeda said. “The only thing they could do was go to the water.”
The 60-year-old father died instantly after landing on submerged rocks, and his 15-year-old daughter drowned, Ms. Cortaba said.
The mother was in a critical condition Monday with a back injury, and the son and other daughter did not suffer life-threatening injuries. All were fished from the sea by Portbou boaters and their identities were not released, Ms. Cortaba said.
The fire in Portbou broke out when wildfires elsewhere forced the closure of the main highway linking Spain to France. Traffic was diverted to a smaller road via Portbou, where lines of cars safely motored toward the border.
Police determined Monday that someone in the cars had almost certainly thrown a lit cigarette out of a window, which Ms. Cortaba said had then started a fire on the pavement. With parts of Spain enduring one of the driest summers in decades, the fire raged out of control before the cars could leave and officials could shut down the road.
Two other French tourists were also killed by the weekend fires in northeastern Spain that have burned 35 square miles.
Many of the tourists who made it to the beach in Portbou suffered injuries ranging from broken bones and burns in their dash down the hillsides with no well-used paths, Ms. Cortaba said.
Mr. Buixeda said the French family of five “just had bad luck that they went down the wrong way.”
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC.A friend recently forwarded me a post that appeared on Slate.com last month: Toss Your Budget – Why a pillar of personal finance isn’t nearly as essential as we think.
The essence of the post was that budgets don’t work. Sure, the piece is almost two months old now and out of the discussion cycle, but when I read it, well, it got me kind of fired up. Kind of agitated.
The voice in my head was saying, “You’re not just going to sit there and take this, are you?”
I’m not usually a confrontational sort of guy. But this one piece managed to squeeze in just about every misconception about budgeting that exists in the universe. Misconceptions that keep people from budgeting which, I know, are keeping them from sleeping better at night and achieving things they never thought possible. Needless to say, I had no choice but to respond.
The basic argument of the article is that budgets don’t work because they’re rigid and require that you have the same income and expense patterns each month.
Well, the author is half-right, I guess, I can give her that. Those kind of budgets don’t work. Any budget that requires you to have the same budget each month will surely fail.
But that’s not budgeting. That’s a misconception about budgeting.
At YNAB, we teach that the budget helps you allocate your money to your most important goals, to align your money with your priorities. Somethings are the same each month, like your rent or mortgage.. But other things aren’t, and your budget reflects that without guilt or shame.
Budget Misconception #1
“But as it turns out, the ability to make and stick to a financial budget defies the realities of most people’s lives. Budgets assume a level of consistency in our finances that doesn’t exist.”
I think I already covered this one, but just for good measure: budgets actually don’t have to assume any consistency in your life or your finances. Now, you might wish for consistency in your finances. But that’s just wishing. That’s not a budget. This argument is like saying, “Going to Europe won’t work for me because I don’t like riding in boats.”
(Admittedly, this is my weakest analogy, right out of the shoe. Stick with it, they get better.)
Our definition of a budget begins with the assumption that your financial life is unpredictable. It’s exactly why we don’t set out expenses and then try and forecast income to match, but instead use an allocation system to assign jobs to the dollars we already have. Proactively and thoughtfully making a plan for the money you have right now. Because it works.
Budget Misconception #2
“Spending shocks—as my story attests—also have a way of being unpredictable and unavoidable. As a result, keeping a budget can be an exercise in futility. There is, for example, next to no way to budget for the practice of balance billing—that is, when you’re charged by doctors for the difference between what they bill and what your insurance will pay.”
This is like saying, “I don’t know how much [groceries/summer camps/my wedding/college/retirement] will cost, so why bother?” Or for a bonus analogy, “It might rain during my vacation week, so why bother planning to go to the beach at all?”
Spending shocks in your life aren’t a reason why budgets don’t work – they are exactly why you need a budget!
You might not see spending shocks coming, but you sure can predict that they will happen. Setting some money aside for those shocks means that they actually won’t be shocks. Instead of having given up trying, you’ll actually be prepared.
If you set too much aside, great! Save it for the next time, or use it for a different need/want/treat. If you set aside too little, you know better for next time. In the meantime, find money where it is already set aside for something else.
Budget Misconception #3
“In fact, there’s nothing natural about budgeting. According to Lendol Calder, the author of Financing the American Dream: A Cultural History of Consumer Credit, budgets were all but unmentioned until the beginning of the 19th century.”
This one killed me! There wasn’t a lot of talk about how to decide whether to friend someone on Facebook in the 19th century, either! You know what else wasn’t mentioned until the 20th century? The price of gas!
Okay, I’ll stop before I get snarky. (Is it too late?) Of course people didn’t talk much about budgets in the 1700s, the average person didn’t operate much of their life with cash or currency! And where they did budget, they worked within their means and prepared for the unexpected. Have I set up enough wood for the winter? Have we set aside enough cloth for next year’s clothes? That’s some serious budgeting.
Budget Misconception #4
“And then they were as much about getting people to spend as save: Americans needed to budget to pay the bills for newfangled layaway and installment plans offered up by stores like Sears Roebuck. They were, in other words, designed to teach us to live beyond our means, not within them.”
What a misappropriation of blame! This is a little bit like blaming your to-do list for the number of to-do’s you have…
It’s layaway plans and credit cards that were designed to have us live beyond our means. A budget, by definition, is spending less than you earn, not a way around it.
Budget Truth #1
“[Harris at Personal Capital suggests] people simply monitor their expenses with great frequency, because the more you track spending, the easier it is to recalibrate when needed. In fact, it’s likely you’ll cut back altogether if you watch your outflows regularly.”
Something to agree with! While a budget is more than tracking expenses, the frequent interaction with your money described here does lead to greater awareness about your spending habits – and usually a higher bar for spending decisions, which usually translates to less spending overall. But that brief moment of mutual understanding was fleeting…
Budget Misconception #5
“As for actual budgets? They offer the illusion, not the reality, of financial control. If you don’t have enough money coming in, they won’t make it better. Things like salary increases, more predictable income, and further health insurance reform—or even legislation putting a cap on balance billing—will help us with our finances more than any budgeting app or formal plan.”
I agree that without meaningful change in habits, you could use a budget as an illusion. But not if you stick to a set of guiding principles. Like YNAB’s Four Rules.
As for salary increases? Yes, more rain does solve a drought problem. But can you always make it rain on demand? What about when you’re waiting for the rain, what do you do? More money doesn’t solve financial problems if you continue to spend beyond your means. More money may mean more choices, but you’ve still got to be proactive and thoughtful about those choices. That’s a budget.
And waiting for legislation? Go ahead, watch C-Span. Balance billing might not be fair, but waiting for legislation to put a cap on it? You might be waiting a while, and how much control does that give you over your finances? It doesn’t empower you the way an effective budget does.
More Budget Truths…
A budget really isn’t all those things that people say it is. In fact, if you’ve never tried a YNAB budget, the best thing you can do is to forget everything you think you know about budgeting. Forget what people (maybe like someone writing in Slate) tell you about budgeting, read up on the YNAB’s Four Rules and download a free 34-day trial.
I agree completely that you don’t need rigid formulas that break every time real life happens. You need something that is adaptable and flexible, one that you can change as your life circumstances change. That’s a budget, no analogies necessary.Leelah Alcorn, a transgender teen, committed suicide hoping that her death would mean something.
A rally for the transgender teen, who committed suicide on Dec 28th, was held in Washington D.C. on Saturday, Jan 10th.
The protest was orchestrated by a group of trans individuals and advocates who created the rally to raise awareness for health and policy concerns that transgender people face.
Protesters gathered at the “Justice for Leelah Alcorn Rally and March” to hear speakers and show support for the late Alcorn who took her own life, because she felt she received little support from her community.
One of the rally’s organizers, Jes Grobman, is also an organizer for DC Trans Power which focuses on empowering and supporting change within trans communities.
The protest marched from Mt. Vernon Square to the Department of Justice to read a list of demands.
Lourdes Ashley Hunter, the National Director for Trans Women of Color Collective, spoke of acceptance, justice and change.
“Oppression manifests in every aspect of our lives, but the way structural oppression is set up will have you to believe that we need to be fixed. And I’m here to tell you, we don’t need to be fixed there is nothing wrong with us. What is wrong is society’s depraved existence, willful ignorance, complicity, and inactive engagement which refuse trans people humanity and right to life.“
Leelah Alcorn was a transgender girl who walked in front of a truck at 2:30 A.M. on Dec 28th, 2014. She left a suicide note, blaming her parents for her upbringing and depression, and pleading to “fix society.”
“When I was 14, I learned what transgender meant and cried of happiness. After 10 years of confusion I finally understood who I was.” she said in the note, which was scheduled to post on her Tumblr blog after her death.
Alcorn said that she felt like she “was a girl trapped in a boys body,” and apparently had felt that way since she was four years old.
Leelah’s story resonated over social media, as well as in many LGBTQ communities. The hashtag #RestInPower and #LeehlahAlcorn are being used to posthumously support Alcorn.
Much of the protest focused on creating validity and recognition for the rights that trans people are currently fighting for.
Produced by Ford Fischer and Trey Yingst
Article by Wallis Neff
As seen on Advocate and LGBTQNation
Photos contributed by Sam UfretLocal Natives have announced more live dates in support of their 2016 album Sunlit Youth. The tour begins in March in Toronto and wraps up the following month in Boise, Idaho. Find the full itinerary below. At their stops in Toronto, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Charlottesville, Asheville, Saxapahaw, Cleveland, and Royal Oak, the band have partnered with Plus 1 to donate $1 from every ticket sold to support gender-based violence intervention and prevention programs.
Local Natives have also shared a new Classixx remix of their Sunlit Youth track “Dark Days.” Stream it below.
Local Natives:
03-16 Toronto, Ontario - Danforth Music Hall
03-17 Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom
03-18 Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE
03-19 Baltimore, MD - Ram’s Head Live
03-21 Charlottesville, VA - Jefferson
03-22 Asheville, NC - Orange Peel
03-24 Saxapahaw, NC - Haw River Ballroom
03-25 Athens, GA - Georgia Theater
03-26 Oxford, MS - The Lyric
03-27 Knoxville, TN - Mill & Mine
03-29 Louisville, KY - Mercury Ballroom
03-30 Cleveland, OH - Agora Theater
03-31 Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Music Theater
04-03 Covington, KY - Madison Theater
04-04 Columbia, MO - Blue Note
04-05 Madison, WI - Majestic
04-07 Des Moines, IA - Wooly’s
04-08 Omaha, NE - Slowdown
04-11 Missoula, MT - Wilma
04-12 Spokane, WA - Knitting Factory
04-13 Boise, ID - Knitting Factory
Watch Local Natives perform “Breakers” on Pitchfork.tv:
Watch Classixx perform “A Stranger Love” on Pitchfork.tv:Source: 743 Christian Refugees, Converts Attacked by Muslims in German Camps, Persecution Report Finds
Persecution watchdog group Open Doors has found that at least 743 Christian refugees living in camps in Germany were attacked by Muslim refugees in 2016, pointing to big failures on the part of German authorities when it comes to understanding the role of religion in the lives of refugees.
“The documented cases confirm that the situation of Christian refugees in German refugee shelters is still unbearable. As a minority they are discriminated against, beaten up by and receive death threats from Muslim refugees and partly by the Muslim staff (securities, interpreters, volunteers) on grounds of their religion,” found a major survey published by Open Doors Germany earlier in October, representing a number of organizations, such as Persecuted Christians and the Needy, European Mission Society Fellowship, and the Central Council of Oriental Christians in Germany.
“Taking these new cases into consideration there are now 743 Christian refugees who have reported religiously motivated attacks. With more staff at hand, a significantly higher number of cases could have been included in the survey,” it added.
The report noted that the latest numbers of persecuted refugees is most likely only the “tip of the iceberg” when it comes to religiously motivated attacks on Christians and Yazidis, estimating that there are high numbers of unreported cases as well.
The survey further reported that many of the refugees escaped from horrifying ordeals in Syria and the surrounding region, fleeing terror groups and civil war that have created a great humanitarian crisis, but are now also facing traumatizing conditions at German refugee camps, where they had hoped to find safety and security, but instead found injustice.
“We believe that the trivialization, concealment or misuse of this injustice, be it for political or other motives, will give encouragement to the perpetrators and increase the suffering of the victims,” the group stated.
“As a Christian charity, Open Doors is not against Muslims, as CEO Markus Rode has already made clear in a comprehensive statement in January 2015. It is a constitutive element of Christian faith that Muslims are loved by God and are to be met with love and compassion,” it added.
“At the same time it has to be stated that Islam, which is the majority religion in most of the refugees’ home countries, is responsible for the massive violation of the human right to freedom of religion. This is for example the case when Muslims threaten to kill converts while invoking the Quran as a basis for their action.”
There have been a number of news reports of Christians facing attacks by Muslims at German camps, such as a case from October 2015 where a convert to Christianity was reportedly beaten unconscious with a baton by Muslim refugees at a camp in Hamburg-Eidelstedt.
The Daily Express shared at the time that the unnamed 24-year-old Iranian victim was saved by more than a dozen onlookers who pulled the attacker off of him.
In its conclusions, the NGOs called for an end to “integration experiments” at the expense of religious minorities in German asylum and reception centers.
Open Doors urged German authorities to consider implementing several different measures aimed at protecting religious minorities, such as merging groups in such a way that the proportion of Christians roughly corresponds to that of the Muslims in the shared accommodations, and increasing the percentage of non-Muslim security staff.
The full report can be read on the Open Doors Germany website.
More:Tagg Romney, the son of Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, said this week that he wanted to walk down on the debate floor on Tuesday and take a swing at the president.
He said it to a rightwing radio talk show host in North Carolina.
Nothing like firing up the redneck base with the imagery of punching Obama.
Obviously the arrogance trait is hereditary.
Tagg clearly shares the disdain for the Office of the President that his father does. Like the moment in the debate when Mitt admonishing the president that “he’d get his turn” after Mitt, in a departure from the negotiated rules of debate, began directing comments at his opponent.
That’s fine. Both candidates ended up engaging each other in the Tuesday debate.
But it is telling that Romney changed the rules – after all he is not a person that wants to play by the same rules as everyone else.
And that includes decency. You would think that Romney might want to dial back the heat a bit in the face of his supporters growing comfort with outrageous displays.
At an Ohio event this week a Romney supporter was shown wearing a t-shirt that said “Putting White Back in the White House”.
Subtle.
But that seems to be the exact behavior that the Romney campaign seeks to promote.
This week a crack pot with his own website (or Mitt Romney’s base) that has promoted the idea that Obama’s birth certificate is a fraud and that he was born in Kenya and is now promoting the idea that Obama is gay and has covered it up by murdering his lovers was seen travelling with the Romney campaign as a credentialed reporter.
And Tagg is not the only politician’s kid that is fomenting the racists on the right.
Wisconsin Senate candidate Tommy Thompson’s son said to supporters that they should “send Obama back to Kenya.”
Again, subtle.
But this is the GOP in 2012. Mitt Romney made a decision to try to divide white voters and try to peel off as many as possible rather than trying to win by uniting the country.
Any vote for Mitt Romney is a vote for a campaign built on division and for a president that rejects 47 percent of the country, because he only needs 50.1 percent to meet his ambitions.
About Bill Buck
Bill Buck is a Democratic strategist, President of the Buck Communications Group, a media relations and new media strategies consulting business based in Washington, DC, and Managing Director of the online ad firm Influence DSP. He has over twenty years of international and national communications experience. The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of CBS Local.Equipment manufacturer Liebherr Mining is suing six former employees at its Newport News production plant, alleging they conspired against the company to steal thousands of design documents and then sell the information to copycat manufacturers in China.
The company is also suing an engineering firm in Detroit for assisting Chinese companies, and two Chinese manufacturing partnerships, in replicating a Liebherr diesel truck with a 400-ton payload.
• 3 Things You Didn't Know about the Liebherr R 9800 Excavator
• [VIDEO] From Concept to Design: The Power of Liebherr
"This case involves industrial espionage of a serious and brazen nature," according to a 2013 complaint in the case. "It involves the wholesale theft of trade secrets from a United States manufacturing facility and the use of these trade secrets to help multiple Chinese competitors design a competing product."
The 104-page complaint alleges stolen documents such as truck designs, vendor information and factory layouts allowed the Chinese companies to construct the Liebherr-style trucks “in a fraction of the time, at a fraction of the cost, and with a fraction of the manpower as could be accomplished lawful means.”
According to the Daily Press, Liebherr accuses the former workers of stealing documents by downloading files from their computers, thumb drives and USB devices, and states that one worker walked around the Newport News factor taking pictures of its layout and tools.
"Design of mining trucks occurs over years, not weeks," says the 2013 complaint, filed by Brett A. Spain and David A. Kushner with Wilcox & Savage. For its $5 million mining trucks, the complaint adds, "Liebherr has been analyzing and upgrading its design for over 15 years."
Liebherr contends, "American manufacturing jobs will be lost" to companies that rip off technology and processes that took decades and millions of dollars to develop.
"This effort has included teams of employees in research and development, design, computer modeling, quality assurance, vendor relations, manufacturing and testing," the complaint says. "Liebherr has spent hundreds of thousands of man-hours and tens of millions of dollars designing and improving these trucks and components."
The lawsuit asks for $40 million in compensatory damages, including $350,000 in punitive damages against each defendant. Under state rules on conspiracy, the $400 million can be tripled to $120 million.
• [VIDEO] Time-Lapse: Assembling a Liebherr T 264 Mining Truck
• Liebherr Australia: Technology and Innovation Driving Efficiency in Manufacturing Mining
The suit also seeks for the alleged companies be barred forever from “producing or selling any trucks or truck designs which are derived from Liebherr’s designs” or using its trade secrets again.
Although the first complaint was filed in late 2010, a jury trial is set for July.
Liebherr Mining & Construction Equipment is part of Liebherr USA, which includes the Newport News plant – a division of Swiss manufacturing group, Liebherr-International AG. The company was founded in 1949 by Hans Liebherr.
(Source: Peter Dujardin)‘Tis the season for giving thanks and to thank our passionate community of creators. We’ve rounded up some amazing deals this season to help you take take your project to the finish line with Unity Plus and Pro, some fresh new Unity gear, and powerful assets from the Asset Store.
Unity Plus and Pro
If you’ve been looking for that reason to get Unity Plus or Pro, get ready! We’re offering the best deal on a subscription ever. Save money, score free swag and get top-rated assets to publish sooner.
Unity Fall Sale
Unity Gear
Show up to your next user group or conference in style, on Black Friday we will be hosting sales on our Unity Gear Store. Check out the apparel, decals, and mugs that are perfect for those nights where you just want some hot cocoa.
Unity Gear Store
Asset Store
Black Friday Sale
On the Asset Store, we’re celebrating Black Friday early and for an entire week this year. Starting today, on November 20 and running through Sunday November 26, you’ll get access to amazing deals, with 50% off the most popular assets on the Asset Store!
We’ve included some top picks below! You can see the full list of Black Friday assets going on sale here.
Take a peek at Gaia which will help you create stunning procedurally generated terrains in minutes.
If creating first person shooters are more your flavor, the ever popular UFPS will get you up and running building an amazing FPS in a jiffy.
Maybe you’re looking for some help with shaders? Amplify Shader will do the the trick, helping you creating visually stunning shaders without a single line of code.
Mega Sale
Our Black Friday sale may end on November 26th, but starting on Cyber Monday, November 27 until December 8 we’re launching our Mega Sale. During this sale you will be able to find thousands of assets on sale for up to 30% off across the Asset Store.
Don’t miss out on powerful visual scripting tools like Bolt, all-in-one adventure creation systems like Adventure Creator.
Don’t miss out on one of the biggest Asset Store sales ever! Thanks to all of our fans for continuing to make the Asset Store your one-stop shop for your tools and assets to take your projects to the finish line. We’re looking forward to another amazing holiday season and hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving!President Donald Trump’s latest global warming tweet has sent liberal pundits and scientists into a frenzy, going after the president for allegedly not knowing the difference between “weather” and “climate.”
But the frenzy surrounding Trump’s tweet is missing one important detail — he was right that New Year’s Eve could be the coldest on record for the eastern U.S. when the clock strikes midnight.
In the East, it could be the COLDEST New Year’s Eve on record. Perhaps we could use a little bit of that good old Global Warming that our Country, but not other countries, was going to pay TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS to protect against. Bundle up! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 29, 2017
Weather model forecasts show temperatures in the New Year could, in fact, be the coldest on record for the East, beating out New Year’s Eve 1977.
A blast of Arctic air caused temperatures to plummet in the East and Midwest, bringing several days of cold and snow to millions of Americans. Climatologist Brian Brettschneider said weather models forecast a 15.9 degree average temperature over the East when the clock hits midnight on New Year’s Day.
That would make it the coldest New Year’s Day for the eastern U.S. in the last 70 years, according to Brettschneider.
The last four runs of the GFS show the eastern half of the Lower 48 ringing in the New Year with the lowest average temperature in at least 70 years – edging out 1977 by just over 2°F. @capitalweather pic.twitter.com/efXAzn2weM — Brian Brettschneider (@Climatologist49) December 29, 2017
Weather.us meteorologist Ryan Maue noted that “many record low daytime highs will be set” east of the Rocky Mountains on New Year’s Day.
East of the Rockies on New Years Day 2018 will be below normal high temperatures except for South Florida. Many record low daytime highs will be set … in other words, it will very cold in the afternoon. pic.twitter.com/TyNeW9cf5z — Ryan Maue | weather.us (@RyanMaue) December 29, 2017
The National Weather Service forecasts “an average low temperature of 10 degrees over the entire nation Jan. 1, with about a third of the nation below zero,” the Washington Post reported.
However, even the Washington Post’s article on the potential for a record cold start to 2018 didn’t mention that Trump’s tweet was right in that regard.
Instead, WaPo focused on the global warming portion of Trump’s tweet, echoing the comments of pretty much every other media outlet and pundit out there.
“The resulting warm-West cold-East temperature configuration is referred to by scientists as the North American winter dipole,” WaPo reported. “Researchers have found this pattern becoming more frequent in recent decades and have related the trend to declining sea ice in the Arctic due to climate warming.”
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The image, sent to Droid Matters by a Best Buy insider, indicates that Best Buy stores will once again begin to receive TouchPad shipments. Due to the swarms of bargain-hunters last time round, employees are being instructed to stick to a ticket system and take down the information of the interested parties that come their way.
While it’s possible the notice has been pushed out just in time to make a big splash on the front cover of the Sunday circular, you shouldn’t hold your breath. Different areas tend to have different shipping schedules, but if this holds true, it’s more likely that the units will begin trickling back into stores during the middle of the week. At this point, it’s still unknown whether the notice only applies to some stores or the whole lot of them, but thanks to a bit of corporate foresight, your nearest store may soon have a new recording in their phone system that could clear up the specifics.
It’s a bit of a surprise, to be sure: 16GB TouchPads are selling for nearly double the going rate on eBay, a testament to the fact that people have all but given up on more traditional sales outlets.
HP’s own site admits that they are only “temporarily” out of inventory, and that coupled with news of a major retailer suddenly receiving stock gives me pause: how many of these things does HP have left? And more importantly for some, how many are shipping with Android inexplicably preloaded? The answers, it would seem, may come later this week.in
Payday lending is a huge issue for many people and there’s been ample discussion about whether or not these companies’ activities should be better regulated. If they cannot be banned outright, is it perhaps possible that more oversight and rules to protect vulnerable people could be implemented? Certain local politicians have taken up this cause, such as Hamilton city councillor Matthew Green, and the subject has been a topical matter amongst many municipal administrations across Ontario and beyond.
In response to these concerns over the payday lending industry, the Ontario government has released proposed amendments to the Payday Loans Act. The public can submit their opinions via the email link at the bottom of the link on reforming payday lenders, otherwise known as "Alternative Financial Services" (AFS).
The deadline to submit your thoughts to the Ministry of Consumer Services is August 21.
The Alternative Financial Services Consultation Paper outlines what falls under the basic definition of an AFS, which are financial services provided outside of the traditional financial institutions like banks and credit unions. AFS's considered by the consultation report include payday lenders, cheque cashing, rent-to-own, and instalment loans. A number of suggested changes to the existing legislation were contained in the paper.
The following are some of the proposed reforms as outlined in the consultation paper.
Extended Payment Plans
The Ontario government would propose the creation of an optional extended payment plan for repeat borrowers. Under this proposal, a payday loan company lending money for a borrower for the third time in 100 days would be required to allow borrowers to repay the loan in multiple instalments. This would spread out the cost of a payday loan over more time, giving consumers the option to repay the loan gradually.
According to consultations with stakeholders, borrowers find the short term and lump sum payment of payday loans difficult to manage. This measure would be designed to give consumers more options in paying back their loans on time, or if they want to pay the loan in full and end their extended payment plans.
Responsible Lending Standards
Another proposal is to require payday lenders to take each borrower's circumstances into account when determining the size of a payday loan. Prior to entering into an agreement, many lenders will determine the borrower's net income. But the high incidences of repeat borrowing have shown many borrowers find their loans unaffordable and they end up repeatedly borrowing.
The government looked at similar approaches to lending standards in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. In those provinces, the formula used by lenders to calculate the borrower's expected net pay would be: Net Pay = MNI x 12. MNI standing for Monthly Net Income and 12 being the number of pay periods in a year. The MNI will be the borrower's net income for the previous calendar year. Ontario is proposing to limit the loan amount to 40 per cent of a borrower's net pay.
Waiting Periods
Under the current system payday lenders can only enter into a new agreement with a borrower if 7 days have passed since the borrower has paid off the full outstanding balance of the first loan, or if the borrower has |
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Drafted with the No. 27 overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft, White was expected to fill Stephon Gilmore’s shoes opposite Ronald Darby. But, after a trade sent Darby to the Philadelphia Eagles following the Bills’ first preseason game, the 22-year old was pushed into the limelight as the de facto No. 1 cornerback on Buffalo’s roster.
He’s risen to the occasion, notching 21 tackles, two tackles for loss, one interception, a league-leading eight pass breakups and two fumble recoveries – one of which he returned for a touchdown in the Bills’ 23-17 win against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 4.
White was named the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Month in September, but coach Sean McDermott and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier aren’t surprised by his fast start.
“He’s played well to this point,” McDermott said in his Monday press conference. “I love his approach, he puts a lot of time in the film room, and the success he’s had is not a mistake. He’s wired the right way and that’s why we drafted Tre.”
Frazier echoed those sentiments, stating that it was clear to Buffalo’s coaching staff that White was capable of handling a starting role almost immediately.
“Going back to OTAs and the offseason program, we were all very impressed at his maturity early on; the way he was able to gather information and then take it to the field once we got into OTAs when we could go onto the field, and then be able to execute his assignments as well as he did,” Frazier said on Monday. “To see him in training camp and the preseason games, to see that the game wasn’t too big for him early on in our discussion about ‘should we start a rookie, and if we are going to start a rookie, when should we put him in the starting lineup’. It was evident to us early on that this guy could handle it, and we made a decision pretty early that he was going to be a starting corner for us and not have to wait.”
According to Pro Football Focus, White has been targeted 26 times so far this season and has allowed just 13 receptions for 162 yards (6.2 yards-per-attempt) and 32 yards-after-catch while holding opposing quarterbacks to a 53.7 passer rating when throwing at him.
White isn’t satisfied, though, as he explained on Monday. He continued to remain humble, praising the Bills’ front seven for making things easier on him in coverage while noting that he has a long road ahead in terms of learning the nuances of playing cornerback in the NFL.
” I’ve progressed well, I’m continuing to learn, I’m still learning right now,” White told the media Monday. “Our front seven makes us look great on the back end, and I give those guys all the credit because those guys have been generating a lot of pressure, and we’ve been getting lucky.”
Frazier was a bit more excited and straightforward when discussing White’s potential, noting that he’s been impressed with the young defensive back for his maturity off of the field while adding that he looks primed to be a quality cornerback for years to come.
“We’ve been impressed all along with his maturity, his ability to be able to have a short memory, which you have to have at that position, and the mental toughness that’s necessary to succeed out there,” said Frazier. “The more plays he makes, the more confidence he’s going to gather. We’re really encouraged by his play. There’s a lot more football to be played, but there are signs that he’s going to be a really good player in our league for a long time.”
White will look to build upon his already-strong rookie campaign on Sunday when the Bills travel to face a Cincinnati Bengals offense that boasts one of the NFL’s elite wide receivers in A.J. Green.By Wolf Richter of Wolf Street
Freight shipments by truck and rail in the US fell 4.9% in April from the beaten-down levels of April 2015, according to the Cass Transportation Index, released on Friday. It was the worst April since 2010, which followed the worst March since 2010. In fact, shipment volume over the four months this year was the worst since 2010.
This is no longer statistical “noise” that can easily be brushed off.
The Cass Freight Index is based on “more than $26 billion” in annual freight transactions by “hundreds of large shippers,” regardless of mode of transportation, including by truck and rail. It does not cover bulk commodities, such as oil and coal and thus is not impacted by the collapsing oil and coal shipments. The index is focused on consumer packaged goods, food, automotive, chemical, OEM, heavy equipment, and retail.
In a similar vein, the Association of American Railroads reported last week that loads of containers and trailers fell 7.5% in April year-over-year. “Intermodal” is a direct competitor to trucking. Combined, they’re a measure of the goods-based economy.
The Cass Freight Index is not seasonally adjusted. Hence the strong seasonal patterns in the chart. Note the beaten-down first four months of 2016 (red line):
And May is not going to look much better. The report:
May is usually a relatively strong month for freight shipments, but given the high inventories with ever slower turnover rates and the decline in new production orders, May could be another soft month.
These inventories are a doozie. Total business inventories have ballooned since late 2014, even as business sales have declined. On Friday, the Commerce Department reported the March installment of that story: total business sales (adjusted for seasonal and trading-day differences but not for price changes) fell once again, this time by 1.7% from a year ago; and business inventories rose by 1.5% from a year ago.
As a result, the crucial inventory-to-sales ratio, which tracks how long unsold inventories sit around and gather dust, has blown out to the same crisis level it had spiked to following the Lehman bankruptcy:
With sales down and inventories very high, businesses are trimming their orders to bring inventories back in line, and this is impacting the transportation industry.
Due to falling volume and “very soft rates,” as the report puts it, shippers have spent 8.3% less in April than a year ago, the lowest April spend since 2011. “With ample capacity available across the modes, competition for loads is holding rates down,” the report explains.
Transportation data provider DAT looks at this from the truckers’ point of view. It tracks national spot-market demand for trucks and availability of trucks via its load-to-truck ratio – “a sensitive real-time indicator” of the balance between the two. And the spot market for the largest category, van-type trailers has become ugly: Last month, the load-to-truck ratio for vans plunged 46% from April 2015, and 52% from April 2014. It has been terrible all year (red line):
Cass notes that the economy “decelerated in the first four months of 2016.” And this “slowdown,” the report said, was caused by:
the continued decline of the global economy;
the reticence of the consumer sector to increase its buying;
the loss of jobs and income from the plunging oil costs (which shut down the fracking business and cut back on coal shipments);
very high inventory levels across the entire supply chain;
and poor export figures due to both the strength of the U.S. dollar and a decline in worldwide demand.
Which aptly summarizes much of what troubles the US economy. And the current data doesn’t leave much room for any excess optimism:
Eyes are on the Chinese economy, which has been extremely unstable and can have a big effect on world economies if it continues to falter. Based on the trends of many economic indicators, it appears the economy may get worse before it gets better.
This type of transportation data shines some light on the goods-based economy in the US, and by extension, in the world: the goods-based economy is hurting – and there are no signs it’s getting any better anytime soon.
The downturn’s impact on railroads has become very visible beyond their income statements: the majestic sight of 292 Union Pacific engines idled in Arizona Desert! Read… Freight Rail Traffic Plunges: Haunting Pictures of Transportation Recession[email protected]
La encuesta nacional EL UNIVERSAL/Buendía & Laredo, levantada entre el 16 y 19 de noviembre, presenta el panorama electoral rumbo a las elecciones para Presidente de la República en 2018.
Cuando se pidió a los encuestados, de manera espontánea, decir quién le gustaría que fuera el próximo Presidente de la República 8% respondió que Andrés Manuel López Obrador y 2% Eruviel Ávila. No obstante, 7 de cada 10 entrevistados no supo quién le gustaría que fuera el próximo Presidente. Estos resultados son prácticamente los mismos que los registrados en agosto de este año, a excepción del caso de López Obrador, que entonces tenía 11% de apoyo y ahora bajó tres puntos para situarse en 8%.
En cuanto a la identificación partidista, los resultados tampoco presentan cambios respecto a agosto del año en curso. 56% se autodenomina independiente, 20% se declara priísta, 12% panista (+2 respecto a agosto), 8% se identifica con la izquierda (4% con el PRD y 4% con Morena) y 8% apoya alguna otra opción partidista.
Los más aventajados. Entre los candidatos del PRI evaluados, el secretario de Gobernación, Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong, es el aspirante preferido entre el público general (23%), los priístas (29%) y los independientes (21%). En segundo lugar, con prácticamente la mitad de las preferencias que el actual titular de la Segob, se encuentra el gobernador del Estado de México, Eruviel Ávila. Luis Videgaray, Manlio Fabio Beltrones, José Antonio Meade y Aurelio Nuño están relegados en la contienda tricolor.
La competencia interna del PAN presenta una dinámica similar con una aspirante fuertemente posicionada respecto a los contrincantes. Margarita Zavala tiene una ventaja de más de 20 puntos respecto al actual presidente del CEN blanquiazul, Ricardo Anaya, y el gobernador de Puebla, Rafael Moreno Valle.
Entre los miembros del Partido Acción Nacional, así como entre los independientes, la ex primera dama del país cuenta con el respaldo de 49% y 33%, respectivamente.
En agosto, Moreno Valle registró 22% de las preferencias para ser el candidato en 2018, tres meses después, el primer lugar lo registra la esposa del ex presidente Felipe Calderón, con 36%, seguida de Ricardo Anaya, con 12% y Moreno Valle, con 11%.
En total se realizaron siete careos con distintas combinaciones de candidatos. De éstos, tres son ganados por abanderados de una hipotética alianza PRI-PVEM, dos son ganados por el PAN con Margarita Zavala como candidata y dos muestran a Morena ganando la Presidencia con Andrés Manuel como abanderado.
Independientemente de los candidatos que aparecen en primer lugar, es importante señalar que en ninguno de los siete careos hay una ventaja superior a 4 puntos porcentuales.
El Bronco, en la pelea. Inclusive, la mayoría de los escenarios muestra un empate entre el PAN, la alianza PRI-PVEM y Morena, mientras que el PRD y una eventual candidatura independiente de El Bronco se disputan la cuarta posición.
Al enfocarnos en el careo con los abanderados mejor posicionados en las contiendas internas, el resultado es una contienda “a tercios”: El candidato de la alianza PRI-PVEM, Osorio Chong, 23%; Margarita Zavala del PAN, 22%; López Obrador de Morena, 20%, Mancera del PRD, 7%, y El Bronco, como candidato independiente, 5%.
Es interesante que en esta contienda, los independientes prefieran a López Obrador (21%), seguido por Margarita Zavala (19%) y en tercer lugar Osorio Chong con 15%.
Finalmente, el posicionamiento de los respectivos aspirantes punteros muestra que Margarita Zavala es reconocida por 51%, Osorio Chong por 53% y Miguel Ángel Mancera por 53%.
Entre estos tres aspirantes, Margarita Zavala cuenta con el mejor balance de opinión, con un saldo favorable de 10 puntos porcentuales.
La carrera por la Presidencia ya inició y aunque las contiendas internas muestran claros ganadores ningún aspirante cuenta con una ventaja importante en la competencia entre partidos. Sin duda, veremos cambios en las dinámicas internas de los partidos.State Slogan
Alabama Share The Wonder; also (formerly on its license plate) Stars Fell On Alabama and Sweet Home Alabama; (always on its license plate with a heart shape, as required by state law since 1951) Heart of Dixie
Alaska Beyond Your Dreams, Within Your Reach; The Last Frontier; on its license plate
Arizona The Grand Canyon State; also on its license plate
Arkansas The Natural State; formally the land of opportunity
California Eureka! ; The Golden State (On its license plate)
Colorado The Centennial State; (formerly) Fresh Air and Fond Memories Served Daily
Connecticut Still Revolutionary; (formerly) Full of Surprises
Delaware The First State ( official state nickname ), Blue Hen state, Tax free state
District of Columbia The American Experience; Taxation without Representation; also on its license plate; (formerly) Celebrate & Discover
Florida Sunshine State
Georgia Peach State
Hawaii The Islands of Aloha
Idaho Great Potatoes. Tasty Destinations. Not California (Formerly) Famous Potatoes; also on its license plate
Illinois Land of Lincoln
Iowa Life Changing; Fields of Opportunity
Indiana The Crossroads of America, (formerly) Honest-to-Goodness Indiana, Restart your Engines
Kansas Kansas, as big as you think, (formerly) Simply Wonderful
Kentucky Unbridled Spirit; also on its license plate; (formerly) It's That Friendly; (formerly) Where Education Pays
Louisiana Fall in love with Louisiana all over again [1]; Come as you are. Leave Different.; Sportsman's Paradise (on its license plate)
Maine It Must Be Maine; The Way Life Should Be (formerly) Vacationland; also on its license plate
Maryland If you're looking for a merry land, go to Maryland!, (formerly) America in Miniature; (formerly) More Than You Can Imagine
Massachusetts Make It Yours; The Spirit of America (on its license plate)
Michigan Pure Michigan, (formerly) Great Lakes, Great Times; More To See; Water/Winter Wonderland; previously on its license plate
Minnesota Explore Minnesota; Land of 10,000 Lakes (on its license plate)
Mississippi Feels Like Coming Home; The South's Warmest Welcome "The Magnolia State"
Missouri Where the Rivers Run ; Show-Me State (On its license plate)
Montana Big Sky Country, The Treasure State
Nebraska "Nebraska: Honestly, it’s not for everyone." Nebraska Nice "The Good Life"
Nevada Battle Born ; The Silver State ; A World Within. A State Apart.; Home Means Nevada (On its license plate)
New Hampshire Live Free or Die
New Jersey Liberty & Prosperity, also on its license plate; Garden State
New Mexico Land of Enchantment; also on its license plate; "New Mexico True"
New York I Love New York, also its state song; The Empire State (on highway welcome signs, and on license plate), State of opportunity
North Carolina A Better Place to Be; First in Flight (on its license plate), First in Freedom (also on its license plate)
North Dakota Legendary, Discover the Spirit (on its license plate)
Ohio So Much to Discover; Birthplace of Aviation (on its license plate); (formerly) The Heart of It All
Oklahoma "Oklahoma is OK" Native America; also on its license plate
Oregon We Love Dreamers; Things Look Different Here (1987-2003); Pacific Wonderland (on its license plate 1959–1964)
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania. Pursue Your Happiness; (formerly) State of Independence, Memories Last a Lifetime, You've Got a Friend in Pennsylvania, America Starts Here
Rhode Island Ocean State
South Carolina "While I Breathe, I Hope." Formally Smiling Faces. Beautiful Places. Also on one of its two base license plates.
South Dakota Great Faces. Great Places.
Tennessee '"The Volunteer State" The Stage Is Set For You; (formerly) Sounds Good to Me (formerly) Follow Me To Tennessee; also on its license plate
Texas Don't Mess With Texas, Go Big or Go Home, The Lone Star State, and The Great State of Texas
Utah Life Elevated; (formerly) Greatest Snow on Earth, Beehive State ( state seal, highway signs ), and Utah! Where Ideas Connect (the former and the "Utah!" part of the latter were both on license plates)
Vermont The Green Mountain State (license plate), Freedom and Unity,,, "See Vermont" 1960's license plate
Virginia Virginia is for Lovers; (formerly) Virginia is for history lovers
Washington SayWA!; (formerly) Experience Washington; The Evergreen State; also on its license plate as Evergreen State
West Virginia Wild and Wonderful; also on its license plate as Wild, Wonderful; (formerly) Almost Heaven
Wisconsin Forward; America's Dairyland (on its license plate); You're Among FriendsWhen Beth Ditto meets Giles Hattersley from the Times of London, the singer whips off her shirt:
"In case you were wondering, these are real," she says, cupping her boobs. "But this," she continues, grabbing a shelf of tummy flab, "is implants." She honks with laughter and pulls her top back on.
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Hattersley is clearly impressed by Ditto, calling her "fabulous" and writing of when she hugs him: "The chalky white arms squeezing my back are as delicious and comforting as slabs of freshly baked ciabatta." When Hattersley sees Ditto with her top off, he writes:
Rolls and folds topped with an adorable heart-shaped face. Having never had the least desire to paint, I'm suddenly overcome with an urge to take up oils and have a bash at capturing the play of light across her love handles. No wonder she's a muse to just about every designer going.
Ditto has designed a plus-size collection for UK chain store Evans, but she doesn't feel it's impossible to find anything to wear if you're over a size 16.
"I don't understand all these women who say they feel betrayed by fashion. A piece of clothing can't talk - it can't tell you that you can't have it - so really, you're just telling yourself that. You make yourself the victim, because if you want clothes that bad, then make them yourself. You have to get creative if you're fat. I'm really good at turning a belt into a necklace, and I can always find a nice pair of earrings."
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And when it comes to the fashion industry insiders, Ditto knows they're fickle: "One year Karl Lagerfeld was refusing to make clothes for women of a certain size, and the next year he was asking me to play the Fendi party," she says.
But Ditto also knows that being fat means certain things: "Fat people shouldn't do drugs," she says. "Fat people should certainly not do cocaine. It's not that they're all unhealthy, but it can be hard on your body, on your heart, so you have to accept you can't do certain things. I don't want to die when I'm 38. It's not worth it. Plus, can you imagine if I was on coke? I mean, how much faster can one girl talk?"
While Ditto seems fully self-aware — and aware of her novelty in the fashion world (of visiting the runway collections in Paris, she says: "I'm the only one there who looks like me. Everyone else just looks the same, so think about the joy of that.") — there are those who just won't let her be.
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Over the weekend, we got an email from a reader who accused us of "promoting" obesity. Actually, she wrote:
I am stumped and confused as to why you continually promote morbid obesity as a healthy way to live, or a responsible role model… While I support your position on body-snarking, the issue of Ms. Ditto's obesity is relevant and deserves attention.
Ugh. The woman is a creative, fashionable lesbian and singer with lots of things to say — but all anyone ever talks about is her weight. Is it, in fact, "relevant"? Doesn't it get enough attention already?
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And let's be honest: Isn't there some inherent sexism in focusing on the weight of a woman who is making a living because of her singing and songwriting skills? Does every Jack Black interview have to include "relevant" information about his weight? Seth Rogen became a star without a svelte physique. No one cared if we posted about those guys without mentioning their weight, but women must be small and tiny and delicate and therefore feminine, right? And let's not pretend this is a health issue: We see images of stars smoking and drinking and frighteningly thin, and never get emails about how we're "promoting" those unhealthy lifestyles. But when it comes to Beth Ditto's weight, this reader seem to think it's her business, her prerogative, to make sure we know that Ditto is "unhealthy" and not fit to be a role model. May we remind you that it's impossible to look at someone and determine how healthy — or unhealthy — he or she is? You can't see genetic material (fat mom/fat dad), lungs, cardio-pulmonary system, decaying liver or gingivitis in a photograph. Even Steven N. Blair, one of the nation's leading experts on the health benefits of exercise, is short and fat; he runs every day. Unlike a decaying liver or tar-filled lungs, you can see Beth Ditto's fat — which makes it easy for this reader — and others like her — to suggest that she feel ashamed. In any case, there's "promotion," and there's a feeling of relief that a talented, outspoken woman with an under-represented, often overlooked body type is in the media. Can you spot the difference?
The Brilliance Of Beth Ditto [Times Of London]
Related: Kate Harding Takes On The Body Mass Index
Losing Patience, Not Weight [NY Times]ST KILDA will be home to Australia’s first Pride Centre.
More than 50,000 people flock to Fitzroy St every year as part of the Pride March, which has been held in the beachside suburb since 1996.
Now the street will be a permanent hub for members and allies of the LGBTI community, with Port Phillip Council beating out fierce competition from two other inner city councils to snare the Pride Centre.
It is understood Melbourne and Yarra councils both made a bid for the centre and Stonnington had also expressed interested but did not submit a formal bid.
The $38 million hub, based on San Francisco’s LGBT Community Centre, will house LGBTI community organisations and groups as well as advisory, health and support services.
As one door closes on Fitzroy St another opens, with the Pride Centre set to open opposite the soon-to-be-shut Gatwick Hotel, at 79-81 Fitzroy St.
Work is expected to start within 12 months.
The council have splashed $13 million to buy the former Monroe’s Restaurant site and turn it, and the carpark next door, into the Pride Centre, heralding a brighter future for struggling Fiztroy St.
The State Government has pledged $15 million for the centre.
Minister for Equality, Martin Foley, said it was a “milestone day” for equality in Victoria.
“This is a milestone day for Victoria’s equality agenda, and... sticking up for a group of people who deserve to have their issues heard, their differences celebrated,” Mr Foley said.
media_camera More than 50,000 people marched down Fitzroy St this year for the annual Pride March. Picture: Tony Gough media_camera Transgender teen Georgie Stone, and her cat Joy, has thrown her support behind the Pride Centre. Picture: Valeriu Campan
“This is a positive addition to our worth as a community and as a state.”
Mr Foley said the centre would help to rejuvenate Fitzroy St.
Port Phillip Mayor Bernadene Voss said she was “tremendously proud” Fitzroy St had been chosen.
“I can’t think of a better location than the heart of St Kilda,” she said.
“For decades the LGBTIQ community has been welcomed here.
“St Kilda has a rich and inclusive history.”
Pride Centre Board chairwoman Jude Munro said it was an “historical and deep commitment to supporting the LGBTIQ community.
“Today is a day of pride, celebration and thanks,” she said.
“We will own this site in perpetuity and we will march by it every pride march knowing it’s ours.”
Transgender teenager Georgie Stone, who was last year named GLBTI Person of the Year at the GLOBE Community Awards, said St Kilda was the “perfect place” for the nation’s first Pride Centre.
“St Kilda has such a diverse, rainbow community, it hosts the Pride March; it’s really the heart of the city’s — even the country’s — pride,” she said.
Georgie, 16, said a centralised place for LGBTI youth would be vital to forging social connections during an often difficult time.
“I felt quite isolated growing up trans; I didn’t know anyone else my age who was trans, or LGBTI for that matter,” she said.
“For me, just to have somewhere like that to go and meet people and be part of that community would have been really good.”
Georgie said she was thrilled the Pride Centre would be built.
“Just that there is a Pride Centre is really good, really special — and needed,” she said.
The Elwood College teen and champion for social change has garnered more than 15,300 signatures on a petition calling for fairer access to cross hormone therapy for young trans people.
She will present the petition to politicians in Canberra this month.
“I hope younger trans kids know they’re not alone, there is so much support out there,” she said.
“And hopefully (the petition and the Pride Centre) can inspire this idea as well.”Throughout the 20th century, the chief legislative option in the United States for confronting monopolistic firms has been to break them up into pieces with antitrust law. Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders now proposes this remedy for dealing with big banks, which appear no less “too big to fail” than they were when we bailed them out a few years ago.
What if, for instance, a bank seeking new borrowers had to bring them on as co-owners, with a vote in the boardroom?
This week, the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp determined that five of the country’s biggest financial institutions still have no plan, in the event of insolvency, other than turning to the public for more bailouts. But size is only one of the moral hazards at play.
The real disaster of the 2008 crisis was not what happened to the banks – which shuffled their boardroom chairs a bit, paid back the government and kept on banking. The disaster was in what happened to millions of Americans, disproportionately people of color, who lost what little wealth they had to the banks’ predatory lending and perverse incentives. This led to cascading fallout around the world. Perhaps we should consider a new approach to antitrust policy, one that puts the would-be victims in charge.
It’s not entirely clear that the bigness of banks, per se, is the main problem. We live in a much more globalized world than that of the late 19th century, when the present logic of antitrust law was concocted. If you want to use the same piece of plastic to pay for hotel rooms in Shanghai and in Durban, you need financial institutions capable of reaching that far.
I loved my old neighborhood credit union, but it wasn’t much help when I moved out of the neighborhood; my new credit union is a bit bigger, and a lot more convenient. Even the call to reinstate the Glass-Steagall Act, and split deposits and lending from investing, could become harder to justify at a time when even individuals are making that distinction less and less.
Perhaps the problem, then, is not bigness so much as badness. I suspect that, when many of us talk about banks being “too big to fail”, what we really mean is “noxious institutions have come to dominate the economy so completely we can’t get rid of them”.
As Jamie Merchant pointed out at In These Times recently, the idea of breaking up big companies assumes that what we need is more healthy, ruthless, capitalist competition. That might make particular banks less dominant, but it won’t necessarily make them less noxious. The competition, in fact, could spur them toward greater recklessness.
Some institutions need to be big, but they can at least be accountable. So, consider an alternative: rather than breaking up the big banks, what if a new generation of public policy created a pathway toward more democratic ownership?
What if, for instance, a bank seeking new borrowers had to bring them on as co-owners, with a vote in the boardroom? They’d be less likely to hoodwink those borrowers with a predatory loan; too many bad loans, and the new co-owners could rise up and get the CEO fired. What if those votes were counted according to the number of people, not by their wealth? Then institutions would have to be more accountable to the common good, not just to a few top shareholders.
The ballooning financial industry might naturally shrink in the process, as institutions are forced to replace rampant speculation with responsible caution. Rather than buying up credit default swaps against its own customers, such banks might act more like my old credit union |
to see a whole lot of them. For them to be here and see the game, and play the way we did, it's definitely a great feeling for everybody."
Video: Part 1 of the Stanley Cup Celebration ceremony
Video: Part 2 of the Stanley Cup Celebration ceremony
Video: Part 3 of our Stanley Cup Celebration at Honda Center
6) Ducks Win Game 4 at Nashville on Perry's Historic OT Goal
In one of the more emotionally taxing games of Anaheim's 2017 postseason run, Corey Perry played the overtime hero yet again.
The Ducks not only blew a two-goal lead in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final at Nashville, but gave up the tying goal with just 34.5 seconds left in regulation. Yet the Ducks remained resilient in the extra session before Perry fired the puck on net from the right boards and it redirected off Predators defenseman P.K. Subban's stick and past goalie Pekka Rinne.
The goal (scored 10:25 into the OT session) was originally credited to Ducks center Nate Thompson, who was battling in front, but ultimately it was revealed that Perry was the last to touch it. It was his third OT goal of this postseason, matching the NHL record for most overtime goals in a playoff year (Mel Hill in 1939 and Maurice Richard in 1951).
"Like we've been saying all playoffs, we have a checklist that we go through every single day," Perry said. "It doesn't matter when it is in the game, you've got to go back, you've got to think of what's on that list and adversity is one of them, ebbs and flows of a game. We knew coming into overtime, you put that jersey on you, go out and play like you did in the first period - hard-nosed, pucks in deep. We kind of changed the momentum there. We got some chances, and we got the break."
Video: ANA@NSH, Gm4: Perry nets OT winner off deflectionHealth economist Stephen Duckett says Medicare payments need to be brought into the 21st Century. Credit:Pat Scala Health economist and former secretary of the Commonwealth Department of Health, Stephen Duckett, said allowing insurers to cover GP visits could undermine universal access to healthcare – the fundamental principle of Australia's Medicare system. At the moment, Dr Duckett said high rates of bulk billing (around 80 per cent of GP consultations) encouraged other doctors to follow suit. If health insurers could cover GP visits, they may pay doctors more than the Medicare rate, changing the market dynamics. "About 50 per cent of the population has general insurance, so this may encourage doctors to charge those people higher rates on the function that they will be fully rebated from health insurance. That would be inflationary and it might have a flow-on effect to people without health insurance who will be expected to pay," said Dr Duckett, from the Grattan Institute. Health Minister Sussan Ley.
Health policy expert at the University of Sydney, Lesley Russell, said allowing insurers to cover GP visits would be like opening "Pandora's box" on fees. "We know that in the hospital sector they (insurers) do deals with specialists around what they will pay, and in many cases they pay more than the Medicare reimbursement rate," she said. Associate Professor Russell said the change would also reduce efficiency because GPs, radiologists and pathologists would be dealing with a raft of insurers with different rules, rather than just Medicare. At the moment, private health insurers are not allowed to cover community based health services such as GP visits, pathology services such as blood tests and diagnostic imaging which includes X-rays, CAT scans and MRIs. The government's survey, launched on Sunday, asks: "If insurers were permitted to extend coverage to health care services not currently covered, and knowing that this would lead to an increase in the price of premiums, which services should be covered?"
It also asks people if higher insurance fees should be charged based on age, gender, health conditions, smoking status and other "health risk factors". Health insurers are currently not allowed to discriminate against people based on their health history or behaviour, so everybody pays the same premium for the same product, and insurers must provide cover to anybody who seeks it. About 50 per cent of Australians have health insurance, making it a $19 billion industry. Ms Ley said that while she did not want any Australians to be excluded from health insurance, she wondered if people should be rewarded for avoiding unhealthy behaviours such as smoking. "I'm really about incentives, not exclusions. For people that have private health insurance now, they can be reassured that we won't be changing the way we look after them in a whole of community sense," she said. "We understand that sometimes you get sick and it's not your choice, but when I talk to young people who say 'Well I'm going to keep fit and I don't want to pay as much for my private health insurance because I'm going to do everything right. Is there a way I can get some incentive?', these are the sorts of things we want to explore".What the developers have to say:
Why Early Access? “Hurtworld has been in development for roughly 4 years. We have come leaps and bounds since we started, but we're no where near finished. We started with a 3 month limited closed alpha which allowed us to optimize client and server performance and clear out any game breaking bugs. We then launched into early access at the start of 2016 with some solid foundations and big plans. Since then we've been working hard to define where the game is going while constantly upgrading out systems to be best in class. We feel the only way to develop a multiplayer game is to grow it organically with its player base. The foundations are laid, join the community and help us shape a game with endless possibilities!” Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access? “Good things take time, we've been in Early Access for 3 years and have checked off most of the systems we planned on in the beginning. Now with Hurtworld V2 out in the wild we will be focusing on refining the experience to a point we can remove the Early Access title, we're not quite there yet.
Our current aim is to leave early access by the end of 2019” How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version? “We don't plan on stopping development of Hurtworld any time soon, we feel the current feature set is mostly representative of something we would be happy to remove the Early Access label. We still have a bit of work to do in refining the experience and making sure the features that we do have are well executed and communicated well to new players.” What is the current state of the Early Access version? “Hurtworld is fairly stable and well optimised. The release of V2 and expanded server capacity has stretched our server performance a bit, we aim to resolve these issues within the week.
We are mainly feature complete with the list we set ourselves 3 years ago when we launched into Early Access.” Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access? “The price will be discounted during early access and return to its full price once the game is more complete.” How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process? “The team is very active on the Steam discussions, if you have feedback we'd love to hear it. Keep in mind that feedback in a public forum is a discussion with not only the developers, but other players. Well thought out calm discussion yields best results.
We also run a weekly dev blog where each member of the team outlines what they are working on which usually opens a discussion thread on the forums.
(hurtworld.com)
Nothing we have planned is set in stone, we will be constantly coming up with new ideas to flesh out the Hurtworld universe and taking cues from our community to set our priorities. We know that in most cases, the players know the metagame much better than the developers. We leave our ego at the door and let you decide what matters.”Akron's real estate developers, agents, economic developers and neighborhood advocates say the city is facing a threat that could halt its revitalization efforts.
That's because in its current tax proposals, Congress wants to eliminate the Historic and New Markets tax credits developers say have been key to getting private capital to help turn old and historic buildings into modern apartments, offices and business spaces.
"You're going to see a return to blight," said Tony Troppe, one of downtown Akron's most active developers during the past 10 years who uses tax credits and is an advocate of them.
Troppe's projects in Akron include the development of much of the corner of High and Market streets downtown, including his BLU Jazz+ club, which he carved out of the 1870s Hermes Building. It couldn't have been done without Historic Tax Credits (HTC).
Troppe has also used the tax credits to convert the Selle Building, United Building, Gothic Building and the Kaiser Building from old and mostly vacant spaces into new apartments, restaurant spaces, retail spaces and other useful purposes. Last year, he opened Cascade Lofts, 24 luxury apartment units in the old Swinehart Tire and Rubber Co. at North and Howard streets.
HTCs have resulted in tens of millions of investment dollars to redevelop hundreds of thousands of square feet of space, advocates say.
The programs create credits against federal income tax, for qualified investments, that are awarded through a competitive process. A $5 million investment in a certified rehabilitation of an historic structure, for example, creates a 20%, or $1 million, HTC against federal income taxes. New Markets Tax Credits offer a similar incentive, even for new construction, in low-income neighborhoods.
For example, when Troppe converted the Cascade Lofts into apartments, he received about $1.5 million in state and federal tax credits to help finance the $3.5 million project, with most of the incentives coming from the federal government. The rest came from state programs Troppe said were instituted in 2007 as a response and complement to the federal tax credit programs.
Troppe's next projects, the construction of his proposed Blu-tique Hotel at High and Market streets and the renovation of the nearby Everett Building, should be safe, he said, because they've already been approved for tax credits.
But he has three other projects in the works, which he was not ready to disclose, that will simply get abandoned if the tax credits go away, Troppe said.
He and others predict that will be what happens to most projects in Akron and other cities that have not yet been approved for credits, because without them, inner-city projects that require cleanup, demolition and expensive renovations to existing structures can't compete with greenfield projects in the suburbs.
"In the hopper right now is the Bowery Project, which is the Landmark Building and the buildings next to the (Akron) Civic Theatre. They would likely not be able to build the capital stack for that without that credits," said Jason Segedy, Akron director of planning and urban development.
According to an Akron Beacon Journal story, developers for that project — which is slated to cost $38 million — have secured $5 million in state tax credits but hope to secure even more in New Market Tax Credits to sweeten the deal for investors.
That's just the tip of the iceberg though, Segedy, Troppe and others said. Akron, like many older cities and especially those in the industrial Midwest, is awash with old buildings that need the incentives if they are to survive and be repurposed.
To urbanists like Segedy, they are irreplaceable examples of great architecture and important pieces of a city's history. To developers like Troppe, they are that and the trendy new business and residential spaces of the future.
The tax credits already have done a lot to help turn Akron around, said Jerry Fiume, managing director of Akron-based SVN Summit Commercial Real Estate Advisors.
An Akron native, Fiume said he's seen how tax credits can spur development that leads to new spaces and new residents being drawn to downtown Akron.
"Who'd have ever thought you could get $1,400 in rent for an apartment in downtown Akron? No one. But they are now," Fiume said, referring to Cascade Lofts and some other luxury units that have been developed in the city in recent years.
Neighborhood advocates beyond downtown are worried, too.
"I am, very much so. Especially because there are so many buildings in town that only have a year or two left before they are too far gone. It really does concern me," said Karen Starr, a resident and owner of Hazel Tree Interiors in the West Hill neighborhood just north of downtown.
She likes that the city supports preserving old buildings — including with a new tax abatement program that Akron unveiled this summer that exempts the value added to rehabilitated residential properties for 15 years. Starr hopes that drive for preservation continues when the city completes the demolition of the Innerbelt Highway, which will connect her neighborhood to downtown.
"Historic preservation and adaptive reuse are important to the city's soul, and it is directly linked to economic development," she said.
That's certainly what folks like Segedy and Troppe think, too. Troppe said he encounters many new businesses today that prefer historic urban spaces over new construction elsewhere.
Whether the tax credits will be eliminated is still uncertain. Tax reform is a complicated process, after all, and lawmakers' initial proposals often look different than final results.
Troppe and Segedy both said they hope legislators will not look at the tax credits in a vacuum, because they ultimately will generate more new tax revenue than they cost initially. After all, they said, an empty or abandoned building produces nothing in taxes while still requiring government services.
Troppe said the incentives go to the investors who back urban projects, not to developers themselves.
"Developers don't put this money in their pockets. They use it to compete with the suburbs," he said.
Troppe is in the process of lobbying Ohio's representatives and senators.
What might help him is that Akron is far from alone. The tax credits affect development in just about every major city in the United States — including Cleveland, where builders and developers also have said they are a threat to revitalization.Watch out, Samsung and Apple. Chinese smartphone brands are picking up steam and giving the two market leaders a run for their money.
According to a report from TrendForce, Chinese companies like Lenovo, Huawei, and Xiaomi made up nearly 40 percent of global smartphone shipments last year, and represented six of the top 10 smartphone brands worldwide.
"2014 was definitely an impressive year for Chinese brands as they gained more share of the global market," Avril Wu, global smartphone analyst of TrendForce, said in a statement.
But Samsung and Apple still dominate. Together, the two market leaders shipped 518 million units last year, compared to 453.4 million units shipped by the many up-and-coming Chinese brands. Overall global smartphone shipments totaled 1.167 billion units in 2014, a 25.9 percent year-over-year increase.
While Samsung is still the king of the market, 2014 was a "difficult" year for the Korean company, TrendForce said. Its share of the market dropped to 28 percent from 32.5 percent in 2013 with annual growth only at 8.4 percent for around 326.4 million units shipped last year. Samsung's high-end Galaxy Note series "faced stiff challenges" from Apple's new 6 Plus, and its midlevel and low-end smartphones were "undercut" by inexpensive Chinese brands, Wu said.
No. 2 Apple, meanwhile, nabbed 16.4 percent market share and "maintained its high annual growth rate" of 24.5 percent, translating to 191.3 million units shipped worldwide for the entire year. "Apple's position was attributed to the success of its first large-size smartphone model, the iPhone 6 Plus," TrendForce said. "This new category addressed Apple's lack of smartphones with above 5-inch screens and thus significantly raised the fourth quarter shipping ratio."
Lenovo, which recently acquired Motorola Mobility, took third, followed by LG, Huawei, and Xiaomi. Rounding out the top 10 were Coolpad at No. 7, followed by Sony, ZTE, and TCL.
For more, see Can Huawei and ZTE Conquer the U.S.?FILE - This is a Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009 file photo of Pierre Weiss, Secretary General of the IAAF, as he looks on during a news conference prior to the World Athletics Championships in Berlin, Germany. Six years before the IAAF banned Russia, track and field’s governing body knew of doping so out of control it feared Russian athletes could die from their suspected systematic abuse of blood-boosting drugs and transfusions, and officials at the organization considered collaborating with Russians to hide the full extent of the cheating before the 2012 London Olympics, according to internal documents obtained by The Associated Press.(AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File) The Associated Press
By JOHN LEICESTER, AP Sports Columnist
PARIS (AP) — Six years before the IAAF banned Russia, track and field's governing body knew of doping so out of control it feared Russian athletes could die from abusing blood-boosting drugs and transfusions, and officials considered collaborating with Russians to hide the extent of cheating before the 2012 London Olympics, according to internal documents obtained by The Associated Press.
When the massive scandal of state-sponsored doping and cover-ups in Russia finally erupted in 2015, IAAF leaders acted as though blindsided. "This has been a shameful wake-up call," said Sebastian Coe, the British Olympian and new president of the International Association of Athletics Federations.
But as a sophisticated new blood-testing program was launched in 2009, IAAF tests were already providing shocking insight into the scale and gravity of Russian doping, according to six years of emails, letters and reports the AP received from a person intimately involved in the IAAF's anti-doping program. The person requested anonymity because he wasn't allowed to release the documents.
At that stage, the test results weren't enough on their own to sanction athletes, but they raise questions about why the organization waited six years before suspending Russia, which could see its athletes miss the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August.
"Not only are these athletes cheating their fellow competitors but at these levels are putting their health and even their own lives in very serious danger," Pierre Weiss, the IAAF general secretary from 2006-11, wrote in an Oct. 14, 2009, letter to Valentin Balakhnichev, the Russian athletics president banned for life from the sport last week. Russians "recorded some of the highest values ever seen since the IAAF started testing."
Tests at the 2009 world championships, where Russia won 13 medals, "strongly suggest a systematic abuse of blood doping or EPO-related products," Weiss added.
Athletes are banned from using transfusions and the hormone EPO, which boosts levels of oxygen-carrying red blood cells, artificially improving performance. They can increase the risk of clots, strokes and heart attacks.
The documents reveal how the IAAF cajoled Russian officials to act, but also used advances in blood testing against offenders. They shed light on key junctures in the crisis, which has been muddied by allegations that IAAF and Russian officials took bribes from athletes to hide doping.
Other findings:
— Internal IAAF papers before the London Olympics proposed hiding doping sanctions for lesser-known Russians. An April 2012 note said this approach couldn't be used for Russia's best athletes because that would allow them to keep "11 world titles and numerous European titles acquired under the influence of doping." The elite athletes could not be discreetly removed from major competitions.
— A Sept. 28, 2012, internal brief for then-IAAF President Lamine Diack estimated 42 percent of tested Russian elite athletes doped.
— After the 2009 worlds, Weiss told Balakhnichev that seven Russians — including two gold medalists — would have been forced to sit out the competition if the IAAF had had the same rules as some other sports.
— Before the 2009 worlds, Weiss also alerted Balakhnichev that Russians were evading tests by saying they were in the military and couldn't tell testers where they were.
The IAAF told AP the letters were genuine. Spokesman Chris Turner said they were a "clear, open warning" to Russia and insisted the IAAF has been "very strong" in dealing with the sports powerhouse.
By 2011, the IAAF's new testing regime was flagging so many suspected Russian dopers that officials explored breaking their own rules and those of the World Anti-Doping Agency by dealing with some cases privately, two notes show.
The notes proposed by-the-book sanctions for elite Russians likely to win in London, but "rapid and discreet" handling for lesser-known athletes whose disappearance from competition would probably go unnoticed.
For athletes who agreed, the IAAF would "undertake not to publish the sanction," which would be shortened to two years from four, according to a Dec. 5, 2011, brief that Turner said was sent by IAAF anti-doping director Gabriel Dolle to Diack's legal counsel, Habib Cisse.
The IAAF says the proposals were never carried out. Balakhnichev told AP: "There were no secret bans. At least I didn't know and didn't hear about there being any."
Turner said a colleague of Dolle's objected to the proposed non-disclosure of bans and they were published.
"Every athlete was investigated and has either been sanctioned or is currently going through a legal process as part of being sanctioned," he said.
The IAAF's ethics commission has banned Dolle for five years for what it called an "inexcusable lack of due care and diligence" involving Liliya Shobukhova, a marathoner who blew the whistle on blackmail, bribery and doping cover-ups involving Balakhnichev and others.
A second round of findings are due Thursday from a WADA probe led by International Olympic Committee veteran Dick Pound, who told AP that documents indicating IAAF officials contemplated not disclosing doping bans were surprising and "not exactly in line with our rules."
Weiss said the IAAF couldn't have suspended Russia earlier than last year, after the WADA commission concluded the Russian government was complicit in a "deeply rooted culture of cheating."
"WADA found out more than we could ever find ourselves," he said in an interview.
Still, the documents show the IAAF long worked behind the scenes with Russia before its Nov. 13 about-face, when IAAF Council members voted 22-1 to suspend all Russian athletes. Russia must convince the IAAF it is changing to be reinstated.
The documents provide no evidence of clear criminal activity. Diack faces corruption and money laundering charges in France, accused of taking more than $1.1 million in a scheme to blackmail athletes and cover up doping. French magistrates also are investigating Cisse and Dolle for suspected corruption.
Last week, the IAAF ethics commission issued a lifetime ban for Papa Massata Diack, one of Diack's sons, for his role in the blackmail of Shobukhova. Also banned for life were Balakhnichev and Alexei Melnikov, former head coach of Russia's race-walking and long-distance running programs.
___
James Ellingworth in Moscow contributed. John Leicester is an international sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jleicester@ap.org or follow him at http://twitter.com/johnleicester and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/John-Leicester-Associated-Press-Sports-Columnist-579349882203298/?ref=aymt_homepage_panelRep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) told donors on Saturday that Orange County is one of the key battleground regions in the upcoming 2018 midterm elections.
Speaking at the Orange County GOP’s annual Flag Day fundraiser on Saturday, Nunes — who is chairman of the House Intelligence Committee — sounded off on the importance of receiving support from Republican donors in the region, which is seen as critical in the fight against the Golden State’s Democratic stronghold.
“It is so critical for us to win here and keep winning here,” Nunes, who was the event’s keynote speaker, said, according to the Los Angeles Times.
A usually-strong Republican California enclave, Orange County is now at risk of turning blue. The 2016 presidential election was the first since 1936 that the county went to a Democrat, Hillary Clinton.
In February, the Democrats launched an assault on 20 Republicans whose seats are seen as being at risk during the 2018 midterm elections. Four of those seats are wholly or partially in Orange County, and belong to :Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA-39), Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA-49), Rep. Mimi Walters (R-CA-45), and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA-48).
Republicans have similarly launched a campaign against at least four California Democrat Congressmen who they plan to target and defeat next year. The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC)’s “top offensive targets” are Reps. Ami Bera (D-Elk Grove, 7th district), Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara, 24th district), Scott Peters (D-San Diego, 52nd district) and Raul Ruiz (D-Palm Springs, 36th district).
On Saturday, a crowd of protesters stood outside the GOP’s Flag Day celebration:
Little protest outside an OC GOP dinner tonight, where @DevinNunes expected to speak pic.twitter.com/G3FaSwefm1 — David Siders (@davidsiders) June 18, 2017
About 70 protestors outside OC GOP annual Flag Day dinner, where Rep. Nunes will speak later. pic.twitter.com/BLX8k6RUnZ — Seema (@LATSeema) June 18, 2017
Speaking to the Los Angeles Times about Saturday’s protesters, Rep. Darrel Issa (R-CA) said, “They’re pathetic. There were almost none.” He reportedly added, “There’s a couple million people in the surrounding communities and to have those few tells you the real momentum of this movement has really died. The same has been happening at our office where they come every Tuesday. There’s less every week.”
Rep. Rohrabacher reportedly said, “They don’t want me to talk to my constituents more; they want me to talk to them.” He added, “They don’t represent my constituents. None of them represent my constituents. … They are a political organization asking me to pay homage to them. Forget it.”
Keeping in line with tradition, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher whipped out his guitar for a tune. The theme of Saturday’s song was reportedly “fat bureaucrats.”
The room is nearly clear, but @RepRohrabacher has grabbed a guitar and is singing about 'fat bureaucrats' pic.twitter.com/S9U0HyOY2U — David Siders (@davidsiders) June 18, 2017
During his speech on Saturday, Nunes reportedly said the mainstream media was in part to blame for Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) being shot during practice for the Congressional baseball fundraiser last week by a die-hard Bernie Sanders supporter. Three others were also injured in the attack.
“You could almost see this coming when it happened last week because the level of civil discourse has reached a point that I’ve never seen in my time in office,” he said, according to the Times. “What you’re seeing is a political party not willing to accept what happened in the last election. Hopefully it’s a warning sign and hopefully the media will get back to at least pretending to do some real investigative work.”
In February, Rohrabacher’s 71-year-old staffer, Kathleen Staunton, was reportedly knocked unconscious by anti-Trump protesters as she attempted to leave her office.
Adelle Nazarian is a politics and national security reporter for Breitbart News. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.A bus passes near a canal in El Centro, California, which has very high unemployment. PHOTO: DAVID MCNEW/GETTY IMAGES
National politics in the United States, Great Britain, France, and elsewhere have focused attention on the struggles of people in regions where jobs have been destroyed by globalization and technology. Many residents of these areas report anger and frustration, whether or not they have actually suffered job loss, fearing that their children will not do as well as they have. When researchers began to identify these forces increasing economic inequality (1), labor economists argued that intergenerational upward mobility should increase hand-in-hand with increasing inequality. This claim was predicated on the notion that working-class youth, rather than following their parents' footsteps to the now-closed factory, would pursue higher education and join the “knowledge economy.” Our work integrating economics and developmental psychology, however, suggests that local job losses can both worsen adolescent mental health and lower academic performance and, thus, can increase income inequality in college attendance, particularly among African-American students and those from the poorest families.
Because employment and earnings benefits resulting from higher education rose rapidly over this period of deindustrialization and growing income disparities (1), the primary prescription of many academic and government economists has been increased public investment in and promotion of higher education. To examine the effects of job destruction on educational mobility in the United States (fig. S1), we use our well-validated method for identifying causal effects of local job losses (2–4). We combine this with the ground-breaking measures of educational mobility produced by Chetty et al. (5), reflecting the degree to which a child's attending college at age 19 is predicted by her parent's income, for cohorts born in each U.S. state between 1984 and 1993. Our analyses focus on statewide job losses, by using data from 1995 to 2011 across all 50 states (data and methods are available in supplementary materials).
A one-standard deviation increase in state-level job losses when a cohort is in adolescence (aged 12 through 17) leads to a 0.16-SD increase in the gap in college attendance between rich and poor youth, driven by falling attendance among youth from the lowest-income families and stable attendance among youth from the highest-income families. A cumulative state job loss during adolescence of 7%—experienced by the most-affected decile of American adolescents—leads to a 20% decline in the likelihood that the poorest youth attend college (fig. S1). Rather than clearing a path to new educational opportunities in deindustrializing areas, job destruction knocks many youth off the path to college (table S1).
Two standard economic explanations for the effect of statewide job losses on educational mobility, selective migration out of distressed areas, and loss of family income cannot fully account for these findings. There is no evidence that these results are driven by migration in response to job losses (table S11). Further, in response to a 1-SD increase in statewide job losses, median income declined <2% (table S3), which is not large enough to fully account for our macrolevel results. Moreover, our results show that the effect of job destruction on educational mobility does not vary by state college tuition levels, including when accounting for financial aid (table S2). Over this period, in fact, financial aid for postsecondary education expanded dramatically as part of policy efforts to help economically struggling families, and these efforts succeeded in lowering inequality in the share of family income paid for tuition (6). That is, the economic benefits of college increased at the same time affordability did, aligning incentives to attend college with financial access.
Community-Level Trauma We propose that worsened adolescent mental health and lower academic performance, both of which we show result directly from job losses, are overlooked mediators of the causal effect of macrolevel job losses on the decreased educational mobility we observe. In doing so, we integrate scholarship across disciplines: economics—which has tended to focus on wage incentives and aptitude in explaining educational attainment and earnings, with less attention to the impacts of trauma—and developmental psychology—which has tended to focus on the family environment as the determinant of children's life trajectories, with less attention to macrolevel factors. In empirical tests of our theory (fig. S2, left, and table S4), we find that job losses to 1% of the working-age population in the previous year decrease eighth-grade math achievement test scores by 0.057 SD, a large population-level effect size commensurate with (although opposite in sign of ) interventions that are designed to affect test scores. Although others (7, 8) have shown that parental job loss lowers academic performance, the macrolevel effect that we find in states is much too large to be accounted for by isolated responses among the 1.5% of students with at least one parent affected by a 1% job loss. Instead, it necessarily reflects a macrolevel effect that includes responses by the other 98.5% of children in the state. In our best estimate, this indirectly affected group—in size, 65 times the directly affected group—experiences learning losses due to statewide job destruction that are about one-third the size of those experienced by children whose parents lose jobs. Moreover, the effect of the previous year's job losses on aggregate learning losses occurs simultaneously with those losses' aggregate effects on youths' mental health, specifically among African-American youth. It has long been known that the aggregate mental health of adults, including those who remain employed, declines during economic downturns (9, 10). We extend this work by demonstrating that aggregate mental health of youth in those communities is also affected, as measured using the best population surveillance data available on adolescents, the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey measure of suicidal ideation (4). Suicidal ideation increases by 2.33 percentage points among black youth in response to statewide job losses, and the responses are much too large to be driven only by youth who experience job loss within their own families (fig. S2, right, and table S4). Adolescent mental health may decline for a number of reasons, from anxiety about future job prospects, to responses to parent or teacher economic anxiety, to interactions with peers who experience parental job loss (11). We argue, therefore, that macrolevel job losses are best conceptualized as community-level traumas that harm the mental health of both children and adults, and of both families who experience job loss and those who only witness it (11). Such traumas inhibit learning and leave youth unable to optimally respond to increased economic incentives to invest in education (12).
Policy to Reduce Uncertainty Currently, the main federal policy tool for addressing job losses due to globalization is Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), which provides extended unemployment insurance, health benefits, and retraining to workers who lost jobs. Although its effectiveness for treated workers is unknown, TAA may also be insufficient because it is narrowly targeted to workers who can demonstrate that they lost jobs due to trade. Thus, TAA ignores the majority of workers, most of whom have lost jobs due to technological change or other reasons. Nor does TAA consider effects on workers' children or on others in the community; indeed, our work finds no significant difference by levels of TAA spending in the effects of statewide job losses during adolescence on educational mobility. In other Western industrialized countries, such as Denmark, governments engage in intensive activities aimed at increasing workers' skills and actively helping workers acquire new employment quickly. Services, including rigorous job training and active matching of worker skills to employer needs, are available to all unemployed citizens and are required for those who are receiving unemployment compensation. Such active labor market policies appear to increase employment rates in countries that use them (13, 14). These policies can reduce popular resistance to high-growth, “creative destruction” economic programs, because the threat of job loss is not as distressing when supports for reemployment are provided. Our findings suggest that such a policy approach may not only directly assist those who have lost jobs but may also benefit the community more broadly, by reducing the uncertainty about reemployment prospects that accompanies job losses in the United States. Indeed, college attendance increases across the income distribution (albeit unevenly) in response to job loss in states where, due to low initial unemployment, finding a new job is easier (fig. S1, bottom). Similarly, test-score and mental-health declines after statewide job losses are smaller in contexts of low unemployment (fig. S2 and table S4); this suggests that a given level of macro-employment instability is much less harmful to youths when reemployment prospects are better. Future research should evaluate, likely at a state or local level, whether reemployment policies in the United States can moderate the effects of economic disruption on youth outcomes. Such evaluation efforts should gather information on youth mental health and educational outcomes at the individual and the population levels, in order to better understand the effects of job destruction on all youth in a community. Many recent debates on economic policy have focused on the white working class. Our work, by contrast, consistently uncovers impacts of job destruction that are similar but larger for blacks than for whites (3, 4). Job losses in the typical area where an African-American lives increase inequality in college attendance by nearly twice as much as the average across the country (fig. S1, top, and table S1). Effects of job losses on our proposed mediators of college attendance, mental health, and academic achievement are also similar, but worse, among African-American youth (fig. S1 and table S4). To suggest that the experiences of displaced whites and blacks require different policy responses unnecessarily complicates the already challenging problem of creating economic opportunity for all and has created division where there is, in reality, great potential for unity of purpose.
Supplementary Materials www.sciencemag.org/content/356/6343/1127/suppl/DC1Chris Peterson
Last time I checked, putting on a full scale production requires a team of professionals, all doing their job at a high level, in order for the show to succeed. I'm far from the only one who believes this.
With that philosophy, I have been repeatedly appalled with the level of disrespect and discredit that technical artists and crew members receive. But it's incredibly upsetting to see it coming from professional organizations and publications that should know better.
This past week, United Scenic Artists Local USA 829, sent out a petition to be signed, protesting that the New York Times would cease crediting the technical designers in their reviews along with the cast and directors.
The petition stated,
That small box at the end of each review is extremely important to many of us; theatre-goers and professionals alike. Not only did the credit box provide basic information about the location and dates for the production, it also provided your readers with basic information of who worked to create the show: the author, cast, designers, director and other key creative personnel. The vast majority of people who contribute to any production work behind the scenes and by eliminating their credits you have taken away the minimal recognition that these important workers receive.
In other areas the NY Times seems to adhere to the philosophy "give credit where credit is due" but abandon it here. The contributors to an article or editorial in the NY Times are always listed; a photograph on your website always credits the photographer or source; |
to make room on the squad.
Leafs goalie James Reimer will start in net against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night. ( DAVID COOPER / TORONTO STAR )
“It’s always exciting to get back with the Leafs,” Gardiner said after Wednesday’s morning skate. “Hopefully we’ll be pretty good this year... I feel good. I’m just waiting on what the doctor says and what Randy says.” For Leafs coach Randy Carlyle, Gardiner’s status was just another moving part in a personnel picture that, two games into the 48-game season, has been constantly in flux. It was only a little more than two weeks ago when Carlyle considered his lineup and pronounced the only strategic certainty he could think of. “It would be foolish of me to say that (Joffrey) Lupul and (Phil) Kessel are not going to play with each other,” the coach said of his incumbent first-line wingers. “That would be the only thing etched in stone at this time.”
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Sixteen days and two games later, that which was carved in granite appears to be as permanent as a scribble on the back of a napkin. At Wednesday’s morning skate, where Carlyle put his team through the paces in advance of a 7 p.m. game against the 2-0 Penguins, the Leafs line combinations looked to be in for an overhaul. Toronto’s first line, if the morning-skate combinations hold, will stay two-thirds intact. Tyler Bozak will play centre and Kessel will be on the wing. But it will be Clarke MacArthur filling Lupul’s usual spot on the other flank. Lupul, meanwhile, was matched on a line with Nazem Kadri and Leo Komarov. As for the other two lines: Mikhail Grabovski, Nikolai Kulemin and James van Riemsedyk were a trio, as were Jay McClement, Mike Brown and Colton Orr. Carlyle spoke of a variety of reasons he might make the change. The Leafs have scored just three goals in their first two games, so more offence is required. And Carlyle, too, was anticipating that Penguins coach Dan Bylsma, with the last change afforded to the home team, would be fastidious in matching Pittsburgh’s Brandon Sutter-led checking line against the Kessel-Lupul threat. By splitting them up, perhaps Carlyle can create a matchup advantage.
Still, the coach said the combo juggling may or may not hold until puck drop. “It’s one of the things that’s an option,” said Carlyle. “I could go tonight and just leave the lines exactly the same. Sneaky, huh?”
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It wasn’t the only impending change from the opening pair of games. Reimer occupied the visiting net during drills, usually a tell-tale sign that he’ll be the starting goaltender. Ben Scrivens had earned the season’s first two starts — a win in Montreal and a loss at home to the Sabres — on the strength of a strong training camp and an AHL hot streak. If Reimer gets the go-ahead, he’ll make his first NHL appearance in precisely 10 months. He was in net when the Leafs won 4-3 in a shootout in New Jersey way back on Mar. 23. A day after Carlyle called on van Riemsdyk to spend more time in front of the opposing net, the coach spent part of his morning media availability demanding “more fire” from Grabovski. Word of his coach’s public demand seemed to flummox Grabovski. “Fire? I think I have enough fire... I don’t know. I need to think about it,” said the player.
Read more about:The former Democratic MP Iurie Bolboceanu, arrested in March for homeland betrayal, discussed with the Russian Embassy staff in Chisinau the political situation in the Republic of Moldova and in particular the work of the Parliamentary Commission on National Security, Defense and Public Order.
A record of the talks between Bolboceanu and the help of the military attaché at the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Moldova, Alexandr Grudin, was published by the portal deschide.md.
According to the record, the two also discussed uninominal, Usatîi, Voronin and Communists who left the party, but also about the relationship between Bolboceanu and the former liaison officers of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Moldova. The former deputy says he had good relations with a person named Sergei and less good with a certain Alexander, who used to drink "a bottle of vodka and 6 pints of beer."
On the situation of Renato Usatîi, Bolboceanu mentions that the OP leader should be changed or withdraw himself and call someone else at the head of the party.
At the same time, the FSB officer asks Bolboceanu if he knows the former Communists in current positions, especially in the National Security, Defense and Public Order parliamentary committee. Here the deputy says about a person who was very close to Voronin, but with a small salary, he was attracted by bigger money, mentioning that "for money you can do something useful to this country."
At one point, the deputy asks the FSB officer if he understood the "hieroglyphs" and he forwarded them. The officer responds affirmatively and mentions that he will forward the "thanks" to him, and Bolboceanu says he will transmit more.
Bolboceanu also tells Grudin that their information "is stronger than the whole embassy offers," and the latter says that what they are discussing are just parts of a great political game.
We recall that Iurie Bolboceanu was detained by prosecutors and ISS officers on March 17 this year, in a case of espionage and homeland betrayal in the interests of Russia. This would have been raided years ago by foreign secret services, to which they would have systematically transmitted secret information, to the detriment of the Republic of Moldova. In exchange for the information provided, Bolboceanu was remunerated with hundreds of thousands of euros.
At present, the former deputy is in Penitentiary no. 13, where he was recently transferred from the Pruncul Penitentiary after invoking health problems. His file is still being examined in court.
If found guilty, Bolboceanu risks a punishment of 12 to 20 years in prison.“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I am a member of the Imperial Senate on a diplomatic mission to Alderaan.”
–Leia Organa, Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
As a Rebel Diplomat, you are the voice of reason in a galaxy torn by war. A few choice words from you can make the difference between signed treaties and drawn blasters. You analyze the data that keeps the Alliance hidden and safe. You grease palms and blackmail politicians to save countless Rebel lives. You battle oppressive Imperial propaganda, spreading truth and unveiling the atrocities that condemn the Empire. Without its Diplomats, the Rebel Alliance would quickly cease to exist.
In the Desperate Allies sourcebook for Star Wars™: Age of Rebellion®, you find plenty of new options for enhancing the power of your Diplomats. Our last preview explored the new species and specializations introduced in Desperate Allies. Today, developer Max Brooke explains the new Signature Abilities in Desperate Allies and their implications for Diplomats across the galaxy!
Developer Max Brooke on New Signature Abilities in Desperate Allies
The Signature Abilities of every career sourcebook are one of the most exciting parts for players, Game Masters, and the developers. Whenever we design new Signature Abilities, we strive to make each one stand out from the others. These powerful abilities are only available to characters who complete a specialization in their starting career, and they help to differentiate the characters’ careers as they grow and develop through an ongoing campaign.
Age of Rebellion already has the Ace’s Signature Abilities, This One is Mine and Unmatched Survivability, which were introduced in the Stay on Target sourcebook for Aces. The Diplomat sourcebook, Desperate Allies, obviously has a very different focus, and in keeping with that, this book introduces two very different Signature Abilities: Diplomatic Solution and Unmatched Insight. Like existing Signature Abilities, these new Signature abilities allow your Diplomat to step up and take a larger role in defining the story, working with the Game Master to achieve feats in an arena where your character excels. Unlike the Ace’s Signature Abilities, which grant unparalleled finesse and flair in space combat, the Diplomat’s Signature Abilities focus on interpersonal interactions, allowing a Diplomat character to influence and observe others with supreme skill.
The first Diplomat Signature Ability introduced in Desperate Allies is Diplomatic Solution. This ability gives your character the chance to change the playing field in a conflict, turning a potential firefight into a battle of wits and wills. By using this Signature Ability, your Diplomat can bring reluctant parties to the table, convince foes to negotiate rather than fight, and cause even the staunchest Imperial supporters to hesitate in the face of your unwavering resolve.
Diplomatic Solution doesn’t solve any problems on its own, but it does open many doors, giving your group a great opportunity to find alternative means of resolving the conflict. Your well-reasoned words may force bounty hunters and assassins to reconsider their contracts, call for a cease-fire to evacuate civilians, or convince two lifelong enemies to discuss compromise for a common goal instead of just shooting each other. Diplomatic Solution has countless applications that a clever Diplomat can leverage to serve the Rebel cause.
Imagination and Insight
Signature Abilities like Diplomatic Solution offer an excellent opportunity to add definition to your career’s abilities and because each book features two of these powerful abilities, they help players build distinct characters within a given career. For example, an Ace with the Hotshot specialization who chooses This One is Mine as his Signature Ability uses very different tactics and tricks than an Ace with the Rigger specialization and Unmatched Survivability. In the same vein, an Ambassador with Diplomatic Solution behaves very differently than an Analyst with the Unmatched Insight Signature Ability.
Diplomatic Solution lets your character redefine a conflict, swapping blasters and vibroblades for arguments and rhetoric. Unmatched Insight, the second Signature Ability introduced in Desperate Allies, grants you the crucial information you need to resolve any conflict in your favor. If your character uses Unmatched Insight, you can determine someone’s history, motives, and weaknesses with a glance and some swift reasoning. Then, you can use that information to predict and manipulate that person’s decisions.
When Unmatched Insight is fully upgraded, your Diplomat can walk into a room of aggrieved parties and immediately know who is a potential ally, who has interests that conflict with your group, who wants someone else in the room dead, and how to make this disparate mass of people work together toward the interests of the Rebel Alliance. Of course, this Signature Ability can have powerful applications outside of social situations as well. You can use Unmatched Insight anywhere that it’s useful to know another person’s strengths, weaknesses, and motives – whether in the criminal underworld, when conducting investigations into the internal affairs of the Rebel Alliance, and even on the field of battle.
Fight with Your Words
Between them, these two new Signature Abilities give Diplomats powerful new tools and interesting new opportunities to spread the Rebellion’s cause across the stars. I very much look forward to hearing the stories that players and GMs tell by using these Signature Abilities in their Age of Rebellion campaigns!
Thanks, Max!
How will you serve the Rebel Alliance? Whichever Signature Ability you choose, however you develop your Diplomat, you can sway new systems to join the Rebel Alliance and spread hope throughout the galaxy. The Rebellion is counting on you!
Pre-order Desperate Allies at your local retailer today.This past Sunday, I headed to downtown Oklahoma City to see the Redhawks, Houston’s Triple-A affiliate, take on the Nashville Sounds. The starting pitcher for the Sounds was Jimmy Nelson, the top pitching prospect in Milwaukee’s system. I hadn’t yet gotten the chance to see Nelson pitch in person, and I was looking forward to seeing him do so against a strong Oklahoma City lineup that included Jon Singleton, Domingo Santana, Max Stassi and Robbie Grossman.
Nelson is a pretty imposing figure on the mound, standing 6’5″ and weighing 245 pounds. The University of Alabama product has the type of frame that I can easily picture handling 200+ innings a year; he tossed a total of 162.1 frames in 2013.
Statistically, the 24-year-old had an uneven 2013, as he struggled to make the adjustment from Double-A to Triple-A, before receiving a 10-inning cup of coffee in the majors:
Double-A: 69 IP, 2.74 ERA, 2.81 FIP, 9.39 K/9, 1.96 BB/9
Triple-A: 83.1 IP, 3.67 ERA, 3.64 FIP, 9.83 K/9, 5.40 BB/9
Clearly, the problem was the dramatic increase in walks, but it wasn’t the first time Nelson had this specific problem adjusting to a higher level of competition. Let’s take a look at 2012, when he made the jump from High-A to Double-A:
High-A: 81.1 IP, 2.21 ERA, 3.09 FIP, 8.52 K/9, 2.77 BB/9
Double-A: 46 IP, 3.91 ERA, 4.49 FIP, 8.22 K/9, 7.24 BB/9
This year, the pattern has continued. Starting the year in Triple-A, he has shown marked improvement in his walk rate compared to his 83.1 innings at the level to finish 2013:
32 IP, 1.97 ERA, 2.91 FIP, 8.72 K/9, 2.53 BB/9
There were two specific things I wanted to keep an eye on, based on what I’ve read and heard about Nelson. The first was whether he would show an effective change-up. Scouts’ opinions on his change seem to be mostly negative, but over the last year or so, I’ve seen some encouraging things about the change and Nelson’s ability to be more than a two-pitch guy. The second thing I wanted to focus on was his mechanics. Pretty much everything I’d heard about Nelson is that his delivery is messy and inconsistent, with lots of moving parts.
For the first two innings, I saw much of what I was afraid of. Regarding the change-up, I didn’t see one in those first two frames, it was all fastball/slider. As for the mechanics, he looked more refined than I expected, as his delivery looked fluid and easy, with consistent arm speed/angle and a smooth transfer of balance, especially for a guy of his size. The problem was his release point, which was absolutely all over the place.
As a result, Nelson labored through the first two innings, allowing three hits in the first inning, then walking two in the second. He appeared visibly frustrated, working extremely slowly, repeatedly shaking off catcher Robinzon Diaz, stepping off the mound, etc. He managed to get through the first two innings with limited damage (only one run), but it was the sort of pitching that gets crooked numbers on the board in the majors more often than not.
Then came the third inning, when the good version of Jimmy Nelson showed up. With his release point under control, he looked completely dominant, consistently burying his fastball and slider on the corners low in the zone. Also, he started to mix in the change. In the bottom of the fifth, he struck out Andy Simunic and Grossman to start the inning, and both went down looking at the change. In Grossman’s case, it wasn’t even fair. He took a 96-mph fastball just a bit high for ball three, before Nelson dropped in a 79 mph change for strike three, a 17-mph difference.
From the third inning through the seventh, Nelson allowed just three hits, with no walks and six strikeouts. The only run he surrendered was the result of a wind-aided double by Gregorio Petit in the sixth (the wind was blowing out to left-center at 20-25 mph all game). His four-seam fastball sat in the 94-96 mph range with late arm-side movement; he touched 97 three times and reached 98 once. The slider showed sharp horizontal bite in the 85-87 mph range and he wasn’t afraid to throw it, as he used four consecutive sliders to punch out Stassi in the sixth.
Once he started throwing his change, the offering was pretty consistently 82-83 mph except for the 79-mph pitch to Grossman and one other that registered at 80. It doesn’t have particularly impressive movement, but if he can consistently locate the pitch with a 12+ mph differential from the fastball, it’ll play. He also flashed a two-seam fastball three times; it came in at 90-91 mph and showed pretty good sink.
Let’s go back for a moment to the idea of Nelson struggling to adjust to new levels. Interestingly, Mike Newman’s April 2013 article that I cited earlier has a golden nugget of info in the comments section. User “Pinstripe Wizard” had the following to say about Nelson’s career at The University of Alabama:
“His first two years in Tuscaloosa were disappointing from a results standpoint. He had great stuff, but was erratic at best. He would walk someone or hit a batter and his control just fell apart. It looked like he was trying to make perfect pitches to correct the earlier mistake and it snowballed on him. His draft year was when he finally started to show the results to go with the stuff. He attacked hitters in the zone more often and had a brilliant season. I think Nelson is going to be a guy that struggles a bit in his first taste at most any level due to the smaller strikezones/better plate discipline at higher levels. Once he figures out that he can’t nibble at each level, he seems to produce wonderful results.”
That’s an excellent summary, and thinking back, what I saw on Sunday was sort of a microcosm of this larger issue. For the first two innings, he struggled with the strike zone, didn’t trust his change-up, and his frustration threatened to send him off the rails. However, by the third inning, he was pounding the zone with all three pitches and he was lights-out for the rest of the outing.
The obvious question raised by all this is whether to expect the walk rate to spike again when he gets the call to the majors. After all, he struggled mightily with free passes making the transition from High-A to Double-A, and again from Double-A to Triple-A. What I saw on Sunday is one of those players who isn’t quite ready for the majors yet, but is very close. If he got called up right now, I wouldn’t be terribly optimistic about his chances, and would likely predict another troublesome adjustment period.
Alternately, if Nelson can learn to harness his delivery (specifically find some consistency with the release point) and trust his change a bit more, he could be a solid No. 3 starter for the Brewers for years to come, and would be far more likely to have a smooth transition to the majors. Those things could come together for Nelson in the next month or two, they also may never actualize at all.
The Jimmy Nelson that I saw from the third through seventh innings on Sunday would be an above-average major-league starter right now. It’s just too bad that those first two innings force me to temper my enthusiasm ever so slightly.
We know you play in all sorts of leagues. So to help you fine-tune the analysis you’d like to read, we’ve added three tags to the categories on the right: Roto, Head to Head, and Daily Fantasy Update. Use these to get the information that is most relevant to your leagues!There are two type of news media organizations out there. There are those that report that Trump was wiretapped and there are those that report he’s not.
Or if you’re the NY Times, you’re going to report both.
Currently on the front page of the NY Times is this article, saying how Comey asked the DOJ to reject Trump’s claim of wiretapping. You guessed it… Completely unsubstantiated. Some anonymous official said something they aren’t willing to stand behind and it still gets printed. Of course this insinuates that Trump is somehow being dishonest or creating false light, which is entirely possible.
There’s just one problem with that. In January, the publication published an article that state plainly and clearly that the investigation into Trump’s campaign consisted of some wiretapping.
From the article:
The F.B.I. is leading the investigations, aided by the National Security Agency, the C.I.A. and the Treasury Department’s financial crimes unit. The investigators have accelerated their efforts in recent weeks but have found no conclusive evidence of wrongdoing, the officials said. One official said intelligence reports based on some of the wiretapped communications had been provided to the White House.
While it is possible to report on something without taking a position, both articles clearly are written from a nail-trump-to-the-wall bias. The difference is, that at the time, the wiretaps the NYT was reporting on weren’t being called illegal. Now all of the sudden, when their continue-to-discredit-Trump hats are on, they suggest that no wiretaps took place.
And the MSM wonders why they have a lower trustworthy rating than Trump.A Liberal government appointee named to crack down on offshore tax avoidance in the wake of the KPMG scandal attended a Madrid conference and social events where the embattled accounting firm was a top financial sponsor, a Fifth Estate/Enquête investigation has found.
Western University law professor Colin Campbell was appointed by the Liberal government in the spring of 2016 to head an "independent" review of offshore tax schemes following revelations that accounting giant KPMG had run a massive tax dodge for multimillionaire Canadians in the Isle of Man.
In late September 2016, Campbell travelled to Spain to attend a tax conference — with KPMG as the top "diamond" sponsor. At the event, delegates were treated to evenings of cocktails, flamenco dancing and Spanish cuisine.
"This is just another example of the Liberal government being too close to KPMG and to the accounting industry overall," says Duff Conacher of Democracy Watch, an Ottawa-based watchdog group.
The Madrid trip revelations follow the resignations in October 2016 of two members of Campbell's offshore panel, after one raised concerns the committee was not arms-length from the Canada Revenue Agency — the agency whose policies it was supposed to examine.
In her letter of resignation dated Oct. 4, 2016, obtained by The Fifth Estate and Enquête, Sherbrooke University professor Marie-Pierre Allard wrote directly to Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier. She told the minister that the offshore compliance advisory committee "cannot be regarded as independent" and that there was only "superficial discussion" of issues.
The offshore committee was not permitted to probe the KPMG affair.
When asked about the optics of attending a conference where KPMG was a top sponsor, Campbell said he was unaware of the accounting firm's financial relationship with the event organizers.
"I have no knowledge of what KPMG's involvement was," he said. "There was a lot of advertising."
If you have tips on this story please email investigations@cbc.ca or phone Harvey Cashore at 416-526-4704
Video recorded by CBC's The Fifth Estate shows KPMG's advertisements throughout the Madrid conference, including signage close to where Campbell and other delegates were provided hors d'oeuvres and refreshments.
Campbell walks past a KPMG booth at the tax conference in Madrid. (CBC)
"Never have tax leaders faced a more challenging time," KPMG advertised. "Your tax business is now everyone's business."
'Diamond' sponsors
Several other Canadian tax professors attended the Madrid conference, as well as judges from the Tax Court of Canada and the Federal Court of Appeal.
Justice Randall Bocock eventually recused himself from a KPMG-related tax court case after The Fifth Estate and Enquête reported in March that the judge had attended a private party in Madrid hosted by a law firm linked to the KPMG affair.
Justice Randall Bocock of the Tax Court of Canada travelled to Madrid last year to attend a conference put on by the International Fiscal Association. (Tax Court of Canada)
Documents show KPMG and accounting giant PwC each paid 65,000 euros — or $98,000 Cdn — to be the top "diamond" sponsors of the conference. Other sponsors included major tax law and accounting firms, many with offshore operations in places like Gibraltar, Malta and the British Virgin Islands.
The International Fiscal Association, the tax industry group that ran the conference, promised on its website that the paid sponsors would receive "tremendous brand recognition and opportunity to leverage their marketing initiatives."
Organizers of the conference told The Fifth Estate that the social events, alcohol and entertainment venues were paid for by delegates' fees and the paid sponsorships.
The conference was attended by global tax accounting firms as well as regulators from dozens of countries. Its brochures promised delegates "an abundance of leisure activities" and "social events."
Video footage shows Campbell attending a "cultural evening" at the Plaza de Toros, including flamenco dancers, music, cocktails and local cuisine.
Campbell told CBC News he attended only the social events that were part of the official conference program.
Prem Sikka, emeritus professor of accounting at the University of Essex in the United Kingdom, says there's a reason firms like KPMG sponsor these kinds of conferences and social events.
'No such thing as a free lunch'
"There is no such thing as a free lunch and a drink from these people," said Sikka.
"This is a part of their business strategy, simply expanding their influence," he said. "Before you know, someone is trying to talk you into something."
Democracy Watch's Duff Conacher says government advisers must avoid even the appearance of conflict.
"[They] are not allowed to accept any gift that has the appearance that it's been given to influence them," he said.
KPMG advertising was on display at the tax conference in Madrid last September. (CBC)
In an email to The Fifth Estate, the CRA said its employee policy governing outside hospitality does not apply to Campbell as he is considered a volunteer.
The revenue agency added that its appointees to the offshore compliance advisory committee "are expected to act honestly, in good faith and only in public interest."
Campbell attended the week-long conference after being asked to chair a panel discussion on the taxation of criminal activities. A senior KPMG official was part of that panel discussion in Madrid.
In Canada, two members of Campbell's offshore compliance advisory committee resigned in October 2016 — after raising concerns that it was not arms-length from the CRA.
Tax professor Allard from Sherbrooke University and retired tax accountant Allan Lanthier both resigned before the committee had issued its first report.
Raising concerns
The Fifth Estatehas also learned the KPMG tax dodge and the agency's decision to offer KPMG clients a "no penalties" amnesty were off limits for the committee.
Allard raised concerns that senior CRA officials, together with Campbell, set the committee's agenda.
"What is expected of the members of the committee is that they approve, after superficial discussion, many of the recommendations decided by the chair in agreement with the leaders of the CRA," Allard wrote.
Campbell told CBC News that investigating the KPMG scandal was not part of the mandate of the offshore compliance advisory committee. He said the terms of reference did not allow the committee to look at "individual taxpayer matters" such as the KPMG scandal.
Campbell waits in a food line at the conference in Madrid last September. (CBC)
Campbell also told Allard in an email dated Sept. 6, that the committee was "never intended to function as an independent inquiry." Several government media releases refer to the committee as an "independent" panel of experts.
For her part, Allard told the minister she no longer believed the committee would be effective in helping to crack down on offshore tax evasion.
"I heard your sincere desire that this committee be able to make a fundamental change in the practices of the CRA and make a real difference. That's what I wanted," Allard wrote. "I regret to say that I do not think that will be the case."
In an email to The Fifth Estate, the CRA said it was "natural" for members of a committee like this to come and go.
The offshore compliance advisory committee made its first recommendations last fall and continues to meet.I am very pleased to announce that the WASC Threat Classification v2 is finally out the door. This project has by far been one of the most challenging, intellectually stimulating projects I've had the chance to work on. I have included the official announcement below.
"The Web Application Security Consortium (WASC) is pleased to announce the long awaited release of the WASC Threat Classification v2.0. The Threat Classification is an effort to classify the weaknesses, and attacks that can lead to the compromise of a website, its data, or its users. This document's primarily purpose is to serve as a reference guide for common attacks and weaknesses.
Main goals
- Refine document scope, terminology, and purpose
- Update existing sections when applicable
- Add missing attacks and weaknesses
- Creation of a firm, scalable base foundation allowing for the introduction of data views allowing for various
forms of data representation
- Addition of attack and weakness reference identifiers (WASC- xx)
- Publication of two data views
WASC Threat Classification v2.0 Online
http://projects.webappsec.org/Threat-Classification
Using the Threat Classification
http://projects.webappsec.org/Using-the-Threat-Classification
Threat Classification Authors and Contributors
http://projects.webappsec.org/Threat-Classification-Authors
WASC Threat Classification FAQ
http://projects.webappsec.org/Threat-Classification-FAQ
WASC Reference Identifier Grid
http://projects.webappsec.org/Threat-Classification-Reference-Grid
Threat Classification Data Views
http://projects.webappsec.org/Threat-Classification-Views
We have already started scoping the next minor release of the Threat Classification, and are seeking contributors. If you are interested in participating in the next release of the WASC Threat Classification please contact us at contact_at_@webappsec.org with the subject 'WASC Threat Classification Contribution Inquiry'.
Questions can be directed to Robert Auger (contact_at_webappsec.org) with the subject 'WASC TC Inquiry'."Pence instead said the Trump campaign was the victim of media bias. | AP Photo Pence: Trump sexual misconduct allegations 'not substantiated'
Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence said Sunday that accusations of sexual misconduct against Donald Trump were "unsubstantiated" and blamed the media for focusing too much on the allegations instead of claims of wrongdoing made against Democrat Hillary Clinton and her family foundation.
Appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press," the Indiana governor was asked by host Chuck Todd whether he believed his running mate when he said that his comments about kissing and groping women in a 2005 "Access Hollywood" video were "just talk."
Story Continued Below
"I really do, Chuck. What we have this week is a series of unsubstantiated allegations," Pence said.
But Todd interjected that the claims are "not unsubstantiated."
"They're unproven, but they are not unsubstantiated," Todd said. "You have a first-hand account. We have somebody that disagrees with that first-hand account. But they are substantiated, no?"
"Well, no. These are not substantiated accounts. These are people who have brought forward allegations going back in some cases decades," Pence responded. "And Donald Trump has made it clear that he categorically denies that these things ever took place."
Pence said the Trump campaign is the victim of media bias, with reporters overlooking allegations of misconduct by the Clinton Foundation.
"I have to tell you, it really is astonishing to most Americans that as these unsubstantiated allegations are treated with an enormous amount of coverage on this network and other networks that revelations coming out of Secretary of State Clinton's years in the State Department and the Clinton Foundation are virtually ignored by the national media," Pence said.
Pence complained that allegations of wrongdoing by the Clintons "got almost no media attention, while those that step forward with these unsubstantiated claims that Donald Trump has denied were treated with headline news and continuous coverage."And the two best friends lived happily ever after.
It’s not the typical ending for a romance story, but The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (LBD) isn’t typical in any way. The web video series that just aired its final episode is a modern adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, following fictional vlogger “Lizzie” Bennet, her sisters and her friends as they face their own (not necessarily romantic!) challenges.
As Susan Greenfield previously wrote for Ms., romance doesn’t solve all problems in the Lizzie Bennet Diaries. Greenfield points out that the series has remained true to the novel’s central interest in 19th century Elizabeth Bennet, but turns the camera away from her love interest Mr. Darcy (now just called Darcy) to focus on 21st century “Lizzie.” One of the most unique aspects of the series is its focus on women’s friendships, illustrated most vividly with the character of Charlotte Lu. From the first episode, Charlotte’s role in Lizzie’s life has grown as she plays the series’ film editor. Essentially a co-author of the vlogs, Charlotte frequently comes on camera and often pauses the video and overlays text to provide her own dialogue on Lizzie’s thoughts.
Given the strength of their friendship–a strength rarely represented in popular media–I wasn’t surprised to see Charlotte appearing in the final episode, “The End,” when Lizzie drags her on screen to share her good news: Charlotte is taking over the company Collins & Collins.
I got in touch with Julia Cho, the actor who plays Charlotte, to hear her thoughts on Charlotte’s shining moments in the series as it comes to a close.
Ms. Blog: What moments stand out to you in the development of Charlotte’s character?
Julia Cho: [For one], Episode 41 (“Your Pitch Needs Work”): In the novel, we aren’t privy to the exchange between Charlotte and Collins in which he proposes to her (after Lizzie rejects him) and she accepts. I love that in our version, we are not only able to see that interaction but also observe Charlotte exerting control and really maneuvering the situation in her favor to achieve her end goal. Instead of being a victim of her circumstances, she has set an objective for herself and is working towards it … even if her best friend doesn’t support her at first.
[Then] Episode 42 (“Friends Forever”): This was a pivotal moment between the two friends (in both the novel and on our show), when Charlotte accepts Collins’ offer after Lizzie refuses. I also believe this was a big turning point for the show, the first major dramatic episode in a show that was fairly light leading up to that point. I take great pride in the fact that many viewers have expressed that they now finally understand Charlotte after reexamining why she did what she did in the novel. She wasn’t just selling out or settling; she was making a conscious decision for herself. In the end, she established and attained her own meaning of success and happiness.
[Finally] Episode 61 (“Yeah I Know”) and Episode 64 (“C vs C”): These two Charlotte moments are completely fabricated, but they help represent the LBD-specific version of Charlotte. We get to see a Charlotte who is strong, confident and steadfastly loyal to her loved ones. Whether she is standing up to Darcy (“Regardless of your position of authority over me, I don’t like what you did to Jane”) or whether she’s going head to head with Caroline Lee, we see how Charlotte has moved past the second fiddle role and has really come into her own.
How does the change in Mr. Collins’ offer from a marriage proposal to a job offer reflect on the increased strength of this portrayal of Charlotte?
I love that in our modern adaptation we made the marriage-to-job translation, which I think resonates with a lot more young people today. Yes, we can all dream about finding our own version of Darcy, but there are other ways to seek personal and professional contentment.
On the site’s official website, Charlotte is listed as a story element of 55 different videos, even though she doesn’t actually make a physical appearance. How does this testify to her power as a character?
Charlotte filming and editing the videos was an intrinsic part of the show’s original concept, so it’s been very fun for me not only as an actor but also as a fan to see how Charlotte still makes her presence known throughout the series. I think it was very clever to use the Charlotte character to further or enhance the story at times, and I am grateful for that as Charlotte in the novel disappears quite early on.
In episode 96, Lizzie essentially trolls the audience to think Darcy has arrived, when it was actually Charlotte. How do you think this reflects the increased role of female friendship in the series?
For Lizzie to reveal that Charlotte instead of Darcy is at her side in that particular episode, I can see how that could be a reminder that from the beginning of our show it wasn’t all about the love story. As frustrated as the fans were growing as we led up to Darcy’s first appearance, the show was first establishing all these wonderful female characters and relationships, and that is really the foundation of the LBD. Lizzie and Darcy eventually come together, but Lizzie is shaped and changed as a person by having her pride and prejudices challenged by not only Darcy, but her sisters and Charlotte as well.
How does Charlotte’s appearance in the final episode reflect the importance of her character?
In rehearsals and on the actual shoot date [of the final episode], there was such a great feeling of revisited comfort and familiarity with these two best friends. Lizzie and Charlotte’s dynamic truly is different from others, and I’m so glad that we get some Charlotte at the end and not just lovey-dovey Dizzie [Darcy and Lizzie], as cute as they are. Lizzie and Charlotte started these video diaries together and they get to end them together, and it’s just lovely to see it come full circle. I think that is such a testament to not only the character of Charlotte but of all the female relationships in our show.
Do other female characters stand out to you as more empowered/complex than in the novel? How so?
I think it’s safe to say our Lydia is definitely more complex, but to be fair our Jane is arguably more empowered as well. The Lydia I know from the novel was just out to have a good time |
how the website works. Did you link your starlog.gg to your battle.net account cause atm it says "We could not verify this user's account. Only partial matching information is available. If this account is yours, please enter the battle tag or sign-in." for me.Basically, my word on whether people can join or not if they peaked over 1,800 is "yes". If you're like at a 70%-80% win-ratio and sitting at 1800 or around there, obviously it would be hard to believe that your true MMR is near 1,800. I can't see your profile at all, but if you fall under the former, you are more than welcome to play in the league.
Hmm, I'm thinking probably not, especially since a bunch of my wins got negated by disconnects. You can see back in September when my MMR dropped, I got 38 wins recorded, but my MMR still just drops like a rock as though I didn't get any points for winning.
Peak: 2005
Rating: 1713
Win rate: 52.86%
Let me know. Glad to see you're hosting this. Hmm, I'm thinking probably not, especially since a bunch of my wins got negated by disconnects. You can see back in September when my MMR dropped, I got 38 wins recorded, but my MMR still just drops like a rock as though I didn't get any points for winning.Peak: 2005Rating: 1713Win rate: 52.86%Let me know. Glad to see you're hosting this. Being mannered is almost as important as winning. Almost...
unoriginal_usernam3 Profile Joined November 2017 7 Posts #16 Super cool of you Faust for hosting again!
Suggestion: Some sort of draft or way to even the teams up. For example I'm like 1500 mmr and would love to anchor one of the better players/team down to the "rookie" level
Ty2 Profile Blog Joined March 2013 United States 1176 Posts #17 Faust is cool Writer I feel weird.
Demurity Profile Joined April 2011 United States 418 Posts #18 Btw, this was definitely one of the better leagues i've participated in. The first one was a blast. |Terran|
MarcoJ Profile Blog Joined May 2010 Germany 137 Posts #19 btw it would be kinda neat if all participants try to spread the self equally based on MMR/Skill. Sure some people want to play together, but if one team consists just of players hitting the MMR limit it might get quite boring eventually.
P.S: I assume the 24th will be no games? It's so easy to laugh, It's so easy to hate, It takes guts to be gentle and kind.
FlaShFTW Profile Blog Joined February 2010 United States 8205 Posts #20 wait cap at 1800 mmr? I definitely feel like I'm a mid-skilled player but peaked at 2k mmr a few months ago when i actually played. Writer #1 KT and FlaSh Fanboy || Woo Jung Ho Never Forget || Author of the SC:R Power Rank
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On Thursday 4 August, 250,000 more Harry Potter and the Cursed Child tickets go on sale, as demand increases for the sold out show.
The new tickets, the equivalent of 300 extra tickets for each show, are available for dates throughout the production's previously sold-out run from 11am.
Tickets can be bought directly from Niamax Theatre or ATG website, official ticketing partners for the play. Alternatively, visit the play's official website for more ticketing details or read our handy guide.
The surprise move follows positive reviews and a huge surge in demand to see the two-part play.
(Image: FameFlynet.UK.com)
Hundreds of fans have been clamouring for tickets see the production at London's Palace Theatre, which opened for special previews in June.
A number of secondary ticketing sites like StubHub, viagogo and GetMeIn are selling tickets for double, and even triple, the face value.
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The play, written by Jack Thorne and directed by John Tiffany, is set 19 years after the seventh and final book in the series by JK Rowling and has been hailed a triumph by fans who have been lucky enough to see it.The other evening I was visiting with one of our Sisters about a difficult situation that continues to plague me. Sometimes interpersonal relationships can be a challenge!
The particular situation we were discussing has been an ongoing trial and I seem not to be making any headway.
During our conversation, she mentioned that she had been learning more about “Mary, Undoer of Knots” lately. I remembered that, when I was in Germany last Spring for our Congregation’s special celebration, a Church we had visited had a special connection with this devotion.
To me, this image (of Mary, Undoer of Knots) is a poignant one. How often we have circumstances that seem like a tangle with which we are powerless!
I actually have a few “knots” I’m facing right now. Actually, unlike those that just “pop up” in my floss when I’m embroidering, these have been lurking for some time. Personal knots, I find, can be troubles I face with others or myself. I just can’t get them out on my own.
I’ve been praying for grace to deal with these issues, but this morning, this prayer took a new angle.
I came across a novena to “Mary, Undoer of Knots” which I’ve now started, seeking Our Lady’s powerful intercession to help me with these troublesome tangles.
AdvertisementsA New Orleans activist group is threatening to pull down the iconic statue of Andrew Jackson in Jackson Square in response to what its members said are unreasonable delays in removing four monuments elsewhere in the city honoring Confederate leaders and a 19th century white supremacist militia.
Take ‘Em Down NOLA, which has led calls to remove the four statues and other honors to people it considers were white supremacists, will make an effort to tear down what may be the city’s most recognizable statue during a protest later this month in Jackson Square, organizers said.
Legal delays have kept statues of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Confederate Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard and a monument to a militia known as the White League standing nine months after the City Council authorized their removal from their public locations.
“We’re going to go to Jackson Square. We’re going to put ropes around Andrew Jackson and we’re going to take him down off his pedestal,” Take ‘Em Down organizer and longtime civil rights activist Malcolm Suber said during a public forum the group held Thursday night.
The demonstration, scheduled for Sept. 24, will come a few days before judges of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals are scheduled to hear arguments over whether to lift an order that halted the removal of the other four statues.
“The key is we’re not going to wait,” Take ‘Em Down organizer Angela Kinlaw told the forum. “The city has taken plenty of time to make a decision. But the people are ready to move.”
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Asked whether protesters would actually attempt to pull down the monument, Kinlaw said it was largely a symbolic effort, but that “anything can happen during a demonstration.”
Suber said after the meeting that the effort would succeed “if we’ve got enough people and we’ve got enough rope.”
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Share ThisLearning the game of rugby can take even the seasoned professional years to perfect, starting from schoolboy grades all the way through to club, domestic and international level. Even stars such as All Blacks’ Captain Richie McCaw are still mastering their trade with the game continuing to advance throughout the modern era. There are various skills to learn within rugby that are of the upmost importance, and by practicing these on a regular basis, this can benefit your game and make you a better player for overall. When playing rugby at contact level, it’s important to train as you would play and practice the basic skills needed before game day. These are ten of the most important skills to master during your rugby apprenticeship.
Running
Learning to run effectively is a basic and common skill, and if practiced enough in training can work to your advantage on the field of play.
Whether it be straight running or sidestepping, both of these skills are important to your attacking game.
Practice running on to the ball with speed which gives you a better opportunity to break defenders and gain extra territory for your team.
Ball handling is vital when running. If attempting to break away from defenders, carry the ball securely under one arm, keeping the other free to fend off tacklers. This will help your running speed while keeping control of the ball.
Sidestepping is another skill used by backline players (and the occasional forward).To sidestep to your right, drop your weight on your left shoulder and leg, driving this leg firmly into the ground and push away on your right. A great attacking weapon, sidestepping is an integral part of backline play.
Passing
Passing the ball is a vital skill which if practiced with the correct technique can benefit your game immensely.
Accuracy is extremely important. Make sure you pass the ball at a height which is easy to catch(between the waist and chest).
Throwing the ball slightly in front of a player can also give them something to run onto, allowing a better chance to breach defenders.
Keep a steady eye on where your team mates are positioned. Make sure they’re able to catch the ball with enough space to avoid defenders or make another pass.
Control your passing speed depending on the situation. The quick ball which can be run onto can be effective. Make sure the ball is passed at an accurate height for players to gather. If not, the ball can be intercepted, resulting in an opportunity for the opposition to score.
Practice by throwing balls at targets at training, this can help your overall accuracy and passing skills.
Catching
Keep palms and fingers spread, giving every opportunity to gather the ball cleanly. Secure the ball for better control so opponents cannot steal in the tackle.
There are many different skills in catching a rugby ball, whether it be in general play or under the high ball. Catching the ball is all about good hand and eye coordination.Make sure you focus and secure the ball with your fingertips, closing both hands upon arrival of the ball.
Tackling
Tackling is one thing you’ll do plenty of in rugby, and using the right technique is essential.
As with all skills, practice makes perfect and putting time into your defence can only advance your game further.
Keep eyes firmly focussed on the player you are tackling.
Aim to tackle in the stomach area with your shoulder and arms, driving your legs so your opponents move backwards.
Attempt to tackle lower rather than higher. If you tackle too high, you run the risk of conceding a penalty or a possible yellow or red card.
Try to keep correct body position and shoulders and back straight.
Kicking
Kicking will always be a part of the game, and learning to do so is normally determined by your playing position on the field. Backline players are normally responsible for kicking. Harnessing this skill can earn your team good territory and metres.
Practice your grip on the ball when punting. Put your left hand to the front of the ball and right towards the rear. Allow the ball to fall accurately on your foot by rotating your hands sideways.
For better contact of the ball, keep foot straight for improved distance and accuracy. It’s all about timing, controlled speed and technique which makes for better metres.
Learn to follow through when kicking instead of standing still upon contact. This makes for better distance and overall power.
When place kicking, practice your technique regularly in training. It’s recommended to take four to five steps back, using your non kicking leg as stability when following through.
Positional Skills
Playing to your position and dedicated role in the team goes along way to winning matches. Whether you’re a prop, first five, fullback or winger, it’s important to study your position and learn all the traits that go with it.
Listen to your coach and your team’s game plan. Follow your distinctive role in the team and play to the best of your ability.
The Rules
Understanding the laws and rules in rugby benefits your knowledge in the game and how they can work in your advantage or against you.
Study the law book and basic rules of the game. Go over the main points such as the ruck and maul area, scrum, set piece penalties etc. Don’t stress spending days or weeks on it, just familiarise yourself on what’s important and how you can play to this.
Study the referee when playing. Watch him around the field on what he does and how he assesses the game.
Play by these rules at all times. Respect who is in charge(the referee and the rule book.
Teamwork
Team work is valuable tool and one that can lead to huge success on the field. Rugby is not a game of individuals alone, it’s a game which requires 100% effort from every player to succeed.
Without teamwork, a team can lack cohesion and the motivation to win. As the old saying goes there is no “I” in team.
Contribute to a positive team culture. Praise others for what they do on the field and encourage them. Even if players make mistakes, give them a pat on the back and tell them to get back into the game.
Work together to reach your goals as a team.
Ruck/Mauls
The ruck and maul area is one of the more complicated parts of the game. Having a full understanding about the area can lead to better play and more opportunity to dominate.
Make sure as a ball handler, you release the ball when going to ground. If you don’t, you’ll be penalised. Simple as that.
If you’re contesting the ball in a ruck, make sure you are always on your feet and coming in from the right path(straight). If not done correctly you run the risk of being penalised, costing your team field position or points.
If you’re attempting to ruck the ball back, watch where you are using your feet. If you are deemed to not be rucking safely, you will be penalised and maybe placed on report.
Be careful in mauls not to bring the other team down as defenders. Again it’s a penalty offense.
Enjoyment
At the end of the day we all play rugby for one thing, enjoyment. Without enjoyment the game becomes a chore and more of a job than anything. Learn to enjoy the game and the people around you, this is what makes rugby such a great game and why it’s so popular in world sport.The new-look David Haye hopes for a summer showdown with Anthony Joshua The new-look David Haye hopes for a summer showdown with Anthony Joshua
Former world heavyweight champion David Haye says he is ready to face Anthony Joshua after completing his ring return against Mark de Mori next month.
Haye takes on De Mori at London's O2 on January 16 but admits he would relish a huge domestic dust-up with British and Commonwealth champion Joshua, who remains unbeaten in the professional ranks.
He told Sky Sports News HQ: "If I was to fight him, I'm sure there are people who would think that AJ would beat me and I love the thought of that - getting into a fight where people are not quite sure what happens but if I tag Anthony Joshua, can he take my power?
"These are all things that are unknown. I think he probably needs one or two more fights before he would be ready for someone on my level but if he wants to do that before, let's go for it.
Haye is unsure if Joshua can handle his speed and power
"I'm a professional fighter - this is what I have been doing since I was a kid. I've got my fight against Mark de Mori lined up but once that is out of the way, then we can talk about it.
"I think he is looking to fight in April again, against maybe someone like Dereck Chisora who would be a yardstick and a good test for him. I knocked Dereck Chisora out in five rounds; can AJ knock him out quicker than that?
"Maybe... it will be interesting to see, but I think definitely in the summer or towards the end of the year, if that is a fight that Anthony Joshua would want, then it is a fight that can be made."
Haye meets Mark de Mori at London's O2 next month
Olympic gold medallist Joshua faced a gut-check against Dillian Whyte on his last outing but rallied in impressive style to brutally knock out his long-time adversary from the amateur ranks.
"Anthony Joshua is a very good fighter who is unbeaten. He's knocked out every single one of his opponents," Haye added.
"He had a very big test in his last fight against Dillian Whyte, who was an unbeaten prospect who had beaten AJ in the amateurs. I was there commentating for Sky and he passed the test with flying colours that night. It was an entertaining fight; he got hit on the chin a good few times and he sucked it up.
The new-look David Haye hopes for a summer showdown with Anthony Joshua The new-look David Haye hopes for a summer showdown with Anthony Joshua
"He showed courage and bottle and he knocked out Dillian Whyte conclusively, no questions asked, and I believe he is one of the best fighters on the planet. But that's the name of the game for me - I want to compete with these big young guns.
"He is nearly 10 years younger than me and he's a lot bigger and stronger. I'm faster, I'm more experienced and I have a better pedigree in terms of my professional resume."
Joshua emphatically beat Dillian Whyte earlier this month
Haye was speaking to Sky Sports News HQ live from his gym in south-west London, where he was training hard on Christmas Day.
"I've had plenty of Christmases to let myself go but now it's time for work." he said.
"Three-and-a-half years for any athlete is a long period of time to be away from what they do best so I know every single day and every single hour has to be methodical. My diet has to be perfect and my sleep has to be right.
"I can't drink any alcohol and I need to be 100 per cent on January 16 at the O2 Arena. I have got to show that I am the best heavyweight on the planet because there are some young guys out there - Anthony Joshua is looking amazing and Tyson Fury has just won a title.
"We have a whole new crop of exciting heavyweights and I want to chuck my name into the mix and to do that, I have got to not only win, but look good doing so."GOP co-opts "The Legend of Zelda" for alternative-facts tax campaign Republicans are forwarding a policy so bad that they had to use bunk '80s video-game facts to argue for it
Just one day after keen eyes revealed that right-wingers used both a '90s sitcom starring Margaret Cho and fidget spinners to forward their message, it appears that the GOP has again reached into the cultural toy bin and found only its own incompetence.
A now deleted post on the official website of the House Republicans titled (wait for it) "What Do the Legend of Zelda and the Tax Code Have in Common?," the GOP attempted to answer that question, regardless of the fact that no single human being had ever asked it.
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The commonality? Well...
The Legend of Zelda series is Nintendo’s best-selling video game franchise enjoyed by more than two generations of gamers. The action-adventure game was released in 1986, only one year after Nintendo’s founding in 1985. And you know what else was released in 1986? Yeah, you do. The last major reform to the American tax code was signed into law in 1986.
The supposed joke here is that it's been a long, long time since a "major reform to the American tax code". The real joke is that almost none of the above is true.
While it is true that the original "The Legend of Zelda" cartridge game debuted in 1986 (February 21 to be exact), Nintendo's "founding" was not in 1985. Rather, the company that would eventually become a digital-entertainment giant came into being in 1889 (September 23 to be exact) and moved into video games in the early 1970s.
The Nintendo Entertainment System, the gaming console on which fans played "The Legend of Zelda," arrived in the U.S. in 1985, though it was based on a system that appeared in various international markets in 1983.
As well, "The Legend of Zelda," while a massive hit for Nintendo that has spawned multiple sequels and become iconic to many, is not Nintendo's "best-selling video game franchise". As beloved as "Zelda" is, that honor goes to the extended world of "Mario Bros." titles.
As Mashable reports, Twitter users aware of gaming history were simply not having it.
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Finally, and most importantly, there's this: While no single piece tax-reform legislation has been as "major" as Tax Reform Act of 1986 in the 30 years since its signing as the post claims, that doesn't mean that the tax code hasn't been under constant reform. On balance, the number of changes to the tax code over the last three decades dwarfs the Tax Reform Act of 1986 in volume of changes if not in significance.
And this brings us to the last element of questionable truth here. One of the most notable and consequential elements of the Act was the reduction of top tax rate from 50 percent for high-income individuals to around 28 percent and the raising of the tax rate for the lowest-income individuals from around 11 percent up to 15 percent. At the time, this was made revenue neutral by cutting the number of personal and corporate tax loopholes and raising the corporate tax rate.
Arguably, the effects of the Act are becoming more and more pronounced every year as the financial gap between the ultra-wealthy and working-class continues to grow at an alarming pace. These effects have been compounded by decades of GOP policies that have either increased or protected various tax loopholes, lowered taxes on the wealthy even further, raised taxes on low-income individuals when possible, cut the corporate tax rate, offered large companies exemptions and subsides and artificially suppressed the minimum wage.
In short, the GOP is campaigning for an more damaging reform of an already highly damaging tax code, an idea so bad and harmful to its own base of voters that the best argument for it is that the general policy it wants to augment is as old as a popular '80s video game... and it couldn't even get that right.Germany’s energy transition has taken a new step in the country’s commitment to reduce carbon emissions — even more ambitious than the European Union as a whole.
Germany intends to reduce its 1990 level carbon by 40 percent by the end of this decade, while the EU is committed to 2030. For Germany, it means cutting 78 million tonnes of emissions faster.
To attain 25-30 million of that, the government counts on boosting energy efficiency, for example, by offering tax incentives for building renovation, to improve heating performance.
But electricity production will also be expected to contribute to the cuts, mostly coal plants. Coal produces one third of greenhouse gases. Germany has four out of five of the most polluting coal burning plants in the EU, according to NGOWWF’s study entitled ‘Europe’s Dirty’.
These plants will be asked to reduce their emissions by 22 million tonnes.
And they are Germany’s main generating source. Around 500 plants of this type count for 46 percent of its power production today. Each of them, on average, puts between one and seven million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. The total from coal burning is more than 340 million tonnes.
The challenge is to handle the entire rebalancing of the energy mix that follows Germany’s decision taken in the wake of the Fukushima disaster in 2011, that is to decommission its 17 nuclear power plants by 2022 — with the goal of not harming employment or exports while doing it.
By 2050, Germany’s ambition is to have 80 percent of its energy needs coming from renewable sources. Already today, Germans pay three times what the French pay for their electricity.WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. -- The legend of Brandin Cooks only continued to grow last week when the second-year receiver dominated the New Orleans Saints’ conditioning test.
The intense workout, which coach Sean Payton introduced in 2013, is a CrossFit-inspired series of exercises designed to test speed, agility, strength and endurance.
Turns out, that’s the perfect storm for Cooks, whose blinding speed is no secret and who is deceptively strong for his 5-foot-10, 189-pound frame.
“Oh, he crushed it,” said Saints running back C.J. Spiller, another dynamic speedster who wouldn’t concede that Cooks is faster than him but had no problem admitting that he got shown up in the training camp ritual.
“I think because I’m not used to doing that type of CrossFit,” Spiller explained. “But that showed me he’s definitely in shape. … He killed me on that conditioning test.”
Brandin Cooks was the Saints' undisputed champion of the CrossFit style conditioning test. AP Photo/Chris Tilley
“He was outstanding,” echoed Payton, who said Cooks topped everyone else on the roster. “He was amazing. He’s in shape, he’s strong. He handled it real well.”
Cooks said the parts of the test that required running were no problem since “I can run all day.” But he said pushing the Prowler blocking sled was the part where “I had to buckle down and actually get in my zone.”
“I just wanted to set the tone for the guys,” Cooks said. “I put in so much work in the offseason, I wasn’t going to let this conditioning test crush me.”
That ought to give you a glimpse of where Cooks is at both physically and mentally heading into his second NFL season.
The first-round draft pick out of Oregon State was off to a great start last year when he suffered a season-ending broken thumb in Week 11. At the time, he was leading all rookie receivers from the NFL's stellar 2014 draft class with 53 catches. He had 550 yards and three touchdowns and was just starting to emerge as a deep threat after mostly being limited to shorter routes designed to get him open in space.
Cooks has been amped to start building off of that ever since.
He said the thumb injury hasn’t changed anything about the way he catches the football physically. “The only thing it did was make me more humble and more motivated to do big things this year,” he said.
Cooks is poised to emerge as a leading man in New Orleans’ offense now that Jimmy Graham is gone. And he said he expects to play even faster now that he’s not thinking so much -- a scary thought for opposing defenses.
Cooks spent much of the offseason working out with quarterback Drew Brees in Brees’ offseason home of San Diego, something that already has been paying dividends on the practice field.
“(There have been) incidents in camp that I may line up and he may give me this look, and he won’t give me any type of signal, but I see what he’s seeing and we end up being on the same page,” Cooks said. “It’s good to have that. That work in the offseason definitely helped.”
Cooks’ intense work ethic and desire are nothing new. Coaches and teammates have raved about those qualities since he was drafted with the 20th pick out of Oregon State.
And though he has received plenty of accolades -- including the Biletnikoff Award as college football’s most outstanding receiver in 2013 -- Cooks definitely has the proverbial chip on his shoulder.
That shined through when someone referred to him as a “smaller receiver” in a media session Thursday. Cooks kind of snickered as he repeated the phrase. Then when someone asked if he doesn’t like to be called a smaller receiver, Cooks said, “Not at all.”
“It’s one of those things like saying a guy’s not a prototype receiver,” Cooks said. “But what is your prototype? A guy who can catch the ball, can run good routes, has speed. I guess the tall part is the factor that I’m missing, but I feel like I’m doing those other things at a high level.”
Cooks, who caught 128 passes for 1,730 yards as a junior in 2013, ran the 40-yard dash in 4.33 seconds at the NFL scouting combine and posted the fastest 20- and 60-yard shuttle times in a decade (3.81 and 10.72 seconds).
Cooks welcomed comparisons to the NFL’s top receiver from last year, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 5-10, 186-pound Antonio Brown. And Cooks picked the brain this offseason of one of the Saints’ all-time nemeses -- former Carolina Panthers receiver Steve Smith, who is now with the Baltimore Ravens.
“(We talked about) the way he uses his size to his advantage,” Cooks said of the 5-9, 195-pound Smith. “We watched a lot of film together, I picked up some things about the way he thought about the game and the way he uses his leverage.
“There’s definitely creative ways to use my speed, use my quickness. The way I can be so quick changing directions to get those bigger corners on their heels, smaller corners, whatever the case may be.
“I use my height to my advantage.”Today you can catch our dear friend Elizabeth Esther on Anderson Cooper’s daytime show bravely confronting the abusive teachings of Michael and Debi Pearl. (Check your local listings for times.) Elizabeth grew up in a cult-like religious environment in which these teachings were implemented, so it was quite an act of courage for her to face this man on TV. But she did so in hopes that speaking out will stop the abusive tactics that have already killed three children, and for that she is a true woman of valor.Eshet chayil!
Through their “No Greater Joy Ministries,” Michael and Debi Pearl teach a method of child discipline that centers around “breaking a child’s will.” The Pearls advocate using switches on babies and young as six months, and spanking older children with belts and plumbing tubes. Their book, To Train Up a Child has sold hundreds of thousands of copies and, under the guise of “biblical discipline,” encourages parents to beat their children into submission, withhold food, and hose them down outside when they soil themselves.
Here’s a quote from to give you an idea of their approach:
Never reward delayed obedience by reversing the sentence. And, unless all else fails, don’t drag him to the place of cleansing. Part of his training is to come submissively. However, if you are just beginning to institute training on an already rebellious child, who runs from discipline and is too incoherent to listen, then use whatever force is necessary to bring him to bay. If you have to sit on him to spank him then do not hesitate. And hold him there until he is surrendered. Prove that you are bigger, tougher, more patiently enduring and are unmoved by his wailing. Defeat him totally. Accept no conditions for surrender. No compromise. You are to rule over him as a benevolent sovereign. Your word is final.
The Pearls’ teachings have been linked to the deaths of Sean Paddock, Lydia Schatz, and Hana Grace-Rose Williams.
But it’s not just children who suffer from “No Greater Joys” ministries. When I was conducting research for “A Year of Biblical Womanhood,” I read Debi Pearl’s popular book, Created to Be His Helpmeet…which I threw across the room a total of seven times.
The writing is awful, the biblical exegesis deplorable, but what troubles me the most is that the book reads like a manual for developing abused wife syndrome. Citing New Testament passages that instruct wives to submit to their husbands, Pearl advocates a system in which godly wives live as complete subordinates to their husbands, with no “equal rights.”
At one point, Pearl encourages a young mother whose husband routinely beat her and threatened to kill her with a kitchen knife to stop “blabbing about his sins” and win him back by showing him more respect
Sudden aggressive outbursts are part of what it means to be a man, according to Pearl. “The wisest way to handle the aggressive husband is by not taking personal offense,” she advises. “Avoid provoking him.”
In an appendix at the end of the book, Michael Pearl weighs in and writes:
“Has your husband reviled you and threatened you? You are exhorted to respond as Jesus did. When he was reviled and threatened, he suffered by committing himself to a higher judge who is righteous. You must commit yourself to the one who placed you under your husband’s command. Your husband will answer to God, and you must answer to God for how you respond to your husband, even when he causes you to suffer.Just as we are to obey government in every ordinance, and servants are to obey their masters, even the ones who are abusive and surly, ‘likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands’…You can freely call your husband ‘lord’ when you know that you are addressing the one who put him in charge and asked you to suffer at your husband’s hands just as our Lord suffered at the hands of unjust authorities…When you endure evil and railing without returning it, you receive a blessing, not just as a martyr, but as one who worships God.”
It seems the Pearls believe that a wife should submit to her husband, even if it means her death…and presumably, the death of her children.
Why bring this to your attention? Because the Pearls are inexplicably popular in certain Christian circles, and abuse in the name of God must be spoken against.
If your church is considering using books by the Pearls as part of its curriculum, please say something. If you see friends or family employing their tactics, confront them. This is not simply a matter of different parenting methods or relationship styles—like Sears vs. Ezzo, or cloth diapers vs. disposable diapers, or complementarianism vs. egalitarianism—it’s a matter of abuse.
There can be no more beatings, no more deaths…especially not in the name of Christ.
Please, speak up on behalf of the defenseless and speak out against Michael and Debi Pearl.
SIGN A PETITION TO GET "TO TRAIN UP A CHILD" OFF OF AMAZON
(And, if you think of it, shoot Elizabeth Esther a message of encouragement today. What she did was very brave.)Texas Tech quarterback Jett Duffey has been suspended from the university for the spring and summer, a Tech spokesman said Tuesday, eliminating one of Patrick Mahomes II’s successor candidates for at least the next several months.
Tech spokesman Chris Cook said Duffey’s suspension was imposed by the university rather than the football program, but declined to detail reasons for the action.
"There is protected information that I can’t share at this time," Cook said.
Asked Duffey’s future as a Tech student and Tech athlete, Cook said, "That, I couldn’t tell you. I can tell you he is suspended only for those two semesters. He is eligible to return in the fall."
Duffey was a high-profile member of the Red Raiders’ 2016 signing class after leading his Mansfield Lake Ridge team to a 15-1 record and state runner-up finish in 2015. The Associated Press Sports Editors named Duffey first-team all-state and the Class 5A player of the year.
He enrolled at Tech last January, spending two semesters with the team, but the Red Raiders redshirted him this season.
The confirmation of Duffey’s suspension came on the same day Mahomes publicly declared for the NFL draft, leaving a void at quarterback.
Mahomes’ backup, senior Nic Shimonek, figured to be Mahomes’ successor regardless, but the pool has been thinned. Even if Duffey returns in the fall, he’ll have missed valuable months of team activities and development time in which other QBs have taken part.
Tyler Junior College quarterback McLane Carter is coming into the program at mid-term, and Tech has a commitment from Cibolo Steele quarterback Xavier Martin to be part of the February class. Other quarterbacks on the team with eligibility remaining are walk-0ns Payne Sullins, who’ll be a junior next season, and Roosevelt graduate Colt Garrett, who’ll be a redshirt freshman.Sony has just revealed their newest flag ship action camera, which on paper may be the best action camera available, the FDR-X3000R. It comes with a whole new Balanced Optical SteadyShot (B.O.SS) image stabilization system. You might be aware of the Electronic Image Stabilization system. Well this is an upgraded version. Whole new technology. This image stabilization system even works at 4K resolution and in high-speed recording modes.
The X3000R is the first action camera to have the B.O.SS image stabilization system. It comes with a huge range of different mounts. It can be attached to a car, bike, motorcycle or yourself. There are accessories for everything. The action camera also comes with a Live-View remote that is 30% smaller than its previous version. It will even get its own mount for attaching it onto a handlebar. The Live-View remote can also be worn as a watch. So you can control everything off it while say snowboarding or skiing.
Besides the live-view remote, the FDR-X3000R can still be also controlled via a smartphone or a tablet. It connects with the PlayMemories Mobile app.
The X3000R action camera has a special optimized BIONZ X processor. The very same but slightly bigger processor is also used in the Sony A7 cameras. 4K resolution videos can be captured at 100Mbps bitrate. The action camera has also got a stereo mic which has a Wind Noise Reduction feature for improved audio quality. The camera also comes with an underwater housing for depths of 60m / 197ft. Besides 4K videos, the camera also allows to capture 8.3MP interval shots while the it is recording in 4K. Sony has also provided a free Action Cam Movie Creator software for PC for editing videos.
The Sony FDR-X3000R will be available for €600 / $580. They will start shipping |
to comply with the principles of special relativity, namely that no signal can travel faster than light. The second, reality assumption, says that measurement outcomes of an experiment should be determined independently of the measurement settings—that is, there is a reality out there independent of us choosing how and what to measure. Bell came up with a set of conditions (known as “Bell’s inequalities”) that could be tested in experiments and should be upheld if those two assumptions are correct.But Bell’s inequalities have been violated many times and therefore we face the following stark choice, the Bell dilemma as it were: Either the world is not real, or special relativity is wrong (or both!).A number of physicists would like the world to be real. After all, we know that the universe, the earth, other forms of life etc, all existed before we humans came along. So it should not matter whether we observe the universe or not, surely it’s got to have an independent existence from measurements. Nicolas Gisin at the University of Geneva is one such experimental physicist. The conclusion that you then have to draw is that within these entanglement experiments there are signals travelling faster than light (in some frame of reference), allowing entangled particles to communicate seemingly instantaneously, and adjust their properties in unison.Gisin and his group in Geneva recently decided to test how quickly this signal would have to propagate. They generated entangled photons between two villages is Switzerland, separated by 18 kilometers. Their results have been communicated in a recent letter to Nature and the conclusion is that the speed would have to be at least ten thousand times higher than that of light! “Physicists spooked by faster-than-light information transfer” ran the headlines! Special relativity is therefore in serious trouble. Or is it?Well, maybe not. The argument over the interpretation of the results that were announced last May is raging on. There are some technical objections to the conclusiveness of Gisin’s results, most notably by Anton Zeilinger’s group in Vienna. (You can read about Zeilinger attempts to create entanglement on the largest ever scale in Grace Stemp-Morlock’s article “Quantum Upsizing”.) Zeilinger, by the way, when faced with the Bell dilemma, would rather keep the locality assumption and admit that the world is in some sense unreal. I know this from our numerous conversations. The latter hinges on the fact that the Gisin experiments did not exhaust all the measurements necessary to demonstrate a violation of Bell’s inequalities.I don’t want to get bogged down in all the unnecessary detail, but you can read Zeilinger’s latest arguments here, and Gisin’s response here Instead, there is a much more general point that I would like to make and this one is frequently overlooked. Gisin’s exposition of his group’s results may give us the misleading impression that quantum physics and special relativity sit uneasily with each other. That they are in some sense incompatible: You have to either side with quantum mechanics or with special relativity, but you can’t have them both, you can’t have your cake and eat it.This, however, is not true at all. Quantum physics and relativity were combined into what is called quantum field theory almost immediately after the advent of quantum mechanics, in the late 1920s. And quantum field theory is a spectacularly successful theory, the most successful description of nature known to humans. Its span is simply breathtaking, ranging as it does from the minute subatomic particles, via macroscopic phenomena in solid state physics to many problems at the grand cosmological scales.My personal view is this. All the experiments on entanglement, including Gisin’s, are really telling us one thing. It is high time we grew up and got used to quantum mechanics as it is and all its basic tenets. As grown-ups we know there are no witches or ghosts (even on Halloween) and so we should stop using archaic language, such as “reality” and “causality.” This can (and does) lead to confusion. Thinking of quantum entanglement as something still spooky (despite so many experimental verifications) is, to borrow Bertrand Russell’s phrase, “a relic of a bygone era, surviving, like the monarchy, only because it is erroneously supposed to do no harm.”-- Vlatko Vedral is a professor of quantum information science at the University of Leeds, UK, and a professor of physics at NUS, Singapore.
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Quantum of Solace wrote on Nov. 11, 2008 @ 14:24 GMT
Vlatko, are you sure that your numerous conversations with Zielinger were "real"? Would Zeilinger agree?
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"Zeilinger, by the way, when faced with the Bell dilemma, would rather keep the locality assumption and admit that the world is in some sense unreal. I know this from our numerous conversations."Vlatko, are you sure that your numerous conversations with Zielinger were "real"? Would Zeilinger agree?
Georgina Parry wrote on Mar. 3, 2009 @ 01:12 GMT
According to the Prime Quaternion model it is not merely a choice between one reality being real or not but recognition that there are two distinct realities separated by the Prime Reality Interface across which information is transferred.
Subjective reality is formed from the input of information and its processing. This is the everyday reality that we observe, measure, classify and consider to be reality.It is the reality of experience.It is in this reality that the mathematics of relativity applies. It is in this subjective reality that time is experienced.
However on the other side of the prime reality interface is the objective material reality that can not be observed or measured because in doing so information has to be transferred across the Prime Reality Interface and a subjective reality is formed.In this reality there is no time only a quaternion continuum of 4 spatio-energetic dimensions. No time, no relativity.
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Vlatko Vedral said " the choice is either that the world is not real or special relativity is wrong (or both.)"According to the Prime Quaternion model it is not merely a choice between one reality being real or not but recognition that there are two distinct realities separated by the Prime Reality Interface across which information is transferred.Subjective reality is formed from the input of information and its processing. This is the everyday reality that we observe, measure, classify and consider to be reality.It is the reality of experience.It is in this reality that the mathematics of relativity applies. It is in this subjective reality that time is experienced.However on the other side of the prime reality interface is the objective material reality that can not be observed or measured because in doing so information has to be transferred across the Prime Reality Interface and a subjective reality is formed.In this reality there is no time only a quaternion continuum of 4 spatio-energetic dimensions. No time, no relativity.
Georgina Parry wrote on Sep. 8, 2009 @ 01:55 GMT
By the way, as it is so quiet here, returning to the ultraviolet catastrophe... Rather than suggesting that energy comes in discreet packages or photon particles it could be regarded as an artefact of the harmonic nature of the medium of space that effects the energy transmitted. Just as a Bose-Einstein condensate will only spin at certain rates when energy is supplied, so the unknown medium of space may only transmit certain frequencies of light. The photon being equivalent to the minimum amount of disturbance that can be transmitted. The medium of space may not have an atomic structure and will therefore not behave as known matter but perhaps more like the Bose-Einstein condensate, which has been described as a super atom, the whole behaving as a singular entity with regard to the rotation energy.
When the photon particle idea was adopted it was thought that there was experimental proof that there could be no medium of transmission in space, which may have been an error.It is certainly possible for something to exist without it being detectable.
Light can be explained is as a wave within the unknown medium of empty space propagating along the 4th dimension whilst also spreading out through 3D space. The spreading out across 3D space is limited by the change in position along the 4th dimension as these are both aspects of the same propagation of the wave but considered with respect to the different dimensions. The propagation along the 4th dimension is the same as that of the matter of the universe, (which is the maximum possible energetic change along this dimension.)This allows light to remain visible.If the change in position along the 4th dimension was not the same as that of the material universe it would cease to be visible, being afore or aft along the 4th dimension. This all goes to explain why the speed of light in a vacuum is observed to be constant.
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If the 4th dimension is spatio-energetic rather than time, any change in position or action directly along the 4th dimension will appear instantaneous. Gravity acts along the 4th dimension (confirmed by Maxwell's quaternion mathematics of electrodynamics) so is observed to be an instantaneous force. This does not disagree with Einstein and the constant speed of light because it is a force along the 4th dimension not directly through 3D space, although the effects of the force are observable in 3D space. Instantaneous communication is therefore possible along the 4th spatio-energetic dimension. It can therefore be speculated that the speed of spookiness is 0 from the 3D space perspective, that is instantaneous. Speed does not apply to change of position along the 4th spatio-energetic dimension. Time taken can only be measured for a change occurring within 3D vector space.By the way, as it is so quiet here, returning to the ultraviolet catastrophe... Rather than suggesting that energy comes in discreet packages or photon particles it could be regarded as an artefact of the harmonic nature of the medium of space that effects the energy transmitted. Just as a Bose-Einstein condensate will only spin at certain rates when energy is supplied, so the unknown medium of space may only transmit certain frequencies of light. The photon being equivalent to the minimum amount of disturbance that can be transmitted. The medium of space may not have an atomic structure and will therefore not behave as known matter but perhaps more like the Bose-Einstein condensate, which has been described as a super atom, the whole behaving as a singular entity with regard to the rotation energy.When the photon particle idea was adopted it was thought that there was experimental proof that there could be no medium of transmission in space, which may have been an error.It is certainly possible for something to exist without it being detectable.Light can be explained is as a wave within the unknown medium of empty space propagating along the 4th dimension whilst also spreading out through 3D space. The spreading out across 3D space is limited by the change in position along the 4th dimension as these are both aspects of the same propagation of the wave but considered with respect to the different dimensions. The propagation along the 4th dimension is the same as that of the matter of the universe, (which is the maximum possible energetic change along this dimension.)This allows light to remain visible.If the change in position along the 4th dimension was not the same as that of the material universe it would cease to be visible, being afore or aft along the 4th dimension. This all goes to explain why the speed of light in a vacuum is observed to be constant.
Jason Wolfe wrote on Sep. 8, 2009 @ 18:10 GMT
If gravity acts along the fourth dimension, then how do gravitationally significant amounts of mass-energy affect the 4th Dim in a way that causes gravitational attraction?
I like your quaternion approach and I have my own ideas about this, but I'm trying to refine them.
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Hi Georgina,If gravity acts along the fourth dimension, then how do gravitationally significant amounts of mass-energy affect the 4th Dim in a way that causes gravitational attraction?I like your quaternion approach and I have my own ideas about this, but I'm trying to refine them.
Georgina wrote on Sep. 8, 2009 @ 22:06 GMT
I'm sure I've already explained how that works in my opinion, though I am grateful for the opportunity to attempt a re-explanation that any reader might find more comprehensible.
For clarity then a few definitions and assumptions of the model are necessary. Afore space is ahead of the material universe along the 4th dimension towards the centre of the hypersphere. Aft space...
view entire post Jason,I'm sure I've already explained how that works in my opinion, though I am grateful for the opportunity to attempt a re-explanation that any reader might find more comprehensible.For clarity then a few definitions and assumptions of the model are necessary. Afore space is ahead of the material universe along the 4th dimension towards the centre of the hypersphere. Aft space...
I'm sure I've already explained how that works in my opinion, though I am grateful for the opportunity to attempt a re-explanation that any reader might find more comprehensible.
For clarity then a few definitions and assumptions of the model are necessary. Afore space is ahead of the material universe along the 4th dimension towards the centre of the hypersphere. Aft space is further back than the material universe towards the exterior of the hypersphere. The material universe is continuously moving towards the centre of the hypersphere. So indirectly contracting in 3D space. We do not observe the material universe but an EM image. The material universe is moving away from the origin of EM radiation along the 4th dimension so the origin of the EM is in aft space relative to the material universe. This change in 4th dimensional distance between the origin of the EM radiation and the material universe, and thus observer, can, in my opinion, lead to the -illusion- of universal expansion. Contraction of the material universe is a necessary component of this model.The highest level of "universal" potential energy is at the outermost region of the hypersphere. Lowest level of "universal" potential energy at the centre of the hypersphere. All objects loose "universal" potential energy at every opportunity. This is also a necessary rule of the proposed model.
The closer an object is to the "gravitationally attracting" body the lower its "universal" potential energy because the "attracting" body is further afore along the 4th dimension. The 4th dimension being a scale of "universal" potential energy (as well as a spatial dimension) in this model. The "universal" potential energy difference between the objects can be reduced by their coming closer together. As all objects loose potential energy at every opportunity the attracting body will not come closer to the attracted by moving aft-wards.
The way in which matter moves along the 4th dimension is not through 3D space but the exterior takes up the position that was occupied by the interior along the 4th dimension. So if the object itself is visualised as a gravity well, because the matter is distributed along the 4th dimension,the interior being most afore, then the gravity well itself is changing position along the 4th dimension. If the object is stationary in 3D vector space no change will be observed, but the effect of gravity will be observed. If the object is in motion in 3D vector space a curvature of path or an orbit will result.
The material description is that the "attracting" mass distorts the unknown medium of space as it passes through giving a kind of wake. Within the "wake" the attracted object obtains the benefit of a drag effect, as there is less resistance to its progress along the 4th dimension. All objects loose universal potential energy at every opportunity. So the "attracted" bodies loss of universal potential energy is maximised by spatial proximity to the "attracting" body.
Please don't ask me to prove that it is true. It is just an explanatory model that works, in my opinion. I appreciate that it does require giving up some currently accepted ideas about the structure and function of the universe, but in return it can answer many of the unanswered questions. Any other comments, suggestions, criticisms welcome.
view post as summary Jason,I'm sure I've already explained how that works in my opinion, though I am grateful for the opportunity to attempt a re-explanation that any reader might find more comprehensible.For clarity then a few definitions and assumptions of the model are necessary. Afore space is ahead of the material universe along the 4th dimension towards the centre of the hypersphere. Aft space is further back than the material universe towards the exterior of the hypersphere. The material universe is continuously moving towards the centre of the hypersphere. So indirectly contracting in 3D space. We do not observe the material universe but an EM image. The material universe is moving away from the origin of EM radiation along the 4th dimension so the origin of the EM is in aft space relative to the material universe. This change in 4th dimensional distance between the origin of the EM radiation and the material universe, and thus observer, can, in my opinion, lead to the -illusion- of universal expansion. Contraction of the material universe is a necessary component of this model.The highest level of "universal" potential energy is at the outermost region of the hypersphere. Lowest level of "universal" potential energy at the centre of the hypersphere. All objects loose "universal" potential energy at every opportunity. This is also a necessary rule of the proposed model.The closer an object is to the "gravitationally attracting" body the lower its "universal" potential energy because the "attracting" body is further afore along the 4th dimension. The 4th dimension being a scale of "universal" potential energy (as well as a spatial dimension) in this model. The "universal" potential energy difference between the objects can be reduced by their coming closer together. As all objects loose potential energy at every opportunity the attracting body will not come closer to the attracted by moving aft-wards.The way in which matter moves along the 4th dimension is not through 3D space but the exterior takes up the position that was occupied by the interior along the 4th dimension. So if the object itself is visualised as a gravity well, because the matter is distributed along the 4th dimension,the interior being most afore, then the gravity well itself is changing position along the 4th dimension. If the object is stationary in 3D vector space no change will be observed, but the effect of gravity will be observed. If the object is in motion in 3D vector space a curvature of path or an orbit will result.The material description is that the "attracting" mass distorts the unknown medium of space as it passes through giving a kind of wake. Within the "wake" the attracted object obtains the benefit of a drag effect, as there is less resistance to its progress along the 4th dimension. All objects loose universal potential energy at every opportunity. So the "attracted" bodies loss of universal potential energy is maximised by spatial proximity to the "attracting" body.Please don't ask me to prove that it is true. It is just an explanatory model that works, in my opinion. I appreciate that it does require giving up some currently accepted ideas about the structure and function of the universe, but in return it can answer many of the unanswered questions. Any other comments, suggestions, criticisms welcome.
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Jason Wolfe wrote on Sep. 9, 2009 @ 01:13 GMT
I'm not going to ask you to prove your model because you are just looking GR in a different way with different definitions. I assume that your system of definitions is consistent; I'm still trying to understand it.
It sounds like afore space is a 4D vector towards the center of an attracting mass-energy. It also seems to imply that as an ball falls, it really takes a course through 4D space (many call it space-time).
When you say that the material universe is continually moving towards the center of the hypersphere, do you mean that an object of mass m attracts everything else in the universe to its center? At this point, I can tell that thinking in 4D geometry requires more careful definitions of what is the hypersphere and what is the material universe. I think you mean that a mass m is the hypersphere and everyting else is the material universe.
By universal potential energy, I think you mean the sum of all potential energies at a given point in space? The potential energy resulting from movement along the 4th dimension I guess can be described by the gravitational potential energy of some object of mass m; I couldn't tell you if it's sign is + or -.
By the way, from your description of the 4th dimension, I'm tempted to think of it as an inward pointing radial vector for every mass m. I have no idea if that can be said to be perpendicular to x,y and z coordinates. I'll go along with it.
When you mentioned that all we see is the EM image (of stars and galaxies, etc) and the continuous redshift (interpretated as an expanding universe), it made me think of the effect of the curvature of the earth. Did you mean to suggest that the increasing redshift is a consequence of a geodesic effect of a 4D universe? In a slight excursion, do you think that an instantaneous gravity and an E&M image might create the effect of dark matter? Just curious.
In this model, space-time is replaced with a 3D+1D where the 1D is universally radial. I guess gravity occurs because every unit of mass has an inwardly moving unit of space as it moves along the 4th dimension; thus 2 times that mass should have twice the inwardly moving space that one unit of mass has.
It's a good model. Probably the biggest problem with it is that explaining hypersphere geometry becomes immediately unintuitive to all of us who can't visualize 4D geometry. I do wonder though: it all makes our movement through time equivalent to gravity...
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Georgina,I'm not going to ask you to prove your model because you are just looking GR in a different way with different definitions. I assume that your system of definitions is consistent; I'm still trying to understand it.It sounds like afore space is a 4D vector towards the center of an attracting mass-energy. It also seems to imply that as an ball falls, it really takes a course through 4D space (many call it space-time).When you say that the material universe is continually moving towards the center of the hypersphere, do you mean that an object of mass m attracts everything else in the universe to its center? At this point, I can tell that thinking in 4D geometry requires more careful definitions of what is the hypersphere and what is the material universe. I think you mean that a mass m is the hypersphere and everyting else is the material universe.By universal potential energy, I think you mean the sum of all potential energies at a given point in space? The potential energy resulting from movement along the 4th dimension I guess can be described by the gravitational potential energy of some object of mass m; I couldn't tell you if it's sign is + or -.By the way, from your description of the 4th dimension, I'm tempted to think of it as an inward pointing radial vector for every mass m. I have no idea if that can be said to be perpendicular to x,y and z coordinates. I'll go along with it.When you mentioned that all we see is the EM image (of stars and galaxies, etc) and the continuous redshift (interpretated as an expanding universe), it made me think of the effect of the curvature of the earth. Did you mean to suggest that the increasing redshift is a consequence of a geodesic effect of a 4D universe? In a slight excursion, do you think that an instantaneous gravity and an E&M image might create the effect of dark matter? Just curious.In this model, space-time is replaced with a 3D+1D where the 1D is universally radial. I guess gravity occurs because every unit of mass has an inwardly moving unit of space as it moves along the 4th dimension; thus 2 times that mass should have twice the inwardly moving space that one unit of mass has.It's a good model. Probably the biggest problem with it is that explaining hypersphere geometry becomes immediately unintuitive to all of us who can't visualize 4D geometry. I do wonder though: it all makes our movement through time equivalent to gravity...
Georgina Parry wrote on Sep. 9, 2009 @ 05:41 GMT
All mass is attractive as two objects can reduce their potential energy difference by becoming closer together. They only ever do this by moving afore because a mass will loose potential energy at every opportunity, not gain it unless extra energy is input. The change of position, towards another object with a 4th dimensional position that is afore, will take the attracted object...
view entire post Jason,All mass is attractive as two objects can reduce their potential energy difference by becoming closer together. They only ever do this by moving afore because a mass will loose potential energy at every opportunity, not gain it unless extra energy is input. The change of position, towards another object with a 4th dimensional position that is afore, will take the attracted object...
All mass is attractive as two objects can reduce their potential energy difference by becoming closer together. They only ever do this by moving afore because a mass will loose potential energy at every opportunity, not gain it unless extra energy is input. The change of position, towards another object with a 4th dimensional position that is afore, will take the attracted object closer to the centre of the hypersphere. The greater the mass the more afore an object will be. It will have a deeper "gravity well". So the object of lower gravitational mass is attracted to the one with larger gravitational mass.
Yes if a ball falls it moves through quaternion 4D space. It is changing position not only in 3D space but along the 4th dimension. By becoming closer to the attracting mass it takes up the most afore position along the 4th dimension that it is able to achieve, thus loosing the maximum amount of universal potential energy and becoming closer to the centre of the hypersphere.
The universal potential energy that an object possess depends upon position along the 4th dimension, making the 4th dimension a potential energy scale. I think that I did come up with another name when talking to John Merryman, to avoid confusion, but I can't remember what it was now. He did not like me calling it absolute potential energy. I am only saying universal here to try to distinguish it from loss of potential energy observed due to vertical movement through vector space. It is the same thing but related to 4th dimensional position not position in 3D vector space.
Loss of universal potential energy gives promotional energy which is akin to kinetic energy (that is observed within 3D vector space), but instead relates to change in spatial position along the 4th dimension. Potential is positional energy related to where the object is and kinetic and promotional energy are motion or change in spatial position energy.
Promotional energy is the driving force for creation, that is self assembly of the universe. It brings matter together so that larger objects and structures are formed.It causes gravity and the subjective experience of time via observation of material and energetic changes occurring as a result of 4th dimensional change in position as well as change in position within 3D vector space. As change of position along the 4th dimension is continuous, changes occurring in 3D vector space are also changes occurring along the 4th dimension. So it is change in quaternion spatial position not just a change in 3D vector space position. Time is therefore associated with loss of universal potential energy and so also gravity, not with increasing entropy. This model does not use a thermodynamic arrow of time.
Yes the 4th dimension can be thought of as originating at the exterior surface of the hypersphere penetrating the surface of a mass at every point on that surface and extending through to the centre of gravity where it then continues through the singularity and into afore space. It can not be given a single direction from 3D vector space.
I do not know the cause of redshift. The material universe has taken a particular path through quaternion space that has also taken it afore along the 4th dimension compared to the origin of the EM radiation. This distance and path is not accounted for if it is assumed that light has just travelled across 3D vector space. This may possibly give rise to the observed red shift. There may be another cause. Whatever the cause it can not be showing a real expansion of the material universe, it must be a misinterpretation, if this model is correct. Light has also travelled through quaternion space, along the 4th dimension and across 3D space. As the light will have taken a different path through quaternion space to the matter of the universe, the matter observed will not be in the 3D spatial position where it is observed. Another illusion.
Terminology is problematic because the words or terms to describe the model adequately do not yet have that meaning. The universe is generally thought of as what we can see when we look into the night sky and beyond with telescopes. That observed universe is an EM image. It is not made of matter but emitted or reflected light or other EM radiation.Perhaps it should be called the EM universe. When I refer to the material universe I am referring to the actual matter itself which we can not see (because we only see EM images). It is not the same thing.
Matter is distributed not just within 3 dimensional space but also along the 4th dimension. So there is matter afore along the 4th dimension and aft along the 4th dimension. There is matter distributed outside of our 3D vector space on either side of it along the 4th dimension. There is thus not just the universe but a Megauniverse, within and forming the hypersphere. Matter that is afore of our material universe will exert a gravitational force on visible matter within our universe, even though that afore matter can not be seen. As light does not travel aft-ward along the 4th dimension. Our material universe may likewise exert gravitational force on matter existing aft of our material universe.The un-seeable gravitational mass effecting our universe may be the dark matter that has been sought. It may also account for many other anomalous observations within the field of astronomy.
I am glad that you appreciate it, Jason. It takes a little getting used to, especially the way things change position but not within 3D space, but then everything else falls into place relatively easily.
view post as summary Jason,All mass is attractive as two objects can reduce their potential energy difference by becoming closer together. They only ever do this by moving afore because a mass will loose potential energy at every opportunity, not gain it unless extra energy is input. The change of position, towards another object with a 4th dimensional position that is afore, will take the attracted object closer to the centre of the hypersphere. The greater the mass the more afore an object will be. It will have a deeper "gravity well". So the object of lower gravitational mass is attracted to the one with larger gravitational mass.Yes if a ball falls it moves through quaternion 4D space. It is changing position not only in 3D space but along the 4th dimension. By becoming closer to the attracting mass it takes up the most afore position along the 4th dimension that it is able to achieve, thus loosing the maximum amount of universal potential energy and becoming closer to the centre of the hypersphere.The universal potential energy that an object possess depends upon position along the 4th dimension, making the 4th dimension a potential energy scale. I think that I did come up with another name when talking to John Merryman, to avoid confusion, but I can't remember what it was now. He did not like me calling it absolute potential energy. I am only saying universal here to try to distinguish it from loss of potential energy observed due to vertical movement through vector space. It is the same thing but related to 4th dimensional position not position in 3D vector space.Loss of universal potential energy gives promotional energy which is akin to kinetic energy (that is observed within 3D vector space), but instead relates to change in spatial position along the 4th dimension. Potential is positional energy related to where the object is and kinetic and promotional energy are motion or change in spatial position energy.Promotional energy is the driving force for creation, that is self assembly of the universe. It brings matter together so that larger objects and structures are formed.It causes gravity and the subjective experience of time via observation of material and energetic changes occurring as a result of 4th dimensional change in position as well as change in position within 3D vector space. As change of position along the 4th dimension is continuous, changes occurring in 3D vector space are also changes occurring along the 4th dimension. So it is change in quaternion spatial position not just a change in 3D vector space position. Time is therefore associated with loss of universal potential energy and so also gravity, not with increasing entropy. This model does not use a thermodynamic arrow of time.Yes the 4th dimension can be thought of as originating at the exterior surface of the hypersphere penetrating the surface of a mass at every point on that surface and extending through to the centre of gravity where it then continues through the singularity and into afore space. It can not be given a single direction from 3D vector space.I do not know the cause of redshift. The material universe has taken a particular path through quaternion space that has also taken it afore along the 4th dimension compared to the origin of the EM radiation. This distance and path is not accounted for if it is assumed that light has just travelled across 3D vector space. This may possibly give rise to the observed red shift. There may be another cause. Whatever the cause it can not be showing a real expansion of the material universe, it must be a misinterpretation, if this model is correct. Light has also travelled through quaternion space, along the 4th dimension and across 3D space. As the light will have taken a different path through quaternion space to the matter of the universe, the matter observed will not be in the 3D spatial position where it is observed. Another illusion.Terminology is problematic because the words or terms to describe the model adequately do not yet have that meaning. The universe is generally thought of as what we can see when we look into the night sky and beyond with telescopes. That observed universe is an EM image. It is not made of matter but emitted or reflected light or other EM radiation.Perhaps it should be called the EM universe. When I refer to the material universe I am referring to the actual matter itself which we can not see (because we only see EM images). It is not the same thing.Matter is distributed not just within 3 dimensional space but also along the 4th dimension. So there is matter afore along the 4th dimension and aft along the 4th dimension. There is matter distributed outside of our 3D vector space on either side of it along the 4th dimension. There is thus not just the universe but a Megauniverse, within and forming the hypersphere. Matter that is afore of our material universe will exert a gravitational force on visible matter within our universe, even though that afore matter can not be seen. As light does not travel aft-ward along the 4th dimension. Our material universe may likewise exert gravitational force on matter existing aft of our material universe.The un-seeable gravitational mass effecting our universe may be the dark matter that has been sought. It may also account for many other anomalous observations within the field of astronomy.I am glad that you appreciate it, Jason. It takes a little getting used to, especially the way things change position but not within 3D space, but then everything else falls into place relatively easily.
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Jason Wolfe wrote on Sep. 10, 2009 @ 09:06 GMT
I do appreciate the time that you take to answer some of my questions. I think we are both looking at gravity in similar ways. I still like the idea that our universe has inflated and continues to remain inflated. I think your theory is much cleaner and better organized than what I've been coming up with. I want to encourage you to keep at it. I think that your approach can be a very useful way to look at gravity and space-time; that is, after one gets accustomed to 4D thinking.
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Georgina,I do appreciate the time that you take to answer some of my questions. I think we are both looking at gravity in similar ways. I still like the idea that our universe has inflated and continues to remain inflated. I think your theory is much cleaner and better organized than what I've been coming up with. I want to encourage you to keep at it. I think that your approach can be a very useful way to look at gravity and space-time; that is, after one gets accustomed to 4D thinking.
Georgina Parry wrote on Sep. 10, 2009 @ 12:07 GMT
I've just begun the process of tidying it up. It has been helpful to try to find new ways of explaining the concepts clearly.
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Thank you Jason,I've just begun the process of tidying it up. It has been helpful to try to find new ways of explaining the concepts clearly.
Anonymous wrote on Sep. 10, 2009 @ 23:54 GMT
You said "I still like the idea that our universe has inflated and continues to remain inflated."
Inflation is not contradictory to the proposed model although an alternative of continuous recycling is also suggested.
According to the model I have proposed, the universe is not contracting directly through 3D space but contraction results from 4th dimesional change in position. Spiral contraction of 3D matter resulting from the combination of change in 4th diemsional spatial position combined with motion through 3D vector space, giving curved path or orbit. This is predicted by the quaternion mathematics and observed in galaxies.This is also in keeping with einstein's origional prediction that the universe must either be expanding or contracting.
There is growing evidence that expansion may not be the correct interpretation.
More astronomers questioning that expansion may be incorrect interpretation
Although the propogation of light along the 4th dimesion and change of position for matter along this dimension will be the same, Speed of light measured in 3D vector space just does not apply to 4th dimensional change. The speed of light in 3D vector space is limited by the propogation rate of the wave through quaternion space not just 3D space and so also change along the 4th dimension. The continuous sequential change in position of matter and light along the 4th dimension in the absence of other forces is fixed by the physical properties of the unknown medium of space.It may be a super fluid "aether |
that everyone is enjoying the recent release of Build 28 and the highly anticipated Devotion System. But there is still more to come!We are still on track for a 2015 release of Build 29, and all of the games promised content with it. We already showed you some of the Legendary items you can look forward to hunting down, but there is still more to come with itemization. In todays update, we would like to talk about how we are expanding the selection of Unique items in the endgame.Throughout your levelling experience, you will find a variety of unique items that will suit your particular playstyle but, like the lowly scrap-heap of equipment you wear early on, there will come a time when you have to retire your favorite Epic item in favor of something new that helps you compete with the ever stronger monsters of Cairn. However, we feel that it would be a shame to leave all those items behind in the dust, so we have created what we are calling Empowered Epics.Empowered Epics are just that, powered up versions of low level unique items which have been updated to become competitive with high level equipment. Empowered Epics are treated like new items in that they do not just get their existing stats increased, they also receive new bonuses and skills on top of that. Take a look at some of the Epic items receiving the Empowered treatment.Empowered Epics will be added to the loot tables with the release of Build 29. You do not have to keep lower level versions of these Epics to acquire them, but if having them feels like a lucky charm, by all means.Like knowing what is coming up next for Grim Dawn? Check back on 12/21/2015 for our regular development updates! Attached Thumbnails
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***Waste of Souls***How Atomic Particles Helped Solve A Wine Fraud Mystery
Enlarge this image toggle caption C J Walker/Courtesy of William Koch C J Walker/Courtesy of William Koch
In a laboratory, deep under a mile-high stretch of the Alps on the French-Italian border, Philippe Hubert, a physicist at the University of Bordeaux, is testing the authenticity of a bottle of wine.
"We are looking for radioactivity in the wine," says Hubert. "Most of the time the collectors send me bottles of wine because they want to know if it is fake or not."
First, Hubert takes the bottle in the hand and puts it close to a detector. After he closes the shielding, which blocks the radiation, he records the gamma rays. The level of those gamma rays emitted can often tell him something about when the wine was bottled. For example, if it was bottled before about 1945, there shouldn't be any cesium 137 — radioactive evidence of exploded nuclear bombs and the Atomic Age — in the wine.
But that's not the only way to do it. Maureen Downey, wine detective and founder of Chai Consulting wine appraisal and authentication in San Francisco, has a toolkit of items she uses to forensically examine bottles of wine — razor blades, magnifying glasses, jewelers loupes, flashlights, blue light.
"Counterfeit wines have become a much bigger problem of late," says Downey. "In the last year, I myself have written reports for about $5 million worth of fakes."
And as fraud goes up, experts are going to greater lengths than ever before to authenticate wine — the fibers of the label paper, the tiny pits in the glass, the depth of the punt in the bottom of the bottle, all hold clues. And so do the corks.
"Fraudsters put a lot of work into trying to make their corks look distressed," says Jancis Robinson, a longtime wine writer for The Financial Times. "It's important that the label look like it's been around the block a bit, so they might rub it with a bit of earth or coffee grounds."
Uncovering The Jefferson Bottles
Enlarge this image toggle caption CJ Walker/Courtesy of William Koch CJ Walker/Courtesy of William Koch
"There are two ways to counterfeit wine," says Patrick Radden Keefe, a staff writer at The New Yorker. "You're either messing with the bottle or you're messing with the wine itself." He wrote a story a few years ago about one of the most intriguing fakes of all: the Jefferson bottles.
The saga of the Jefferson bottles begins in 1985 at a wine auction at Christie's in London where they auctioned off a bottle of 1787 Lafite, from one of the finest vineyards in France.
"It was a very old bottle inscribed in a spindly hand with 1787, Lafite, and the letters 'Th.J,' " says Keefe. "Christie's said that evidence suggested that this bottle came from a collection of old French wines which had belonged to Thomas Jefferson."
The bottle sold for about $157,000 to the Forbes family — the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold at auction. Keefe says that when Malcolm Forbes was told he'd won the bid, he said, "It's more fun than the opera glasses Lincoln was holding when he was shot. And we have those, too."
After that, wine collectors began jockeying to get hold of other Jefferson bottles as they began to emerge on the market. Bill Koch, whose brothers Charles and David of Koch Industries are often referred to as the Koch brothers, is an avid collector of art, Western Americana and wine. He purchased four of the Jefferson bottles in the late 1980s for a half-million dollars.
"When people came to visit and have wine in his capacious wine cellar at his home in Palm Beach," says Keefe, "Bill Koch would proudly show off his Jefferson bottles."
In 2005, when the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston was preparing for an exhibit of Koch's collection, it contacted the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello to verify the provenance of the wines.
"All of us at Monticello at that time were very skeptical about any connection between Jefferson and these wine bottles," says Lucia (Cinder) Stanton, a senior historian who has worked at Monticello for over 30 years.
Jefferson was the "leading wine connoisseur of the Republic, the presiding expert in French wine in this country," Stanton says. He ordered wine for George Washington, and he wrote out descriptions of the first growths and best wines in France for a number of American merchants.
He was also a meticulous record keeper who recorded every aspect of his life in detail. When he returned from France he had the wines he'd purchased for himself and President Washington carefully shipped to the U.S. According to his detailed books, they all arrived intact, she says.
"In his vast records of over 60,000 documents," says Stanton, "there was nothing that suggested Jefferson had ever ordered any of these wines. In the so-called Jefferson bottles, there were about a dozen bottles including a 1784 and a 1787 Chateaux d'Yquem, a 1787 Lafite, a Margaux. Most of them were 1787, a vintage Jefferson never ordered in his life."
'Saddle Up'
When Bill Koch realized that he had potentially been crossed, he contacted Jim Elroy, a former FBI agent.
"Elroy is a kind of a genial, bloodhound of a guy," says Keefe, the reporter. The ringtone on his cellphone is the whistled theme to the Clint Eastwood cowboy film, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. "So Koch says to Elroy: 'Saddle up.' And Elroy did."
Elroy put together a team of wine experts, including a former Scotland Yard inspector in England and a former MI5 agent in Germany, and launched an international investigation.
"I identified the perpetrator as a man named Hardy Rodenstock," says Elroy.
toggle caption Adam Woolfitt/Corbis
Hardy Rodenstock was a former music publisher who managed German pop acts. He had been a fixture on the European wine scene since the 1980s. He was well-known for hosting lavish, flamboyant wine tastings inviting celebrities, dignitaries and wine critics.
"Hardy I met quite a few times," says wine expert Jancis Robinson. "Hardy supposedly found the Jefferson bottles in a bricked-up cellar in Paris, but he couldn't give anymore details. He was never specific about exactly how many bottles there were."
The Cesium 137 Test
Jim Elroy had a hunch that the wine in the Jefferson bottles did not date back to the 18th century, but he needed a way to prove it, preferably without opening the bottle and destroying its contents.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Regis Duvignau/Reuters /Landov Regis Duvignau/Reuters /Landov
"I started looking in Scientific American magazine," said Elroy, "and I found an article that Philippe Hubert, a French physicist, had written about using low-level gamma ray detection for cesium 137 to date wine. Cesium 137 did not exist on this planet until we exploded the first atomic bomb."
As physicist Philippe Hubert explains: "The cesium radioactivity we find in the wines reflects exactly the history of the Atomic Age. It is radioactive isotope, which is not natural. It's a fission product. First you had the development of the nuclear bomb: Hiroshima, Nagasaki. Then in the '50s and '60s, the Cold War between the U.S. and Soviets, and the nuclear atmospheric tests. Then in 1986 — the Chernobyl accident, which released a lot of cesium activity into the atmosphere. And then Fukushima Daiichi in Japan — we are following that."
This radioactivity is everywhere on Earth — in our food, clothing, the cells of our body. "It is in the atmosphere," says Hubert. "And then with rain this radioactivity falls on the grapes. When you make the wine, this comes into the wine and stays into the wine."
Jim Elroy was confident that this was going to be the smoking gun that would prove Rodenstock guilty of fabricating the Jefferson bottles. He personally flew to the French-Italian border where Hubert was going to do the test, carrying the Jefferson bottles in bulletproof cases.
"By looking at the level of gamma rays emitted from a bottle of wine," Elroy explains, Hubert could determine when the wine was bottle. Obviously, if it was bottled before about 1945, there shouldn't be any Cesium 137 in the wine."
The experiment took place a mile underground to shield the test from the gamma rays in the atmosphere. "In order to shield the detector even further," says Elroy, "we had to use lead that was smelted prior to 1945. In this case, it was Roman lead smelted shortly after the birth of Christ."
Hubert subjected the Jefferson bottles to the test. "We don't need to open the bottles," says Hubert. "The gamma rays can escape the wine and cross the thickness of the glass without any problem."
"Unfortunately," says Hubert, "we could not detect any cesium inside the wine."
So it was certain that the wine had been bottled before the Atomic Age. But there was no way this test could prove whether or not this wine was as old as Jefferson.
Recipes And Dentistry Provide More Clues
Counterfeiting wine is nothing new. People have been doing it for centuries. "Louis XIV had a royal decree that all of the wine barrels coming from the Côtes du Rhône area had to be stamped with a CDR to prove that they were Côtes du Rhône," says wine detective Maureen Downey.
In modern times, fraudster Rudy Kurniawan, who is now in jail for creating and selling counterfeit wine, built an entire laboratory in his condo in California.
"Kurniawan's kitchen was literally a factory for making counterfeit wine," says Downey, who went through the evidence with the FBI. "He had recipes written on bottles in his kitchen. For example, his recipe for 1945 Mouton Rothschild said: one-half 1988 Pichon Melant; one-quarter oxidized Bordeaux; and one-quarter Napa Cab."
"You're not talking about plonk that is being put into these bottles," says Downey. "These are careful recipes. I don't know if Kurniawan was a great chef or a chemist."
And what about those Jefferson bottles? Bill Koch's investigators tracked down the people in Germany who had engraved the Jefferson bottles with Th.J. They used a modern dentist tool that could not possibly have existed in the time of Thomas Jefferson.
"One expert likens it to Abraham Lincoln holding an iPhone," says Downey. "When you've got Abraham Lincoln in a photograph holding an iPhone, we've got a problem."
Additional features, photos, recipes and music can be found at kitchensisters.org.Recommended Video Fork Yeah Mexico City's Ultimate Churro Spot
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Bigfoot Lodge Atwater Village Not enough rockabillies, bikers, and animatronic woodland creatures at The Griffin for you? Walk two block down Los Feliz Blvd and get yourself into Bigfoot Lodge for some of the best craft cocktails the city has to offer.
The Roost Atwater Village The Roost may not have free popcorn anymore (boo!), but you can still spend Christmas Day with its world-famous Big TV.
The Griffin Atwater Village You’ll feel like you’re in the Gryffindor common room at the tapestry-adorned, fireplace-laden Griffin, and that’s definitely not a bad thing. Bonus: sweet-potato tots.
El Carmen Beverly Grove It’s not Christmas without copious amounts of tequila, so get El Carmen in your life right away. And you know what goes great with tequila? Many more tequilas. Opens at 7pm.
Mr. C Beverly Hills Why not spend Christmas in a hotel bar like an elegant ‘90s divorcée? Mr. C’s bar will be open, and its mulled-wine game will be strong.
Backstage Culver City Backstage will be open all day to meet your Yuletide day-drinking needs. Merry Christmas indeed.
Culver Hotel Culver City Ever wondered how they celebrated Christmas in hotels in the ‘20s? Well, time machines don’t exist, so drinking in this very legit 1920s-era bar on Christmas Day is the closest you can get. Show up early, because it'll close at 6.
Library Bar Downtown We know you and your friends love to take turns reading passages from Pride and Prejudice to each other, and Library Bar will ensure you can get your Jane Austen on, even on the 25th. Oh, and get a couple thousand orders of the pork belly skewers (with spicy maple glaze, cilantro, and lime), because you have to treat yo'self sometimes.
Spring St Bar Downtown This Thrillist-fave bar full of delicious sandwiches will be jingle bell rockin’ from noon until close, so if you’re Downtown, this is a done deal, especially since it always has an Anchor on draft, and it’s always $5.
Beelman’s Pub Downtown If Library Bar and Beelman’s aren’t enough for you, keep the ACME Hospitality crawl going by at their newest spot for some not-obnoxiously-designer burgers and seven rotating taps.
Little Easy Downtown If jambalaya is all you really want for Christmas, this NOLA-style gastropub will fulfill your dreams. Open from 12pm-2am.
Sassafras Hollywood If you’ve ever wanted to spend Christmas Day in the middle of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, look no further than Sassafras, a decked-out bayou-style bar with live music and great drink specials. Bonus: you’ll most definitely not hear the Deliverance banjo riff.
Burgundy Room Hollywood It’s maximum dark in the Burgundy Room, which means you won’t have to get a good look at all the nightmare people cruising down Cahuenga.
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The Pikey Hollywood With its Christmas roast and Christmas cheer cocktails, The Pikey aims to trick you into thinking you’re in the Dickensian Christmas age. Check it out from 4pm-2am.
HMS Bounty Koreatown Koreatown’s best nautically themed bar will be doling out its traditionally stiff pours on Santa’s big day, so make sure you’re a part of that. Ho, ho, ho, and a barrel of rum. In a single drink.
Baja Sharkeez Manhattan Beach & Hermosa Beach Even Santa Claus has his bro side. Hit up Baja Sharkeez to unleash it in the South Bay.
The Colorado Bar Pasadena Conveniently located right across the street from Denny’s, so, looks like you've got your day planned. 7pm-close.
Bodega Wine Bar Pasadena & Santa Monica Even if you’re not a wine expert, Bodega will treat you kindly. And so will its finger-licking small plates (like Caprese sliders and homemade hummus & pita).
The Gaslite Santa Monica Free popcorn, karaoke, and nary a lick of pretentiousness to be seen. Have yourself a merry little sing-along from 5pm ‘til close.
The Chimneysweep Sherman Oaks It’s not a holiday in the Valley if you don’t end up at the Sweep for some pool and White Russians. It’ll be open bright and early at 10am.
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4100 Bar Silver Lake 4100 Bar will be spreading the real holiday cheer from 6pm-2am with a jukebox, photo booth, and $8 Dickel picklebacks.
Laurel Tavern Studio City If you’ve managed to round up your entire family, Laurel Tavern will do you right with its big communal tables, burgers, and strong craft beer lineup.
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Avec Nous Beverly Hills Hotels don’t close on Christmas! Which means that L’Ermitage in Beverly Hills won’t be closed. Which means that Avec Nous, the upscale French spot with the best cocktails in Beverly Hills won’t be closed. Which means you should go to there.
El Tejano North Hollywood When Bow & Truss closed, El Tejano went kind of the other way with a Tex-Mex sports bar vibe. They’ll be open for their normal hours, so you can start spreading Christmas cheer as early as 9am.
Highland Park Bowl Highland Park Not exactly a bar, but it’d be dumb of us not to tell you to hit up one of 2016’s most stunning openings (especially one the whole family can enjoy). Plus they’ve also GOT a bar, so no complaining, OK?
Golden Gopher Downtown The Goph is one of LA’s best neighborhood vibes, and they’ll be slinging drinks on Xmas starting at 5pm, which will give you plenty of time to think about what to play on the jukebox.
Tony’s Saloon Arts District People can forget about Tony’s, because it’s so far towards the edge of the Arts District. But Tony’s is still there, great patio and all, and will totally be open so don’t forget this time.
Arts District Brewing Arts District You can gather your Xmas crew and head to ADB as early as 5pm for Skee-Ball, ping-pong, cornhole, and darts (and beer... definitely beer).
Sixth St Tavern Downtown Great beer list. Great food (wings!). Lots of space and outdoor seating. A perfect spot to hit before you crawl towards Library Bar, Spring St. Bar, and Beelman’s (also all open!). Hooray!
The Thirsty Crow Silver Lake At 9pm, one of Silver Lake’s neighborhood-iest spots will open up to feel whatever’s left of the cheer. You’ll want any drink they make with ginger beer.
Idle Hour North Hollywood An extensive whiskey list in a bar that’s shaped like a whiskey barrel? Yes. Such yes. They’ll open up shop at 5pm for all your Christmas needs.
Bigfoot West Culver City The Culver City-based, less biker-y outpost of the Atwater Spot will be jinglin' starting at the their normal time of 5pm.William Doyle Ruckelshaus (born July 24, 1932) is an American attorney and former U.S. government official. He was the first head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970, was subsequently acting Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and then Deputy Attorney General of the United States. During 1983 through 1985 he returned as EPA Administrator.
Early life, military service and education [ edit ]
Ruckelshaus was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, the son of Marion Doyle Covington and John K. Ruckelshaus.[3] He is from a distinguished family with a long history of practicing law in Indianapolis and serving in Republican Party politics.
He attended parochial schools until the age of 16, then finished high school in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, at the Portsmouth Abbey School. After graduation, he served for two years in the United States Army, becoming a drill sergeant, and left the service in 1955. Ruckelshaus then graduated with an A.B. (cum laude) in history from Princeton University, followed in 1960 by an LL.B. from Harvard Law School.
In 1961 Ellen, his first wife, died unexpectedly shortly after the birth of twins called Mary and Cathy. In 1962 he remarried, to Jill Strickland, who changed her name to Jill Ruckelshaus. They had three children together.[4]
Early legal and political career [ edit ]
After passing the Indiana bar exam, Ruckelshaus joined the family law firm of Ruckelshaus, Bobbitt, and O'Connor.[5]
In 1960, at age 28, he was appointed as Deputy Attorney General of Indiana, and served through 1965.[5] For two years he was assigned to the Indiana Board of Health. As counsel to the Indiana Stream Pollution Control Board, Ruckelshaus obtained court orders prohibiting industries and municipalities from heavy pollution of the state's water supply; he also helped draft the 1961 Indiana Air Pollution Control Act, the state's first attempt to reduce that problem.[5] After that assignment, he spent two years as Chief Counsel for the Attorney General's Office.[5]
In 1964 Ruckelshaus ran as a moderate Republican for an Indiana Congressional seat, losing in the primaries to a candidate from the conservative wing of the party. He subsequently spent a year as Minority Attorney for the Indiana State Senate.[5]
He won a seat in the Indiana House of Representatives in 1967, benefiting from an up year for Republicans overall.[5] During his term in office, until 1969, he served as Majority Leader of the House.[5] Ruckelshaus won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in 1968, but lost in the general election 51%–48% to Birch Bayh.[6]
In 1969 President Richard Nixon appointed him as Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Civil Division for the U.S. Department of Justice,[5] a post he held until his appointment as the first administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, in 1970.[citation needed]
EPA Administrator [ edit ]
Administrator Ruckelshaus on a tour of the Four Corners Air Quality Region by EPA airplane
Ruckelshaus became the United States Environmental Protection Agency's first Administrator when the agency was formed on December 2, 1970, by President Nixon. Although many people were mentioned as possibilities for this new position, Ruckelshaus got the nod based upon the strong recommendation of the U.S. Attorney General, John Mitchell. The idea was initially proposed in a Newsweek opinion column by a friend of Ruckelshaus without his knowledge, after which he approached his boss at the U.S. Department of Justice (Mitchell) about the position.[7]
The burning Cuyahoga River had created a national outcry. As the EPA moved ahead on pollution control, The Attorney General of the United States, John N. Mitchell gave a Press Conference, December 18, 1970: “I would like to call attention to an area of activity that we have not publicly emphasized lately, but which I feel, because of the changing events, deserves your attention. I refer to the pollution control litigation, with particular reference to our work with the new Environmental Protection Agency, now headed by William Ruckelshaus. As in the case of other government departments and agencies, EPA refers civil and criminal suits to the Department of Justice, which determines whether there is a base for prosecution and of course, if we find it so, we proceed with court action…And today, I would like to announce that we are filing suit this morning against the Jones and Laughlin Steel Corporation for discharging substantial quantities of cyanide into the Cuyahoga River near Cleveland. Mr. Ruckelshaus has said, when he asked the Department to file this suit, that the 180-day notice filed against the company had expired. We are filing a civil suit to seek immediate injunctive relief under the Refuse Act of 1899 and the Federal Water Pollution Act to halt the discharge of these deleterious materials into the river.”[8]
Ruckelshaus laid the foundation for the EPA by hiring its leaders, defining its mission, deciding priorities, and selecting an organizational structure. He also oversaw the implementation of the Clean Air Act of 1970.[9]
DDT ban [ edit ]
With the formation of EPA, authority over pesticides was transferred to it from the Department of Agriculture. The fledgling EPA's first order of business was whether to issue a ban of DDT. Judge Edmund Sweeney was appointed to examine the case and held testimony hearings for seven months. His conclusion was that DDT "is not a carcinogenic hazard to man" and that "there is a present need for the essential uses of DDT."
However, Ruckelshaus, who had not attended the hearings or read the report himself, overruled Sweeney's decision and issued the ban nevertheless, claiming that DDT was a "potential human carcinogen".[10][unreliable source?]
Saturday Night Massacre [ edit ]
In April 1973 in the growing midst of the Watergate scandal, there was a major reshuffling of Nixon administration posts, due to the resignations of White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman and Domestic Affairs Advisor John Ehrlichman. Ruckelshaus's record of success at EPA and his reputation for integrity led to his being appointed Acting Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Later in the same year, he was appointed Deputy Attorney General of the United States Department of Justice. In an event known as the "Saturday Night Massacre", Ruckelshaus and his boss, Elliot Richardson, resigned their positions within the Justice Department rather than obey an order from President Nixon to fire the Watergate special prosecutor, Archibald Cox, who was investigating official misconduct on the part of the president and his aides.
Private law [ edit ]
After leaving the Justice Department, Ruckelshaus returned to the private sector and the practice of law, joining towards the end of 1973 the Washington law firm of Ruckelshaus, Beveridge, Fairbanks, and Diamond. Two years later, he and his wife and five children moved to Seattle, Washington, where he accepted a position as Senior Vice President of Legal Affairs of the Weyerhaeuser Company.
He also served as a director of American Water Development with, among others, Maurice Strong, Samuel Belzberg, Alexander Crutchfield and Richard Lamm.
EPA Administrator redux [ edit ]
In 1983, with the EPA in crisis due to mass resignations over the mishandling of the Superfund project,[11] President Ronald Reagan appointed Ruckelshaus to serve as EPA Administrator again. This time it was White House Chief of Staff James Baker who was Ruckelshaus's champion in asking him to return to the agency. The White House acceded to Ruckhelshaus's request to allow him maximum autonomy in the choice of new appointees.
Ruckelshaus attempted to win back public confidence in the EPA, a challenging task in the face of a skeptical press and a wary Congress, both of whom scrutinized all aspects of the agency's activities and some of whom interpreted a number of its actions in the worst possible light. Nonetheless, Ruckelshaus filled the top-level staffing slots with persons of competence, turned the attention of the staff back to the agency's fundamental mission, and raised the esteem of the agency in the public mind.
On November 28, 1984, Ruckelshaus announced that he would be retiring as EPA head, effective January 5, 1985, around the start of President Reagan's second term. In actuality he stayed on until February 7, 1985.
Of his two tenures at EPA, Ruckelshaus later reflected:
I've had an awful lot of jobs in my lifetime, and in moving from one to another, have had the opportunity to think about what makes them worthwhile. I've concluded there are four important criteria: interest, excitement, challenge, and fulfillment. I've never worked anywhere where I could find all four to quite the same extent as at EPA. I can find interest, challenge, and excitement as [board chair of a company]. I do have an interesting job. But it is tough to find the same degree of fulfillment I found in the government. At EPA, you work for a cause that is beyond self-interest and larger than the goals people normally pursue. You're not there for the money, you're there for something beyond yourself.[12]
Subsequent career [ edit ]
In 1985, Ruckelshaus joined Perkins Coie, a Seattle-based law firm. From 1983–86, he served on the World Commission on Environment and Development set up by the United Nations. Around 1988, he became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Browning Ferris Industries of Houston, Texas.
President Bill Clinton appointed him as U.S. envoy in the implementation of the Pacific Salmon Treaty; serving from 1997 to 1998. In 1999, he was appointed by Gov. Gary Locke as Chairman of the Salmon Recovery Funding Board for the State of Washington.
In the early 2000s, Ruckelshaus was appointed by Pres. George W. Bush to serve on the United States Commission on Ocean Policy. On September 20, 2004, the Commission submitted its Final Report to the President and Congress, An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century. Since June 2010 Ruckelshaus has served as Co-chair of the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative.
Ruckelshaus serves or has served as a director on boards of several corporations, including Monsanto, Cummins Engine Company, Pharmacia Corporation, Solutia, Coinstar, Nordstrom, and Weyerhaeuser Company.[13]
He is Chair of the Advisory Board of The William D. Ruckelshaus Center[14] at the University of Washington and Washington State University, Chair Emeritus of the University of Wyoming's Ruckelshaus Institute for Environment and Natural Resources, Chairman Emeritus of the World Resources Institute,[15] and Chair of the Meridian Institute. He is a director of the Initiative for Global Development.[16]
On April 17, 2008, Ruckelshaus made news again when he announced his endorsement of Democrat Barack Obama for President of the United States.
On May 7, 2008, Ruckelshaus was appointed to the Washington State Puget Sound Partnership, an agency devoted to cleaning up Puget Sound.[17]
In early 2012, Ruckelshaus was appointed co-chair of the Washington Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification.[18]
In 2016, Ruckelshaus endorsed Hillary Clinton for president.[19]
Presidential Medal of Freedom [ edit ]
In November 2015, Ruckelshaus was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama during a ceremony at the White House.[20][21]The city of Compton has reached a settlement with two Latinas who sued the city saying its election system violated Latino residents'' voting rights.
Plaintiffs Felicitas Gonzalez and Flora Ruiz sued the city in 2010, saying that the city's at-large council elections violated the California Voting Rights Act. The case had been scheduled to go to trial in May.
The population of Compton, historically a black stronghold, is now about two-thirds Latino, but Latinos are a minority of eligible voters. The plaintiffs contend that no Latino candidate has ever been elected to Compton’s City Council and blame the city’s at-large voting system for diluting the Latino vote.
They sought to force a change to district elections, which would allow for the creation of at least one district where the majority of eligible voters are Latino.
Under the settlement announced at Tuesday night's Compton City Council meeting, the city has agreed to place an initiative on the June primary ballot to allow voters to decide whether to make the switch to district elections. If the measure fails in June, it will go on the ballot a second time in November.
If the measure passes, the plaintiffs will have the right to review the proposed district boundaries.
City Atty. Craig Cornwell said the city's position has been that the election system is legal and that changing to district elections would require a vote of the residents under the charter, but said city officials agreed to the settlement partially because the plaintiffs had argued that a switch to district elections would increase voter turnout.
The city's elections have been consistently characterized by low voter turnout, with less than 10% of registered voters casting ballots.
"The common goal of wanting to increase voter turnout has led to this settlement," Cornwell told the council Tuesday night. "It is rare that the city can turn a litigated case over to the citizens for a determination on how the city will move forward, and this is such a case."
Gay Grunfeld, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said they were also pleased.
"This has been a long, hard litigation and we're very happy that it's ending in this productive way," she said.
Under the settlement, the city will pay the plaintiffs' attorney fees. The amount has not been determined.
RELATED:
Suit seeks to open Compton to Latino voters
Lawsuit alleging Compton elections unfair to Latinos going to trial
-- Abby Sewell
Photo: The city of Compton has settled a voting rights lawsuit brought by two Latinas. Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times[Update: You also do this with the Firestorm viewer. Just Export your prim object using the Collada format. Details here on the Firestorm wiki.]
This is pretty cool.
The most recent version of the Singularity viewer (version 1.8.1) adds a particularly interesting feature:
Wavefront (.obj) and Collada (.dae) Export by Apelsin, Inusaito, and Latif Khalifa – Allows export of your creations into Blender, Unity3D and other modeling applications and game engines
This means you can now take a prim-based object from within Second Life or Opensim and export it to your hard drive as a mesh object (either.obj or.dae file format).
Here’s a short video showing exactly how it works. Watch me create a prim-based lamp in Opensim, export it as an.obj mesh file to my desktop, drag it into the Unity3d editor, and then publish it on the web in ReactionGrid’s multiuser Jibe world.
This is great for folks (like me) who still love to build with ye olde prims yet need to create models that work in mesh-based environments. I can’t wait for the texture mapping feature to be completed (UPDATE: As of today, TEXTURE MAPPING WORKS! You just have to save your object as.DAE. Scroll down for more info.)
Nicely done, Singularity and Opensim developers. Very nicely done.
Take care,
-John “Pathfinder” Lester
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UPDATE 8/15/2013 @4:45pm EDT:
Latif Khalifa just gave me more details about texture mapping:
I’m working on improving the Collada exporter by adding texture import. I have already implemented it in Radegast which I will use as a prototype for what it will look like in Singularity. If you want to to check it out, download Radegast nightly build. Then once logged click on the Objects menu which will bring up a list of objects nearby. Right clicking on an object there will give the option to save as.DAE. You will see the window like this (the left part):
After importing to Unity3D it will look like this (textures and all):
Thank you Latif for this great info and amazing dev work.
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UPDATE 9/19/2013:
Texture Exporting now works in the latest release of Singularity!
Much improved Collada exporter, which now has the ability to export textures, apply texture parameters such as repeats, offset and others to the exported UV map, combine prim faces with the same texture and color into one submesh and optionally skip transparent faces (Latif)
For more details on how texture exporting works, see this very helpful guide.
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UPDATE 8/1/2014:
You can now do all this with the Firestorm viewer. Just Export your prim object using the Collada format. Details here on the Firestorm wiki.1998 studio |
the bureau. I like to take on Abu'l first. Here is my tentative route The one pickpocket in this district is both very out of the way and possibly unskippable. You can find a fast kill for Abu'l here And then there's William. Fast travel to Acre from Masyaf, exit memory, reload and you're in the Bureau (same process for every other target from here on out). My current picks for this route are the Informer mission with two targets, and the two pickpockets. One of them has a scene skip (again, not on video), and the other I think may have a scene skip, but I haven't tested that yet. I chose the informer because it's on the way to the pickpockets, so it probably saves a bit of time over choosing something that's faster. Still, this is not set in stone and more testing is needed.For the William assassination, there is a skip you can do that is nothing short of glorious. After starting the assassination at the Bureau, you can infiltrate the fortress early (see how here ) and then do this:Followed by Majd, whose assassination is a fucking pain in the ass. Investigation is pretty easy though. The video I have was before we discovered save warping, but the route is pretty much the same.For the assassination I want to do something akin to this, but not from a reload.I'm not sure escape without hiding is possible as the Bureau is so close the assassination site.We're nearing the end now. Jubair's investigations provide some interesting dilemma's (especially with the Bureau save warp). I have determined that doing the Informer mission is faster than doing the Beat-up, but beyond that I don't know. There's a pickpocket mission that's close to the Informer of which you can't skip the scene, and there is one really out of the way with a high risk of open conflict and no way to reset it quickly. I have absolutely no idea how the investigations will turn out.The assassination itself is stupidly easy. See this video:The escape will require some hiding.The second to last target is Sibrand. There is probably some pickpocket scene skipping to be had here. I think I tested it, but I don't recall the results. I just know I spent some time on it once. Again, route is up for grabs.For the assassination, this is the fastest known right now.Escape without hiding may be possible.The final real target is Maria. Investigations are up for grabs, though I know there is a pickpocket with a stupidly long scene. So long, it's better to do a long-ass informer mission instead. However, I haven't tried skipping that scene yet, and it looks insanely possible.For the assassination, you can either go for a hidden blade counter or do a superfast blitz like this which is much more reliable and comes very close in setup time.From there you have to go to Arsuf to kill Robert. The fastest way to do that is demonstrated in this video As for the fights themselves, they are unskippable, AKHeon tried. Well, almost all are unskippable. The fight with the bunch of templars is unnecessary, see this video. The description contains a detailed guide.The final memory block is a bunch of fights. None of you opponents are susceptible to cowering though, so you need to rely on alternative strats. For the first fight you can throw them off a cliff, and for the second fight I use a modified shock and awe. The last kill is a simple hidden blade counter.If you have any questions or remarks, I'd be happy to hear them and help you out. I know this game inside out, forwards and back. There's still a bunch of stuff to find (I have plenty of ideas, just not much time to spend on them).TL;DR: Assassin's Creed is a pretty cool game to run. You should run it.
Thread title: This is my favourite game, and it pains me to see that almost noone runs it. I think this is mostly because most runners don't know about the myriad of ways you can skip things and do cool things in Assassin's Creed. Mostly because this content is located at TheHiddenBlade.com. If you are looking to run any of the Assassin's Creed games, be sure to check out that site. Just ask Fed981981. ;) This topic serves to educate and make speedrunners aware of the fact that AC1 is a fun game to run. I'm currently making a segmented run of this game, but I'm routing and running segments simultaneously, so I don't have optimized routes for any targets after Tamir. Just beware that this is a knowledge bomb. of over 2000 words. That's how much there is to this game, and I didn't even go into very deep detail on mechanics. At first I had a bunch of videos inline, but that took way too long to load, so I just kept the coolest inline and linked the rest. Before we dig into exploits and stuff, here's what a route can look like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktT9sLl_IHg So I'll explain a bunch of route-specific stuff from the video later, but first a couple of the main exploits you'll want to know. The most important one is [i]Jump and Bump[/i]. This is what you see me do to the monk in the video. You jump towards a target, lock onto them in mid-air, and then bump into them, which will skip their dialog. If it's the only character involved in the scene, this will completely skip the scene. A couple weeks ago I also found that you could use Jump and Bump on scenes with multiple people, most notably pickpockets. However, it is a bit more difficult because all parties playing a part in the scene must be bumped, and you have to get around the invisible walls which are put up once you start the scene by locking on. The way you usually do this is by jumping onto a rooftop, and bumping one guy into the next. You can see this in the final moments of the route video. It works in more places, but not always because sometimes the geometry and freerunning mechanics simply don't allow it. The second important mechanic is [i]save warping[/i]. Once you do something that causes an autosave in a city area (not necessarily inside the city, just not in the Kingdom or Masyaf), exiting the memory (via the menu) and reloading it will bring you to the Bureau, always. This means that once you complete the required number of investigations to start your assassination, you can simply exit the memory and reenter it to end up in the Bureau, so you end up not having to run all the way back. It also means that the second and third time you go to the cities, you can just go there from the Kingdom and immediately exit and reload to end up in the Bureau. (The first time isn't possible because you haven't done anything in the city yet. The third semi-important thing is [i]Shock and Awe[/i]. This is the fastest way of fighting with the hidden blade. It's only really applicable in the second-to-last memory block, but it can save a ton of time there. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mRMw24xs2I]This video[/url] is a demonstration with a guide in the description. This fighting technique brings me to another point: if you go to your in-game settings, you'll find the option to "hold Lt to lock" (I think it's L1 on PS3). Having this on makes it so that if you let go of the trigger, your lock breaks. This is very handy when spamming lock-on to start a scene and accidentally locking the wrong person, as well as during combat because of Shock and Awe. The final general technique is [i]Dismount over guard post[/i]. You ride a horse into the guard post at the city entrance, then jump off right before it collides. The guards will get knocked out of their being a guard post by the horse and you can jump through/over. Now, routes and shit. I have worked on and off on routes for this game, but the only routes I have pretty much optimized are the first in the game, all the way up until the first assassination of the game. I have a bunch of tricks that save time though. The beginning of the game is pretty boring because it's on rails. There's a couple of subtilities, but those are beyond the scope of this post. The main thing is a good route down to the gates, which you have to use multiple times. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HytCLbvP_So&t=1m34s]Here[/url] is a video. Contrary to what some people may tell you, this is a pretty easy route. Things start getting fun at Tamir's investigations (same video I posted above). The save citizen fight is mandatory, and it's a bit weird so the strat is kind of involved. You jump off the horse, lock on (otherwise you're stuck in place), select the hidden blade, and quickly off the first guy. If you're not fast enough after locking on it will screw up the second part of the fight. For the second part, you grab the dude, throw him close to the merchant stall (don't overthink him, just throw in in the general direction ASAP), and then throw the second guy into the merchant stall, killing them both. Then a dismount over guard post. For the first pickpocket scene skip: even if you don't spook the guy carrying the package, you still can't steal from him. That's why I immediately run up to the guard and kill him to begin and end open conflict. This resets the pickpocket mission (with the scene skipped) so you can grab the letter. The second scene skip is more straightforward. Just make sure the first guy bumps into the second guy. From there it's exit and reload to get to the Bureau. For the assassination, you can escape without hiding pretty easily. The way this works is by putting enough distance between you and the guards. 50 metres to be exact. I'll get a video soon (once I get this damn investigations segment done properly). For Talal (Jerusalem) I don't have a route video yet, but the fastest route looks to be through the Informer flag mission and the pickpocket near the golden dome. Don't do the beat-up right in the beginning of the city because it has two scenes, one of which is probably unskippable, making it slow as hell. Anyhow, you can skip the informer dialog with Jump and Bump, collect all the flags, and bump him again. You can also skip the dialog of the pickpocket like [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtCaL1LbpNw]this[/url]. I haven't got it consistent yet, but as I recorded I think I got it. Basically, you need to be on that specific edge of the building, not on the other one that's seemingly closer to the guys. A quick kill for Talal can be found [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz0Dcw19jXc&t=40s]here[/url]. I'm not sure about escaping without hiding here. May be possible to do quickly. I know you can by going beyond the Bureau for a bit, so it seems to be a matter of just getting a move on. Next target is Garnier. The dismount over guard post is pretty hard here, and it's pretty essential as there's a quick eavesdrop right there when you enter the city. You can also skip the scene of the pickpocket in the souk really easily (it's actually where I first found the exploit). I don't have a video, but you can figure it out yourself I'm sure. I know it's possible to escape without hiding here, see [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfsGK0TVwXw&t=6m7s]this video[/url]. I'm sure we can do it faster than that. So now we're at the point where we don't have to dismount over the guard post anymore because we can save warp to the bureau. I like to take on Abu'l first. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO5k0nOwImA]Here is my tentative route[/url]. The one pickpocket in this district is both very out of the way and possibly unskippable. You can find a fast kill for Abu'l [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peU2IVE4Ngs&t=7s]here[/url]. And then there's William. Fast travel to Acre from Masyaf, exit memory, reload and you're in the Bureau (same process for every other target from here on out). My current picks for this route are the Informer mission with two targets, and the two pickpockets. One of them has a scene skip (again, not on video), and the other I think may have a scene skip, but I haven't tested that yet. I chose the informer because it's on the way to the pickpockets, so it probably saves a bit of time over choosing something that's faster. Still, this is not set in stone and more testing is needed. For the William assassination, there is a skip you can do that is nothing short of glorious. After starting the assassination at the Bureau, you can infiltrate the fortress early (see how [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-rL2hsGhRM]here[/url]) and then do this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ3F75NTmNE Followed by Majd, whose assassination is a fucking pain in the ass. Investigation is pretty easy though. The [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEQpg26iK8I]video[/url] I have was before we discovered save warping, but the route is pretty much the same. For the assassination I want to do something akin to [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIWonR67u4o&t=8s]this[/url], but not from a reload. I'm not sure escape without hiding is possible as the Bureau is so close the assassination site. We're nearing the end now. Jubair's investigations provide some interesting dilemma's (especially with the Bureau save warp). I have determined that doing the Informer mission is faster than doing the Beat-up, but beyond that I don't know. There's a pickpocket mission that's close to the Informer of which you can't skip the scene, and there is one really out of the way with a high risk of open conflict and no way to reset it quickly. I have absolutely no idea how the investigations will turn out. The assassination itself is stupidly easy. See this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8Nht0ZXkEE The escape will require some hiding. The second to last target is Sibrand. There is probably some pickpocket scene skipping to be had here. I think I tested it, but I don't recall the results. I just know I spent some time on it once. Again, route is up for grabs. For the assassination, [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1a4QuMmTFtw]this[/url] is the fastest known right now. Escape without hiding may be possible. The final real target is Maria. Investigations are up for grabs, though I know there is a pickpocket with a stupidly long scene. So long, it's better to do a long-ass informer mission instead. However, I haven't tried skipping that scene yet, and it looks insanely possible. For the assassination, you can either go for a hidden blade counter or do a superfast blitz like this which is much more reliable and comes very close in setup time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-vYBX8cngs From there you have to go to Arsuf to kill Robert. The fastest way to do that is demonstrated in [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoGViiF36bw]this video[/url]. As for the fights themselves, they are unskippable, AKHeon tried. Well, almost all are unskippable. The fight with the bunch of templars is unnecessary, see [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5gYsu3wgHI]this video[/url]. The description contains a detailed guide. The final memory block is a bunch of fights. None of you opponents are susceptible to cowering though, so you need to rely on alternative strats. For the first fight you can throw them off a cliff, and for the second fight I use a modified shock and awe. The last kill is a simple hidden blade counter. If you have any questions or remarks, I'd be happy to hear them and help you out. I know this game inside out, forwards and back. There's still a bunch of stuff to find (I have plenty of ideas, just not much time to spend on them). TL;DR: Assassin's Creed is a pretty cool game to run. You should run it.Several centuries ago, a group of Borneo natives left their villages and headed deep into the jungle, searching for a home away from the Dutch colonialists who had begun spreading across their island. Eventually, they found a nice spot in the lowland rainforests near the mountains in Borneo's centre. They built houses and cultivated crops, and caught fish from the Burak river. All was well. Then children began vanishing.
One at a time, the kids disappeared, leaving behind baffled and frantic adults. This happened eight days in a row. Was it the work of a forest ghost, or jungle nomads, or a big carnivore like a clouded leopard? To find out, the villagers set a trap and baited it with another child, sacrificing one more life to stop the slaughter.
The creature that finally emerged from the river was huge, limbless and covered in scales. It was a snake, but one so overgrown they called it a dragon.
They found two huge, chocolate-brown adult dragons
From their hiding place, the people watched as the dragon took the child to a den on an island in the river. Then they made axes, spears and shovels from the forest's strong ironwood trees, and dug a tunnel right into the dragon's home.
When the villagers charged in, they found two huge, chocolate-brown adult dragons, each as big around as an oil barrel. With them was a smaller dragon, the width of a coconut palm, which was colourful and had a yellow belly.
In retaliation for the killings, the people cut the two adults in half. But they spared the young dragon, believing it to be innocent. They also made an agreement with it that is still binding today: neither humans nor dragons shall harm the other, on pain of death.
Later, the people returned to less remote villages. But they say the dragons are still around.
I first heard this story in late July 2014, when I sat by a fragrant campfire listening to Pak Rusni, an elder from the Dayak village of Tumbang Tujang, recount his ancestral tale. Rusni is 54 years old, with gentle, dark eyes. He mostly spoke softly, and the cicadas threatened to drown out his words. But when he got to the crux of the tale, Rusni became loud and animated. He drew me a diagram depicting the dragon den, the tunnel, and the riverbank settlement. And then he gestured upriver.
Our campsite was near the northern border of Indonesian Borneo, along the Burak river. If we journeyed upriver for another day and a half, Rusni said, we would find the remnants of the village besieged by dragons.
Fascinated by Rusni's story, I wanted to find out which of the local snakes might be closest to the dragons of the story. So many centuries later, I didn't expect to find a definitive answer. But there were two questions that I could nail down, which might offer pointers. Were there any snakes in Borneo that grew so monstrously large? And could any kill children that quickly?
I soon realised there were many possible culprits. The Borneo rainforest is 140 million years old, one of Earth's oldest, so its inhabitants have had plenty of time to diversify. What's more, during the last ice age land bridges linked Borneo to mainland Asia and other Indonesian islands. Species emigrated from the mainland to the islands, seeding Borneo with an astonishing array of organisms. When the ice age ended, flooding the land bridges, Borneo's creatures were free to evolve in relative isolation.
The locals sometimes refer to our field site as the 'Land of the Man-Eating Snakes'
The snakes are particularly diverse. There may be about 150 species on the island, possibly more. "It's like every family of snake somehow managed to get to Borneo," says Sara Ruane of the American Museum of Natural History in New York. "And no doubt there's undiscovered species."
Some live underground, others in the leaves littering the forest floors. Some surf through the treetops, flying from tree to tree. Others prefer to live underwater, or in caves. Many use the structures built by humans: they sneak into the nooks beneath roofs or hide under decks.
Several are dangerous to humans. I was told the locals sometimes refer to our field site as the "Land of the Man-Eating Snakes": that's presumably a reference to Rusni's story, but might also reflect a present-day truth. So before we set out, I asked our expedition leader Peter Houlihan, of the Barito River Initiative for Nature Conservation and Communities, which local snakes were most deadly. He was not reassuring. "It gets to a certain point where it doesn't really make a difference."
Since they first appeared between 100 and 150 million years ago, snakes have evolved rapidly. A lot of that has gone into creating new ways to kill other animals, in particular snakes' infamous venoms.
"Most snakes do have venom, even the so-called harmless ones," says Robert Stuebing, a Borneo-based herpetologist. "There's a lot more out there than we ever realized."
That variety might be a response to the challenges involved with living life as a tube. "You think of being a tube as a simplification, but that actually makes life harder," says David Pollock of the University of Colorado in Denver. So to ease the strain of hunting without limbs, snakes have developed highly specialized ways of killing things – ways that could, conceivably, account for vanishing village children.
Snake venoms contain a bewildering array of proteins that work together to bring down prey. Some, like king cobra venom, have more than 100 different kinds.
These toxic cocktails are hugely variable. Not only do different species produce different mixtures, but snakes of the same species can mix different drinks as well. What's more, a snake's venom may change as it ages.
The venom seems to be evolving extremely rapidly
This might be the result of an evolutionary arms race, with venom mixtures evolving to work best on each snake's most common prey. Alternatively, it could be that some snakes have evolved a range of toxins that lets them bring down different types of prey. "If it doesn't really cost the snake anything, you might as well have this huge array of weapons," says Ryan McCleary of the National University of Singapore.
Scientists are just beginning to trace the evolutionary history of the serpents' deadly potions. But it is clear that the genes coding for snake venom proteins have evolved rapidly. Last year McCleary, Pollock and their colleagues published the sequence of the king cobra genome, and found that base pairs were being swapped and shifted unusually often. "The rest of the snake is still going along like normal," says McCleary. "But the venom seems to be evolving extremely rapidly."
So which of Borneo's snakes might be capable of killing a small child? Here are the prime suspects.
Red-headed krait
The red-headed krait (Bungarus flaviceps) is elegant but deadly. Its shiny black body is bookended by a bright red head and tail. "It's one of the most beautiful snakes I've ever seen," says Houlihan. "But you don't want to be in the water with a krait."
Many people just don't wake up the next morning
Krait venoms disable their prey's nervous system. They block the junctions that convey messages from nerves to muscles, making it impossible to breathe or move.
"Antivenom really doesn't work unless you get it in very quickly," says Nicholas Casewell of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in the UK. In 2001, a many-banded krait in Myanmar bit herpetologist Joseph Slowinski on the hand. Too far afield to find proper medical attention, he died in just over a day.
But kraits don't fit the profile of dragons. Red-headed kraits can be two metres long, but they are thin, and the dragons were fat. Plus, kraits are sluggish in the day. Most bites happen at night, when the snakes stay near a sleeping human for warmth. "Many people just don't wake up the next morning," Casewell says. "Or they wake up paralyzed."
Blue coral snake
What about Borneo's many coral snakes? Some have abnormally large venom glands.
Take the Malayan blue coral snake (Calliophis bivirgatus), a nocturnal blue serpent with a bright red belly. As with other snakes, the venom gland begins behind the eye. But it stretches for more than a third of the snake's length, which can reach 1.5 metres. That means a blue coral snake's venom gland could be longer than your foot. "Nobody knows why," says McCleary.
But despite their humongous venom glands, coral snakes aren't even close to being dragons. They hide among the leaves littering the ground, and mostly eat other snakes – often small, burrowing ones. That means their fangs are too small to easily pierce human skin. "They have to get you sort of between the fingers in order to inject venom," Stuebing says.
Now this looks more like it. Reaching lengths of 5 metres, king cobras (Ophiophagus hannah) are the longest venomous snakes alive. And they can rear up, raising the first third of their body from the ground. "You could have a cobra looking you in the eye," Houlihan says.
Many who have worked with king cobras say they have a curiosity that sets them apart from other snakes. "They just have this kind of alertness," says Matt Goode of the University of Arizona in Tucson.
Sleek and lithe, cobras are active during the day, often hunting other snakes. Goode and his team have tracked them using implanted radio transmitters and found that they travel surprisingly large distances.
But cobras probably weren't the dragons either. Although they are dangerous, they rarely bite. "They're absolutely not aggressive, compared to some snakes," says Ron Lilley, who runs a snake retrieval service in Bali. "They have so much venom in them, but they're very reluctant to bite people."
Pit vipers are like heat-seeking missiles. They have specialized pits on their heads that detect heat, giving them a kind of infrared vision that few prey animals can evade.
But unlike the fast-moving cobras, pit vipers are ambush predators. They lurk in trees or bushes, waiting for critters to wander close enough to strike. "They're pretty sluggish, but that strike is very fast," says Frank Burbrink of the City University of New York. "It's a completely different lifestyle."
They wait for their prey to come to them instead of chasing it down
Pit vipers also use a different kind of venom, targeting the cardiovascular system rather than the nervous system. Their venoms do things like preventing blood from coagulating or causing blood pressure to drop dangerously low. Many also directly attack and kill cells. "The pit vipers really hurt. You'll be in excruciating pain. They're blowing up your cells," Burbrink says.
As we walked through the Bornean jungle, it was the pit vipers we were told to look out for. A few days after we arrived, we found a Sumatran pit viper (Trimeresurus sumatranus) hanging out in a tree near our camp. It was probably digesting a meal and might have stayed put for days, but we moved it to the opposite bank anyway.
Nevertheless, pit vipers don't fit the story either. "Their reputation is different from the dragons that are referred to in the Dayak stories," Houlihan says. "The arboreal pit vipers in Borneo are more sit-and-wait predators. They wait for their prey to come to them instead of chasing it down."
So if none of these snakes are likely related to the dragons, what is? The best contenders are probably Borneo's pythons, which are among the largest snakes on Earth. Instead of relying on venom, these massive serpents squeeze their prey to death.
The reticulated python (Python reticulatus) is the longest snake in the world, capable of reaching over 10 metres in length. But shrinking forests and fearful humans mean that really large pythons haven't been found for a long time. "The biggest python I've seen caught here, which was put in a cage and treated like a sacred animal, was a 4-metre python that came out of a drain in downtown Denpasar," says Lilley.
Still, a python doesn't need to be the length of a bus to eat something person-sized. Snakes like the African rock python regularly eat pigs or deer, and attacks on humans do happen. A 2011 study reported that one-quarter of the villagers on a Philippines island had described being attacked by these giant snakes. A World Health Organization report on snake bites in south-east Asia contains images of a reticulated python that swallowed a farmer on Sulawesi. Last December, a 4-metre reticulated python strangled a security guard outside a hotel in Bali.
Nevertheless, there are problems with the idea that the Bornean dragons were pythons.
Pythons are ambush predators that mostly lounge around, either digesting a meal or waiting for the next one to wander close enough to be throttled and swallowed. "They're sit-and-wait foragers," says Stephen Secor of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
A python can wait over a year until its next meal
There is another problem. Those binge-eating dragons, swallowing one child a day, were definitely not on the python diet. The best estimates suggest that wild pythons eat every month or six weeks. "Pythons don't eat every day," Burbrink says.
That's because pythons can handle meals 1.5 times their size, by ramping up their digestive systems. When a python catches a meal, its heart, pancreas, and other organs enlarge, sometimes doubling in size, to support its digestive system. "Their metabolic rate goes way up," Secor says. "Rates go up as much as 40 times for huge, huge meals."
Afterwards, the python hunkers down, lowers its metabolic rate, and deactivates its digestive system. It can wait a long time until its next meal, sometimes over a year, says Secor.
It's possible that the dragons in the story are based on several snakes: perhaps the king cobra's hunting skills, the krait's deadly venom, and a python's imposing size. We can't be sure.
The dragons are black and shiny, and as big around as oil drums
Nevertheless Houlihan, who has spoken with the Tujang residents about the tale, points the finger at pythons: "massive pythons that were big enough to make people disappear without a trace," he says. "When the forest floods, during the wet season, colossal pythons could be anywhere. It's enough to instil fear in even the bravest and most experienced of elders - thus, the proliferation of these stories to this day."
Today, the area where the dragons appeared is called Teluk Naga. Naga is the Dayak word for dragon, and the Sanskrit word for snake. The remains of the village, including the ironwood tools used to slay the dragons, are still there, says Suri, a Tujang resident who fishes nearby. But Suri says the island where the dragons lived was split in two by the river when the villagers' tunnel flooded.
Rusni and the others say they still see dragons near the water. The dragons are black and shiny, and as big around as oil drums. But they never stick around for long. They can appear and disappear at will, Rusni says, and have transcended their physical bodies to become mystical creatures.
I asked if they scared him. "Of course I'm afraid of them," he says. "But they don't disturb us. And we never try to bother them."Much like Akuma's Hurricane kick, the minimum level of hit stun inflicted by Captain America's shield slash never becomes severe enough to prevent it comboing into itself. In other words, you can keep throwing your shield until the other person dies.
This was brought to my attention by a video made by 'KazuYoshitsuna'. Showing many reps of standing H-Shield slash. Unfortunately, the opponent would always fall out after a while. After a bit of messing around I found a way to make it loop infinitely vs 35 out of the 36 characters. This is by far the most practical and simple infinite yet discovered, in my opinion. It uses no meter, doesn't require x-factor and can be started from anything that leads to a cr. H or launcher (among many other set-ups).A senior banker has raised the possibility of the Government selling the National Asset Management Agency in future years.
A review was carried out for the NAMA board and Minister for Finance Michael Noonan by former HSBC Chief Executive Michael Geoghegan.
Minister Noonan announced the establishment of an advisory board to NAMA in the Budget yesterday.
Among issues Mr Geoghegan examined is how the State could ultimately sell off its vast property empire.
Until now the thinking was that the agency would simply dispose of all the assets it possibly could.
It is understood that during meetings Mr Geoghegan raised the possible sale of the agency instead.
His report recommends that NAMA manages more loans directly. At the moment, 600 borrowers come under the ambit of the banks.
That would require NAMA taking on 200 additional staff, something that could be politically challenging.
Meanwhile, credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's has placed NAMA on creditwatch negative, indicating it is considering downgrading the creditworthiness rating of the agency.
The move follows S&P's decision earlier this week to place almost all of the Eurozone states and the EFSF on creditwatch negative, over concerns that governments were not moving quickly enough to deal with the eurozone crisis.
As NAMA is a state guaranteed entity, S&P applies the same criteria as it does to sovereigns.Green activists using helicopters, divers and rotten butter yesterday confronted Libyan and Italian fishermen to release hundreds of threatened bluefin tuna which they strongly suspect were illegally caught off the Libyan coast.
In the first action of its kind in north African waters, the international crew of the California-based Sea Shepherd Conservation Society released around 800 tuna from a cage being towed behind the Italian trawler Cesare Rustico.
Stocks of bluefin tuna, one of the most valuable but endangered fish in the Mediterranean, have been decimated by ruthless overfishing in the last 20 years to the point where they are now unlikely to survive more than a few more years. Catches are limited to two weeks of the year and shipowners have been given strict quotas by governments, but with little policing, the industry has been easily able to flaunt the law.
In a statement from the boat, Captain Paul Watson said: "Sea Shepherd's helicopter reconnaissance flight this morning found two fishing vessels. One was engaged in transferring bluefin tuna into one of the two nets being towed by the other vessel.
"The captain of the Cesare Rustico said when questioned that the tuna were caught on the morning of the 14th by the Libyan vessel Tagreft. When we replied that the number of tuna in the cage exceeded the quota for the Tagreft, the captain said the cage also included tuna from seven other Libyan seiners. All the catches were caught on the 14th, the last legal day, according to the captain.
"The problem with this explanation was that we had observed … weather conditions for those two days made fishing virtually impossible.
"The extremely difficult conditions, coupled with the position of the cages only 40 miles off the Libyan coast, when they should have been moving 25 miles a day, suggested to us that the fish were freshly caught within the last three days at the most."
The Sea Shepherd, which annually confronts Japanese whalers in the Antarctic waters, then asked to examine the fish for juveniles. "We were refused. I then put the bow of the Steve Irwin onto the cage so we could look into the cage from the bow to examine it further.
"Suddenly, the Maltese vessel Rosaria Tuna rammed the Steve Irwin on the aft port side and slid alongside the port rail, as a fisherman tried to violently gaff Sea Shepherd crewmembers with a long, sharp-hooked pole."
In the ensuing fracas, the Steve Irwin crew crew retaliated throwing rotten butter at the fishermen, and then sent divers into one of the cages to identify the size, age, and quantity of the bluefin tuna caught.
"Once it was clearly established that the cage was overstocked and that a high percentage were juveniles, Sea Shepherd divers freed the 700-800 tuna," said Watson.
"It is our position that the bluefin tuna we freed from that cage held a large number of juveniles and that the fish were caught after the official closure of the season. It is also our position that the fish that we freed exceeded the quota," said Watson.
"They shot out of that net like racehorses," said Canadian cameraman Simon Ager.There’s a highly interesting new paper out:
(Mendelians are also known as monogenic disorders because they are inherited in patterns that follow Mendel’s laws.)
Abstract:
Discovering the genetic basis of a Mendelian phenotype establishes a causal link between genotype and phenotype, making possible carrier and population screening and direct diagnosis. Such discoveries also contribute to our knowledge of gene function, gene regulation, development, and biological mechanisms that can be used for developing new therapeutics. As of February 2015, 2,937 |
separate file from Main, otherwise you get an error: Cannot access static field member_func from a class instance. While this doesn't seem to make sense at first (member_func isn't static!), if you consider that the non-static macro pattern seems to follow the static extension paradigm, a using statement wouldn't work when targetting classes in the same file / module.
But unlike simple static extensions, classes that extend Foo also inherit the non-static macro functions. This is excellent, as it allows us to design seemingly regular classes with functions that happen to be macro implementations.
Macro Implementation Details
So far we've covered generating expressions and inspecting them, but it's still important to know where and how to implement macros, and avoid pitfalls along the way.
First, it's important to know that there are actually three distinct kinds of macros: expression macros, initialization macros, and build macros. Above we largely focused on expression macros, but I encourage you to read the section in the Haxe manual describing these -- in fact, read the whole section on Macros.
As you read the section on macro context, consider when and where your macros are run -- how build order may affect when they're invoked, what definitions are available, and how the calling context affects what information they have access to. You may have noticed #if macro pragmas laying around the examples. This is because there's a separate context in the compiler for macros to run in. The pragmas ensure that the contained code only gets run (or not) in the macro context, and avoids compile errors or build order issues. It can be helpful, especially when creating build macros or non-static macro functions to put the macro code in a separate file from the normal code.
Finally, there are some harsh realities to macros. Perhaps foremost, macro processing can inflate your build duration. You can invoke the haxe compiler with --times and it will report the time spent on various tasks, including macro execution. I'm secretly hoping the new HL target will help speed macros up, but it could be a vain hope, however.
Conclusion
Phew, that's enough for now. Again, the topic of macros is so broad, I feel like we've only scratched the surface. But hopefully this enough of a spark to ignite your curiosity for one of the most powerful features of the Haxe language. What will you do with Haxe macros?
Drop me a line in the comments or on Twitter @jeff__ward, or if you're so inclined, feel free to support my efforts to spread Haxe love around via patreon. Cheers!
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DisqusFeb 10, 2017, 2 PM
Several panes of counterfeit United States 2015 Love stamps were sent to a buyer in New York in this envelope, which is franked with four counterfeit 2015 Rose and Heart stamps [Scott 4959(CF1)].
Counterfeit United States Love stamps have recently surfaced on eBay. Shown here, cropped, are the bottom-left corner of a counterfeit 2015 Love pane of 20, left, and a genuine pane, right.
Hunting for counterfeit stamps used on cover animates some collectors. This cover, pictured cropped, is franked with a 2015 red Love counterfeit stamp postmarked Feb. 2 in Santa Ana, Calif.
When viewed under shortwave UV light, counterfeit 2015 Love stamps (top), which are not tagged, glow blue. Genuine tagged stamps glow yellow-green.
The arrows on these cropped photos of the back of a counterfeit 2015 Love pane, top, and a genuine pane, bottom, point out two key differences between the bogus and real panes. One arrow reveals a typographical error on the counterfeit pane: the word “new,” instead of “news.” The other arrow notes differences in distance of the line above the ruled box.
By Charles Snee
Highly convincing counterfeits of the 2015 United States Love stamps are being sold on eBay.
Genuine 2015 Love stamps are listed as Nos. 4955-4956 in the 2017 Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers.
Counterfeits are a special type of forgery, which is a completely fraudulent reproduction of a postage stamp.
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Forgeries are of two types: counterfeits, which are intended to defraud postal authorities of revenue; and bogus issues, which are intended to fool collectors. Here, the terms counterfeit and bogus are used interchangeably.
Linn’s first learned of the bogus 2015 Love stamps’ existence Jan. 30, via a post on the Stamp Collecting Forum website.
The poster, using the moniker “usingha,” provided cropped pictures of genuine and counterfeit Love panes, as well as images of the counterfeit 2015 Rose and Heart stamp [Scott 4959(CF1)] that was listed for the first time in the 2017 Scott U.S. Specialized catalog.
Linn’s contacted the poster through Stamp Collecting Forum to learn more about the origins of these heretofore unreported counterfeit stamps.
“Yes! I would like to show you the [counterfeit Love pane],” replied Uttam Singha of New York.
Singha told Linn’s that he purchased a total of 16 counterfeit panes (four 2015 Love and 12 2015 Rose and Heart) from a seller on eBay whose user name is “essoclubtiger.”
Operating out of Conyers, Ga., essoclubtiger was selling four-pane lots (80 stamps total) of the counterfeit Love and Rose and Heart stamps at “buy it now” prices of $35.41 and $34.79, respectively.
The seller ended both auctions Jan. 14.
Singha said he purchased the counterfeit panes Jan. 10.
“The person who sent the counterfeit stamps to me used counterfeit Rose and Heart stamps on the envelope,” said Singha.
Shown here is a photo of the mailing envelope that Singha altered to obscure his mailing address and the seller’s name and return address.
Four counterfeit Rose and Heart stamps were used to pay the postage. Docketing just below the stamps states that the parcel weighed 4.5 ounces and required $1.78 postage.
The bogus quartet, masquerading as real 47¢ stamps at the time of mailing, totaled $1.88, for a convenience overpayment of 10¢.
According to Singha, the “2016” year date in the postmarks is incorrect; evidently the North Metro, Ga., processing and distribution center, which applied the cancels, failed to swap out the previous year for the correct “2017.”
An oversight such as this, particularly at the turn of a new year, is not an uncommon occurrence at postal facilities that normally do not hand cancel large quantities of mail.
As of Feb. 7, Linn’s had identified two other eBay sellers who were offering counterfeit U.S. Love stamps: “daveproductions” in Westfield, N.J., and “finch86987” in Flushing, N.Y. Both were selling individual lots of 25 panes of 20 (500 stamps total).
At Linn’s request, Singha sent one intact counterfeit 2105 Love pane for inspection.
Illustrated on the front page are cropped photos of the bottom-left corner of Singha’s counterfeit pane, top, and a genuine pane, bottom. Both images show the two Love stamp designs in red and gray, and red.
There are a number of readily identifiable differences between the real stamps and their bogus counterparts.
1. Genuine stamps are tagged and glow yellow-green under shortwave UV light; counterfeits are not tagged and appear bluish under shortwave UV light.
The accompanying cropped picture of a genuine pane atop a counterfeit pane, taken under shortwave UV light, shows the difference between the nontagged counterfeit stamps, and the tagged genuine stamps.
2. Genuine stamps have gauge-11 serpentine die cuts; counterfeits are gauge 11¼.
3. Genuine stamps of both designs have a clear “2015” year date at top right; the “2015” on the counterfeit red stamp is barely visible, even under magnification.
4. Genuine panes show only serpentine die cutting around the stamps; counterfeit panes have a straight-line die cut around the perimeter of the pane and rouletting between each column and row of stamps.
5. Paper of genuine panes appears dull when viewed at an angle in bright light; counterfeit paper (likely a hi-bright stock) appears shiny.
6. The letters of “USA FOREVER” on genuine stamps are thin; the letters are thick on counterfeit stamps.
After he received the bogus panes, Singha said, that he noticed the perimeter die cutting first.
When looking at the back of genuine and counterfeit panes, two differences are noticeable:
1. The line above the ruled box in the center of genuine panes is much closer to the box in comparison to the line above the box on counterfeit panes.
2. In the last line of text in the ruled box, the word “news” on genuine panes is misspelled “new” on counterfeit panes. This same typographical error also is found on the back of counterfeit 2015 Rose and Heart panes.
These distinguishing characteristics are highlighted with arrows in the cropped photos of the line and box on the back of a counterfeit pane, top, and a genuine pane, bottom.
The 2015 Love counterfeits won’t fool collectors who know what to look for. Nonetheless, they are dangerous because they mimic the real stamps very well.
Like their genuine counterparts, they were printed using offset lithography, an indirect printing method easily susceptible to counterfeiting because the technology is readily available and affordable.
That yet another counterfeit of a U.S. stamp came to light should not come as a surprise. An active supply chain, operating out of China or Taiwan (or both, perhaps), has been funneling bogus U.S. stamps into the country for at least the past decade or so.
In 2004, Linn’s was first to report the discovery of counterfeit 2002 37¢ Flag stamps, which is now listed as Scott 3635(CF1). At that time, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service was engaged in an ongoing investigation to determine the source of the counterfeit stamps.
Thirteen years later, a total of 40 additional counterfeit stamps (including the bogus 2015 Rose and Heart) have been listed in the Scott U.S. Specialized catalog.
Postal counterfeits of U.S. stamps were listed for the first time in the 2013 edition of the U.S. Specialized catalog, published in October 2012.
Today’s web of stamp counterfeiting has spread far and wide, making it even more difficult for postal inspectors to pinpoint the producers and sellers and shut them down.
But the sellers continue to cover their tracks in ways that are predictable.
According to Larry Plante, a revenue fraud analyst for the Cincinnati office of the Postal Inspection Service, today’s stamp counterfeiters use two methods to get their bogus wares into the United States via online sites such as eBay.
“The first is hacking an inactive account,” said Plante. The hacker presumably changes the contact information and then uses the account to sell the stamps to unsuspecting buyers.
In the second scenario, a so-called middleman is used. Plante explains:
“A middleman is someone who will list the stamps for sale using their own eBay account for a third party.
“When the stamps are sold, they relay the sale information to the third party. The third party sends the stamps directly to the buyer.
“The middleman is located within the U.S., while the third party is in China. The middleman can get a commission or flat fee for their services. I don’t know how the money is exchanged.”
Plante also said that fraudulent sellers, once they’ve completed a sale, will email the buyer and “offer more stamps at discounted prices outside of eBay.”
While this is serious business for Plante and his colleagues, their efforts occasionally yield humorous results.
For example, Plante described one buyer who “emailed the seller through eBay asking for reassurance that these stamps were not fake. The seller replied:
“‘Our company is [name redacted], located in CA, USA. We signed a contract with USPS. We ship from China because of the tax issues, so we ship all the stamps to China first and ship to you. You can check all the stamps at local post office. If you find any fake or fraud, [please] tell us and we will refund you immediately without return. Thanks!’”
Despite the often murky origins of counterfeit stamps, some collectors avidly seek them, including postally used examples on cover.
Shown nearby, cropped, is a cover franked with a bogus 2015 red Love stamp. A reasonably clear sprayed-on wavy-line postmark indicates the stamp was canceled Feb. 2 in Santa Ana, Calif.
Linn’s welcomes reports of the appearance of counterfeit stamps in the online marketplace, as well as examples of postal use.
Please send information to Linn’s managing editor Charles Snee via email, or write to him at Box 4129, Sidney, OH 45365-4129.There is much for modern nerds to be grateful for - new Star Wars movies are being made every year, we live in a golden age of videogames, and Spider-Man is part of the MCU after years of being wasted and misused at Sony. For a while, it seemed like Sony would never give up the web-slinger - but then the financial disappointment of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 coupled with the massive email leak at Sony forced their hand. It's that 2nd bit that's the most interesting - the email leak revealed a lot...namely, Sony Pictures had huge plans for Spidey but no vision and no real idea of what to do.
And now that the Amazing Spider-Man movies are but distant memories, we thought we would look back into those emails and remind everyone of the weird, strange, and frustrating insanity that nearly consumed Spider-Man forever.
1. Kevin Feige Was Desperately Trying To Save The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - A Film He Had No Stake In, Just Because He Loved Spider-Man And Wanted the Character Properly Represented
The entire reason the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been such a (mostly) cohesive, well-done success (while the DC Cinematic Universe has been flailing nonstop) is because of Kevin Feige - a producer/fanboy extraordinaire who knows the ins and outs of filmmaking AND Marvel comics like the back of his hand, and has been able to steer the ship through some very choppy waters. But beyond that, he's got a real, undeniable passion for this stuff, and enough ambition to actually get it all done.
And he's SO passionate about these characters and the world of Marvel comics that he bent over backwards trying to help Sony fix The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - delivering them tons of notes and thoughts on how to make the movie actually work for the character of Spider-Man/Peter Parker and...just generally good notes on how film structure works.
"Maybe tone this down a little bit? Please?" - Kevin Feige
The crazy thing is that Feige not only had no stake in ASM2, but he actually had more incentive to let Sony fail hilariously - it both made him and the MCU look better by comparison if ASM2 sucked, and it would help feed into the narrative that Sony should hand Spider-Man back to Marvel (which they did eventually do, primarily because they were so inept at managing the character). And yet, Feige still tried his damndest to help Sony make a great Spider-Man film.
Spoiler alert: they did not heed almost ANY of his notes.
Seriously though - check out these notes: all spot-on and well-reasoned. How Sony didn't take any of the major ones is beyond us.
There are too many story lines and we need to choose which ones we are focusing on and lift out the other ones, ie; could reduce father arc to just Roosevelt? Could cut out plane crash and Richard destroying spiders and start on armored car - don't start with Spider-Man....let the danger/stakes to NYC build first and then have Spider-Man enter the scene heroically. Tone down Paul Giamatti performance, so he seems a bit more menacing and less cartoonish. If you cut Richard from the opening and the plane crash maybe you could instead do Harry coming home and seeing Norman at the top of the movie as a cold open. Really love Electro - feels like you may not need the scene in his apartment, which makes him seems completely crazy and hard to relate too. Like the idea that eel goes in his mouth and instead of burrowing, you see it glow within him... Need to set up the Power Plant earlier, visually. Seems like the movie switches pov's a lot...why are we in Max's pov during the car chase, worth looking at this playing out from Spidey's pov. There could be a better way to reveal that Peter is missing graduation - maybe when you cut Gwen you cut to the wide shot? Tiny note - don't think Peter would lie to Gwen about sirens --- maybe he just downplays it... Stan Lee Cameo - maybe need a little more emphasis on Peter here trying to get out of his costume and not be in seen...set up a little more the pressure of the principal getting closer and closer to calling his name. Instead of seeing the ghost of Captain Stacy, can just here the voice in Peter's head and maybe flash back to the last movie? Don't think we should add Cap Stacy back into car chase. There is too much back and forth with Peter and Gwen - can we recut the Dim Sum scene so that it doesn't feel so repetitive of their break-up in the last movie - Can Peter be more honorable and definitive and less wishy-washy? Why do we need a year to pass... Harry story feels like the main plot of the movie - Peter should look into the past b/c of Harry - maybe find some photos of them together as kids...use obsession wall more to set up this part of his past not just what happened to parents. Not sure what Peter learns at Roosevelt is entirely correct. We're distracted by the idea that Peter became Spider-Man b/c of his father's blood --- all this special back story with his super-scientist dad fights with the idea that Peter is normal kid from Queens who becomes the greatest super-hero in the world... Andrew's performance is all over the place...a lot of crying and then a lot of mania. Hard to track him emotionally sometimes. It undermines his reaction to Gwen's death b/c he gets upset and emotional a lot. Don't like the idea that May tells Peter his parents were spies b/c two seconds later he finds out they are not and it again fights with the idea that he's an ordinary kid. Like the idea that May finds out he's Spider-Man - finds his costume instead of just the rosemary harris wink-wink all the time. Kind of like the morgue, but hate the dancing mortician - cliché. Are you using VFX to show how Electro is travelling from one point to another (bursts of electricity). Need to underscore capture of goblin...more sirens as you linger on the clock 1;21, 1:22 am (nice touch). Surveillance scene should be about following Harry not Peter...no one should be following Peter. Can Electro hum Itsy-Bitsy Spider before he plays it electronically...maybe we can use this again. Maybe intercut the ending montage and hearing Gwen's speech with someone going into special projects and revealing more easter eggs and see that the rhino case has been broke into and the suit is missing...great way to transition to rhino ending. Don't need Aunt May in the kitchen. Spider-man needs to feel more directly responsible for preventing the planes from crashing. Don't show New Yorkers looting.
And still - Sony made the movie with the missing spy-dad plot intact, with all the weird Osborn nonsense, with the "secret blood" garbage, and Peter being a wishy-washy emotional mess the whole film.
Just a reminder: LISTEN TO KEVIN FEIGE.
2. Channing Tatum Wanted To Do Venom
One of the great things about the Sony email leaks is that they confirmed that Channing Tatum was exactly the dude you'd always hoped he would be in private: a rowdy, excitable dudebro who was super pumped about stuff in general. Whether it's adding way too many exclamation points to an email or getting super-hyped to his co-workers about the box office performance of 22 Jump Street, Channing Tatum's basically just a Channing Tatum character.
And the same applies to his interest in doing Venom - he thought Venom was a cool character, so - COMPLETELY UNPROMPTED, MIND YOU - Channing Tatum emailed producer Reid Carolin with the subject "I have an idea about Venom that could be cool" that read:
But it would involve getting together with Marvel and/or creator to discuss the future of Venom. I been scouring blogs and chat rooms. I haven't seen a comic movie be the next edition in the the story. I have only seen them do story lines that have been published first. I have a really sick idea I think. But it's a mountain.
That's right - Channing Tatum thought of a sick Venom movie idea and went on a bunch of blogs and chatrooms to see if anyone else was thinking of the same thing, and then emailed a producer saying he had a good idea for the movie but wouldn't reveal it yet.
And the thing is: Sony bought into it right away, with the vague, nondescript Venom pitch being sent to Sony President Amy Pascal almost immediately (and then everyone just casually describing it as a done deal afterwards). Channing Tatum's random email almost shifted the entire landscape of their plans for their Spider-Man films - how crazy is that?
Couldn't have been worse than this, right?...Right?!
3. The Way They Were Going To Introduce Venom Is the Stupidest, Most Hilarious Thing Ever
Here's the great thing about reading the Spider-Man Sony emails - they're largely all from a group of dumbass movie executives who don't know anything about Marvel comics OR storytelling, and so hearing them describe their plans for building a huge cinematic universe sounds BEYOND clunky and stupid. They just...don't have any understanding for what actually would be good - only things that SHOULD be good based on their takeaways from focus groups and analytics.
I preface it this way because - if they had actually gone through with building out their "Spider-verse", it probably wouldn't have happened exactly like they're describing it. In the hands of actual writers and directors and artists, the path would have been at least SLIGHTLY less ridiculous-sounding (I hope). But since that never came to fruition, all we have are a bunch of moronic executives spitballing in poorly-formatted email exchanges - and the results are amazing, particularly this line from Sony President Amy Pascal about how Venom would be introduced:
LETS TALK THIS IS REALLY SIMILAR TO WHAT MATT PITCHED ME THIS AM ABOUT VENOM WHICH HE DOESNT THINK IS A MOVIE ON ITS OWN BUT THAT SPIDERMAN ANS SS ARE THE TEAM IN THE NEXT MOVIE HE GOES TO THEM FOR HELP/......MAYBE FIGHTING CARNAGE IR HE WEARS THE BLACK SUIT BUT ALL THE SS GUYS THINK ITS LAME AND HE TAKES IT OFF AND IT FALLS INTO THE WRONG HANDS
Note that she did actually write that in all caps, that's not something we did. Yes, these Sony executives have the most painful email styles to actually read through, but that's besides the point.
She had been talking with producer Michael DeLuca - who was advocating for a version of Venom similar to his origin in the Ultimate Spider-Man comics and pushing for Sony to accept Kevin Feige's offer (in 2014) of including Spider-Man in the upcoming, then-untitled Captain America 3 movie. Of course, Pascal brushes off the Cap 3 possibility and describes a version of their planned Sinister Six movie that follows this progression (as far as I can tell):
Spider-Man goes to the Sinister Six for help in fighting Carnage (how or why Carnage would come before Venom is beyond me)
(how or why Carnage would come before Venom is beyond me) Spider-Man is wearing the symbiote as his black suit (unclear where the symbiote comes from)
(unclear where the symbiote comes from) The Sinister Six call the black suit "lame" and Spider-Man cries because the Sinister Six is making fun of his outfit and so he REMOVES THE SYMBIOTE SO THE VILLAINS WILL STOP BULLYING HIM OR SOMETHING AND THEN VENOM GETS CREATED?!
...
...
...
YES - THE IDEA WAS THAT THE EVIL-EST VILLAINS IN THE WORLD MADE FUN OF SPIDER-MAN'S FASHION SENSE AND SO HE CRIED AND TOOK OFF THE SYMBIOTE AND IT LANDED ON CHANNING TATUM????
To Amy's insane, barely readable, caps lock pitch, Deluca replied with one line (that indicated she may have been pitching other dumb Venom ideas earlier):
I wouldn't have symbiote just drop in from another dimension by accident
4. Before They Even Introduced Regular Venom, They Were Planning AGENT VENOM Too
The Sony/Spider-Man saga is truly a lesson in hubris for all of Hollywood - before they even made ONE movie that was a legit box office success and a hit with audiences, they were planning out the next DECADE of expanded universe films - including Agent Venom.
For those unfamiliar, Agent Venom is a pretty cool concept - Flash Thompson joined the army, inspired by Spider-Man and wanting to redeem himself for his bullying ways earlier in life. While on a tour, he lost both of his legs, but managed to survive. Going from star athlete to disabled veteran wasn't easy on ol' Flash - while he tried to keep a chipper outlook, he was often overcome with grief and frustration at his situation.
But then a rare opportunity showed itself - the government had gotten control of the Venom symbiote and were looking at a potential use for it. Their solution? Turn a soldier into "Agent Venom" - giving an armed mercenary the symbiote to enhance their natural soldier abilities and allow them to engage in covert operations that no normal agent would be capable of. Flash was an ideal candidate - not only would no one suspect Agent Venom's true identity, but the symbiote was capable of giving Flash his legs back when the two were attached.
The only drawback was the corrupting nature of the symbiote - if "worn" too long, the symbiote could grow permanently attached to its host and take over their mind, as it had done with Eddie Brock and others over the years. So to combat this, Flash was only to wear the symbiote on missions and only for brief periods of time. But then...
Ya know what? I'm getting ahead of myself, just like Sony. The point is: Agent Venom was a mercenary version of Venom but Flash Thompson. That's it. That's all you need to know. And here's what would have had to happen in the Amazing Spider-Man movie universe before they could introduce the character:
Have Flash Thompson join the army.
Have Flash Thompson return from the army without his legs.
Introduce the symbiote.
Have Spider-Man reject the symbiote.
Introduce Venom.
Have Venom's host (presumably Eddie Brock) lose or give up the symbiote.
Given they had cut Flash Thompson's role entirely in ASM 2, they had made their work even harder on themselves. Hell, they were already working on specific Agent Venom pitches - including him fighting Kraven in the Savage Land. And while Agent Venom is a legitimately great character/premise for later down the line, maybe you should work on setting up the foundation that leads to the character first?
5. Their Dream Cast for The Sinister Six Was Legitimately Insane
Most of Sony's dreams for expanding the Spider-Man universe hinged on the idea that they were gonna do The Sinister Six - not the worst idea either, given they had done at least a bit of groundwork and introduced The Lizard, The Green Goblin, The Rhino, Alistair Smythe, and Electro by Amazing Spider-Man 2 (unlike DC putting out Suicide Squad without having introduced any of those characters in previous films). Building your franchise to an "evil Avengers"-style gathering would have been a good way to differentiate your hero universe from the MCU - the only things holding them back were:
the only movies in the universe so far (ASM and ASM2) were terrible
none of the people in charge had any idea what they were doing
And no where is their ineptitude clearer than their discussions about what the Sinister Six should be and who should have been a part of it: for one, almost NONE of the villains they'd already introduced would be a part of it, instead bringing in the more "classic" Sinister Six roster...and all played by actors who would NEVER say "yes" to the movie:
Doctor Octopus:
Sean Penn
Denzel Washington
George Clooney
Daniel Craig
Colin Firth (or as Vulture)
Matthew McConaughey (except he doesn't seem smart enough)
Channing Tatum (I guess they forgot he was in line for Venom?)
Will Smith (except they may not be able to pay him enough)
Ryan Gosling (although he may be physically too slight)
Matt Damon
Sandman:
Channing Tatum
Woody Harrelson
Tom Hardy
Jared Leto (who Amy Pascal suggests could also play Felicia Hardy!)
Jonah Hill
Sasha Baron Cohen
Javier Bardem
Sharlto Copley
Joel Edgerton
Jason Clarke
Chris O'Dowd
Michael Pena
Seth Rogen
Danny McBride
Actors They Want But Don't Care What Role They Play:
Demian Bichir
Idris Elba (but ONLY with his British accent)
Frances McDormand
Jackie Chan
Bryan Cranston
Ruth Wilson
Rose Byrne
The main takeaway is that no one has any idea who these characters are - either in the comics or in Sony's vision for the film. They're pitching actors who are completely different in terms of physicality and style - the email goes on to show a preference for Matthew McConaughey as the squat, goofy-haired, arch villain Doctor Octopus? And being unable to decide between Tom Hardy and Jonah Hill as Sandman?! Those are two WILDLY different actors - how are they both in contention for the same role?!
And for the sake of transparency, I'll just put the email exchange here - so you can really take in what a weird, nonsensical, "who gives a shit" attitude these execs have towards this process:
On May 24, 2014, at 3:17 PM, "Pascal, Amy" wrote: i cant help but think of sean penn in the secret life of walter mitty...could be doc if he played it that way? denzel because he is mostly always denzel i love jenkins but think we cant cast him till we know who is doc. doc has gotta be the leader have enough quirks that he isnt boring as the straight man....can be funny but as gotta take tthe whole thing seriously...george would be so good...daniel is perfect but he will never be available in feb...ever...colin firth is he a better vulture? does mathew seem smart enough?or channing, can we get away with will.....can we pay him?is ryan too slight? matt we lovve him but..... leo, brad, ddl....none of thoes guys are gonnna do it sandman is so easy.. and there are so many ways to go with the character...channing, woody, hardy., jared leto (he could also be felicia hardy), jonah, sasha, javiar, sharlto, joel edgerrton, jason clark, chris odowd,michael pena?seth? this is where we are getting the comedy so we better make sure this guy is really funny.....danny mcbride then there are just great actors that mean youve made a good movie like damien bichir(by the way amazing in the bridge on fx), i love idris but he is only good when he speaks british or maybe when he is luther, fran mcdormad cuz sheis amazing but i dont know as what, iis there a place for jackie chann? how bout the original bad guy walter white....is he ever good in anything else is ida lapino a no go cuz of Star Wars....dont forget ruth wilson who i also love...why am i worried aboutemily blunt....i think i saw a picture of her snd she looked anorexic.....is kerri russell to keri russell.....dont forget rose bryneshe is tiny but an excellent comedian
Re: great list but Matthew feels totally alive to me. I believe he loves this woman so much that it drives him mad. And also that he's a genius in the dancing wu li masters kind of way (anybody?). I've just never seen it. And he can also kick a little ass... George would be great but i also see it coming, somehow...? I love sean in everything. Daniel is perfect. Will would be amazing. Crazy expensive...but i like it. Our director loves tom hardy for sandman. I do too. We also talked about channing (who i think wants to play venom), woody would be spectacular (if not matthew as ock), just dont want everyone to be 50. Jonah will follow drew anywhere, but not sure if he tips it too far... I also really dig rose. We talked about her. Drew has a strong feeling about emily...but good to talk options. Is emelia clark too young? Eliz olsen would have been perfect... Etc
So, there you have it - someone saw Sean Penn in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and thought to themselves "The perfect Doctor Octopus!"
6. Sony Just Had No Goddamn Clue What They Were Doing
The overriding subtext to ALL of the Sony Spider-Man emails is just that they had no goddamn clue what to do. They knew that they had a messy franchise on their hands and that shareholders were expecting them to compete with the MCU - so they started throwing out literally any idea that came to their minds, with basically no rhyme or reason as to whether it was something that made sense or not. One particularly grim email lists out about 10 unrelated, totally different plans for the future of the franchise - including several that hinged on bringing Sam Raimi back after unceremoniously firing him and rebooting his franchise:
-Seriously investigate making Koepp and/or Raimi creative overlords and invite Raimi to pull a "Bryan Singer on Xmen" and return to franchise as the filmmaker. -Investigate availability of all other franchise writers coming available and their possible interest, the aforementioned Koepp, Michael Arndt, Simon Beaufoy, etc. Even Kinberg if free, anyone who's crushed it on recent franchises. -Convene expert creative committee: Koepp, Raimi, Bendis, Vaughn, Strascynski, Todd Mcfarlane. Or anyone we think has value. Map out enough ideas to feed a ten year plan. Or just hear thoughts. -Get multiple projects happening asap, including: -Sinister Six sequel (if we love drew's script), Matt produces. -Seperate trilogy developed and overseen by Raimi and/or Koepp or some other creative overlord, using one of the epic story lines from books (death of spidey, doc Ock as spider ala Superior Spider-Man, the multiple SM saga per Josh Boone suggestion, etc), with new producer. Maybe Raimi does Silver Age spidey and a seperate trilogy is mapped out riffing from modern Ultimates (venom/carnage saga)? Developing next steps as trilogies and not stand alines could be smart. -Seperate Venom project. Matt produces. -Lisa Joy project. The goal would be one or two trilogy tracks, two side movies and Sinister Six sequels as a seperate track if we like Drew's direction.
It will take more than Sam Raimi to erase the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" bit from my memory
And that's why it's such a goddamn blessing that Spider-Man is back in the hands of the MCU and Kevin Feige - it's more than the fact that these people respect and love the character of Spider-Man, but they know what works and have an actual vision for where the character should go and what his future should look like.
Never forget the immortal words of Sally Field, describing her experience playing Aunt May in the Amazing Spider-Man films:
...you can't put ten pounds of shit in a five pound bag.In 2014, we put together an index to measure the electoral strength of the parties. Rather than focusing on the presidency, we broke partisan control into five categories: presidential, Senate, House, governorships, and state legislatures. We have updated our index using the mostly complete data for the 2016 elections and can conclude that the GOP is in the strongest position it has been since 1928. In many sub-categories, it is near an all-time high.
The following four paragraphs, taken verbatim from the previously linked article, describe our methodology:
“Our index is the sum of five parts: presidential performance, House performance, Senate performance, gubernatorial performance and state legislative performance. The first is measured by the party’s performance in the previous presidential popular vote. (In this, and all other measurements, third parties are excluded.)
“House performance is the average of the popular vote for the House and the average of the share of the House won by the party. This helps mitigate the effects of gerrymandering. Senate performance is the share of the Senate held by the party.
“Gubernatorial performance is the party’s share of governorships (again, with third party candidates excluded). We do not weight for population, for reasons explored further below. For state legislatures, we average four numbers: the share of state Houses and state Senates held by each party along with the share of state House seats and state Senate seats held by each party.
“This gives us five metrics, all of which run on a scale from 0 to 100. Adding them together gives us a scale from zero to 500. We then subtract 250 from the total. All this does is assign a score of zero to a situation where the parties are evenly matched, rather than 250. A positive score then means that the Republican Party is stronger while a negative score means the Democratic Party is stronger.”
Let’s |
ami (During Bleach, Naruto, One Piece, Soul Eater, Sword Art Online, FLCL, and Star Wars TCW) [#2]
#Bleach [#4]
#Naruto [#5]
Rock Lee (From Naruto) [#7]
#OnePiece [#5]
#SoulEater [#5]
Stein (From Soul Eater) [#5]
#SwordArtOnline [#5]
Asuna (From Sword Art Online) [#9]
#FLCL [#5]
Crystal Pepsi (From FLCL) [#9]
#FMABrotherhood [#5]
#GhostInTheShell [#5]
#InuYasha [#5]
Note: There are reports of #StarWarsTCW trending, however I have not seen a non-tailored screencap to back it up.
Special thanks to @JMB_70056, @JpopJams, @kencon06, @MisterADRaveN, @the_big_aa, @TheNextHokage, @secretzfan, and others I forgot to mention for spotting some of the trends on this list.
AARGH! Only Toonami on [adult swim] on Cartoon Network.LAGOS, Nigeria — The young man with the crowbar stood on a heap of rubble — planks, pallets, remains of pots, bits of cardboard, wisps of clothing, chunks of concrete — indistinguishable from every other pile in a field of debris stretching far into the distance.
“This is the home I am staying in before Fashola demolished it,” said John Momoh, 28, looking down at the pile, referring to the governor of Lagos, Babatunde Fashola. Mr. Momoh, a driver, searched doggedly for anything salvageable — a nail, a board — in the mess.
Government backhoes came in and plowed through Mr. Momoh’s simple wooden dwelling and some 500 like it last Saturday, instantly making homeless perhaps 10,000 of Lagos’s poorest residents and destroying a decades-old slum, Badia East. For days, residents wandered the chaotic rubble-strewn field, near prime Lagos real estate.
They were dazed and angry. Small children slept on the muddy ground. Men climbed the mounds of rubble, searching. In intense heat, women, men and children said they were hungry and sleeping outside. The government had destroyed their present, they said, without making any provision for their future.Consumer Virtual Reality Vancouver 2016 Hosted By Archiact Interactive – May 14, 2016
Virtual reality is an experience where you feel as if you are completely transported to another world. You can walk around, see yourself, communicate with others, and even fight epic battles in the world of VR. Come see what it is all about and try out leading VR technology at Consumer Virtual Reality 2016. Get ready to experience over 60 VR titles and demos. More details and info here: www.consumer-‐vr.com
Consumer VR Vancouver 2016 Inviting Sponsors & Exhibitors
Apply to be a sponsor on this page: http://www.consumer-vr.com/sponsor/
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Early Bird Tickets & Becoming Keynote Speaker For CVR 2016
Consumer Virtual Reality came to life because Archiact Interactive wanted a way to share the best technology in VR with everyone, not just developers. By bring together the best of virtual reality. Early bird tickets are now on sale for CVR 2016 on this page. If you are interested in becoming a Keynote speaker at CVR 2016, please apply on this page.
Follow Archiact Interactive & CVR On Social Media
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https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcIbII3NXrxp1uY4GvOedrAInmate accounts are frequently viewed skeptically by investigators. The Times interviewed six inmates at two different prisons for this article, and while they gave consistent accounts, their version of events could not be independently verified.
Officer Stickney did not respond to repeated requests for comment, nor did Mr. Norcross.
Neither Officer Stickney nor any other officer accused of taking part in beatings after the escape has been criminally charged. James Miller, the spokesman for the corrections officers’ union, said that no officer had been disciplined in connection with the allegations and that Officer Stickney has had a clean disciplinary record in his 18 years as a corrections officer.
Michael Powers, the president of the corrections officers’ union, said in a statement that had there been cases of brutality, officers from state, federal and local law enforcement agencies working inside the prison after the escape would have been aware of it.
Image The escape from the Clinton prison by convicted killers David Sweat, left, and Richard W. Matt set off a nationwide manhunt that ended with Mr. Matt being killed and Mr. Sweat being captured. Credit New York State Police
“It is troubling and irresponsible to report allegations against officers as fact,” Mr. Powers said. “Most New Yorkers would question the validity of accusations coming from convicted violent felons, who have long criminal histories and nothing to lose by making such claims.”
Officer Stickney, who was chief steward for the corrections officers union at the Ogdensburg Correctional Facility before moving to the Clinton prison in 2012, has been sued three times for alleged assault and harassment.
One of the lawsuits was terminated after the inmate who filed it died. Two others are still active, including a suit filed in September by Terry Daum, an inmate who claimed that Officer Stickney punched him several times in the head and grabbed his genitals during a search. The lawsuit also said “Stickney utilized his hand to aggressively rub plaintiff’s rectum like a credit card swipe and then attempted to jam his fingertips into plaintiff’s rectum.”
Four months after two convicted murderers, Richard W. Matt and David Sweat, escaped through the tunnels under the prison in Dannemora, N.Y., Clinton remains a tense place. There have been at least three major brawls among inmates, with officers using tear gas and, in one case, live ammunition to bring the prison under control, according to the corrections department.Two months ago, Anand Mahindra, chairman of M&M and India's maverick entrepreneur who is constantly testing boundaries, goaded Elon Musk on Twitter. Musk, the legendary founder of electric-vehicle maker Tesla Motors, tweeted about India's resolve to have only electric cars by 2030.Mahindra tweeted, "Time you got out here Elon. You don’t want to leave the whole market to Mahindra, do you? The more the merrier — and greener.” Musk tweeted back, "Good point :-)"Why would Mahindra, the sole electric-car manufacturer in the country, would want a rival, as big as Tesla? Mahindra thinks he can be an electric vehicle (EV) leader without having to copy Tesla. Probably, he is so sure of himself that he knows he would retain the edge of being the first mover in India by sticking to his own game.That's what he said yesterday in his address to the shareholders: "Tesla was the pioneer, so Mahindra should develop its separate niche. There is no point in copying anybody. You have to differentiate yourself. We are spending significant amount of money on electric. We are ahead of the game," said Mahindra"The company would rather create a differentiated offering than following Tesla. Mahindra has a strategy both for ride sharing in fleet business right up to premium vehicles," he said.The maker of e2o and e-verito electric cars made waves when its Mahindra Racing finished 3rd in the recently concluded Formula E Racing competition ahead of global brands like Jaguar just behind Renault and Audi."We were third out of 10 constructors, after Renault and Audi. We are getting enormous technology feedback from there, Formula Electric is our laboratory in that sense, that is part of the reason we will succeed in the high end of electric vehicles," Mahindra said.M&M is building an all-electric luxury car being designed by Pininfarina with a new 360-600V power train.But its real action is faraway from this glitzy world. The Indian government's 13-year deadline to turn all-electric is charging up Mahindra Electric. Today, it is nowhere near that dreamy aim. In 2016, it had the capacity to make 2,000 electric cars, which will go up to 5,000 this year.But the Mahindra has ambitious plans to ramp up capacity. It announced the setting up of a new facility to make battery packs to power e-vehicles. Once completed, the plant at Chakan in Pune will help boost the company's production of battery packs ten times from now.Production of electric vehicles, in essence, depends on the availability of batteries. While M&M imports battery cells, it assembles the packs in India at a facility in Bengaluru that can do 400-500 units per month.While it is planning to increase production at the Bengaluru plant to 1,000 a month, the new Chakan facility will have a capacity of 60,000 units a year, or 5,000 a month. The battery packs will be supplied to Mahindra's factories in Nashik and Chakan that manufacture electric cars.Mahindra has so far invested Rs 600 crore in the development and sale of e-vehicles and has recently committed an additional Rs 600 crore.Mahindra also working on new technologies that will enable it to produce high-powered vehicles with a maximum speed limit of 200 km an hour and a range of 350-400 km on a single charge. It plans to launch products with the new technology in the second half of 2019 in a bid to lead the electric mobility revolution in India.India is the world's fifth-largest car market today and is expected to climb two notches by 2020. That's why Mahindra is so charged up about EVs. He isn't afraid of Tesla or other companies such as Volvo coming to India with their EVs. He is the first mover and now making all efforts to be ready for the India's EV revolution.Mahindra's plans for differentiated offerings will give it a hold over Indian market. Entry of Tesla will only improve Mahindra's prospects as that will mean more awareness among people about EVs resulting in more demand at all levels.Correctly naming things is the most difficult programming task (besides other documentation tasks). However, this is only because we often afford these tasks insufficient consideration. As with most things, the more we do it the easier it becomes. In this article we will discover how to choose correct names for our methods to help ourselves and others read and understand our code.
Although we will focus on naming, documenting and naming complement each other very well. Once we get into the habit of writing documentation for each method, describing what the method does, this helps us name our method correctly. If the documentation is good, usually it is possible to name a method correctly just by picking words from its documentation. We can even use this technique to verify that the method name and its documentation are correct by making sure they agree with each other – if they say different things one of them is wrong.
Lets establish our first and more important rule: all functions and methods do something so they should begin with a verb (a doing word). Now we're going to look at how to choose the best verbs to convey the most meaning for what our methods do.
Get less
The majority of methods we write will return a value and it's a common fallacy to choose get as the verb for too many of these methods. Get is fine for accessor methods that perform simple operations like dereferencing a pointer but doesn't communicate enough information to the caller about the complexity of less trivial methods.
Consider a method that fetches data from a database. It may connect to a remote computer, search for data from multiple sources, perform aggregation and sorting. We could call this method getData() but its verb does not differentiate it from another method that merely gets a simple value already stored in memory. By calling our method fetchData() we imply more work has to be done to retrieve the data.
As a rule, use get only for methods with constant time complexity; for anything more complex select a more descriptive verb. For example, if we write a method that uses arithmetic operations to calculate the return value, prefer the verb calculate.
Try to describe what the code in the following method does.
function getItem($match) { foreach ($this->items as $item) { if ($item === $match) { return $item; } } }
We could say this method appears to be searching a collection of items to find one that matches the specified match parameter. From this description we can directly extract a better verb than get; in this case either search or find does a better job of conveying to the caller the complexity of retrieving an item, so we should rename this method, findItem.
Do not do
Since all methods do something, choosing do as our verb does not convey any additional information about what our method is doing. Do is one of several common cop-out verbs that should be avoided, along with handle, perform, return, compute and other synonyms.
Some verbs, such as call, execute, run and prepare, perch on the boundary of suitability. It is not always wrong to use these verbs, but if we find ourselves wanting to use them, first pause to consider whether there is a more specific verb to describe what the method is doing.
Boolean return types
Methods that return true or false should begin with is, are, was, were or a modal verb. Modal verbs include can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will or would. These methods pose questions such as Button::isEnabled(), Inputs::areValid() or User::canAccess().
An alternative convention found in Ruby is to define questions by appending a question mark instead of prefixing a verb. The methods from the previous examples would be named Button#enabled?, Inputs#valid? or User#access? respectively. You may wish to use this convention if your language supports this syntax.
Subject inference
There is a subtle but important difference between functions and methods. A method is a function that runs in the context of an object, such as those we define in a class. We say that the method is bound to the class or object because when it runs it has access to the data stored in that object.
Sometimes it is sufficient to just use the verb when the subject can be inferred from the bound object. For example, a method that saves a message may be called saveMessage. This method includes a subject (message) which specifies the subject of the operation. However, when the subject is the same as the name of the object our method is bound to, we can eliminate it and simply call our method, save. The subject is inferred from the bound object and reads intuitively: $message->save() as opposed to $message->saveMessage().
Do not describe parameters
A method's signature comprises both its name and its parameters. When using a method, we have access to both, so it is just duplication to describe the parameters in the method name. The method signature findUserByUserIdAndToken($userId, $token) can be simplified to findUser($userId, $token).
In languages that support method overloading, such as C++, C# and Java, we can always follow this rule. However, most popular scripting languages such as JavaScript, PHP, Python and Ruby do not support method overloading, meaning we cannot have two methods with the same name but different parameters. In this case it may be necessary to break this rule in order to differentiate between multiple versions of a method.
Summary
We learned some semantic rules that can be applied to our functions and methods to help determine the correct names. Most importantly, all method names must begin with a verb. If we describe what our method does, and take care to avoid cop-out words, we should be able to select the most appropriate verb to begin our method names.
Some consider documentation more important than code. If code goes wrong and there's no documentation it's difficult to fix because we may not know what it was supposed to do, or why. When a system is clearly defined in descriptive prose we can make informed decisions about the best way to fix it. Correctly naming methods is the first step towards good documentation but to take it a step further we should consider documenting every class and method too, and in turn, this will help us name our methods.Kim Dotcom, founder of file-storage and file-sharing companies Mega and Megaupload, has suffered another defeat in court. In the latest ruling, New Zealand High Court judge Murray Gilbert upheld an earlier decision finding that Dotcom and business associates could be extradited to the U.S. to face charges.
The decision is just the latest chapter in a long-running saga following the shutdown and seizure of assets related to file-sharing service Megaupload.
In early 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice cracked down on the site and filed criminal charges against Dotcom, as well as Finn Batato, Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk. Dotcom and the co-founders were arrested and their assets seized, and have been fighting extradition ever since.
While the latest legal decision means Dotcom could face charges in the U.S., it is a victory in one sense: As part of the ruling, Justice Gilbert agreed with one of Dotcom’s arguments, namely that New Zealand had no equivalent “copyright” crime that could be used to activate the extradition treaty.
However, the High Court ruled that Dotcom and others could be extradited on U.S. fraud and racketeering charges.
Once again, Dotcom plans to appeal the ruling, which could send the case to the Court of Appeal and perhaps even the New Zealand Supreme Court. In an interview with the New Zealand Herald, Dotcom predicted there are still another two years of legal battles ahead.Set 1
Promised Land, Sugaree, Me & My Uncle, Bird Song, Black Throated Wind, Tennessee Jed, Mexicali Blues, Deal, Playin' In The Band, Loser, Johnny B. Goode
Set 2
China Cat Sunflower-> I Know You Rider, Friend Of The Devil, Jack Straw, He's Gone-> Truckin'-> The Other One, Stella Blue, El Paso, Casey Jones, Sugar Magnolia, E: One More Saturday Night
Notes:
-- All disc changes are seamless
-- This is a re-master of shnid=14086
-- The pitch is not perfect but is a lot better
-- Dozens of flaws cleaned up - some may still remain
-- Thanks to Joe B. Jones for his help with the pitch correction
plus-circle Add Review
comment Reviews
Reviewer: fmichael - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - September 22, 2013
Subject: The Other One Character, quality and clarity the likes of which I've never heard before. And from there into Stella Blue in that sweet clean voice of Jerry's we fell in love with and now dearly recall from way, way back when...
Thank you, as always, Charlie Miller. - September 22, 2013The Other One
Reviewer: Trek1200 - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - February 28, 2013
Subject: Set aside some time for this "Other One" This show stands in the daunting shadow of 1972-09-09, but is still well worth some close attention. - February 28, 2013Set aside some time for this "Other One"
Reviewer: Sedula - favorite favorite favorite favorite - September 9, 2010
Subject: FOTD Short FOTD is short because they play it at the original speed, not at a pace that is as slow as Stella Blue!! - September 9, 2010FOTD Short
Reviewer: myhungryhippo - favorite favorite favorite favorite - September 9, 2010
Subject: FOTD really short compared to the 77 and up ones.
good sound from a cassette tape.
great china cat - September 9, 2010FOTD
Reviewer: rf23635@hotmail.com - - January 20, 2010
Subject: Other one Try 9-17-72 for a long other one, I think it's right at 40 minutes. - January 20, 2010Other oneIn the summer of 1856, Edward Payson Weston was struck by lightning and fired from his job at the circus. He was 17 years old and had been traveling with the big top for no more than a few weeks — “under an assumed name,” as he reassured the readers of his 1862 memoir, The Pedestrian. One day, as the troupe’s wagons passed near Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, he was “affected by a stroke of lightning” and nearly killed. Nineteenth-century circus managers were about as tenderhearted as you would expect when it came to physical infirmity. When Weston was too sick to perform in Boston a few days later, he was unceremoniously sacked.
For most of us, being hit by lightning and kicked out of the circus would be an extraordinary turn of events. For Weston, it was a pretty typical week. Weston, whose story is recounted in the spectacularly entertaining book A Man in a Hurry, by the British trio of Nick Harris, Helen Harris, and Paul Marshall, lived one of those fevered American lives that seem to hurtle from one beautiful strangeness to the next. By his mid-teens, he had already: worked on a steamship; sold newspapers on the Boston, Providence, and Stonington Railroad; spent a year crisscrossing the country with the most famous traveling musicians in America, the Hutchinson Family Singers, selling candy and songbooks at their concerts; and gone into business for himself as a journalist and publisher. In his 20s and 30s, he somehow became one of the most celebrated athletes in the English-speaking world despite the fact that he was physically unprepossessing — 5-foot-7, 130 pounds, with a body resembling “a baked potato stuck with two toothpicks,” as one journalist wrote — and that his one athletic talent was walking. Just straight-up walking made Weston, for a while, probably the biggest sports star on earth.
Edward Payson Weston was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on March 15, 1839, into a respectable, if slightly eccentric, middle-class family that could trace its origins back to the Mayflower. His father Silas stood 6-foot-4, played the viol, and wrote poetry. When Weston was 10, Silas disappeared to dig for gold in California. He wrote a book about the experience, Four Months in the Mines of California, or Life in the Mountains, that his teenage son published in 1854. Weston’s mother Maria wrote sentimental novels with titles like The Weldron Family, or Vicissitudes of Fortune and Kate Felton, or A Peep at Realities. Weston published some of these, too.
The family, not atypically for the 19th century, was constantly breaking up and reforming as various members traveled and got married. Weston went to school in Boston, apprenticed with a jeweler in Providence; in 1859 he pops up, age 20, working at a newspaper in New York. He was fragile, sensitive, and prone to reckless fits of enthusiasm as well as deep periods of despondency when one of his enthusiasms didn’t work out. (It was during one such depression, after the failure of his venture to publish his father’s travel book about the Azores, that he left home and joined the circus.) All his life, Weston had a keen gift for sales and self-promotion crossed with a baffling gullibility in the face of bad bets, sham investments, and get-rich-quick schemes, which more than once swallowed everything he had. He loved flamboyant clothes, crowds, and being the center of attention, but he also felt a constant anxiety about whether he was respectable in the sense promulgated by his mother’s novels. His family was mortified when he became a professional walker. They accepted the decision, reluctantly, only when he promised his mother that he would never walk on the Sabbath — a promise he kept for the rest of his life.
Weston’s athletic career started with two things: an insane bet, and the election of Abraham Lincoln as president of the United States. During the 1860 campaign, Weston bet his friend George Eddy that Lincoln would never win the White House. If he lost the bet, Weston would have to walk the 478 miles from the Massachusetts State House in Boston to Washington, D.C., to watch the inauguration. As it happened, Lincoln won a four-way race with 39.8 percent of the popular vote, and Weston set out in the deep winter of 1861. Weston, with his instinct for publicity, made sure that a large crowd gathered to see him off. Women gave him kisses to take to the president. A group of drummers followed him around. Debt collectors descended to arrest him — he was always in debt — but were persuaded to let him go.
After leaving the festival at the State House, Weston tromped for 10 straight days through snow, mud, and ice, sleeping an hour here and there, trailed by a carriage hauling his judges and friends. He fell repeatedly. Away from the crowd, he became dejected and irritable. At one point, as he writes in his memoir of the event, he “complained of a severe pain in his chest, and attributed it to the eating of mustard on sandwiches.” (Nineteenth-century sports science!) In the end, he made it to the Capitol a few hours late for Lincoln’s inauguration, but word of his endeavor had spread, and he attended Lincoln’s first levee at the White House. The new president offered to pay his train fare back to Boston, but Weston theatrically insisted that since he had failed in his task, he would walk back.
When the war broke out in April, Weston volunteered to put his walking powers to the service of the Union Army by sneaking in disguise through Baltimore, which had been cut off by the Confederacy, to deliver mail to Northern troops in Annapolis and Washington, D.C. In his memoir, Weston dutifully notes that his disguise (“a Susquehanna raftsman on a bender”) was provided by Brooks Brothers, and that he was given a lunch to take on the journey by the Howard Hotel. A New York regiment mistook him for a Southern spy and arrested him, but he talked his way out the next day, as he always did.
Competitive walking — pedestrianism, it was called — had existed before the mid-19th century. In 1809, a Scottish laird called Robert Barclay Allardice had caused a sensation by walking 1,000 miles in 1,000 hours for 1,000 guineas. But it was only after the Civil War that “the pedestrian mania,” as Harper’s Weekly called it in 1867, really took off in the United States.
Pedestrianism took two forms, each of which Weston helped to popularize. There was track walking, which usually took place at a skating rink or inside a large exhibition hall. Sometimes a competitor walked around the track alone, racing the clock; sometimes he faced one or more competitors, who would agree to walk for a certain period of time, or to a certain distance, or until one of them was forced to give up. (Weston sometimes competed solo against pairs of other walkers who were allowed to tag in and out of the race.) A crowd, which could be many thousands strong for the larger events, would buy tickets, consume refreshments — at one race in Madison Square Garden in 1879, organizers sold 5,000 oysters, 6,000 pickled sheep’s tongues, and 200,000 glasses of lager — and place bets. Attendees came from all classes of society, though there seems to have been a steady tension between middle-class fans looking for an edifying sporting experience and the constellation of gamblers, pickpockets, and prostitutes who turned out for a day of easy action. Harris, Harris, and Marshall quote the Brooklyn Eagle on that same race in 1879:
There were women there whose bleached hair, cheeks flushed with rouge, gaudy costumes, and “loud” manner showed them to be fast; there were gamblers with big diamonds and dyed moustaches, and there were dwellers in the lower strata of society; but these collectively only formed a minority of the crowd, for with them sat hundreds of respectable people, intent on seeing every feature of the great walk.
Races were brutal endurance events, lasting many days; one of the central tactical questions the competitors had to face was when, and for how long, to pause for sleep. Walkers would push themselves to cover 400 miles in five days, or 500 miles in six days, often suffering bloody feet — think about doing 3,000 laps in mid-Victorian footwear — swollen joints, and nastier injuries. There were deaths on the track. Because of the influence of gambling, top competitors faced a constant danger of attacks intended to stop them from spoiling a bet; big matches often involved heavy police protection. Most hauntingly of all, to my mind: The crowds were kicked out at night, but the races kept going, hours and hours of exhausted men passing in silence around enormous, empty halls, judges noting their progress as they went.
The other form of pedestrianism was outdoor destination walking, of the sort that initially made Edward Weston famous. In 1867, he became a household name by walking from Portland, Maine, to Chicago in 26 days, 1,200 miles along the post road. Weston was greeted by massive crowds everywhere he went; newspaper writers around the country worked themselves into a froth debating the merits of the undertaking. He dined along the way with Grover Cleveland and Millard Fillmore. “Fake Westons” turned up in several cities, sometimes generating huge crowds of their own before the ruse was discovered. On this walk, Weston also found himself at the center of a national controversy due to his supposed involvement with the gangster and Tammany Hall politician John Morrissey. A side bet on Weston’s walk to Chicago meant that Weston stood to win extra money by walking 100 miles in 24 hours. He failed at this task several times, and wild rumors circulated to the effect that he was being paid off by Morrissey to throw the bet. The newspapers’ handling of the rumors soon took on unfortunate screaming-sports-pundit qualities, with various writers competing to denounce Weston as furiously as possible. For a few weeks in the fall of 1867, the question of whether Edward Weston was a “humbug” seemed like one of the most pressing issues facing American culture. Either way, a delirious crowd greeted him in Chicago. He climbed to the podium and gave an impassioned speech in defense of his good name.
From the very beginning, one of the central questions raised by organized sport has been whether it has moral value — whether athletic competition fosters virtue and makes society stronger, or whether the spectacle it offers is merely a decadent entertainment. Weston, whose showman’s instincts were always running against his yearning to be viewed as “respectable,” seems to have internalized this conflict in a particularly extreme way. He was never happier than when showboating; during one race, in England, he seized a cornet from a band member and pranced around the track playing “God Save the Queen.” He was terribly vain and made a habit on long walks of stopping to change clothes before arriving in a town. He befriended P.T. Barnum, who helped to promote several of his races. On the other hand, he invested enormous time and energy in trying to make his walks appear to serve some larger purpose, with an eye toward winning the approval of polite society.
In New York and London, he allowed eminent scientists to study him during his races. (Here is how famous Weston was: The British Medical Journal once ran a report on his urine. It was, Harris, Harris, and Marshall note, “amber before the race, straw-colored during.” ) He walked thousands of miles on behalf of the temperance movement, and in his later career would often link long walks with lecture tours promoting the benefits of not drinking or of not smoking or simply of walking itself. In 1893, in high Weston style, he walked from New York City to Albany in three days to convince working-class men that they could be healthy without eating meat. “In my recent walk from New York to Albany,” he told the papers, flashing the barest hint of an ulterior motive, “I subsisted entirely on H-O Oatmeal and H-O Crackers without any flesh food or stimulant of any kind, and I personally selected H-O Oatmeal because of its nutritious and digestible qualities.”
Weston’s early trips to London in the 1870s made him a star on two sides of the Atlantic. He left a series of British challengers broken and exhausted, and ingratiated himself with the crowd by pledging his love for England. As the popularity of pedestrianism soared, however — largely, it should be said, because of his influence — he soon found himself being surpassed by other, often younger, competitors. His once-astounding feat of walking 500 miles in six days began to be seen as a rite of passage rather than an unassailable record. Some of his rivals, such as Daniel O’Leary, an Irishman from Chicago who beat him in three straight contests, became major celebrities themselves.
To make matters worse, a British nobleman, Sir John Astley, created a competition called the Astley Belt, which instantly became the de facto world championship of pedestrianism. Rather than defining “walking” in the rules, Astley made his contest go-as-you-please: Competitors weren’t required to walk at all, but could also run, jog, skip, or whatever they liked, as long as they covered the farthest distance in the allotted time. (Think of go-as-you-please as the MMA of Victorian pedestrianism.) Weston was confident that walking would defeat all other forms of locomotion — after all, no one could run for 500 straight miles. But he soon found himself being trounced in go-as-you-please competitions by pedestrians who would, for instance, walk along the straight part of the track and run around the curves. It was a confusing time. By 1879, as Harris, Harris, and Marshall have it, “his standing in the sport had collapsed.”
In 1879, however, he would also achieve his greatest triumph. Weston showed up for the 4th International Astley Belt a 40-year-old, 10-1 long shot, his best days hopelessly behind him. Only somehow, Weston had taught himself to run. Using “a mode of progression peculiar to himself,” as Sporting Life described it — Harris, Harris, and Marshall call it “a mix of walking, running, and trotting” — Weston beat a room full of younger pedestrians, traveling an astonishing 550 miles in just under 142 hours. Here’s how A Man in a Hurry describes the last few miles:
By 6:30 p.m. on Saturday Weston had made 530 miles. At 9:30 he clocked 542, beating Brown’s record by seconds, and announced that he had breath enough for 550. The crowd roared their approval and on a track carpeted by flowers thrown from the galleries above Weston picked up his feet and trotted the last eight miles in 85 minutes. As he passed his tent on his last lap, he was handed a British and an American flag and carried them round the ring as the band played ‘Yankee Doodle’ and ‘Rule Britannia’.
When Weston’s ship arrived in New York, thousands of people turned out to welcome him home. He stood at the ship’s rail and raised the Astley Belt over his head. The roar from the crowd was louder than the roar of the ocean.
In his later years, Weston retired and unretired from pedestrianism a number of times, sometimes because he was broke, sometimes because he missed the limelight, always on behalf of some cause or other. He never quite got middle-class respectability right — a ladies’ man, he wound up separating from his wife and taking up with a much-younger woman whom the papers euphemistically described as his “niece” — but he never stopped longing for it. “It is a pity,” he told the Philadelphia Ledger in 1891, that pedestrian contests “cannot be conducted on the elevated plane they once were.” He walked throughout eastern New York giving speeches for Republican political candidates. In 1907, in his late 60s, he repeated his 40-year-old feat of walking from Portland, Maine, to Chicago, this time to prove that anyone who lived healthily could stay strong into old age.
Finally, in 1909, he decided to walk from one side of the country to the other: New York to San Francisco in 100 days. The cause this time was pedestrianism itself, to keep it from being surpassed by the newer sensation, running. He left on his 70th birthday. He walked most of the way alone because the car that was supposed to follow him kept breaking down on rough terrain. He walked along railroad tracks, learning to sense the vibrations that meant a train was coming. The further west he got, the harder it was to find food and shelter. In Wyoming he experienced an isolation so profound it terrified him. He saw no one but the occasional railway worker and the hobos waiting for the trains. In the Nevada desert he was blasted by 102-degree heat and swarmed by black clouds of mosquitoes. In the High Sierra train engineers guided him between snow sheds. He crossed the same terrain where his father had searched for gold 60 years before. Eventually he made it to San Francisco. He was five days late.
So he tried again. This time he was 71 and went from west to east. He made it to New York 13 days early with his ankle wrapped in bandages. There were 500,000 people packed on Broadway to cheer his arrival.
Pedestrianism was, of course, completely supplanted by running despite Weston’s best efforts, and now lingers as an influence only in a few fringe sports (Olympic racewalking, certain forms of extreme marathoning). A week after his 88th birthday, Weston was hit by a cab in New York — did he ever do anything non-theatrically? — and never walked again. He died at the age of 90, on March 15, 1929, 68 years after Lincoln offered to buy him a train ticket.
If Weston matters at all today, it’s not because of his sporting records, bizarre and impressive though they are, or for the |
, Universal, the copyright holder for "Let's Go Crazy", sent YouTube a takedown notice in compliance with DMCA requirements, claiming the video was a copyright violation. YouTube removed the video, and notified Lenz of the removal and the alleged infringement.
In the end of June 2007, Lenz sent YouTube a counter-notification, claiming fair use and requesting the video be reposted. Six weeks later, YouTube reposted the video. In July 2007, Lenz sued Universal for misrepresentation under the DMCA, and sought a declaration from the court that her use of the copyrighted song was non infringing.[4]
According to the DMCA 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3)(A)(v), the copyright holder must consider whether use of the material was allowed by the copyright owner or the law.[5] In September 2007, Prince released statements that he intended to "reclaim his art on the internet".[6] In October 2007, Universal released a statement that Prince and Universal intended to remove all user-generated content involving Prince from the Internet, as a matter of principle.[3]
Decision [ edit ]
District court [ edit ]
Based on Prince's and Universal's statements, Lenz argued that Universal was issuing takedown notices in bad faith, as they attempted to remove all Prince related content rather than considering whether each posting violated copyright, and in particular was a non infringing fair use. Universal expressed concerns over the fact-intensive investigation and subjective results of determining whether a potentially infringing use falls under the general fair use doctrine.
The district court held that copyright owners must consider fair use before issuing DMCA takedown notices. Thus, the district court denied Universal's motion to dismiss Lenz's claims, and declined to dismiss Lenz's misrepresentation claim as a matter of law. The district court believed that Universal's concerns over the burden of considering fair use were overstated, as mere good faith consideration of fair use, not necessarily an in depth investigation, is sufficient defense against misrepresentation.
The court also explained that liability for misrepresentation is crucial in an important part of the balance in the DMCA.[3] On February 25, 2010, Judge Fogel issued a ruling rejecting several of Universal's affirmative defenses, including the defense that Lenz suffered no damages, though the court did suggest that at that stage in the proceedings, Lenz's damages seemed nominal.[7]
In January 2013, Judge Fogel denied both parties' motions for summary judgment.[8]
Ninth Circuit [ edit ]
Recording of oral arguments in the appeal to the Ninth Circuit.
Both parties cross appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Oral argument was held July 7, 2015.[9] On September 14, 2015, the 9th Circuit affirmed the District Court, holding that while fair use arises procedurally as an affirmative defense, copyright holders have a "duty to consider—in good faith and prior to sending a takedown notification—whether allegedly infringing material constitutes fair use".[1]
Importantly, the court viewed fair use not as a valid excuse to otherwise infringing conduct but rather as not infringement in the first place. "Because 17 U.S.C. § 107[10] created a type of non-infringing use, fair use is 'authorized by the law' and a copyright holder must consider the existence of fair use before sending a takedown notification under § 512(c)."[1]
Supreme Court [ edit ]
Lenz appealed to the US Supreme Court asking the question:
Whether the Ninth Circuit erred in concluding that the affirmation of good faith belief that a given use of material use is not authorized "by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law," required under Section 512(c) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA"), may be purely subjective and, therefore, that an unreasonable belief—such as a belief formed without consideration of the statutory fair use factors—will not subject the sender of a takedown notice to liability under Section 512(f) of the DMCA?[11]
The US Supreme Court declined to grant certiorari in this case on June 19, 2017.[12]
See also [ edit ]
OPG v. Diebold, an earlier case of fair use concerns in DMCA takedown notices
, an earlier case of fair use concerns in DMCA takedown notices Smith v. Summit Entertainment LLC, another case involving a claim of misuse of a YouTube takedown request
, another case involving a claim of misuse of a YouTube takedown request Christopher Knight (filmmaker), plaintiff in another 2007 case involving DMCA and YouTube takedownElliot Daly: Tackled by Greig Tonks of Scotland A
The Saracens wing went over in the opening minute of the game after collecting George Ford's kick as it held up on a howling wind.
Leicester fly-half Ford kicked three penalties to keep Jon Callard's side in the hunt until the death, but Tom Heathcote's conversion and two penalties ensured victory for the Scots, despite the premature departures of props Grant Shiells and Jon Welsh in a dramatic finale.
Saxons got off to the worst possible start in front of a crowd of 6,480 when Ford's attempt to find touch into a strong wind was picked off by right-wing Taylor, who ran it home with the minimum of fuss to allow Heathcote to establish a 7-0 lead.
Ford and Heathcote traded penalties before Scotland encroached as England enjoyed their most promising spell of possession, and Ford duly obliged to reduce the deficit to 6-10.
The Scots were playing the more expansive game with full-back Greig Tonks threatening repeatedly and Heathcote' place-kicking making life uncomfortable for the Saxons.
However, two shots at goal went begging, the first of them crashing against an upright, as Scotland failed to make the most of English indiscipline and the Saxons grew in confidence.
Ford had to be alert to halt scrum-half Sean Kennedy's sniping run as the half-time whistle approached, but the sides went in at the break separated by just four points.
Heathcote's second successful penalty gave the Scots some reward for their extended stay in enemy territory, but with the wind at their backs, England set up camp in the Scotland half as the searched for a way back into the game.
Handling became increasingly difficult as the rain turned to sleet, but with the Scots battling doggedly, it was the Saxons making the errors.
England thought they had their chance when Tonks carried replacement winger Kyle Eastmond's kick through over his own line, but after the resulting five-metre scrum was reset three times, referee Dudley Phillips awarded a fifth set-piece to the Scots and then penalised England as they wheeled it.
Shiells and Welsh were both yellow-carded as the Saxons laid siege to the Scottish line with the clock running down, but when the ball was eventually spun wide, full-back Elliot Daly knocked on and their chance had gone.What’s the Best, Strongest Bike Lock for Theft-Proof Security? 5 Reviews
Bicycle theft is epidemic. In my city, I spend more time worrying about my bike getting stolen than my car. It’s true!
The ugly truth is that bike theft is difficult to combat. If your bike is lifted, chances are you won’t see it again.
The best precaution against theft is to buy a good lock and be smart about where you leave it.
The best bike bike locks are secure, virtually unbreakable and simple to use. Unfortunately, the two most popular types are flimsy cables and cheap U-locks.
You might as well put a big bow on it it.
So what’s the best bike lock to keep your ride secure? I wrote this article to review a handful of good, strong bicycle locks, and to explain how to most effectively use them.
For each, I’ll offer pros and cons, and hopefully point you towards some great, proven brands. Let’s look at what’s out there!
What Does a Top Rated, Strong Bike Lock Look Like?
If you’re hunting for a good quality bicycle lock that’s nigh unbreakable, there are a couple of essential features you absolutely need.
In a nutshell, it comes down to style and material.
What’s the most effective style?
In my opinion, the best, most secure & theft-proof bicycle locks on the market are U-locks and chains. They can be made from nearly uncuttable metal, and both are convenient to use.
The least effective is the cable lock. Why? Cables are easily cut with bolt cutters. A thief can get through a cable lock in ten seconds. They’re vaguely useful for securing components (like your saddle, for instance), but even that is a risk.
What’s the most effective material?
In my experience, the best and strongest bicycle locks are made from hardened steel, or exotic materials like titanium.
Many cheap bicycle locks are constructed using softer alloys. Bolt cutters, hacksaws, and sawzalls cut cheap metal like butter.
The more expensive kind are made from hardened steel, and they’re impervious to hacksaw and bolt cutter attempts (unless the thief has hours to spend.)
Really, the only way to get through hardened steel or titanium is by using an angle grinder. Unfortunately, thieves use those, but they’re noisy and cause a shower of sparks; in the open they’re very conspicuous.
1) Kryptonite Fahgettaboudit: One of the strongest bicycle locks, with good reviews
Pros: Double deadbolt shackle, hacksaw proof, vinyl coating
Double deadbolt shackle, hacksaw proof, vinyl coating Cons: Weighs about 4 pounds
The venerable Fahgettaboudit U-lock, by Kryptonite, is one of the most unbreakable bike locks you’re going to come across. It’s not the cheapest, but it will give you peace of mind.
The whole lock is made from hardened steel that’ll easily turn away bolt cutters and hacksaws.
True story: I was once hired (legally) by an apartment building to clear out a locker of abandoned bikes. The bolt cutters made swift work of cable locks, but when we came across a Fahgettaboudit, we were stuck.
The lock has a double deadbolt / shackle design (a thief has to cut through both sides to compromise it). It uses a disc cylinder that’s difficult to pick.
This heavy lock weighs over 4 pounds. That’s unfortunate, but worth it for the protection hardened steel adds. The whole lock is covered in a durable vinyl coating that prevents bike scratches.
Note: give the lock cylinder a bit of grease if you keep it in the rain. Also, this lock doesn’t come with frame mounting hardware.
Overall the Kryptonite Fahgeddaboudit reviews really well. It’s one of the toughest and strongest bicycle U-locks around, and therefore it’s on the top of my list.
2) TiGr Mini: A lightweight bike lock that’s also strong, secure and effective
Pros: Extremely light, quick to attach / detach, great as secondary lock
Extremely light, quick to attach / detach, great as secondary lock Cons: Small size makes it less useful for large frames
Many great bicycle locks will review well for security and ease of use, but they fall short in one key category: weight.
Hardened steel is heavy stuff. Conversely, lightweight bicycle locks tend to be less secure. The lighter the steel, the deeper the compromise.
Unless you move away from steel. To titanium.
The TiGr Mini is an amazing little all-titanium lock that’s extremely lightweight. Despite that, it’s one of the strongest U-locks in this category.
The flat shape of the lock body and the ductile qualities of titanium makes cutting a chore. Check it out yourself.Titanium’s natural hardness makes hacksaws ineffective too. The small size of the TiGr mini gives thieves no room to work, and the hardened, stainless steel lock cylinder is difficult to pick.
The TiGr is easy to use. The lock cylinder pops on and off the rivets like magic. You can stretch the TiGr mini around your frame and whatever you’re locking to, then squeeze it closed to attach the cylinder.
The total weight is a featherlight 490 grams (0.9 pounds) and it comes with a frame mount. It’s a wonderful auxiliary lock, good for securing wheel to frame, for example.
The TiGr Mini is comparable in size to a U-lock, 4 inches (10cm) at its widest point, and 10.5 inches (or 26cm) in length. If you have fat tires or a beefy frame, you’ll probably need the larger Mini+.
Small and lightweight, this is one of the best bike locks; it reviews really well and I love using it. Here’s a more in-depth review.
3) Evolution Chain: A nigh unbreakable bicycle chain lock, among the best around
Pros: Probably the most secure lock you can find, easy to attach
Probably the most secure lock you can find, easy to attach Cons: It’s very heavy
I’m really into chain locks in general, for a few good reasons. First, chains are flexible like a cable, and easy to attach around oddly-shaped items. That’s super handy. Second, hardened steel chain locks are super durable and will probably outlast your bike.
Lastly, they’re incredibly difficult for a thief to cut, even with an angle grinder. The links move around and shift and it’s just not fun to cut through.
The outstanding Kryptonite Evolution chain lock ticks all three boxes. Each chain link is thick and strong, made from six sided (hex style) manganese reinforced steel. Good luck getting through that with a hacksaw!
You’ll be impressed by the size and durability of the links, the pictures just don’t do it justice. It’s latched by a small Kryptonite shackle that’s also reinforced, with a complex, four-cylinder design that mimics their bigger U-locks.
The chain is smartly covered with a nylon fabric material, to protect the links and prevent your frame from being scratched.
This lock is heavy! It comes in at around seven pounds. Good protection has its drawbacks. Weight notwithstanding, I’d swear by a hardened chain like this one. There’s a reason why professional bike messengers use them.
I’ve heard reports that the lock cylinder can get sticky if it gets wet, so be sure to oil it.
The Kryptonite Evolution chain lock reviews really nicely. It’s a very good bike lock with secure, strong features. Not exactly lightweight, but your bike is ultra-secure, so who cares?
4) Bordo Granit: A foldable bicycle lock with great features, strong and light weight
Pros: Very light, folds up to become extremely portable, unique design
Cons: You need to use the key while locked and unlocking, a bit expensive
Sometimes a great strategy is to throw thieves a curve ball. The unique, foldable Abus Bordo Granit is an interesting lock design that’s efficient but also effective and light in weight.
The lock has locking flexibility like a chain or cable. It consists of 6 metal bars that fold out, each riveted to the next chain-style. Because they’re flat, you can fold it up into a very small size.
It’s one of the best bike locks for both weight and portability. It weighs in at 2.6 pounds, and when folded it is more compact than any U-lock.
The Granit is coated in a rubberized material that prevents it from scratching the hell out of your frame, and it comes with a frame bag and mounting bracket.
The lock cylinder is high quality and difficult to pick. The metal bars are hardened steel; like other high-end bicycle locks the only practical way to break it is by using a grinder.
Notes: The lock must be turned when unlocking and securing, which is a bit of a hassle compared to others that ‘click’ shut. The rivets will loosen as you use it; according to Abus, that doesn’t affect security.
This is a fantastic bicycle lock for a rider who wants a nearly unbreakable system with portability and light weight.
5) Master Lock Street Cuffs: An inexpensive, lightweight bike lock with great utility
Pros: Unique design, easy to use, great for tight spaces, inexpensive
Unique design, easy to use, great for tight spaces, inexpensive Cons: You might get strange looks
As mentioned, it’s an advantage to use a unique lock that thieves don’t often see. These awesome ‘street cuffs’, by Master Lock, are a fantastic bicycle lock with some nearly theft-proof features.
These are essentially regular handcuffs, which seems weird until you realize that it totally isn’t. They have a single link chain that pivots on both cuffs. For that reason, it’s really quick and easy to secure your ride in a pinch. Just attach one end to your bike, and the other to a convenient bike rack or signpost.
The cuffs are small, and can be folded to save space in your pack. It’s probably the most portable lock on this list.
They work great on their own, or they make a wonderful “secondary” lock for components. I use them to secure my wheels.
The housing is made from hardened steel, both cuffs and links. They’re only really vulnerable to a grinder attack. Their small size makes them difficult to cut off a frame cleanly, and the unique cylinder is very difficult for a thief to pick.
They’re a lightweight bicycle lock at 2.9 pounds, and have a reach of about 12 inches. If you need more reach, opt for the 9 link version, which is 22 inches long.
Note: If someone digs through your backpack and finds them, you might get some funny looks.
Convenient and inexpensive, these cuffs will get you tons of comments. They’re one of my top bike locks, with positive reviews, good strength and nearly unbreakable construction. Check them out!
Beyond The Lock: Making It Secure and Safe
I’m surprised by how often I see a poorly locked bike. I have even seen bikes with nothing more than a lock securing the rear wheel to the frame (as though a thief couldn’t simply pick it up). The largest and most unbreakable bike lock in the world won’t save your bike if it’s not secured properly.
Don’t lock it up in an alley
If you don’t want your bike to be stolen, don’t leave it somewhere where it can be easily tampered with. Choose a busy place with lots of foot traffic and it will be much safer. People tend to notice things like angle grinder sparks.
Leaving it somewhere tucked away is trouble. It gives a potential thief time and space.
Don’t give thieves room to work
As a rule of thumb, don’t give thieves a lot of room to work on your lock. You want the smallest possible lock that works. That way, they can’t reposition it to make things easier to cut.
Make it more trouble than it’s worth
A thief is going to go for low hanging fruit first. If you make your bike seem like a lot of trouble to steal, they’ll probably move on to easier pickings.
How can you do this? Use a small, effective, hardened lock that’s difficult to cut. Secure all your removable components (like the wheels). Lock it up in a conspicuous area. All these things will help.
Learn how to lock it up properly
A lot of people don’t know how to properly lock up their bicycle. I see cables looped around the wrong places, or nothing but the wheel secured.
Ever see a rusty bike lock with just a wheel attached? The thief simply detached the front wheel and made off with the rest of the frame!
Here’s the proper way to do it:
Find a post to lock around. Remove your front wheel, and place it beside your rear wheel. Run your lock through your rear wheel, around one of your chainstays or seatstays, then around the post. This works best with a chain, or a larger U-lock.
That’s all you need to do! In one go, this secures your frame and wheels, with one lock. It allows you to make the most of one lock. If that all sounds like gibberish, check out these awesome diagrams. I prefer the middle technique.
(If you don’t have a removable front wheel, consider a secondary lock to secure it to the frame.)
It’s actually really quick to attach your bike lock in this way, and it’s very effective!
Have a bike theft story to share? I’d love to hear about your experiences, feel free to comment below. Thanks for reading!Image caption Mountain goats usually stand about 3ft (0.9m) tall at the shoulder and can weigh up to 300lbs (136kg)
A hiker has died after being attacked by a mountain goat in the US state of Washington, officials have said.
Robert Boardman was gored in the leg by the goat while out walking on Saturday with his wife and a friend on Klahhane Ridge in Olympic National Park.
The 63-year-old was transported by US Coast Guard helicopter to a hospital in Port Angeles, where he was pronounced dead.
Rangers later killed the goat, which was known for its aggressive behaviour.
Barb Maynes, park spokeswoman, told the Peninsula Daily News that in the past rangers had tried "hazing" the animal - inducing it to be frightened of people - by shooting it with bean bags and throwing rocks.
But there had been no reports of any incidents which would have warranted killing the goat, she added.
Witnesses said Mr Boardman, his wife and friend had stopped for lunch on Klahhane Ridge when the goat appeared and moved towards them.
Mr Boardman tried to shoo the animal away but it instead attacked him. After goring the hiker the goat stood over him, and had to be pelted with rocks by a ranger before finally moving away.
Some 300 mountain goats live in Olympic National Park. Found only in North America, they usually stand about 3ft (0.9m) at the shoulder and can weigh up to 300lbs (136kg).DAVIDSON, N.C. – Haas F1 Team expects to move into its new European facility by the end of this month or early February.
Although Haas F1 will still call Concord, N.C. home, the team purchased the former Marussia factory in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England to provide the company with a U.K. base in order to finish and ship cars to the circuits on the F1 schedule.
Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner has he’s “confident” that the organization will be ready for competition in 2016.
“Everything is going to plan,” Steiner said. “We’re close to moving into the building. We’re working quite closely with Ferrari. We have to. They have the knowledge and we want to build our knowledge up. They are a good partner.
"We’re starting the design of the car soon. We’re just executing the plan and it’s going well.
“There’s always a last minute rush and something that might be a problem, but that’s racing. We need to have a good team in place to overcome those hurdles. But there’s no doubt that we’ll be on the track in 2016.
No Marussia bail out
Despite rumors of Haas Formula 1 looking to save the Marsussia teams, Steiner says, “there’s no involvement from Haas.”
“We will be buying the building, we might buy some testing equipment they got there but nothing of substance.
"We didn’t buy the sign or any of the IP (Intellectual property) rights. That was also a rumor in the press, that we bought the IP rights of their 2015 car. That’s not right. We’re developing our own car.”
From the sidelines
Currently, Steiner is spending about one-third of his time in Europe “just to keep up on things”. He will attend the test at Jerez, Spain next Sunday to get a feel for what the team can expect moving forward and what it takes to prepare for a new car launch.
Haas F1 has already hired around 50 employees and hopes to announce a lead designer soon. Still, Steiner doesn’t expect to have a car on the track for testing until January 2016.
“We’re not having a car before everyone else,” Steiner said. “We don’t want to. It doesn’t make sense. You build a car which is obsolete before you finish it. You try to build a car as late as possible to get in as much of development beforehand.
“If we build a car just for testing, we spend a lot of money and time but it’s worth nothing because we could be developing at the same time. So we’ll be testing in January ’16 like everyone else.”
Behind the wheel
As for drivers, Steiner says there’s been no “serious discussion”. Nor have they spoke to Ferrari about enlisted a junior driver such as Raffaele Marciello, who will race GP2 Series cars for Trident Motorsports in 2015.
Steiner says the primary goal is to first build the car and then figure out “who fits in it.”
There’s a lot of drivers out there. We haven’t started to look at it because we want to see where the market is going and what we can get. Guenther Steiner
“It’s quite a difficult decision,” Steiner said. “And we don’t know who is on the market in four months-time. There’s a lot of drivers out there. We haven’t started to look at it because we want to see where the market is going and what we can get. Then we’ll decide what we’re doing. There’s no urgency to decide on a driver. We want to see how the drivers are doing, who is without a contract and we’ll leave that decision to the third quarter of this year.
A competition forecast?
Team owner Gene Haas has said he hopes the team to be competitive in 2016. Steiner would not predict Haas Formula’s performance the first season, other than to say Haas F1 will run “the best we can”.
“It’s difficult to anticipate where you will line up because you don’t know how strong the opposition is, you know,” said Steiner. “For example, if you said, ‘we want to line up with Williams a year ago when they were eighth or ninth in the championship,’ and all of the sudden they are third. It’s difficult to make a judgment. I don’t know how strong the people are.
“Again, we want to be respected. We will do the best we can and wherever we line up, we line up. We will not be an embarrassment. That is what we want. I’m confident about that.”Forget Tanking: Knicks Fans Should Embrace Early Wins
The case for just rolling with it.
Jeremy Cohen Blocked Unblock Follow Following Nov 6, 2017
After being the NBA’s last winless team, the New York Knicks have won five of six games thanks to pure domination by Kristaps Porzingis and contributions from other supporting members. This is the most excited Knicks fans have been in, well, years, and rightfully so. Like the 2017 New York Yankees, no one expected this team to amount to much this year. The hustle, KP’s awakening and the wins are injecting life into a fanbase that has experienced far too many low points.
There are two words for the fans who are concerned that wins will screw the Knicks over in the draft: don’t be. Even with the early season excitement, the ceiling for this year’s team is relatively low to begin with, so freaking out in the beginning of November about draft positioning in June is unnecessary. There’s nothing wrong with the youngsters getting a taste of victory. Given the nucleus of this team, it’s better to take development and winning over pure tanking and losing this season. Perhaps the narrative changes should New York start selling off older assets as the season goes along.
If the Knicks were a team like the Chicago Bulls or Atlanta Hawks, it would make sense why fans should be more inclined to root in favor of tanking for a franchise cornerstone. And sure, the more franchise cornerstones the merrier, but it’s not like the Knicks are devoid of any star talent. For all we know, Frank Ntilikina could develop into a franchise player of his own accord based on his defense, length, and high basketball IQ. People are so headstrong about getting a top-three pick when a player drafted later than that can still become a transcendent talent.
Winning also helps raise the trade value of veterans who could benefit other teams. It’s better to trade a player who’s playing well on a good team than a player who’s playing well on a bad one. A team should always sell high and trade from a point of strength. For example, why should the Knicks want to trade Courtney Lee if he’s playing an integral role on the team? If he’s coveted by New York and not perceived as expendable, another suitor would need to strongly entice the Knicks to give up the wing player.
Let’s also take a moment to reflect on the Knicks’ recent past, which might be the blueprint for New York’s season this year. Last season’s Knicks team was 16–13 on Christmas and then went 15–38 in their remaining 53 games. The year before that, the Knicks started the season 22–22 before dropping 28 of their final 38 games. Here’s a look at the Knicks’ schedule over the next three months.
As you can see, the Knicks have some easy games in November and an easy stretch in December before a brutal month in January. New York will play 11, seven and four home games and four, eight and 12 away games in November, December and January, respectively. History could very easily repeat itself in terms of a hot start but a slow second half, which could convince the Knicks to sell.
Furthermore…
As good as Jarrett Jack has been as a floor general since first getting the starting job three games ago, we should remember he’s 34 years old, has past knee injuries and played 36 games over the 2015–16 and 2016–17 seasons. Ntilikina has shown substantial potential on both ends of the floor but one would think he’s a candidate to hit a wall as many rookies are wont to do. Ron Baker is a quality backup given his high basketball IQ, defense and passing, but the Knicks are in trouble if he’s New York’s best guard on the floor.
Porzingis can’t play in God mode every night… can he? He’s going to have bad shooting nights, he’s going to get into occasional foul trouble, he’ll face tough defenders and he’ll have to learn how to work out of future double-teams. It’s up to the team around him to make shots when he can’t.
Do the Knicks trade a big once Joakim Noah returns? If so, how does that impact the team? New York has had early success with Kyle O’Quinn off the bench, and trading the 27-year old could lead to a significant decrease in bench production. O’Quinn is second in total rebounding percentage and true shooting percentage and has the fourth-highest net rating.
In order for the Knicks to finish in the bottom-three of the league, they’d need some combination of trades, injury and regression across the board. The latter two are not ideal things to occur for a developing team and it could be argued that keeping veterans around to guide players is a more beneficial method than obtaining second round picks. If you’re scared that the Knicks won’t finish in a position to draft a player like Luka Doncic, Michael Porter Jr. or Marvin Bagley III, remember three things: it’s a long season, the draft order is determined by a lottery system and teams can always make trades. Should the Knicks look to be sellers, New York can acquire picks and young pieces and then package various assets in a bigger deal if need be.
Until then, sit back and enjoy the wins. We’re getting a glimpse at the future, and it’s going to be pretty damn glorious.English version below!
Tras una de las peores temporadas de su historia donde el mayor club europeo no ha conseguido ni siquiera clasificarse a los mundiales, Fnatic busca dar un salto de calidad y ser el equipo occidental con la infraestructura más completa.
La salida de jugadores emblemáticos, como Yellowstar, de la escuadra de League of Legends han dejado muchas plazas vacantes abriendo paso a una reestructuración completa del equipo. Según ha declarado Finlay "Quaye" Stewart, mánager del equipo, a través de su cuenta de Twitter, sus planes para la siguiente temporada incluyen grandes cambios en la infraestructura. Estos incluyen a un suplente para cada posición, un centro de entrenamiento desde donde el equipo practicará a diario y la incorporación de un psicólogo deportivo y más personal.
Este anuncio viene tan solo un día después de la publicación de una entrevista a Luis "Deilor" Sevilla, exentrenador del equipo, donde mostraba su visión sobre cómo debería ser la estructura de un equipo para que tenga éxito, coincidiendo completamente con los futuros planes de Fnatic. En la entrevista, Deilor cuenta que "En los esports no tienes suplentes, se le otorga un poder absurdo a los jugadores. Las organizaciones no tienen la estructura adecuada, ni los jugadores los recursos necesarios para alcanzar su máximo potencial", el valenciano continúa añadiendo que para que un proyecto de club sea interesante "requeriría 10 jugadores, gaming house y oficina, staff con psicólogo, fisio y demás especialistas".
Tendremos que esperar aún unos días para conocer más noticias sobre la nueva alineación de Fnatic ya que Riot no permite fichar a ningún jugador hasta el 21 de noviembre.
English version
After one of the worst seasons in its history where the largest European club has not even classified to Worlds, Fnatic seeks to make a leap of quality and be the western team with the most complete infrastructure.
The departure of emblematic players, like Yellowstar, from the League of Legends squad, has left many vacancies paving the way to a complete restructure of the team. As Finlay "Quaye" Stewart, manager of the team, said through his Twitter account, "our plans for next season include large upgrades to our infrastructure": Substitutes for each position, a training center where the team will practice from every day and the incorporation of a sports psychologist and more staff.
This announcement comes only a day after the publication of an interview with Luis "Deilor" Sevilla, ex-coach of Fnatic, where he shared his vision on how should the structure of a team be to succeed, coinciding completely with the future plans of Fnatic. In the interview, Deilor accounted that "there aren't any substitutes in esports, which gives players an absurd amount of power... Organizations don't have the adequate structure, nor do players have the resources needed to reach their full potential", he continued adding that for a team project to be interesting "It would require ten players, a gaming house and office staff with a psychologist, physiotherapist and other specialists".
We will have to wait a few more days to learn more news about the new Fnatic roster as Riot does not allow to sign any player until 21 November.Conservatives Announce New Maternity And Parental Leave Benefits
for immediate release
Conservatives Announce New Maternity And Parental Leave Benefits
Today, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced new work and income benefits for moms and dads having a baby. A re-elected Conservative government will provide up to 18 months of job protection for new parents and the option to stretch Employment Insurance (EI) benefits over 18 months. The Prime Minister also announced that women receiving maternity benefits and parents receiving parental benefits would be able to earn additional employment and self-employment income while receiving EI benefits.
“The birth of a new baby is always an exciting time, but it’s also a period of tremendous change for parents,” the Prime Minister said. “Our Conservative party wants to support new moms and dads by providing additional career flexibility and opportunities to earn during the transition to parenthood.”
Each year, 170,000 women receive EI maternity benefits and 190,000 parents receive EI parental benefits. The number of dads who receive parental benefits has continued to increase, and is now approximately 30%.
Under a re-elected Conservative government, the four-part package announced today would achieve the following:
The federal labour code will be amended to provide job protection for new parents until their babies have reached the age of 18 months.
Parents can opt to receive EI parental benefits at the full rate for up to 35 weeks, or they can extend those payments at a lesser rate up to a maximum of 61 weeks. When combined with other EI maternity leave, this means parents will be able to receive a stream of income until their babies are 18 months old.
A new two-year pilot project will be established to allow parents to earn self-employment income, without impacting their EI maternity or parental benefits, up to 100% of the weekly EI maximum insurable earnings threshold.
Women receiving EI maternity benefits will also be able to earn employment income under the Working While on Claim pilot project. This is currently only permitted for those receiving EI parental benefits.
“These fair and affordable commitments will provide new parents with additional flexibility, and will allow those who are interested in starting new businesses to do so – all without raising taxes on Canadians,” said the Prime Minister.
He noted that the NDP would raise EI payroll taxes by $5.3 billion while the Liberals will increase EI payroll taxes by $2.2 billion in order to pay for their promises. “The Liberal and NDP plans will cost average Canadian families hundreds of dollars each and every year in additional taxes – and they will kill jobs.”
-30-Musicians already have plenty of choices when it comes to iPhone apps that make it easy to create quick tracks on the go. There’s Apple’s GarageBand as well as other third-party apps that allow musicians to turn their iPhone’s into pocket-sized recording studios.
Now, however, Apple has released a new app that’s more stripped down that these alternatives. The company’s new Music Memos app is exactly what its name implies: It’s a note-taking recording app similar to Apple’s Voice Memos, but aimed at songwriters. Music Memos, which is now available for free in the App Store, is meant to provide a way for composers to jot down and organize song ideas rather than build complete, complex tracks like they would using GarageBand.
The app can also give instrumentalists an idea of how their songs will sound with a more full band by adding drum and bass tracks to the background of a recording.The virtual drummer and bassist also speed up or slow down depending on the music’s tempo. So, for instance, if a guitarist decides to speed up the chord progression, Apple’s virtual instruments will follow suit.
It can also analyze the music being recorded and will suggest the chords being played, which can be handy for musicians who |
running behind a car to avoid the armoured car which then ploughed over the private automobile to hit these people. It was barbaric. It was really, really disgusting.
It lasted for hours and hours. What brought it to an end was just [a] complete crackdown on the entire downtown area. The state TV, in addition to spreading their normal lies and propaganda, was actually calling on citizens to come down and defend the army so at one point we had a mix of army and central security forces and these "citizens", so to speak, coming and attacking us with stones, weapons, teargas.
This lasted until attrition took over and people couldn't do it any more, until everyone had been beaten out of the area.
Mos'ab Elshamy, 21, pharmacy student and freelance photographer
I joined the march as a Muslim who went in support of the Christians who were peacefully protesting against the recent destruction of a church in Aswan, which wasn't the first time in Egypt [that this had happened].
It was a very friendly and peaceful march and I went there along with a lot of Muslims to be in support of the march and what I saw was [the] army lose control and dispersing the march with horrific brutality.
I saw the army shoot at people and chase them and run over them [with] APCs [armoured personnel carriers] and their vehicles and turn a really beautifully peaceful march into a horrific massacre …
What I saw was, all of a sudden, people running away and I heard loud gunshots in the air with the army and police chasing them [protesters] in the alleyways and side streets.
Then, when we came back to the scene, they were lying on the ground and blood had been spilled and people were trying to defend themselves by throwing rocks back [at the police and army] …
The [only] … violence [by protesters] was just like … normal … just a couple … of troublemakers … But no one – as the army claimed – had machine guns or started shooting as they claimed and no one shot at the police as the state TV claimed …
It was absolutely horrific. It was something I have never seen in my life in Egypt and, to be honest, I never thought I would see such things.
Steve Nabeel, 22, computer engineering student
I started to walk from Shubra. I was not alone. I had some of my friends with me. We walked through Shubra and then we reached Maspero [the building that houses state TV].
When we reached Maspero there were 2,000 activists waiting there. We started to shout and just when we arrived we saw stones thrown. The stones were coming from the army side. After that the army started to hit protesters with sticks.
The protesters started to run away. Then it started to be like a battle. Protesters started to throw back the stones and rocks and people were running away. The army started the violence. I saw it with my own eyes.
Then two army APCs started to hit protesters, running over them. People were very scared. Then I heard that the army said on the TV that Coptics were attacking the army with guns and asked people to come down and help defend the army …
Some people came to help the army so it was people against the people and the attackers thought they were attacking only Christians but there were a lot of Muslims fighting with the Coptics against the people that the army brought … I carried bodies into a building. There were very bad injuries. There were dead people.
Hossam Bahgat, 32, NGO worker for the Egyptian Institute of Personal Rights
Colleagues from my organisation, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, had already been on the scene and started calling me to alert me there were a large number of fatalities …
By the time I arrived most of the killings through shooting and through armoured vehicles of the armed forces running over protesters had already happened but there were still clashes between the military police members from one side as well as some Muslim men who were seemingly incited by, instigated by, the state television coverage to come out and defend the Egyptian army as that's what was being said on state TV.
They were firing teargas excessively at us and both sides were also pelting stones at each other. And at different points there were some clashes between Muslims and Christians on the scene, using batons and iron pipes, and, at least in one case, a sword.
I then left the scene and went to a nearby hospital, the Coptic hospital, where we were told that most of the bodies of those killed had been sent, and we were given access to the morgue of the hospital and we counted 17 bodies.
Many of them were uncovered and clearly showed the victims had been run over by vehicles. Some of them were body parts.“THE SORCERER’S RING has all the ingredients for an instant success: plots, counterplots, mystery, valiant knights, and blossoming relationships replete with broken hearts, deception and betrayal. It will keep you entertained for hours, and will satisfy all ages. Recommended for the permanent library of all fantasy readers.”
--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos
A FATE OF DRAGONS is book #3 in the Bestselling series THE SORCERER'S RING, which begins with Book #1, A QUEST OF HEROES--a FREE download with over 1,000 five star reviews!
A FATE OF DRAGONS (Book #3 in the Sorcerer's Ring) takes us deeper into Thor’s epic journey to becoming a warrior, as he journeys across the Sea of Fire to the dragon’s Isle of Mist. An unforgiving place, home to the most elite warriors of the world, Thor’s powers and abilities deepen as he trains. His friendships deepen, too, as they face adversities together, beyond what they could imagine. But as they find themselves up against unimaginable monsters, The Hundred quickly goes from training session to a matter of life or death. Not all will survive.
Along the way, Thor’s dreams, along with his mysterious encounters with Argon, will continue to plague him, to press him to try to learn more about who he is, who his mother is, and what the source of his powers are. What is his destiny?
Back in the Ring, matters are getting much worse. As Kendrick is imprisoned, Gwendolyn finds it landing on her to try to save him, to save the Ring by bringing down her brother Gareth. She hunts for clues for her father’s murderer along with her brother Godfrey, and along the way, the two of them will become much closer, united in their cause. But Gwendolyn finds herself in mortal danger as she presses too deep, and she may be in over her head.
Gareth attempts to wield the Dynasty Sword and learns what it means to be King, becoming drunk with the abuse of power. He rules ruthlessly, becoming paranoid. As the noose tightens on the king’s assassin, the McClouds attack deeper into the Ring, and King’s Court finds itself in an increasingly precarious position.
Gwendolyn pines for Thor’s return, for them to be together, for their love to blossom. But with powerful forces in their way, it is questionable if that chance will ever come.
Will Thor survive The Hundred? Will King’s Court collapse? Will MacGil’s murderer be found? Will Gwendolyn end up with Thor? And will Thor finally learn the secret of his destiny?
With its sophisticated world-building and characterization, A FATE OF DRAGONS is an epic tale of friends and lovers, of rivals and suitors, of knights and dragons, of intrigues and political machinations, of coming of age, of broken hearts, of deception, ambition and betrayal. It is a tale of honor and courage, of fate and destiny, of sorcery. It is a fantasy that brings us into a world we will never forget, and which will appeal to all ages and genders. It is nearly 70,000 words.
All 17 books in THE SORCERER'S RING are now available!This article is about Velodromes. For physically separated bike lanes, see Cycle track. For the multi-purpose stadium in Marseille, France, see Stade Vélodrome
A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement curve.
History [ edit ]
The first velodromes were constructed during the mid-late 19th century. Some were purpose-built just for cycling, and others were built as part of facilities for other sports; many were built around athletics tracks or other grounds and any banking was shallow. Reflecting the then-lack of international standards, sizes varied and not all were built as ovals: for example, the oldest velodrome in the world, at Preston Park, Brighton (1877),[1] is 579 m (1,900 ft) long and features four straights linked by banked curves, while the 536 m (1,759 ft) Portsmouth velodrome, in Portsmouth, has a single straight linked by one long curve. Early surfaces included cinders or shale, though concrete, asphalt and tarmac later became more common.
Indoor velodromes were also common particularly in the late 19th and early 20th century. For example, the Vélodrome d'hiver was built in Paris in 1909 and featured a 250 m (820.2 ft) indoor track with a wooden surface.
International competitions such as the Olympic Games led to more standardisation: two-straight oval tracks quickly became the norm, and gradually lap lengths reduced. The Vélodrome de Vincennes, used for the 1896 (and 1924) Games was 500 m (1,640 ft) per lap, while Antwerp's Vélodrome d'Anvers Zuremborg, used in 1920, and Helsinki Velodrome, used in 1952, were both 400 m (1,312 ft). By the 1960s, tracks of 333.33 m (1,094 ft) length were commonly used for international competitions (e.g.: the Agustín Melgar Olympic Velodrome used for track cycling events at the 1968 Summer Olympics, and Leicester's Saffron Lane velodrome used at the 1970 and 1982 Track Cycling World Championships). Since 1990, such events are usually held on velodromes with 250 m (820 ft) laps. London's 2012 Olympic velodrome and a new velodrome in Turkmenistan's capital city Ashgabat both have a 250 m track and a 6,000-seat spectator capacity.
Technical aspects [ edit ]
Banking in the turns, called superelevation, allows riders to keep their bikes relatively perpendicular to the surface while riding at speed. When travelling through the turns at racing speed, which may exceed 85 km/h (52.8 mph), the banking attempts to match the natural lean of a bicycle moving through that curve. At the ideal speed, the net force of the centrifugal force (outward) and gravity (downward) is angled down through the bicycle, perpendicular to the riding surface.
Riders are not always travelling at full speed or at a specific radius. Most events have riders all over the track. Team races (like the madison) have some riders at speed and others riding more slowly. In match sprints riders may come to a stop by performing a track stand in which they balance the bicycle on the sloped surface while keeping their feet locked into the pedals. For these reasons, the banking tends to be 10 to 15 degrees less than physics predicts. Also, the straights are banked 10 to 15 degrees more than physics would predict. These compromises make the track ridable at a range of speeds.
From the straight, the curve of the track increases gradually into the circular turn. This section of decreasing radius is called the easement spiral or transition. It allows bicycles to follow the track around the corner at a constant radial position. Thus riders can concentrate on tactics rather than steering.
Bicycles and track design [ edit ]
Bicycles for velodromes have no brakes. They employ a single fixed rear gear, or cog, that does not freewheel. This helps maximise speed, reduces weight, and avoids sudden braking while nevertheless allowing the rider to slow by pushing back against the pedals.
Modern velodromes are constructed by specialised designers. The Schuermann architects in Germany have built more than 125 tracks worldwide. Most of Schuermann's outdoor tracks are made of wood trusswork with a surface of strips of the rare rain-forest wood Afzelia. Indoor velodromes are built with less expensive pine surfaces. The track is measured along a line 20 cm (7.9 in) up from the bottom. Olympic and World Championship velodromes must measure 250 m (820 ft). Other events on the UCI International Calendar may be held in velodromes that measure between 133 m (436 ft) and 500 m (1,640 ft), with a length such that a whole or half number of laps give a distance of 1 km (0.62 mi).[2]
The velodrome at Calshot, Hampshire, UK is only 142 m (466 ft) and has especially steep banking because it was built to fit inside an aircraft hangar. Forest City Velodrome in London, Ontario, Canada, is the world's shortest at 138 m (453 ft). Built to fit a hockey arena, it too has steep banking.
Calshot velodrome with Woolwich CC cyclists riding round banking (March 2013).
The smaller the track, the steeper the banking. A 250 m (820 ft) track banks around 45°, while a 333.33 m (1,093.6 ft) track banks around 32°. Some older velodromes were built to imperial standards. The Dick Lane Velodrome in East Point, Georgia USA, is 0.2 miles or 321.9 m.[3]
Velodrome tracks can be surfaced with different materials, including timber, synthetics and concrete. Shorter, newer, and Olympic quality tracks tend to be timber or synthetics; longer, older, or inexpensive tracks are concrete, macadam, or even cinder.
Track markings [ edit ]
Track markings
Important cycling events are usually held on tracks which have lines laid out in a specified arrangement. Some other tracks also follow these protocols, but others have a different arrangement of lines to suit their facility and to assist riders in holding a straight line and in avoiding drifting onto the flatter section below the bankings where they risk their tyres sliding out.
Between the infield (sometimes referred to as an apron) and the actual track is the blue band (called "côte d'azur") which is typically 10% of the surface. The blue band is not technically a part of the track; although it is not illegal to ride there, moving into it to shortcut another rider results in disqualification. During time trials, pursuits or other timed events, the blue band is obstructed with sponges or other objects. The blue band is a warning to cyclists that they may scrape their pedal along the infield when in a curve, which can easily result in a crash.
20 centimetres (7.9 in) above the blue band is the black measurement line. The inner edge of this 5 centimetres (2.0 in) line defines the length of the track. 90 centimetres (35 in) above the inside of the track is the outside of the 5 cm wide red sprinter's line. The zone between black and red lines is sprinter's lane, which is the optimum route around the track. A rider leading in the sprinter's lane may not be passed on the inside; other riders must pass on the longer outside route.
Minimum 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) (or half the track width) above the inside of the track is the blue stayer's line. This line serves in races behind motorbikes as a separation line. Stayers below the blue line may not be overtaken on the inside. In Madison races (named after six-day races at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York and also known as "the American"), the team's relief rider rests above the stayer's line by riding slowly until his or her teammate comes around the track and throws him or her back into the race.
The finish line is black on a wide white band and near the end of the home straight. Red lines are marked in the exact centre of each straight as start and finish line for pursuit races. A white 200 m line marks 200 metres (660 ft) before the finish.
Track construction [ edit ]
Velodromes may be indoors or outdoors. In the heyday of velodrome racing (1890–1920), indoor tracks were common. When hosting six-day races, they were popular for revellers and urban sophisticates to congregate in the early hours after the bars had closed. Indoor tracks are not affected by weather and are more comfortable for spectators. They ride smoother and last longer. Despite the advantages of indoor tracks, outdoor velodromes are more common, as an outdoor venue does not require a building, making it more affordable, especially when new. Today, although many classic indoor tracks have been torn out of buildings and replaced by venues for more popular sports, velodromes are still sometimes built into indoor venues, particularly where track racing can generate enough revenue to cover the expense of dedicating a building to it.
Race formats [ edit ]
There are a variety of formats in velodrome races. A typical event will consist of several races of varying distances and structures.
The most straightforward is the " scratch race," where riders compete over a specified distance and the order of finish determines the winners.
," where riders compete over a specified distance and the order of finish determines the winners. Points races assign value to specific laps throughout a race, e.g. every tenth lap. Generally the leading rider and sometimes the second place rider will be awarded points. The structure and timing of points races varies greatly, but the winner is determined by the accumulation of points and not necessarily the rider crossing the line first at the end of the race.
races assign value to specific laps throughout a race, e.g. every tenth lap. Generally the leading rider and sometimes the second place rider will be awarded points. The structure and timing of points races varies greatly, but the winner is determined by the accumulation of points and not necessarily the rider crossing the line first at the end of the race. Elimination races, also known as "devil take the hindmost" or "miss and out" removes the last place rider from each lap (every second lap on shorter tracks) until only three to five riders remain. The final standings are then determined by a sprint over the last two laps.
races, also known as "devil take the hindmost" or "miss and out" removes the last place rider from each lap (every second lap on shorter tracks) until only three to five riders remain. The final standings are then determined by a sprint over the last two laps. Madison races team up pairs of riders in a tag-team format. Riders "sling" their teammate forward to facilitate alternating sprints that keep the pace very high during typically long races (30 km or 19 miles, or more, compared to 3–10 km or 1.9–6.2 mi for most other races). The name is taken from Madison Square Garden where the format was popular in the early 1900s. Since partners can trade as often as they like, this is a very busy race format, with half of the racers racing and half circulating around the track at any time.
team up pairs of riders in a tag-team format. Riders "sling" their teammate forward to facilitate alternating sprints that keep the pace very high during typically long races (30 km or 19 miles, or more, compared to 3–10 km or 1.9–6.2 mi for most other races). The name is taken from Madison Square Garden where the format was popular in the early 1900s. Since partners can trade as often as they like, this is a very busy race format, with half of the racers racing and half circulating around the track at any time. Keirin races involve pacing 6 to 9 riders with a motorcycle known as a Derny. The Derny gradually accelerates until the last lap and a half when it pulls off the track and a sprint for the finish determines the winner.
involve pacing 6 to 9 riders with a motorcycle known as a Derny. The Derny gradually accelerates until the last lap and a half when it pulls off the track and a sprint for the finish determines the winner. Omnium competition assigns a point value to final standings of each race and riders accumulate points over the course of an event or series of events. This is not a specific race, but a competition that ties races and events together.
See also [ edit ]“It’s the Real Thing.” Still from advertisement by Coca-Cola
The following is an excerpt from Jeff Chang’s Who We Be: The Colorization of America.
From the turgid summer of 1971 through the terrible autumn of 1972, TV newscasts must have seemed unrelenting: millions marching to stop the war, prisoners attacked at Attica, the Watergate scandal and the Pentagon Papers, the Manson and Serpico and My Lai trials, guns in Munich, bombs in D.C., and troops in Derry. Pain and hatred and misery. Where was the harmony, sweet harmony? It was in the ad-break, in a commercial for Coca-Cola.
The spot begins with a blonde woman, eyes clear blue, lip-syncing a strange lyric, “I’d like to buy the world a home, and furnish it with love.” There is an even weirder second line, about growing apple trees and honeybees and snow-white turtledoves.
The camera pans across rows of young singers smiling with the rising sun—Spanish, Swedish, Nigerian, Nepalese, dressed in a dashiki, a kimono, a dirndl, a Nehru, a turtleneck. Together they lip-sync, “I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony.” Each holds a green glass hobble skirt bottle in their right hand, one branded in English script, the next in Arabic, another in Thai. “I’d like to buy the world a Coke,” they sing, “and keep it company.” The camera pulls up to an aerial view, revealing 200 singers aligned on a green hillside like an open fan, a youth chorus of the world.
“It’s the real thing—Coke is,” they sing in unison, “what the world wants today.”
The commercial, first aired on July 8, 1971, had been conceptualized and co-written by Bill Backer, a McCann-Erickson executive who had been searching for a way to rebrand Coke. Backer wanted “a big basic idea—one that would involve the entire United States market for Coca-Cola,” everyone regardless of race, color, class, or creed. The jingle he and his team wrote would come to be known as “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing.”
The campaign’s code name was “Buy the World,” the budget for this commercial alone was nearly $1.3 million in 2013 dollars, and through it Coke might have a shot at more than just glass-bottle redemption. Imagine, in a season of racial division, imperialist deception, capitalist malaise, and national despair the whole world gathered upon a hill sharing a fizzy brown drink. It might look like a picture of renewed American faith. Buying a Coke was like buying the world shelter and peace.
The hilltop commercial was among the first that Coca-Cola shot in full color. More important, it was perhaps the nation’s first colorized one—an unusual advertisement that admitted a possible multicultural future beyond whiteness.
Conceived during the fall of 1968, the Real Thing commercials would incept the drink into a new dream of America, in which divisions between young and old, counterculture and mainstream, Black and white, poor and rich, liberal and conservative had been resolved. In this era of fragmentation and unrest, it was time for the universal drink, like Brand U.S. itself, to reassert some alpha swag.
McCann-Erickson went to an earlier grand dream of one America, the social realist vision of the cultural front, which had found expression through Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Depression-era jobs programs for artists. From Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother to Zora Neale Hurston’s collections of Black folklore, Social Realism advanced the themes of inclusion, struggle, and triumph that would come to be associated with the “American Century.”
Now at the start of the 1970s, McCann-Erickson was sending teams of photographers and art directors again into the great land. Their mission was to capture—or to stage—slices of American life far from the cultural battlefronts. The earliest Real Thing spots, which began airing in 1969, were montages of these images.
One Real Thing spot was called “Friendly Feelings,” a subtle turnabout of that fog-of-war phrase “friendly fire.” The images included teenagers taking a break from fixing a roof, a boy and a girl dancing in a wheat field, a young woman cutting her husband’s long hippie hair. It included two close-ups of a black family, a mother and daughter and a father and son, both parents enjoying a bottle of the brown sugary stuff. The jingle concluded, “Coca-Cola, it’s the real thing, like friendly feelings.”
In the closing voice-over of “Friendly Feelings,” a narrator declared, “A bottle of Coke has brought more people together than any other soft drink in the world.” Bill Backer and the young staff at McCann-Erickson finally were ready to meet BBDO’s challenge. But they also seemed to want to address something deeper: what it meant to be an innocent American bumbling through a suddenly very big and dangerous world.
It was Backer who first saw the outlines of racial harmony and world peace in a green bottle of brown bubbly sugar water. His epiphany came out of a disrupted airline flight.
Two weeks before the debut of “Friendly Feelings,” Backer was on his way to meet his songwriting collaborators in London. But he found himself grounded by Heathrow fog at the tiny Shannon Airport outside Limerick, Ireland. Passengers, mostly high-maintenance business travelers, were forced to double up overnight at an overcrowded motel, a situation accepted mostly with reluctance and not a little petulant acting out.
The next morning Backer took a seat in the airport restaurant and looked at the crowd. The night before they had been at each other’s throats. Now they were all conversing in English, laughing together. And they seemed to be drinking bottles of Coke. Backer was struck by the notion that Coke was “a tiny bit of commonality between all peoples, a universally liked formula that would help to keep them company for a few minutes.” He started scribbling ideas on a napkin.
When Backer finally met with his colleague Billy Davis—a songwriter from Motown who had been in the Four Tops—and the rest of his team, he said he wanted “a song that treated the whole world as if it were a person—a person the singer would like to help and get to know.” He read to them what he had written on the napkin: “I’d like to buy the world a Coke and keep it company.”
Working quickly, they got British folksingers the New Seekers to record the song and brought it to radio. Coca-Cola’s bottlers hated it, company president Paul Austin thought it was too sentimental, and listeners were unmoved. But somehow the agency prevailed in getting more money to turn the jingle into a television commercial. A young McCann-Erickson employee named Harvey Gabor suggested an idea for the “First United World Chorus” singing the song. Medium Cool director Haskell Wexler signed on to direct. They returned to England to shoot, a globalized production assembling the diversity of the Old World to comfort the anxious masses of the New.
London brought bad weather so they moved to Rome. This first shoot was a disaster, a telling one.
An Italian production company brought in 1,200 young extras from local orphanages. As the sun grew hotter, the orphans were kept locked in steaming buses. By noon the bored, parched teens were rocking the buses off their axles and wolfishly eyeing the big truck full of Cokes parked at the bottom of the hill. At the top, Davis stood on a conductor’s ladder, struggling to teach the united world chorus how to mouth lyrics in a language many did not speak.
For the final scene—an aerial shot of the orphans cheering alongside the united world chorus—the teens were released from their buses. They raged loud and broad across the field. A beleaguered team of marshals finally corralled and herded them into place near the chorus. There the orphans took the glass bottles they had been handed and with an angry roar began flinging them at the director’s helicopter overhead. Then they stormed down the hill toward the Coke truck and tried to overturn it.
Where was the harmony? It had been interrupted by a teenage riot worthy of Black Friday. Perhaps this, too, was what American exceptionalism looked like.
The next day Wexler, still angry he had nearly been toppled from the sky to certain death over a stupid Coke commercial, fled the set, never to return. With a different crew and production company, a much smaller cast, and a different Italian location, the spot was finally completed. The “Buy the World” commercial was released in Europe, mostly to indifference.
But in the United States the TV spot found huge success. Coca-Cola was suddenly flooded with letters of gratitude and requests for lyrics and sheet music. As Tom Clay’s “What the World Needs Now Is Love” fell off the Billboard charts, two different versions of “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)” took its place. In the end both topped the charts not just in the United States, but around the world, including Europe. America was still losing the war in Southeast Asia, but it was back to winning hearts and minds at home and abroad.
In 1939, near the end of the Great Depression, Coke had run print ads titled “The drink everybody knows …” that collected illustrations of Americans at work and at play. There were airline pilots and stewardesses, young female shoppers, baseball-playing kids, courting teens, a homemaker, a snow-shoveler. Except for a smiling Pochontas-type Indian sharing a drink with a young little rosy-cheeked cowboy, all of the subjects were white. Each illustration represented a frontier closed and a market opened. Together they pointed forward toward the affluent society and Kennedy’s suburban New Frontier.
At the start of the 1970s, at the end of the long postwar economic boom, Buy the World pictured the last frontier. Each smiling young person on the Italian hill—marked by their race, nation, and culture—held a market in their hand. It was a primitive picture, to be sure, a couple hundred smiling stereotypes, a stock sheet of misrepresentations. But it was not dishonest. In the eyes of capital, nonwhites and non-Americans represented the last to be brought inside, organized, harmonized.
As the American Century roared to a close, capitalism’s destiny would belong to identity. Buy the World had stumbled upon a key to unlocking not just for Coca-Cola, but all of American business, the young world of the coming Global Century. From capital’s dream of one America, a New World Order might be born. But it would be decades before many realized that such a world was even possible.
Copyright 2014 by Jeff Chang. From Who We Be: The Colorization of America. Reprinted with permission.
Read an interview with Bill Backer, the man who created the famous Coca-Cola commercial.The Japanese retailer Manga-Oh is currently listing that a bundled edition of the 10th volume of ONE and Yuusuke Murata's One-Punch Man manga will include an original video anime (OVA). The retailer lists that the set will ship on December 4. The website lists that the regular edition volume will also ship on the same day.
The manga's TV anime adaptation by Madhouse and director Shingo Natsume (Space Dandy, Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos) will premiere in Japan on TV Tokyo and Niconico Live on Sunday, October 4 at 25:05 (effectively, Monday, October 5 at 1:05 a.m.).
Murata's manga series adapts ONE's original web manga of the same name. Murata's manga is currently running on Shueisha's free Tonari no Young Jump spinoff website. The series passed the 2.2-million mark in November 2013, the 3.4-million mark in May 2014, and the 4.5-million mark last November. Shueisha published the ninth volume (pictured above right) in August, and a special edition of the ninth volume included a drama CD.
One-Punch Man is currently serialized in Viz Media's English-language digital edition of Weekly Shonen Jump. Viz released the first two volumes in print earlier this month.
Viz Media will also stream the anime on its website and on Daisuki.If you find yourself walking down the New York City street on the Fox Lot, be sure to stop by Nolita, once the hippest eatery in Manhattan, but now just a background curio rewarding eagle-eyed fans of the artificial Big Apple.
Dedicated foodies will remember that pan-foreign restauranteur Pino was on the verge of closing Nolita back in 2005, only to get an unexpected respite when he scooped former bad boy chef Jack Bourdain off the scrap pile of uninspired sobriety and a kitschy red sauce Italian joint. Bourdain and his team of culinary eccentrics earned rave reviews despite a series of wacky misadventures including a daring mid-dinner robbery, accidentally serving a severed thumb to a critic and an unfortunate weekend detour into the dark world of brunch. But then, Nolita abruptly closed and Jack Bourdain was never heard from again.
Billboards around LA suggest that Bourdain has now made a return to the kitchen, still a bit of a rule-breaking rogue, though this time the critics haven't been nearly as kind.
At least we'll always have Nolita.
***
If early tracking is correct, the number of people planning to watch Bradley Cooper in Burnt this weekend is close to nil and if reviewers are correct, nobody will be missing much. The Hollywood Reporter's Jon Frosch called Burnt "half-baked" and his is far from the harshest reaction.
Although it was a single-cam comedy, Kitchen Confidential shot in Los Angeles and took no particular advantage of the format. Most of the show took place in the versatile kitchen set that made room for some mobility, but was never used for any Goodfellas-style ambitious one-shot navigation, because Kitchen Confidential just never aimed that high. The food is well displayed throughout, but it's not deliciously fetishized by our current Hannibal-ized standards.
Only four Kitchen Confidential episodes ever aired on Fox, but the entire run of the show has long been available online, finding a home on Hulu and six hours dedicated to watching or rewatching it are bound to be better than three or four hours going out to see Burnt, including parking, price and that annoying guy sitting next to you texting, "Why am I here?!?" the entire movie.
A word of caution: Somehow the episode order got shaken up. I blame Fox for airing the ninth episode fourth for the Vartan of it all. If you watch Kitchen Confidential episodes in the order they autoplay on Hulu, several of the relationships, especially the one with Cooper and Hayes, are rendered nonsensical. Even out of continuity, it's still probably better than Burnt. And keep an eye out for Nolita whenever a 20th Century Fox TV show goes to New York, but is too cheap to actually go to New York.Trump's fight over consumer bureau with two directors'may end up in court'
An Obama-era agency that a senior Senate Democrat said “Wall Street hates like the devil hates holy water” will have two acting directors on Monday, after the White House countered its director’s resignation and promotion of an ally by naming its own man to take temporary charge.
How a power trip could doom the agency that took down Wells Fargo Read more
One Senate Republican said the unusual situation, with each side claiming legal justification, could “end up in court”.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was set up after the financial crash of 2008 to protect ordinary Americans from abusive practices by banks, mortgage companies, pay day loan operations and debt collectors.
Its director, Richard Cordray, proved an aggressive watchdog, for example fining Wells Fargo a record amount over its misselling of bank accounts. Republicans opposed to tough regulation of the financial sector think the agency has been too aggressive. Democrats back it.
One of the architects of the legislation that created the agency, the former Massachusetts representative Barney Frank, told CNN on Saturday: “We gave a lot of attention to how to structure the CFPB and how to protect its independence, because its job is to go after some very powerful forces in the economy.
“The point is, we intend[ed] what Cordray was doing to have this kind of autonomy.”
Cordray resigned on Friday but made a play to maintain control, naming the agency’s chief of staff, Leandra English, as deputy. Under the Dodd-Frank legislation, English would thus lead it until the Senate confirmed a presidential nominee. That can take months.
Donald Trump countered by naming Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget, to the deputy director role. White House officials speaking to reporters on Saturday cited the Vacancies Reform Act (VRA) of 1998, and a memo by Steven Engel, the new head of the justice department’s Office of Legal Counsel, as providing the president’s authority to do so.
It’s a watchdog agency. Wall Street hates it like the devil hates holy water and they’re trying to put an end to it Senator Dick Durbin
Trump devoted less detail to the issue, tweeting that the CFPB had been “a total disaster as run by the previous Administrations [sic] pick. Financial Institutions have been devastated and unable to properly serve the public. We will bring it back to life!”
The argument is drawn on partisan lines. English is a longtime ally of Cordray, who is a Democrat rumoured to be considering a run for governor in Ohio. Cordray’s resignation statement highlighted English’s “ |
at Fred Hyatt's Funny Pages™ squirm is one of them. It makes me smirk. Posted by b on October 30, 2016 at 08:37 AM | Permalink Comments next page » next page »Unity overview
Unity3D is a well-known engine for the game development. But, as a game development outsourcing company, we very often hear from our customers: Why I should choose Unity for my game? In this article, we will try to answer this question and prove that Unity engine is the best choice. Let’s consider some powerful sides of theUnity3D briefly.
Cross platform development. Today Unity covers all popular platforms. From most popular mobile (iOS, Android) and Web (read below) platforms to the consoles (Xbox One, PS Vita, PS4) and smart tv (tvOS, Tizen, Samsung TV).
Unity is a leader in the VR/AR development. Frequent updates. Unity team is working very hard to improve engine and create new powerful features for development. Strong community and huge assets database.
And all of this is only a tip of the iceberg. There are a lot of other features included to the Unity. Here and in the future articles, we will review some of them.
Web development with Unity
A lot of people think that web development is a pain point of the Unity platform due to ugly Web Player plugin, but all of this is in the past. After the version 5.4 Unity has stopped support of the Web Player and left only one possibility to create games for the web – WebGL.
Unlike a Web Player, WebGL is not a plugin, but it uses the API standard. This means that the content for WebGL runs without having to install any other plugins before start game in the browser. With the help of the WebGL, we can create 3D/2D games for the web as we do that for mobiles, standalone (PC, OS X) platforms and consoles. So, after the WebGL release, Unity became completely cross platform tool for the game app development without any pain points.
Another good news is a Facebook support. Unity and Facebook were in the close collaboration for a long time. For the game development with Unity, Facebook created their own SDK. This SDK contains a lot of useful tools to add virality into the game.
It was in the past. From the Unity version 5.6 Facebook platform was added as a build target to the Unity engine. Using the Facebook build target, you can build your content either as a WebGL player, which you can then publish to facebook.com or as a custom native Windows Standalone player, which you can post to the Facebook Gameroom client. Facebook SDK also included to the Unity engine as well. With these updates, the development of social features has accelerated several times over.
Unity Asset Store
Unity Asset Store is a service where other Unity developers can share their assets for different departments (programming, art, sounds, etc). A lot of these assets are free, and some of them are paid, but price doesn’t correspond to human/hours that spent to the development such asset from scratch. For example, every game requires tweens to create animations or other game features. So, you can spend a lot of time to create tween tool from scratch or just download free asset DOTween from the Asset Store and focus on the game features instead of tool creation. Apparently, the choice is obvious. Assets from the Asset Store are very useful both for prototyping and for the development of large projects. There are also a lot of open source assets with MIT licenses such as Zenject, UniRx, and many others. These tools are really handy for the development, they are free and supported by other Unity developers. There are a lot of ready backend solutions like PlayFab, Photon, etc. to add multiplayer, database and other server features without creating custom backend.
Unity services
Unity team has created a set of popular services and included them to the engine, like Ads, IAP, Cloud Build, Analytics and many others. The list of services can be found here.
Those services don’t require a dedicated developer to work with them. Every unity developer can setup any service from the admin panel or even from the Unity Editor. For example, with Cloud Build service, you will get CI for your project even in free Unity version. You will be able to get the latest build of your game from any place. You even don’t need access to the source code just follow the link from the device and enjoy the fresh build of the game. The same situation is true for other services. Of course, you can use and other services for Ads, IAP, etc. instead, everything is flexible. Furthermore, there are a lot of already created plugins for Unity, so you can use a couple of analytics or ads systems in one game to have more control of the process.
Conclusions
Compared to other development environments, Unity supports a huge number of platforms and has a powerful tool for the development of 2D and 3D game applications. It is developing very rapidly, has a great community, huge number of assets and services. Unity changed web development direction to the WebGL.
So, the answer to the question “Why I should choose Unity for my game?” is: Unity accelerates the development in several times that allows you to get cross platform game app.Syrian Democratic Forces Clear Great Mosque of Raqqa
Coalition officials offered congratulations today to the Syrian Democratic Forces on the successful Sept. 2 clearance of the Great Mosque of Raqqa.
The seizure of Raqqa's Old City district, and especially the Great Mosque, is a milestone in the ongoing battle to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in Raqqa and all of Syria Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials said in a statement.
In addition, officials noted, the Syrian Democratic Forces and Syrian Arab Coalition evacuated thousands of civilians and went to great lengths to limit damage to infrastructure, including to the ancient mosque.
Dedication and Courage
The Great Mosque is the oldest mosque in the city and has been under ISIS control since 2014, when the terrorist group captured the city. ISIS deliberately and consistently uses protected civilian infrastructure such as schools, hospitals and mosques as headquarters, weapons factories and finance hubs, officials said.
"The liberation of this historic landmark is a testimony to the dedication and courage of the SDF as they fight to defeat ISIS in Raqqa," said coalition spokesman Army Col. Ryan Dillon. "The SDF have made consistent incremental gains in the urban terrain of the city, fighting block by block, and applying increasing pressure on ISIS each day while evacuating civilians along the way."CLOSE A recent poll says Americans believe marijuana is less harmful than opioids in pain relief, but are less comfortable with its use by children and pregnant women for medical conditions. Wochit
Buy Photo Flowering marijuana plants are seen at the Sparks-based cultivation center where Tahoe Reno Botanicals grow operation and Tahoe Reno Extractions lab is based on Feb. 24, 2017. (Photo: JASON BEAN/RGJ, RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL-USA TODAY NETWORK)Buy Photo
Several marijuana bills skated through the Senate and Assembly floor with unanimous passage on Tuesday for another deadline, while others passed by the skin of their teeth.
Both S.B. 375, which advocates for tribes' rights to establish marijuana facilities, and S.B. 344, which aims to protect children via marijuana packaging mandates, received a 21-0 vote of approval from the Senate floor on Tuesday. Both bills will now head to the Assembly floor.
S.B. 236, which would allow businesses to apply for a license for use of marijuana on that businesses property, did not receive the same bipartisan support, passing with a 12-9 vote.
Another bill, S.B. 374, which would allow medical providers to recommend medical marijuana to patients with opioid addictions, also passed in the Senate with a 12-9 vote.
More: 12 Nevada marijuana bills are still alive at Legislature
Late Tuesday night, the Assembly passed A.B. 259, which would allow courts to vacate prior convictions and seal records for offenders who were charged with possessing an ounce or less of marijuana. The bill passed the Assembly with a 27-15 vote.
The Assembly last week also passed A.B. 135, which would eliminate urine tests for drivers suspected to be under the influence of marijuana. The bill, which passed 34-4 and another four members excused, was proposed by Assemblyman Steve Yeager, D-Las Vegas.The only amendment thus far has been to eliminate saliva tests. Yeager's bill will move to the Senate floor.
All bills introduced in the Senate and the Assembly had to be heard in their respective body by the end of the day on Tuesday, unless they were exempt due to fiscal notes.
More: Reno considers recreational marijuana shop moratorium
More: Hagar: Segerblom sees marijuana as driving force for tourism, yet Nevada gaming industry wants nothing to do with it
Some of the bills have had sizable amendments, including the following:
1.Senate Bill 344, a bill sponsored by Sen. Tick Segerblom, D-Las Vegas and Sen. Patricia Farley, Non-partisan-Las Vegas, would require marijuana to be packaged in a fashion that is not appealing to children. It would make it illegal to feature balloons, action figures, cartoons and other images on a package.
The bill's latest draft includes proposed changes that would also make any marijuana product that contains sugar, unless it is a baked product, illegal. Industry leaders have argued that the bill's definition of "candy" is too broad.
CLOSE Since Nevada legalized recreational marijuana, anyone 21 and over can possess up to 1 ounce in-state. How many people actually could look at an ounce and identify it, though? We're here to help educate you. Jenny Kane/RGJ
The amendment would also require recreational marijuana retailers to sell child-safe containers and offer a notice that alerts consumers to keep products away from children.
The bill also would require products to be labeled with the amount of servings of THC, the psychoactive ingredient, in a package. Ten milligrams of THC would be the maximum measurement in one serving, according to the amendment.
2. Senate Bill 375, sponsored by Segerblom, allows the governor of Nevada to enter into agreements with state tribes interested in allowing medical and recreational marijuana industry on tribal lands. The tribal regulations would have to be as strict as those enforced by the state.
The amendment to the bill includes a deletion of a clause that would have authorized such compacts only after Jan. 1, 2020.
More language for recreational marijuana establishments also is included since much of the original language addressed only medical marijuana establishments.
3. Senate Bill 236, also sponsored by Segerblom, passed the Senate but to the chagrin of Republicans. The bill would allow businesses and special events to apply for a license to allow pot on their premises.
An amendment to the bill would preclude businesses in specified areas from qualifying for such a license. For example, any business on public airport property, within 1,000 feet of a public or private school or within 300 feet of a community facility would be precluded from such a license.
The amendment also states that the license can only be granted to applicants who are not making unreasonable requests.
4. Senate Bill 374, another Segerblom bill, passed the Senate but had some amendments. Another bill initially addressed the use of marijuana to treat opioid addiction, so the amendment adopted some of the language from that other bill later on.
Additionally, the amendment removed some of the protections of massage therapists and other providers interested in using marijuana-infused products for healing practices.
5. A.B. 259, sponsored by Assemblyman William McCurdy II, D-West Las Vegas, initially proposed only to vacate the conviction of past offenders who were charged with the possession of up to an ounce of marijuana.
The amendment now maintains that the bill would allow judges to not only vacate a conviction but seal all of the associated records.
CLOSE While a lot of people are uncomfortable with the idea of drivers who smoke pot on Nevada roads, there is currently no saliva, urine or blood test that can determine whether a driver is high on marijuana at the time of an arrest. RGJ.com reporter Jenny Kane is examining the state's efforts to determine how marijuana-smoking drivers should be regulated on our state's roads. Wochit
Read or Share this story: https://www.rgj.com/story/news/marijuana/2017/04/25/nevada-senate-passes-marijuana-bills/306466001/Breaking news. (Photo: File)
ALEXANDRIA, KY (FOX19) – A woman from Alexandria, Kentucky wants to warn others about two dogs running around the neighborhood that she said are vicious towards animals – she said two dogs killed her beloved pet goat.
On Dec. 11 her pet, Littleson, was attacked by two dogs. She said she wants the dog owner held responsible.
The family said they went outside to get some wood and Littleson didn't make any noise, but they saw two dogs.
When they checked their security camera their fears were realized as Littleson was attacked and killed.
Michelle Dischar is so upset she can't bring herself to watch the video.
"I know some people think it's a pet, or a farm animal, or a goat... but he was more than that," she said.
A Facebook post was put up and they were able to identify the dog owner, who she claims is taking no responsibility. She said they also realized the goat wasn't the only animal attacked.
"They killed four chickens... had calves cornered in the barn," Dischar said.
Her husband is fearing the worst.
"This dog is vicious. There are kids over here. What if they decided to turn on the kids," he said. "There has to be laws that are stricter for these dogs that kill other people's animals.
Police investigated and no charges were filed against the dog owner.
Read or Share this story: http://cin.ci/2Bb2FhOUNLV Athletics Highlights:
MWN Highlights:
MWN Coach Dave Rice Interview:
MWN Roscoe Smith Interview:
Postgame Press Conference:
March 13, 2014
Final Stats | Final Stats (PDF) | UNLV Photo Services Gallery | Postgame Notes
By W.G. Ramirez
Special to UNLVRebels.com
LAS VEGAS - In their rare roles as reserves Bryce Dejean-Jones and Roscoe Smith combined for 40 points off the bench to lead fourth-seeded UNLV past No. 5 seed Wyoming, 71-67, in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference tournament on Thursday.
"It speaks to the resiliency of our group," UNLV coach Dave Rice said. "We all committed to each other on Monday that it was a new season. Certainly a lot of good things happened for us this year. There was a lot of disappointment at various times. That's what March Madness, conference tournaments, are all about."
Dejean-Jones finished with a team-high 22 points in 32 minutes, while Smith registered his 16th double-double of the season, scoring a career-high tying 18 points and grabbing 13 rebounds, also in 32 minutes.
"Coming off the bench, you know, I told Bryce when we come off, let's just be aggressive, lift the team up by any means," Smith said. "Whatever coach needed us to do, let's do it. I felt like we both brought that."
Said Dejean-Jones: "We try to do our best to keep the team lifted and create a spark. Coming off the bench today, that's what we looked to do. I think we did a great job of that. Guys just fed off of us and we just started getting rolling."
After the Runnin' Rebels fell behind by six early on, 13-7, Dejean-Jones hit consecutive treys to tie the game, en route to scoring 11 of the Rebels' last 21 points of the first half, including a buzzer-beater that them into the locker room with a 28-27 lead.
"I feel very good coming back today," said Dejean-Jones, who rebounded from being suspended for the regular-season finale to connect on a season-high three 3-pointers. "We basically played together and kept getting stops. Things just started happening for us."
Neither team held a lead bigger than seven points until the Rebels made a late-game run and took a 13-point lead with 3:08 left in the game. Trailing 61-48, the Cowboys used a furious 17-5 run to close the gap to one, at 66-65 with 23.1 seconds left in the game. But the Runnin' Rebels hit all five free throw attempts down the stretch to outscore the Pokes, 5-2, to provide the final margin.
"They play till the end every night," Wyoming coach Larry Shyatt said. "And the best thing about 'em in my world is they don't try to be somebody they're not. They just try to be who they are, play hard every night, home, away, win or lose."
Deville Smith, who added 15 points for UNLV, was the only starter to score in the first half for the Runnin' Rebels, while Khem Birch, who was 0-for-4 in the first half, finished with 8 points.
Josh Adams, who led Wyoming with 24 points, scored the Cowboys' first 11 points and 18 of their first 22 overall. Adams tied career highs in field goals made (10) and three-pointers made (3). Nathan Sobey and Jerron Granberry each added 18.
The Runnin' Rebels (20-12) meet top-seeded, and eighth-ranked San Diego State (28-3) in a Friday semifinal. UNLV is 2-5 all-time against San Diego State in MW tournament games.
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Willie Ramirez is a Las Vegas-based freelance reporter and Southern Nevada correspondent for The Associated Press. Follow him on Twitter: @AP_WGCall it a Haight Street miracle: Some homeless youths come across a stolen bag of cash on the sidewalk and, defying all expectations, return every cent to the rightful owner. This is not some fanciful utopian dream of what might one day be, or even a heady flashback to the peaceful hippie days of yore — rather, KRON 4 reports it's a very real occurrence that went down this past Friday on a street best known for obnoxious panhandling, pot-selling, and sometimes ill-kept animals.
We can now apparently add another descriptor to the list: Good Samaritans.
According to Jim Siegel, who for the past 40 years has owned and operated Distractions (a Haight Street purveyor of the weird and vintage), he was working in his shop when someone told him that a man had entered the store's back office. “I hadn’t noticed him come in and they said 'no we think he’s in your backroom,' ” Siegel told the channel.
And so Siegel ran into the office, where the safe is kept, only to discover a man holding a bag of the store's cash. "This is my turf," Siegel says he told the would-be robber. "You’re not going to mess with me on Haight Street.” In response, the shopkeeper says the man punched him in the face.
A brawl quickly ensued. "[I] Put him in a big bear hug and we started wrestling and made a lot of damage in my office, then we, right outside my office door, we sell bongs for smoking marijuana, but they’re all made of glass and we were wrestling and we banged into the counter of bongs and knocked a lot of bongs over,” he explained.
Fearing that further prolonging the fisticuffs could lead to more store damage, Siegel allowed the thief to exit the building. However he gave chase — yelling and screaming for someone to call 911 the entire time.
At some point during the hot pursuit the robber dropped all of the money on Ashbury Street — all of it — and you can bet your bottom dollar that the street kids of the Haight quickly picked it all up. And then, in a truly shocking move, they returned the stolen money to Siegel. “I was very impressed, everybody brought every cent of the money back to the store, so I was very grateful for the people in the Haight for helping me and returning the money, especially since many of them are less fortunate and they did the right thing and brought the money back,” he told the channel.
Interestingly, Distractions may have not been the thief's first target. Hoodline reports that the same man was spotted trying to make his way into the offices of neighboring vintage store Held Over. But before he could get up to any thieving, an employee spotted the man and kicked him out. It was then that he reportedly went to Distraction.
And skeptical readers take note: If Haight Street kids returning stolen money isn't enough to renew your faith in humanity, then you might still appreciate the next bit. It seems that the thief dropped his cell phone during the chase, and even though he managed to escape at the time, officers are now in possession of the mobile device.
Related: Local Vintage Camera Store Robbed, Confused Owner Says 'We Can't Even Get People To Buy This Stuff'PREV NEXT Order Prints
ISTANBUL — They gathered, as they have every few days since February, in a concrete plaza in western Istanbul beneath a large, rippling Turkish flag. Someone passed out snacks and orange soda. They donned vests, chanted slogans and danced to an old socialist song blaring from a portable speaker.
People hurried past on the way to shops or the train station, barely glancing in their direction. The group dispersed after three hours, depositing plastic cups in the trash and stashing placards in their cars.
The forlorn protest – by roughly 20 civil servants fired in a massive and continuing purge of government workers that began after last July’s failed coup in Turkey – had been all but invisible.
“We have been speaking out week after week,” said Filiz Dogan, who was sacked after 23 years in the finance ministry’s tax office, “but they are turning a blind eye to us.”
As President Recep Tayyip Erdogan consolidates his power through a state of emergency, he has ordered the firings of more than 140,000 public-sector employees, a bureaucratic purge on a scale not seen anywhere since Stalin’s Soviet Union or Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution in China.
The targets include a broad range of people whom Erdogan’s government sees as enemies: union members, leftists, academics, police and army personnel and suspected supporters of the shadowy religious movement that authorities blame for the coup attempt. Nearly 500 alleged coup plotters went on trial last week, some facing the prospect of life in prison.
The firings are announced by decree, often in batches of thousands, rippling through a vast public sector workforce of more than 3 million people. Those listed are accused of being connected to terrorist organizations, without any evidence offered.
One year after the dismissals began, many former employees who had enjoyed stable, middle-class existences are struggling to make ends meet. Unable to plead their innocence in court, they’ve been stripped of their pensions, had their passports confiscated and found that private companies are unwilling to hire them, essentially becoming outcasts in their own country.
“You have almost 150,000 purged, and if they all have two dependents and a spouse, that’s more than half a million people who are now untouchables in the Turkish context,” said Soner Cagaptay, a historian and author of “The New Sultan: Erdogan and the Crisis of Modern Turkey.”
“They have no pension, no one will hire them – they can’t even take their case to court. It’s creating a new underclass, in a way.”
The uncertainty has hardened into desperation for some who have sold their cars or homes, or taken dangerous jobs in fields such as construction, where employers ask fewer questions. Two teachers who launched a hunger strike in March to protest their firings have been jailed. Many others are forgoing health care and borrowing money to cover expenses.
“Our friends help us pay our bills,” said Dogan, 48, whose husband, Dursum, was fired as a tax collector on the same day last November. “We don’t buy new clothes; we’ve stopped going out to eat or to the movies. We are surviving, but barely.”
“We are prevented from existing,” said Onur Peksen, a 33-year-old high school language teacher in Istanbul, who found his name listed among more than 2,500 education ministry employees in a decree posted online late one night in February.
Since then, he said, friends of his family and parents of his former students label him a terrorist. He applied for three teaching jobs at private institutions but was rejected each time, without explanation.
“The message from the government is that we are people to be avoided,” Peksen said. “Apart from those who know us closely, people generally stay away from us.”
The firings continue. On the July 15 anniversary of the thwarted coup, Turkish authorities sacked another 7,400 civil servants, police, justice ministry officials and others.
Human rights groups say most purge victims have little hope of being reinstated because a government commission established to hear appeals under the state of emergency has just seven members and would have to discharge hundreds of decisions daily during its two-year mandate.
Amnesty International argued in a recent report that it would be nearly impossible for fired workers to defend themselves against terrorism charges since none have been informed of the evidence against them. And because the European Court of Human Rights has said it won’t hear victims’ appeals until domestic legal avenues are exhausted, the commission’s “main consequence... will likely be to delay individuals from accessing an effective remedy,” the report said.
It described their plight as “civil death.” But Erdogan has scoffed at calls for leniency.
“Why should we care?” he said in a speech on the anniversary of the coup attempt. “Will we think about them? Let them work in the private sector. Will the state look after them? The state looked after them and they betrayed the state.”
The primary targets of Erdogan’s crackdown – which has also seen tens of thousands jailed, including journalists, politicians and human rights advocates – are followers of Fethullah Gulen, the exiled cleric who allegedly orchestrated the coup attempt.
But experts say that Erdogan has used his expanded powers – fortified under the state of emergency and a referendum he narrowly won in April – to attack groups that he views as hostile to his Justice and Development Party. Those include left-wing labor unions, ethnic Kurds, secularists, a minority Muslim sect known as the Alevis and others who have historically opposed the party’s conservative Islamist agenda.
Demonizing those groups is popular with Erdogan loyalists who credit him with the economic boom that has lifted much of Turkey out of poverty over the past two decades.
Cagaptay said the country is “splitting into two halves,” with a vast segment of government supporters showing little sympathy for those harmed in the crackdown.
Haydar Polat, a fired elementary school teacher, sold organic produce for a few months and then bought a liquor store with a friend in eastern Istanbul. He comes in at 2 p.m. and works behind the counter until 4 or 5 a.m.
“There are many teachers, public officials, journalist friends whose TV stations and newspapers have been closed — they come and visit me. It is a great feeling,” he said wryly. “At least we can talk about (our situation).”
Polat, 50, was not surprised when his name was listed on a decree last October. He is a longtime member of the Education and Science Workers’ Union, which has opposed government policies such as erasing evolution from high school textbooks, and a political activist who worked with the imprisoned Kurdish opposition leader Selahattin Demirtas.
Now stripped of health care and his pension, Polat, an asthmatic whose arm has been crippled since birth, worries about medical bills.
“One can’t even imagine what they can do to the others if they can dismiss a peaceful person like me,” he said.
Cemile Kocaman, a statistics officer in the Istanbul municipal government, tried to find a job in Bosnia after she was fired but was stopped at the airport two months ago by authorities who said her passport had been canceled. She has had to postpone plans to marry her boyfriend, who lives in Kuwait.
Kocaman, 32, said that even international agencies were unwilling to hire her. She was close to a job with a Japanese charity recently until they learned she had been part of the purge.
“They said they liked my resume, but then they saw my ID,” Kocaman said. “Then it was like, ‘Oh, but it seems you have some problem.’ And they just stopped the whole thing. It’s clear they are afraid of the government.”
Kocaman is not a typical Erdogan critic. A self-described conservative who wears the traditional Islamic headscarf, or hijab, she had long faced discrimination from secular employers. When she was hired at the municipality in 2011, she immediately clashed with her supervisors, whom she suspected were Gulen supporters, filing a lawsuit against them for professional misconduct.
When Erdogan and Gulen, former allies, fell out in 2013, Kocaman wrote posts on social media backing the government, arguing that it had been popularly elected.
But she believes other posts in which she criticized corruption in Erdogan’s party, as well as her work for a local human rights organization, made her a target.
Cihangir Islam, an orthopedic surgeon and former member of two Islamist political parties, was fired from his university post this year after signing a letter criticizing Turkish military operations in Kurdish areas.
This summer he joined a massive anti-government protest march, walking 250 miles from Ankara, the capital, to Istanbul, and put his medical skills to use by serving as the unofficial doctor to the 68-year-old protest leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
Erdogan’s policies “are killing careers, putting black marks in databases, trying to destroy thousands of people,” Islam said. “They are trying to kill us electronically.”The United States is now engaged in perpetual war with victory nowhere in sight. Iraq is chaotic and scarred. So, too, is Libya. Syria barely exists. After 15 years, “progress” in Afghanistan has proven eminently reversible as efforts to rollback recent Taliban gains continue to falter. The Islamic State may be fracturing, but its various franchises are finding new and horrifying ways to replicate themselves and lash out. Having spent trillions of dollars on war with such sorry results, it’s a wonder that key figures in the U.S. military or officials in any other part of America’s colossal national security state and the military-industrial complex (“the Complex” for short) haven’t spoken out forcefully and critically about the disasters on their watch.
Yet they have remained remarkably mum when it comes to the obvious. Such a blanket silence can’t simply be attributed to the war-loving nature of the U.S. military. Sure, its warriors and warfighters always define themselves as battle-ready, but the troops themselves don’t pick the fights. Nor is it simply attributable to the Complex’s love of power and profit, though its members are hardly eager to push back against government decisions that feed the bottom line. To understand the silence of the military in particular in the face of a visible crisis of war-making, you shouldn’t assume that, from private to general, its members don’t have complicated, often highly critical feelings about what’s going on. The real question is: Why they don’t ever express them publicly?
To understand that silence means grasping all the intertwined personal, emotional, and institutional reasons why few in the military or the rest of the national security state ever speak out critically on policies that may disturb them and with which they may privately disagree. I should know, because like so many others I learned to silence my doubts during my career in the military.
My Very Own “Star Wars” Moment
As a young Air Force lieutenant at the tail end of the Cold War, I found myself working on something I loathed: the militarization of space. The Air Force had scheduled a test of an anti-satellite (ASAT) missile to be launched at high altitude from an F-15 fighter jet. The missile was designed to streak into low earth orbit to strike at the satellites of enemy powers. The Soviets were rumored to have their own ASAT capability and this was our answer. If the Soviets had a capability, Americans had to have the same — or better. We called it “deterrence.”
Ever since I was a kid, weaned on old episodes of “Star Trek,” I’d seen space as “the final frontier,” a better place than conflict-ridden Earth, a place where anything was possible — maybe even peace. As far as I was concerned, the last thing we needed was to militarize that frontier. Yet there I was in 1986 working in the Space Surveillance Center in Cheyenne Mountain in support of a test that, if it worked, would have helped turn space into yet another war zone.
It won’t surprise you to learn that, despite my feelings, which couldn’t have been stronger, I didn’t speak up against the test. Not a peep. I kept my critical thoughts and doubts to myself. I told myself that I was doing my duty, that it wasn’t my place to question decisions made at high levels in the administration of then-President Ronald Reagan. You can’t have a disciplined and orderly military if troops challenge every decision, can you? Orders are to be obeyed, right? Ours not to reason why, ours but to do or die — especially since we were then at war with the Soviets, even if that war fell under the label of “cold.”
So I buried my misgivings about facilitating a future shooting war in orbit. I remember, in fact, hoping that the ASAT test would go well and that I’d be seen as effective at my job. And in this I think I was probably pretty typical of military people, then and now.
The F-15 ASAT program was eventually cancelled, but not before it taught me a lesson that’s obvious only in retrospect: mission priorities and military imperatives in such a hierarchical situation are powerful factors in suppressing morality and critical thinking. It’s so much easier, so much more “natural,” to do one’s job and conform rather than speak out and buck a system that’s not made for the public expression of dissenting views. After all, a military with an ethos of “we’re all volunteers, so suck it up — or get out” is well suited to inhibiting dissent, as its creators intended.
To those who’ve been exposed to hierarchical, authority-heavy institutions, that lesson will undoubtedly come as no surprise. Heck, I grew up Catholic and joined the military, so I know something about the pressures to conform within such institutions. In the Church, you learn — or at least you did in my day — that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God, and the “old guard” priests and nuns I encountered were more than ready to encourage that fear. In the military, you learn from day one of basic training that it’s best to put up and shut up. No grumbling in the ranks. No quibbling. Yes, sir; no, sir; no excuse, sir. Cooperate and graduate. That conformist mentality is difficult to challenge or change, no matter your subsequent rank or position.
There’s a sensible reason for all this. You can’t herd cats, nor can you make a cohesive military unit out of them. In life and death situations, obedience and discipline are vital to rapid action.
As true as that may be, however, America doesn’t need more obedience: it needs more dissent. Not only among its citizens but within its military — maybe there especially.
Unfortunately, in the post-9/11 era, we’ve exalted and essentially worshipped the military as “our greatest national treasure” (the words of former Defense Secretary and CIA Director Leon Panetta at the recent Democratic convention). The military has, in fact, become so crucial to Washington that aspiring civilian commanders-in-chief like Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump lean on retired generals to anoint them as qualified for the job. (For Trump, Lieutenant General Michael Flynn did the honors; for Hillary, General John Allen.)From the Soccer Observer, run by Ian Thomson:
Top college soccer coaches are finalizing plans and canvassing support for changes that would extend the men’s season over the full academic year. The proposals recommend a 25-game season split between the fall and spring semesters. Individual conference championships would be held early in May with the showpiece NCAA College Cup following in early June.
Proponents of the switch point to two significant benefits for student athletes – improved conditions to aid their development as players, and a lighter fall timetable allowing for greater participation in other facets of university life.
This is a reasonable and well-considered plan to improve college soccer’s ability to compete for talent and remain a valuable, even unique part of the American soccer development structure. It also has virtually zero chance of ever being enacted.
As the NCAA looks to finally pull itself out of the post-Presidential Retreat doldrums with the new governance structure, the last items on any agenda is adding games, in-season time, and hours to any sport’s schedule. Instead, it is more likely that all sports see in-season hours cut, voluntary workouts restricted, and significant student-athlete discretionary time added. College sports seems prepared to move rapidly away from an environment where soccer could even experiment with being a year-round sport, especially where the breaks are timed so that the best players can use them to go play more soccer.
Thomson posted his story one day before Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby made the following comment at Big 12 football media days:
“We certainly are operating in a strange environment in that we have lawsuits,” he said, “plus we have the [O’Bannon v. NCAA] lawsuit. I think all of that in the end will cause programs to be eliminated. I think you’ll see men’s Olympic sports go away as a result of the new funding challenges that are coming down the pipe. I think there may be tension among and between sports on campus and institutions that have different resources. It’s really unknown what the outcomes will be.”
Men’s soccer is uniquely vulnerable to these challenges. It is not a revenue sport like football or men’s basketball. It is not even a borderline revenue sport on enough campuses like baseball or hockey. The professional league at the end of pipeline is already competing with college soccer to develop players rather than relying on it. And it seems highly unlikely that US Soccer will jump to the aid of college soccer, especially with money, like USA Swimming or USA Track and Field might do if faced with the loss of its huge Olympic pipeline.
In an environment where men’s sports could be first on the chopping block, soccer is already one of the more expensive with 9.9 scholarships and three full-time coaches. Football might be the heart of the battle over concussion liability, but soccer is not far behind. And setting soccer up as a competitor to |
Act so those who believe same-sex weddings are wrong can say so publicly without fear of prosecution
Critics of gay marriage are to get a new protection in law, senior government sources say.
Culture Secretary Maria Miller is said to be about to propose changing the Public Order Act so those who believe same-sex weddings are wrong can say so publicly without fear of prosecution.
The move is part of government attempts to prevent legislation running into further trouble as it progresses through Parliament.
Faith minister Baroness Warsi abstained in a key vote in the House of Lords, telling friends that religious groups needed extra protection.
Now the Culture Secretary is preparing to amend the Public Order Act so it is ‘clear that people will be protected who want to express their belief that marriage should be between a man and a woman’, a source said.
Protections in the Act that exist for critics of ‘sexual orientation’ will be updated to cover same-sex marriage, it is understood.
‘It addresses the concern that there will be a chilling effect so that people, such as those of faith, will be afraid to express their views in public.’
The Government’s amendment is expected to be confirmed by Lords whip Baroness Stowell during the committee stage of the Bill, which starts today.
The Department for Culture, which oversees the legislation, refused to comment on the plan. But during a Commons debate last month, Mrs Miller signalled the Government’s thinking.
Referring to Britain’s tradition of tolerance and ‘rich tapestry of faith, belief and culture’, she said: ‘It is because of these strong traditions that enabling same-sex couples to marry will in no way undermine those who believe... that marriage should be between a man and a woman, they can continue to believe that. That is their right.’
Today’s move will be seen as an attempt to heal rifts over gay marriage.
Protections in the Act that exist for critics of'sexual orientation' will be updated to cover same-sex marriage, it is understood
The Government has also suggested it would consider measures to address concerns that teachers might have to promote same-sex marriage despite conscientious objections.
Veteran Conservative MP Sir Edward Leigh, said on the ConservativeHome website that same-sex civil marriage had done ‘irreparable damage’ to Tory electoral prospects.Where were you and what were you doing on July 27th, 2015? If nothing significant for you happened on this date, chances are you don’t remember absolutely anything about that day. Do you?
Where were you and what were you doing on September 11th, 2001? (9/11)
If you were over 14 years of age at that time, chances are you remember almost everything about that day. What you did, how you felt and even what you had for breakfast.
Your emotions are that part of you that help you to navigate the world:
You remember the past based on the feeling you had connected to the events or the people involved in it.
You are making choices based on your emotions.
You are building up your intuition based on your emotions and feeling generated by past experiences.
Even to spell right you are using your emotions.
As you can see your emotions and feelings are important; sometimes, most times even more significant than your logic and reasoning.
For all these reasons and many others, developing and shaping your emotional intelligence is imperative in building your interpersonal skills.
Almost everything you want to accomplish in your personal development starts with your emotional intelligence.
What will do for you developing your emotional intelligence regarding interpersonal skills
Emotional intelligence starts with
Self-awareness: knowing who you are, your character, your feelings, motives, and desires.
Self-awareness is the building block of who you are and who you want to be.
Emotional intelligence continues with:
Self-assessment.
Self-assessment is the evaluation you are making about yourself, your actions, attitudes, performance, and abilities.
Self-discipline.
Self-discipline is a skill. It’s a skill that helps you stay focused, helps you to achieve you goals and aspirations, keeps you motivated and gives you the trust in your decisions.you goals and aspirations, keeps you motivated and gives you the trust in your decisions.
Resilience.
Resilience is your ability to adapt appropriately to new circumstances, to face adversity, trauma, tragedy and other significant events in your life.
Resilience means to shape your behaviors, thoughts, and actions to the stressful situations you are faced with and then to move forward in a positive way.
Understanding your emotions and the emotions of others.
Understanding your emotions.
First, you need to know that every emotion you have is there to signal you, to make pay attention to or to teach you something.
Your emotions are not random; they have a well-defined purpose.
The purpose can be, for example, to:
motivate you to take action
motivate future actions and behaviors
help you to thrive, to survive and to avoid pain or danger
allow other people to understand you and what you want
enable you to understand others and what they want
help you to take decisions
help you to adapt to new circumstances
prepare your body for immediate action
imprint events on your memory
assist you to assess the situation or people quickly with minimum conscious awareness
give you cultural competence and attunement to social norms.
Second, even though your emotions serve a well-defined purpose, understanding your emotions will allow you to:
Navigate the world without becoming the slave of your emotions or to be overcome by them Manage your emotions by controlling disruptive emotions, controlling impulses and discipline yourself.
Understanding other people’s emotions.
The purpose to understand other people’s emotions can be, for example to:
Maintain and promote positive and sustainable relationships.
Read people – even though reading people is not an exact science and it’s subjective, reading people gives you a starting point to better understand others and followed by clarifying questions helps you to take the appropriate action.
Empathy – gives you an insight of how people may feel because empathy allows you to see things from their perspective as well not just from yours.
Empathy is a fundamental emotion for interpersonal skills and communication competence. Enables you to make predictions about others which, in return, it’s a valuable tool to influence and to gain compliance from others because it’s creating supportive and caring feelings on your part.
Establish and built a positive image for yourself in the eyes of others – When it comes to interpersonal relationships what counts the most is the perception people have about you.
How to use emotions to upscale your interpersonal skills.
Be a charismatic person
Why:
People want to be more around you
Gives you a plus of authority and credibility
People are more willing to see the good part of you and forgive and forget faster the not so good part of you.
It makes your communication more efficient and comfortable.
How to be Charismatic:
Show your imperfections and vulnerabilities,
Talk nicely and positive about other people,
Look people in the eye when you speak,
Show your hands when you talk and talk with your hands as well,
Give people the chance to speak… a lot.
Trust your gut decisions.
Making decisions is the domain of your emotions.
Your gut feeling is an emotion and being an emotion is not random! It comes from your past experiences, your personal history, your beliefs, and values.
Has it happened to you to have to make a decision and your gut feeling told you one thing and your rationality told you another thing? And if you have chosen to take the rational decision to discover quite fast that your gut feeling was, actually the right one?
The funny thing is that when you are not going with your gut feeling, it is more likely to be an emotion (as fear, for example) that stops you from doing it, rather than a logical reason.
Look beyond the obvious.
Peter drinks a big glass of vodka with a big glass of water.
The next day he feels sick and dizzy and then he drinks a big glass of whiskey with a big glass of water.
The next day he feels sick and dizzy and then he drinks a big glass of brandy with a big glass of water.
The next day he feels sick and dizzy and then he concludes that he shouldn’t drink any more water because it makes him sick and dizzy.
The obvious is not always the truth and when it comes to people, the obvious for you and what you read in other people’s behaviors, gestures and body language can be far way from what they, actually intended.
Later in this article, you will discover how to use questions in a clever way to ensure you are not misreading people.
Create a positive image of yourself in the eyes of people around you.
First, make people around you feel important and good about themselves.
They will look forward to collaborating with you, to be lead by you, to be around you at every opportunity.
Second, talk nicely with and about other people.
What you are saying about others is reflecting more the person you are and less who are the people you’re talking about.
Third, allow yourself to be vulnerable sometimes and show your imperfections. It makes you human. You become like the person in front of you.
For example, to say “I don’t know” sometimes, it is a powerful way to gain people’s trust and understanding especially in those situations when you are the person who “knows it all.”
Fourth, remember yourself that you are on a mission whenever you interact with people. Your mission is to guard and improve your personal image.
Keep your emotions in control. Learn to experience your emotions in a positive way.
Every emotion has a purpose, so experience your emotions, find out the purpose and act and behave in a way the makes you proud and doesn’t take your energy away and doesn’t transform you in the village idiot.
Fifth, respect yourself.
You want people to like you? You have to like yourself first.
You want people to appreciate your accomplishments and positive traits? Be the first one to do it.
Do you want compassion, understanding, and love from other people? Be the fist that is offering all this to you.
In a nutshell, you need to be the first person that is offering you what you want.
Creating yourself a positive image in the eyes of others doesn’t mean to be fake or dishonest.
It means to bring out the best in you, to put forward your positive side and traits, your talents and your skills.
It means to treat yourself as you would like to be treated by others. You are giving an example of how you expect to be treated by the way you’re treating yourself.
Remember: you first!
Body language and posture.
You posture, and body language is not only influencing what other people might think of you and your intentions but also have a great impact on your mental state and the kind of thoughts your mind is producing.is not only influencing what other people might think of you and your intentions but also have a great impact on your mental state and the kind of thoughts your mind is producing.
You can change your emotions and the way you feel by simply changing your body posture.
When you stand up tall, and you look up, for example, it is almost impossible to have negative thoughts.
Or, another example, when you are smiling, and you have an open body posture, it is almost impossible for the people around to have negative thoughts towards you.
Build trust with people
Some people are trusting by nature, and you’re winning them with a minimum effort. However, the majority of people want to make sure you are a good person before they are giving you their trust.
I will give you now
The blueprint to become a trusted person.
(Not to say that you can’t be trusted already, yet, some people need a bit more persuasion to give you their trust.)
How to build trust
#1. Say it as it is. Be honest.
We are all “professional” liars. Yet, there is a big difference between, what we call a white lie and a bad lie.
“Does this dress look good on me?” “Yes, darling!”
“Do you like the carnations I brought you?” “Yes, darling and I liked the yellow tulips for my birthday!”
These are a few examples of white lies. The purpose of a white lie is mainly to protect in some way the person you’re speaking to. However, if you want the trust of people you interact with, keep even your white lies to a minimum.
Take the responsibility for your action and this will help you to change and improve.
#2. Allow yourself to be vulnerable sometimes, to show your imperfections.
There is no such thing as perfect people. We all have some imperfections, some things that we don’t know how to do, some things that we don’t know how to deal with.
When you show people that you’re not perfect either, that you are like the rest of us, people know better what to expect from you. People appreciate the fact that you a willing to expose your weaker points. This means there is a place for them around you to be filled up by their straights.
#3. Start every interaction you have with a desire to get a win-win type of outcome.
You can’t trust somebody that always wants to be on top and wants to win no matter what. Can you? For you to be a winner, in life, there is no need for the other person to lose. Follow your interest and allow the other person to follow his interest at the same time.
#4. Give determined answers.
Give definitive answers when it is possible. If you go vague and evasive, people are left wondering what your real intentions are, and this creates confusion and distrust. You seem unwilling to take responsibility for your actions, wants, needs and desires.
#5. Eye contact.
It’s been said that your eyes are the window to your soul.
Among other things, people will judge the level at which they can trust you by the movements of your eyes.
There is a good reason for it because the movements of your eyes are speaking volumes about the kind of thoughts you’re having. Our unconscious mind picks up these movements and gives them meaning. Even if we don’t have any training to do it consciously, our unconscious mind knows!
Almost every thought you have generates a particular eye movement.
You are doing it all the time and because it is very hard to train your eye movements and you seem insincere if you succeed to do it, the easiest way to use other people’s emotions to upgrade your interpersonal skills is to control the things you’re thinking about.
The more positive thoughts you’re having, the more trusted you are.
So, don’t try to control your eye movements concisely, train your mind to think positive.
If you don’t know how you tend to think and how your eyes are reflecting that to the people you’re interacting with, you can make a video recording of yourself. You could be surprised how many things you can notice that you never thought of before.
#6. Humor.
People are drawn to relaxed and confident individuals.
Use humor to put yourself in a relaxed and confident state.
Make jokes about situations and not about people! You can share an embarrassing moment, for example, but the emphasis to be on that moment not on how have failed.
#7. Validate people’s feeling, opinions, and views.
You want people to trust you? Validating people’s feeling, opinions, and views show that you trust them too.
“I feel tired and left out.” “You shouldn’t feel like that.”
“I can’t go to the park because a have a headache.” “Don’t worry, until you get there, it will pass.”
“This printer is broken.” “Oh, it’s not broken, you just don’t know how to use it” “It’s not broken, this is how it works.”
“I think people in the government took an awful decision about the welfare.” “No, they took an excellent decision. You just don’t understand how these things are working.”
All examples above are examples of how NOT to respond to people’s feelings and views. Instead, use this kind of responses:
“I feel tired and left out.” “What makes you feel this way?” or “I’m sorry, it wasn’t my intention to make you feel this way.” Or “Yes, sometimes this kind of situations are making us feel left out and tired.”
“I can’t go to the park because a have a headache.” “Do you think it’s possible to come and maybe you will feel better until we get there?”
“This printer is broken.” “Can you show me what is not working?” or “Let’s see why it is not working,” or “Thank you for letting me know. I will check it out.”
“I think people in the government took an awful decision about the welfare.” “How so?” or “How would you have done differently?” or “They don’t get it right all the time.”
Validating people’s feeling and views is not the same with agreeing with them.
The point is to validate people’s feeling and view in a way that clearly shows that:
you heard them,
you took them into account,
they are entitled to their feelings and view,
you accept the fact that not all of us have the same opinion and that different opinions, on the same issue, doesn’t mean someone is wrong.
Instead of presenting your opinion right the way, ask questions:
“What makes you feel this way? How come you feel this way? How could it be done better? How did you come to this conclusion?”
When you’re validating people’s feeling and view, don’t use terms such as: but and why. Use words such as: “and” and “how” (how come? how so?).how so?).
The word but is canceling the first part of what you’re saying.
“This machine is broken.” “Maybe you’re right, but I’m telling you, it works just fine.”
“I’ve done good today, but tomorrow I expect better.”good today, but tomorrow I expect better.”
“I understand you feel this way, but this wasn’t my intention.”
The word why is asking for justification and people feel attacked when we ask for justifications.
“Why do you feel this way?” “Why do you think this is so?” “Why are you late?” “Why aren’t you ready yet?”
Simply change terms such as “but” and “why” with words such as “how” and “and.”
“I see you’re point of view, and I want to add [you’re point of view, and I want to add [your opinion].”
“I’ve done good today, and I expect even better tomorrow.”good today, and I expect even better tomorrow.”
“I understand you feel this way, and I want you to know that this wasn’t my intention.”
“How come you feel this way?” “What makes you feel this way? “What made you think this way?” “How come are you late?” “How come you’re not ready yet?”
#8. Accept people as they are.
Accepting people as they are, builds trust because people feel relaxed around you.
They feel that you really understand them, that you appreciate them with good and bad, that you are willing to make concessions for them.
In return people trust you more and have the willingness to reciprocate the things you are offering them.
Plus, because they feel free to be who they are around you, they will try more and more to please you. They want to prove you right: that they are good as they are and, therefore, they will strive to do things better and better each time.
Accepting people as they are, gives them the opportunity and the freedom to bring out the best in them. Who is winning? Both of you!
Why you shouldn’t try to change people
We are making an image of how people around us should be like. Then we expect people to fit that image. We want people to change and become that person we want them to be.
Embark on a discovery journey about how to make your image and expectations to fit the people around you and not the other way around.
For almost everyone change is hard. Change implies the fact that we are not good enough as we are and most times we like who we are!
Liking who you are is not a matter of arrogance or vanity, liking who you are is a necessity.
This is the challenge you are facing when it come to change: how do you acknowledge you need to change some things about yourself and at the same time to honestly like yourself? It seems a bit of a contradiction. Doesn’t it?
Imagine then how hard must be for other people to change at your request.
Surround yourself with people that you like as they are; People that you are able to accept with good and bad. None of us is perfect, and that’s okay. We complete each other in such amazing ways.
#9. Show sincere interest and care for the other person:
Offer genuine compliments.
Call people just to ask them how are they doing.
Encourage great ideas and plans.
Remember special occasions and events in people’s lives.
Offer amazing experiences and memories.
Tell people what you like about them.
Show compassion, patience, love, respect and understanding.
Be present.
Include them in your future plans.
Spend time, energy and love with them and for them.
Tell them that you care.
Listen what they have to say even if you don’t agree.
#10. Don’t show off.
People who have the tendency to show off are not liked, nor wanted around, nor trusted.
A few reasons why people show off:
They don’t feel noticed.
They feel that their accomplishments are not recognized enough or acknowledged as they should.
They feel that they don’t get the attention they deserve.
They care too much about what others think of them. They value the opinion of others more than their own opinion.
They believe that they are underestimated and undervalued.
Why don’t we trust people that like to show off?
Because when people are showing off, we start asking ourselves questions about their:
intentions,
honesty,
character,
emotional state,
confidence and self-esteem,
and once we have this kind of questions in mind, we see them weak, they become a liability for us and not an asset to rely on.
For all these reasons, plus some, showing off makes people feel uncomfortable and reserved to offer their trust.
#11. Ask for advice.
Apart from making people feel important, asking for advice is a great way of putting people to walk in your shoes.
It is a non-threatening way of asking people to see things from your perspective as well not just from theirs.
#12. Paraphrase what has been said to you.
We like to make assumptions about people; we like to believe that we can read people’s mind and we like to show off how smart we are when we are getting it right. However, most times we are not getting it right because each person is unique, each person has a different life history and different experiences.
Therefore, assume what you want, read people’s mind and intentions if you like. But always check with them:
if you are right,
if you understood correctly,
if their intentions are what you believe to be.
Check by asking questions and not by making statements about how they feel, or think, or believe.
Use your own words to repeat what you understood and the meaning you gave to what has been said or done.
“You believe that […], am I right? Have I understood correctly? Is [this] what you mean?”
#13. Use linguistic softeners.
Avoid using absolutes: all, everybody, every time, always, never and so on.
These words are generalizations that could make you appear pretentious, judgemental and narrow-minded.
Use instead words such as maybe, it is possible, probably, most, some, sometimes, often and so on.
#14. Find a common enemy or cause.
When you have a common cause with somebody, that cause is building trust and closeness to be able to deal with the issue together.
#15. Find emotional balance.
It is hard to trust somebody that seems to go overboard emotionally or lose their temper easily. You can trust that they will be an emotional wreck, and that’s almost all you can trust about them, is it not?
They are too unpredictable to be trusted.
#16. Remove distractions.
Offer your full attention (during your interaction) to the person you want to trust you.
#17. Build your self-esteem and self-confidence.
Self-esteem and self-confidence are important in building trust and upscaling your interpersonal skills because, without them, people don’t believe that you will be able to:
keep your commitments,
follow through with what you set to do,
have the courage to take the initiative if need it,
speak your mind,
challenge yourself,
ask for what you want,
face difficult situations,
and many other things that are coming out of low self-esteem and low self-confidence.
People with low self-esteem and low self-confidence are good people; it is not a question of character or good nature or good faith. It is only a question of being able to balance your emotions, to keep your cool and to stand up for yourself.
#18. Prove your commitment.
People want proof that you are keeping your commitments; first to yourself and then to others.
People want proof that they can rely on you.
#19. Offer empathy.
People want to feel understood. Offering your empathy is the simplest way to let people know that you see them and that you understand them and their point of view, situation or difficulty.
#20. Be accessible, offer your time.
Being available to people builds trust because they know you can be held accountable. You are not running away from your responsibilities and commitments.
Note:
Be accessible and offer your time with limits. If you are available all the time, at any hour, you can quickly become a doormat. People can take advantage of you.
When people know that they can take hold of you at any time, it can make them contact you either at inappropriate hours, either at the last minute and then they will expect from you to go above and beyond to solve their problems with no consideration for you.
Therefore, you need to set the boundaries from the start.
Tell people when exactly you will be available to them, how to contact you and how much time you need to respond.
Setting the rules from the start will not only ensure that people are not stepping on you but also, you are increasing your value and importance.
As long as you set the rules from the start, you have the proper balance between making yourself available, making yourself valuable, making yourself important and allowing people to hold you accountable.
#21. Keep your word and deliver what you promise.
What you say you will do, do it!
But before you get there (making promises), don’t agree to do things that are not doable for you or that cost you too much time or energy.
Don’t agree to do things that are not in your job description out of vanity or out of the fear to say no, for example.
Promising things out of wrong reasons will put you in many situations where you will not be able to keep your word no matter how much you try. Not to mention the fact that you could feel overwhelmed at some point because if you agree to one thing that is not your responsibility out of vanity or fear, chances are you tend to make such promises most of the time.
Put on your plate as much or as little as you can chew, and what you put on your plate Eat!
#22. Be consistent.
Being consistent makes you reliable. People know what they can expect from you and what you are expecting from them.
#23. Volunteer insights, news, and information.
When you have new knowledge, news and information that you think are important for the people you are collaborating with, don’t wait until they are asking for it. Let them know as soon as you discover the new information.
#24. Give value and respect to the relationship.
Show people that you are in the relationship for the long-term.
A few ways to show you’re valuing, and you are respecting the relationship:
be willing to make compromises,
strive for a win/win type of outcome,
be tolerant,
make concessions,
take different opinions and views,
accept people as they are.
#25. Give proper feedback.
Tell people the truth. There is nothing more difficult for people other than to have to solve imaginary problems, disasters that never happened and probably never will.
Leave your vanity and fear aside and tell people when they are great.
Leave your fear aside and tell people when they are not great and what you expect from them to do about it.
A proper feedback gives direction and sets the expectations.
People get relaxed collaborating with you because they don’t feel the need to second-guess their actions or performance.
#26. Ask questions.
Be curious about people.
Show genuine interest in learning more about the people you are collaborating with.
Resist the temptation to:
talk about yourself,
jump to conclusions,
jump to rescue people from their situations and problems,
complete people’s sentences,
making assumptions and readings without checking with them if you are right or not
#27. Value, cherish and guard the trust and the privileges you are earning.
People are willing to give you their trust…once!
You know the saying: “Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me!” Right?
Most people live by it, and if you abuse their trust, most likely they will not offer it to you again or too soon or without countless proofs that you have changed.
We go now to the next tools for “How to use emotions to upscale your interpersonal skills.”
Most people lack motivation and drive because maintaining the motivation is an energy consuming process. Plus, motivation is a pleasant feeling, and sometimes we crave to feel motivated for the pleasure it brings and forget to achieve what we want. Motivation becomes a reward in itself.
Therefore, if you are the person that people got motivated and inspired by, you become almost indispensable in their lives.
There are two types of motivation:
The intellectual motivation – it comes out of your reasoning, you are rationalizing why you want something,
The visceral motivation – it comes from your emotions and desires.
The intellectual motivation
If you are losing your motivation to achieve something midway, you are not alone. Most of us do.
It is in our nature to shift our focus from one thing to another, and adding the fact that motivation takes some of your energy, losing your intellectual motivation is only a matter of time.
Maybe you are starting with a lot of enthusiasm which increases the level of your motivation; yet, once the novelty and the enthusiasm dissipates, the motivation level drops as well.
I guess there are a few people around you that seem to be highly motivated, doing something out of ordinary all the time, and you could think that this is how things should be for all of us.
However, these people are just a few, and they are standing out because they are the exception and not the rule. Yet, these are the people that you are noticing the most, that you probably see and admire the most.
We don’t give too much attention to those people that don’t inspire us; that appear to be bored, tired, unsuccessful or unmotivated, right?
Those people are lost in the background. We don’t notice them; we don’t pay attention to them, and we don’t see them. They are nobody!
Your intellectual motivation is the result of what you think you want or need. You have solid logical reasons for these wants and needs, but this type of motivation resides only in your mind and involves only your analytic and logic part of the brain.
The visceral motivation.
The visceral motivation comes out of your emotions.
You feel it somewhere else in your body as well not just in your mind.
You can feel it at the top of your chest, your gut or your stomach. It is so strong and powerful that something it hurts, physically if you don’t do what is necessary to get to your desired outcome.
The best side of the visceral motivation is the fact that you don’t lose it easily, you don’t get bored or tired of it.
Even after you accomplish what you want, it is still there in you pushing you to keep or maintain what you’ve achieved.
Blend these two types of motivation for maximum chances to achieve what you want.
Why?
In one hand, you intellectual motivation consumes a lot of your energy and focus, therefore, is hard to maintain. On the other hand, your visceral motivation can get so powerful and strong that you become obsessed with your goal and neglect yourself, your needs and the people around you.
Help people around you to find their intellectual motivation and their visceral motivation. Help them to combine the two types of motivation and become an inspiration and a positive tool in their lives.
How to help people to find motivation:
Use stories about other people that have achieved what they want and how their lives are improved by that achievement.
Ask them to imagine themselves achieving the goal; how they feel, how they see themselves, what are they telling themselves, how are perceived and received in their group for this accomplishment.
Ask them questions about the goal. Why they want it? How will improve their life? Who else will benefit? What else will facilitate for them achieving the goal (secondary gains)? Who are the people that will envy or admire them for it?
Be willing to take criticism from others.
Criticism is part of your life, and you can’t escape from it.
It has the power to put you down like almost nothing else, therefore, learn to take criticism without:
feeling guilty,
making it personal,
keeping grudges,
getting angry,
reacting inappropriately to it.
Receive criticism as a feedback (even in those situations when people criticize you only for making you feel bad.);
Receive it with curiosity:
“I wonder, can I do it better next time?”
“What was missing to have been better?”
“What actions or behaviors I need to change for a better outcome?”;
Receive it with a “thank you,
next time I will try to do it better.”
I will pay more attention to the details that you have mentioned.”
however, this is the best I can do for now.”
yes, there is some room for improvement.”
could you show me how else can be done?”
Don’t argue who is right and who is wrong. There is no point in it.
Validate what people are telling you and then move on or add your side of things in an elegant manner without using terms such as “but” and “why.” Replace them with yet, however, and, I want to add.
Learn to adapt and to be flexible.
How to adapt and increase your flexibility levels:
Set the expectations for yourself for different situations, environments, and circumstances.
Make a doable plan and rehearse it for those types of situations that you know you have difficulties to behave the way you want.
Understand that you can’t always win, not even when you are right about something or entitled to get what you want.
Understand that you can’t always win, not even when you are right about something or entitled to get what you want. Expect the unexpected. Life happens even when you stay still.
Celebrate your achievements and successes; get curious about what didn’t work when you are not satisfied with your results.
When you are faced with challenges, start from an “I can” position. Most things that you encounter in life you can; it is just a matter of learning or discovering how to.
Build an attitude of willingness to search, notice and take the opportunities given to you.
Accept the fact that each person is entitled to his/her opinions and perspective on things.
Keep an open mind and demonstrate to yourself and others that you can, and you are willing to incorporate new information into what you already know or believe.
Train your mind to switch with ease from detailed thinking to overall thinking.
Get creative – search for new ways to deal with and solve problems; don’t be scared to improve, change or experiment new ways with the understanding that change may not come easily to you but is almost always possible and doable.
Readjust your ways of doing things: the methods, the approach and the tools you’re using to suit the situation you are in.
Don’t get stuck in your procedure or constantly bouncing back between countless options.
Find solutions, don’t search for culprits.
Keep your priorities in order accordingly to the situation.
Show initiative and take the responsibility for your actions. Taking the responsibility makes you the cause and not the victim.
Be willing to learn new things even in those areas that you believe you know it all.
Upgrade, improve and discover more about interpersonal skills by checking
The Core Interpersonal Skills
Chapters:
1. Interpersonal Skills
2. Emotional Intelligence
3. Negotiation & Conflict Resolution
4. Communication Skills
5. Influence Skills
6. Assertiveness Skills
7. Personal support systemHyderabad: The CID inquiry ordered by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to probe irregularities in disbursement of CM Relief Fund (CMRF) found grave misuse of funds meant for poor patients in need of medical assistance.
It was found that funds were claimed from the CMRF by submitting fake medical treatment bills. Mr Rao had ordered CID inquiry in January this year after the government received large scale complaints of siphoning of CMRF funds by some corporate and private hospitals in nexus with brokers and officials.
The committee which conducted probe for over four months by questioning hospitals, officials, brokers and beneficiaries, concluded the probe recently and submitted a report to the government. The report was sent to Mr Chandrasekhar Rao last week. He will take a decision on how to recover the amount from the hospitals and those involved in the scam.
However, health minister C. Laxma Reddy and CMRF officials remain tight-lipped on the outcome of the CID probe saying that the issue has been referred to the CM, who will take a call on how to proceed further. Sources revealed that the CID probe found misuse of Rs 36 lakh in as many as 68 cases, where the funds were claimed by submitting fake medical bills.
The probe dealt with disbursal of CMRF cheques to hospitals after June 2, 2014, when Telangana State was formed. As many as 9,200 applications for CMRF were received after June 2, of which the amount was disbursed to 7,200 applicants.Comedian Charlie Hill made a number of TV appearances. Credit: Anthony Thosh Collins
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Charlie Hill, a pioneer of American Indian comedy from the Oneida tribe of Wisconsin, died Monday after battling cancer for more than a year. He was 62.
Condolences have poured in online and on social media for the standup comedian, who debuted on "The Richard Pryor Show" in 1977 and was the first American Indian to appear on the "Tonight Show with Johnny Carson."
"The Creator has called Charlie back to the spirit world early this morning," his family wrote in a statement on Facebook. "This is a sad and hard time for all of us."
According to a profile that aired on National Public Radio in 2012, Hill had wanted to be a comedian since he was a child, watching Jackie Gleason on TV. He taught himself to write by putting down on paper every joke he heard.
As a young man, he went to Los Angeles with only a backpack and hand drum and met David Letterman and Pryor at comedy clubs. He got his break in standup when they started their own shows and invited him on as a guest.
"I usually have problems doing my act, 'cause I know a lot of you white people have never seen an Indian do standup comedy before. Like for so long, you probably thought that Indians never had a sense of humor. We never thought you were too funny either," he said in his opening lines on "The Richard Pryor Show."
Since then, he had appeared in numerous TV shows, movies and documentaries, including "Roseanne" and "The Tonight Show with |
retired that year, while Marc and Victor Bertrand, Jr. were active in management. Two international subsidiaries were formed, Mega Bloks Latinoamerica S.A. de C.V. in 1997 and Mega Bloks Europe N.V. in 1998. International sales in the 1990s were at 30%, with 70% from Canada and the US; all but 10% were from four major chains: Toys 'R Us, Wal-Mart, Target, and Kmart.[5]
Ritvik followed the late 1990s licensing trend in 1998, with its first licensing agreement being for Teletubbies, followed by an agreement with Fisher Price with its Sesame Street characters license. A NASCAR line was also introduced.[5] Ritvik Toys, Inc. was amalgamated with Ritvik Holdings Inc. on June 30, 1998.[6]
Lego, K'Nex and Ritvik added features to their lines in 2000. Ritvik made transformable building sets that changed into vehicles, and a remote control electronic kit named the Mega Bloks RO Action Builder. Ritvik also added TV advertising that year with a $2 million campaign; the company spent $30 million on advertising, marketing, and research and development in 2002.[5]
Mega Bloks [ edit ]
With sales having approximately doubled since 1999, Ritvik went public via an initial public offering in May 2002 on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the new name of Mega Bloks Inc.[5] The company traded at $14.50 a share.[1] The founders' sons, Victor Bertrand Jr. and Marc Bertrand, became chief operating officer and chief operating officer/president, respectively, while Victor Sr. remained chairman of the board.[5]
The toy market was in a down cycle from 2002 to 2003, with the construction toy segment losing 10 to 15%, but Mega Bloks experienced increased sales. Since 1986, the company had seen a run of 17 years of growth, becoming number two in the construction toy segment behind Lego.[5]
In 2003, the company formed a joint venture with the Japanese toy company Bandai for Asia. Bandai marketed Mega Blok sets with their existing licensed Japanese cartoon characters. With the success of movies of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books and J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, a Dragon series was released in 2003. Mega Play!, a block set large enough for children to fit inside, was also launched.[5]
With shares trading at almost $30, in 2005 Mega Bloks, Inc. acquired Rose Art Industries, including its Magnetix line of toys, for US$350 million.[1] Soon, Magnetix was a source of lawsuits resulting from choking incidents, causing its share value to drop quickly. Magnetix was then recalled.[1] The company acquired Board Dudes, Inc., makers of Board Dudes posting and marking boards and Locker Dudes locker products, in January 2006, through its Rose Art Industries subsidiary.[7]
Mega Brands [ edit ]
On June 15, 2006, following the acquisition of several brand names not associated with construction brick toys,[citation needed] the company again changed its name, this time from Mega Bloks Inc. to Mega Brands Inc.[1] with Rose Art Industries, Inc. being renamed Mega Brands America, Inc.[8]
After 23 consecutive years of growing sales and profit, Mega lost $458 million in 2008. Heading towards bankruptcy, the company refinanced. Shares were consolidated 1-for-20, with Fairfax Financial becoming a major partner in the recapitalization.[1]
Rose Art was placed on the market in March 2008 as a result of inquiries from the previous owners and others.[9] The former owners of Rose Art, Jeffrey and Lawrence Rosen, offered to purchase it back in April 2008.[10] They then sued company management for insider trading in September 2008, alleging shares were sold prior to the Magnetix recall.[11] Rose Art's base operation was shut down in New Jersey, and in 2010 the company moved its stationery and activities division, with some key employees, to Irvine, California, under new executive Thomas Prichard, a former executive at Crayola, Pixar, and Hasbro. The subsidiary was not sold, and was reintegrated into Mega operations by 2012.[1]
On February 28, 2014, it was announced that Mattel, Inc. would acquire Mega Brands Inc. for approximately US$450 million.[12] It became a wholly owned subsidiary of Mattel as of April 20, 2014.[13] Prior to the purchase, Mega and Mattel were partners in adding Mattel brands to Mega "Worlds" plus a line for Mattel's American Girl that competes with Lego's Friends line.[4]
Three years later, on February 10, 2017, Mattel announced that it was introducing Mega Construx,[14] a new sub-brand of construction sets designed for children four and up as well as adult collectors. Construx's first license property line was Pokémon, launched in mid-2017.[4]
Product types [ edit ]
Construction
Bricks Mega Bloks - original large size for pre-school [5] Mega Bloks micro - Lego compatible bricks [5]
Mega Construx[4]
Mega Bloks micro figures do not follow the iconic Lego modular mini figures, instead their figures allow up to 16 articulation points, i.e. poses and customization. [4]
Pop culture connections [ edit ]
Mega Bloks were featured in a commercial for the Honda Element, in which bricks fell from the sky to assemble the full-sized vehicle. The commercial clearly identifies the bricks as Mega Bloks in the opening moments of the sequence.[15]
Mega Brands currently has the licensing rights for Thomas the Tank Engine, video game franchises Call of Duty and Halo, Barbie, Hot Wheels, Power Rangers, American Girl, Monster High, Pokemon, Destiny, and the Despicable Me franchise.[citation needed] Mega Brands picked up the license for Nickelodeon franchises like SpongeBob SquarePants and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles after Lego discontinued carrying their version of the licensed sets.[citation needed] They also have the rights to produce sets based on Nick Jr. properties like Blaze and the Monster Machines and Shimmer and Shine.
Lego lawsuits [ edit ]
Mega Bloks building block (above) and Lego building brick (below)
Mega Brands has won 14 cases launched by competitor Lego regarding its Mega Bloks.[2]
The Lego Group has filed lawsuits against Mega Bloks, Inc. in courts around the world on the grounds that Mega Bloks' use of the "studs and tubes" interlocking brick system is a violation of trademarks held by Lego.[citation needed] Generally such lawsuits have been unsuccessful, chiefly because the functional design of the basic brick is considered a matter of patent rather than trademark law, and all relevant Lego patents have expired.[citation needed]
On November 17, 2005, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld Mega Bloks' right to continue selling the product in Canada.[16] A similar decision was reached by the European Union's Court of First Instance on November 12, 2008 when it upheld an EU trademark agency decision following an objection by Mega Bloks against a trademark awarded to Lego in 1999.[17]
On September 14, 2010, the European Court of Justice ruled that the 8-peg design of the original Lego brick "merely performs a technical function [and] cannot be registered as a trademark".[18]Here's something I've been hoping to see crop up in 'cool things I'll be able to do in VR' news for a while: multiplayer melee brawls. The video above is just a tech demo, but it sure looks promising. It's for medieval combat game Valiant, which developers Offpeak games revealed last year.
Back then, the studio was only looking at the oculus rift. Now they've got their hands on the HTC Vive, opening up some of the possibilities you can see above — moving around with your whole body in combination with hand held motion controllers. For me, this is more evidence that motion control is going to be the best way of controlling almost every game in VR. There's something so immediately compelling about the idea of swinging your arm out to send enemies flying. As the dev puts it: 'it has the effect of making you feel really strong and powerful, like a God.'
The bit with the surprise arrow shower from above (0:59) is particularly exciting. I can't be the only one who has a fantasy of spinning round on a battlefield, instinctively bringing up my shield to block an incoming arrow before charging the pesky archer down. Sure, I can do that in Chivalry — and it's already a pretty immersive experience. I just can't wait to take it to the next level.
The Valiant demo is available on Oculus Share for anyone who's made the leap and already bought a rift development kit.yungwalterwhite:
beyoncesupremacy: iflewbikes: Teach a class about racism… and this is what happens. Sooo white people calling out white people for white tears. This is important, watch it all and also pay attention to how the white woman in the red sweater with the short brown hair doesn’t detach herself from white people and she basically says, “fuck our feelings because PoC go through this all the time” DID YOU SEE THE PART WHERE ONE OF THE PARENTS SAID IT WASN’T OKAY TO LABEL PEOPLE AS WHITE PEOPLE
The next time you get mad about why important issues like this don’t get talked about in the school environment, please direct your anger away from actual teachers. We WANT to facilitate this sort of discussion between students, but we are scared that things like this will happen.
(via aaamaaa)It's often said that "Chicago is a city of neighborhoods." This may seem redundant—isn't every city a city of neighborhoods?—but Chicago really is a big, wonderful amalgamation of unique enclaves. Where do the names for all these neighborhoods come from? We sought to find out.
Keep in mind that there are at least 200 neighborhoods in Chicago. While this list is extensive, it isn't absolute. For example, some areas were left off because they were obvious extensions of other neighborhoods (hello, West Rogers Park), while others lacked reliable info (or any information at all). If you don't see your neighborhood below, please write your alderman, who will then negotiate with us and we'll hash out an under-the-table deal.
The Chicago History Museum's Encyclopedia of Chicago and the Chicago Park District's parks database were extremely helpful resources for this—be sure to check them out.
Andersonville
Wikimedia Commons
After the Chicago Fire, many of the city's Swedes moved to this area on the North Side to rebuild their lives. It's believed that the neighborhood is named after Reverend Paul Andersen Norland, who was integral in attracting folks to join the community during its early years (neighborhood's pros: not engulfed in flames).
Archer Heights
Named after Archer Avenue, which itself is named after William Beatty Archer, the first commissioner of the Illinois and Michigan Canal.
Ashburn
Not the most glamorous of origins, but in the 1800s, Chicago families would dump their furnace ashes in this area, and the name "Ashburn" stuck.
Austin
reallyboring via Compfight cc
Named for Henry W. Austin, the real estate mogul who acquired and subdivided the land in 1866. The area was originally in the township of Cicero. Austin held the most power in that municipality, and its politicians brought major roads and elevated trains to the neighborhood. The other Cicero citizens objected and voted to expel Austin and have it annexed into Chicago.
Un-fun fact about Henry W. Austin: He was an ardent temperance advocate and worked to ban all saloons and liquor sales within his community.
Avalon Park
This neighborhood was originally named "Pennytown" for Penny, a local general store owner who sold popcorn balls. The area's Avalon Park Community Church lobbied to have the name changed, and Pennytown—and Penny's popcorn balls—are no more.
Back of the Yards
Union Stock Yards, 1947 via Wikimedia Commons
Named for its location in relation to the famed Union Stock Yards, this neighborhood was home to most of the Yards' workers. It's where the hog butchers for the world rested their heads at night.
Beverly
There is some argument about whether this neighborhood is named after Beverly, Massachusetts, or Beverly Hills, California. It's often referred to as "Beverly Hills" because it sits on a glacial ridge that, at 672 feet, is the tallest natural point in Chicago.
Boystown
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This informal, colloquial name for the LGBT community area that stretches along North Halsted Street started being used in the 1970s, around the time of the first Gay Pride Parade.
Bridgeport
This area was a fur trading outpost named "Hardscrabble" for years until it officially became the town of Bridgeport in 1836. Some insist that it's named after a bridge that spanned a canal on or near Ashland Avenue. There are no records of this bridge ever existing, however, leaving some to doubt this explanation.
Bronzeville
This area on the South Side was apparently named "Bronzeville" by Chicago Bee theater editor James J. Gentry because he said it reflected the skin tone of its residents.
Bucktown
Early Polish immigrants raised goats in the area and called it "kozie prery," or "goat plain." That name evolved into "Bucktown," as "buck" is the term for a male goat. No goats remain today, of course (unless they're served in gourmet tacos).
Burnside
Illinois Central Railroad built a station in the area and named it after Civil War General Ambrose Burnside (who also worked as the railroad's treasurer). Colonel W.W. Jacobs subdivided the neighborhood in 1887 and named it after the station.
Canaryville
Depending on who you ask, this neighborhood is named either for the sparrows which populated it or for roving gangs of violent teens, dubbed "wild canaries" in the late 1800s. Either way, it was wise to keep your head on a swivel.
Dearborn Park
This park and housing development was planned in the 1970s and takes its name from General Henry Dearborn, Thomas Jefferson's Secretary of War.
Douglas Park
Named after Stephen A. Douglas, who is most famous for his participation in the Lincoln-Douglas debates.
Dunning
Cook County originally purchased this property in 1851 to build a "poor farm," insane asylum, and tuberculosis hospital. After the Civil War, a man named Andrew Dunning bought a tract of land to the south of this area to plant a nursery. In 1888, the hospital and asylum were bought by the city after they found gross mismanagement. The entire area, including Dunning's plot, soon took his name as redevelopment began.
East Garfield Park
The park that this neighborhood is named after was originally called "Central Park" when it was built in 1869. After President James A. Garfield's assassination in 1881, the city changed that, and the area to the east developed into East Garfield Park.
Edgebrook
The "brook" that this area edges is actually the North Branch of the Chicago River. Edgebrook was plotted in 1894 to be a golf course-adjacent suburb. The course remains, although the suburb has long since been absorbed by Chicago.
Edgewater
This North Side neighborhood hugging Lake Michigan was dubbed "Edgewater" in 1885 by John Lewis Cochran, a tobacco salesman from Philadelphia who purchased and subdivided much of the land. (Remember that name — old John Lewis Cochran comes up a lot when talking about the origins of Chicago's North Side.)
Edison Park
Wikimedia Commons
Etiquette states that you should wait for someone to die before you name your town after them, but in 1890, the citizens of Edison Park eschewed manners and named their village after the very-much-alive inventor. Given that nobody loved Thomas Edison more than Thomas Edison, he gladly gave the township his blessing.
Englewood
Wikimedia Commons
This neighborhood was originally named "The Junction" because of its railroad crossing. But after Henry B. Lewis, a wool and grain merchant, moved to the area in 1867, he and his wife convinced residents to start calling the neighborhood "Englewood," inspired by the New Jersey town.
Fernwood
Fernwood Village was founded by Dutch farmers and they named it after the surrounding woodland. (You see, it was full of ferns.) The village was annexed into Chicago in 1891.
Fuller Park
Named after Melville Fuller, a Chicagoan and Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1888 to 1910.
Gage Park
South Park Commissioner George W. Gage died in office in 1875 while developing this park. The city soon honored his memory by naming it after him, and the surrounding neighborhood eventually followed suit.
Garfield Ridge
A section of 55th Street, which runs through the neighborhood, was renamed Garfield Boulevard to honor President Garfield after his assassination.
Gladstone Park
Named after British Prime Minister William Gladstone. Gladstone served in the office a record four separate times which, in Chicago, is considered short-term.
Gold Coast
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This North Side area along Lake Michigan was originally called "The Astor Street District," taking the name of John Jacob Astor. Astor didn't actually live in Chicago, but the residents so desperately wanted to project an air of wealth that they used his name anyway. It worked, and when a section of Lake Shore Drive opened in 1875, rich families began building homes in the neighborhood. The community officially became known as the "Gold Coast" at the turn of the century.
Goose Island
Google Maps
Goose Island is an actual island located in the North Branch of the Chicago River. It was created when William Ogden, Chicago's first mayor, built an auxiliary canal to facilitate shipping routes. The name "Goose Island" comes from a separate, smaller island in the river, but the name was soon attached to the man-made land mass when Irish squatters moved from the old island to the new one. The term comes from the abundant geese they hunted.
Grand Boulevard
This area is named after the former moniker of its main thoroughfare. The road was briefly changed from Grand Boulevard to South Park Way before being renamed Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive in 1968.
Greater Grand Crossing
This area has its roots in a railroad company dispute, or "frog war." Both Illinois Central and Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroads laid claim to the real estate. Roswell B. Mason, a future Chicago mayor and executive for Illinois Central Railroad, secretly put tracks over some of Lake Shore & Michigan Southern's rails using an illegal connector. In 1853, two trains crashed, killing eight and injuring 40. During the aftermath, real estate developer Paul Cornell came in and used the site of the deadly intersection to build a new suburb.
Greektown
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Greek immigrants came to Chicago in the 1840s as ship captains and started selling food and opening restaurants in this Near West Side neighborhood. The Eisenhower Expressway displaced the community in the 1960s, but it regrouped a couple blocks north and retained the name "Greektown."
Hamilton Park
This park was designed by the Olmsted brothers and planned by Henry Burnham. It opened in 1904 and was named after Alexander Hamilton.
Hegewisch
Adolph Hegewisch, president of the U.S. Rolling Stock Company, aimed to develop a workers' utopia and established the community in 1883. He also moved his factory to the area to facilitate growth.
Your daily Adolph Hegewisch fun fact: During WWII, Hegewisch's first name started to appear as "Achilles" in texts and histories, either as an honest mistake or as a deliberate attempt to distance the man's legacy from Hitler.
Hermosa
In 1889, the city of Chicago annexed this area, which was part of Garfield, and changed the name to Hermosa, Spanish for "beautiful." No one knows why, but everyone agrees it's very nice.
Hollywood Park
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John Lewis Cochran, our friend from Edgewater, named Hollywood Avenue after that Hollywood (he lived in California for part of his life).
Humboldt Park
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In 1869, area residents requested that the newly built park in their neighborhood be named for Prussian scientist, explorer, geographer, writer, and celebrity Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt, who was born 100 years prior. (Fancypants Heights was another option.)
Hyde Park
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In 1853, Paul Cornell (the cousin of Cornell University founder Ezra Cornell) bought 300 acres of land by Lake Michigan and named it "Hyde Park" after the location in London.
Irving Park
Charles T. Race, who bought the land, named it after Washington Irving, the author of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
The Island
The Island is actually a metaphorical island. When the neighborhood was built, there were three rail lines that made up its north border. To the south and west are suburbs (Cicero and Oak Park, respectively), and to its east is an uninhabited factory area.
Jackowo
Jackowo gets its name from the Polish spelling of Saint Hyacinth's Basilica (Bazylika Św. Jacka) at the center of the neighborhood.
Jackson Park Highlands
Named for the hill that overlooks Jackson Park (which itself was named after President Andrew Jackson). Originally named "South Park," Jackson Park was home to the World's Columbian Exposition.
Jefferson Park
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Originally called "Jefferson Township," this independent area was named after Thomas Jefferson and was separate from Chicago until 1889 when it was incorporated by the city.
K-Town
This part of North Lawndale gets its name because of all the streets in the area that start with the letter "K"—Karlov, Kedvale, Keeler, Kenneth, Kilbourn, Kildare, Kolin, Kolmar, Komensky, Kostner, and Kilpatrick, to name a few.
Kelvyn Park
The park was named after the surrounding subdivision, which was named for British physicist William Thomson Kelvin. Kelvin is most famous for calculating absolute zero (-273.15 Celsius), which comes in handy in Chicago quite often.
Kenwood
Dr. John A. Kennicott, one of the first homeowners in the neighborhood, named the area after his family's territory in Scotland.
Kilbourn Park
Named after Kilbourn Street, which honors a city in Wisconsin that is now more commonly known as water park dystopia Wisconsin Dells.
Kosciuszko Park
"The Land of Koz" was dedicated to Thadeuz Kosciuszko in 1916. Kosciuszko came from Poland to assist the Americans during the Revolutionary War and became a brigadier general.
Lake View
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Named for the Hotel Lake View, which was built in 1854 on what is now the convergence of Sheridan Road and Lake Shore Drive.
Lakewood Balmoral
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John Lewis Cochran—of Edgewater and Hollywood Park fame—purchased the land in 1885 and named the streets after train stops from outside his home town of Philadelphia (hence "Balmoral").
Lincoln Park
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Lincoln Park was originally a cemetery for cholera and smallpox victims. Shallow graves located so close to the city's water supply rightly raised some alarms, so Chicago began converting it into a massive park called "Lake Park" in the 1860s. After Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, the park was renamed in his honor.
Lincoln Square
Wikimedia Commons
This area was originally known as "Celeryville" or "Pickletown" in the 1800s. At the time, proud farmers claimed that it was the celery capital of the United States (woohoo!). Eventually, the cluster of neighborhoods around Celeryville and Pickletown took the name of the main commuter road that ran through it, Lincoln Avenue.
Little Italy
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This area (also known as University Village for the UIC campus) was once home to nearly all of Chicago's Italian immigrant population.
Logan Square
A square located at the center of the neighborhood is dedicated to John A. Logan, a Civil War general and politician who is credited with popularizing Memorial Day.
The Loop
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Chicago's main business district is named for the circular route taken by the L lines that service it.
McKinley Park
This park was under development in 1901 when President McKinley was assassinated. The park and the neighborhood that surrounds it took his name.
Mount Greenwood
In 1879, George Waite developed Mount Greenwood cemetery and planted dense plots of beautiful trees. The surrounding area became known as Mount Greenwood too, and the neighborhood was annexed into Chicago in 1927.
New City
This neighborhood gets its name from University of Chicago sociologists who drew up boundaries for new community areas in the 1920s. Why "New City?" Because they're sociologists, not poets.
Noble Square
Named for civic leaders Mark and John Noble. The square that was built in the area was part of a controversial Department of Urban Renewal development that displaced many residents.
North Lawndale
Shortly after Cicero was incorporated into Chicago in 1869, Alden C. Millard and Edwin J. Decker quit their stationery business to develop real estate in this new area. They chose the name "Lawndale" and pumped money into the neighborhood by building a hotel, shops, and housing. The two were bankrupt by 1876.
North Park
The "park" this area refers to is Peterson Park (named after Swedish community leader Pehr Samuel Peterson), which was purchased by the city and turned into the Chicago Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium in 1911. While it doesn't sound like it'd be beautiful, the city purposely preserved the area's natural features to use as a buffer between the patients and the rest of the city. What is currently the Nature Center served as a Sanitarium building until the 1970s. The area remains lush because community activists successfully fought a plan to turn it into bland strip malls and condo buildings in the 1980s.
Norwood Park
This area—incorporated into Chicago in 1874—was named after Norwood, or Village Life in New England, a book by Henry Ward Beecher. You can read the novel here (feel free to leave your book report in the comments).
O'Hare
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O'Hare International Airport (and its surrounding neighborhood) was named after Edward "Butch" O'Hare, a Chicagoan and WWII Navy aviator. O'Hare received a Medal of Honor in 1942 for single-handedly attacking a squadron of advancing Japanese bombers while defending the Lexington. He was killed in battle a year later during a night interception mission. The city renamed Old Orchard Depot Airport for him (that's why the airport code is still "ORD").
His father, Edward J. O'Hare, was one of Al Capone's lawyers and advisors. The elder O'Hare eventually turned important information over to the government that helped send Capone to jail for tax evasion. In 1939, Edward J. was assassinated by two shotgun-wielding henchmen on the West Side, near Douglas Park.
That info should give you plenty of small talk fodder for your next delay at O'Hare.
Old Town
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During World War II, the triangle made up by North Avenue, Clark Street, and Ogden Avenue was designated as a "neighborhood defense unit" by Chicago's Civil Defense Agency. After the war, the residents stayed closely bonded and threw community art fairs, calling them “Old Town Holidays.” The name "Old Town" stuck.
Palmer Square
This tiny area located within Logan Square is named for Potter Palmer, a successful early Chicago businessman who opened a dry goods store in 1852 and eventually sold it to Marshall Field.
Pill Hill
This rhyming South Side enclave was named for all the doctors who called the neighborhood home.
Pilsen
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Manufacturing jobs brought thousands of immigrants to this area in the 1870s. Many were Czechs, and they came to call the area "Plzeň" after the second-biggest city in West Bohemia. The name soon morphed into "Pilsen," which persevered.
Polish Downtown
Polish Downtown essentially served as a capital of sorts for Polish immigrants soon after they started moving to the United States. During WWI, the movement to create a free Poland was started and ran from this neighborhood.
Portage Park
Originally a park district (the park in the center of the neighborhood remains), this area is named for the nearby portage routes used by fur traders and Native Americans between the Des Plaines and Chicago Rivers.
Printer's Row
Printing and publishing houses dominated this area for a century, starting in the late 1800s. Most of the remaining buildings have since been converted to residential use.
Pulaski Park
This neighborhood within West Town is named after its park, which was dedicated to Casimir Pulaski, a Polish nobleman and cavalry commander who fought and died for the Americans during the Revolutionary War. Pulaski is a name that comes up a lot in Chicago, so study up on him.
Pullman
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Industrialist George Mortimer Pullman purchased 4000 acres of land south of Chicago to develop a town for the men and women who built his company's luxury railroad sleeping cars. Pullman Town was an initial success, offering workers affordable housing and providing a safe, private community away from the distractions of the city.
Soon, Pullman's paranoia took over, and residents were subjected to random house searches and draconian limits on free speech and worship. According to the Pullman State Historical Site, employees took to saying, "We are born in a Pullman house, fed from the Pullman shops, taught in the Pullman school, catechized in the Pullman Church, and when we die we shall go to the Pullman Hell."
After Pullman cut wages but kept rents at the same levels, workers went on strike and the Illinois Supreme Court ordered that Pullman Town be annexed into Chicago in 1898. George Mortimer Pullman died of a heart attack shortly thereafter.
Ravenswood
This neighborhood began as one of the city's first suburbs in 1868 when the Ravenswood Land Company, a group of businessmen and developers, started buying up land for residential use.
River North
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This area along the north branch of the Chicago River was known for years as "Smokey Hollow" because of the factories that linked to the waterway and nearby railroad tracks. After the area's main port moved in the 1920s, this riverside district became a seedy hub. Still, the location was desirable enough for eager developers, and in the 1970s, real estate mogul Albert Friedman thought to rename the area "River North." It worked, and yuppies eventually followed.
Riverdale
In 1835, George Dolton settled in this area alongside the Calumet River near a Potawatomi Indian reservation. He built a toll ferry, which became known as the "Riverdale Ferry." A bridge soon followed, and the area was called both "Dolton" and "Riverdale" for years as it became an industrial epicenter.
Rogers Park
Early settler Philip Rogers bought this lakeside land in 1836 for $1.25 an acre. His son-in-law Patrick L. Touhy developed the area and started its rise to the bustling residential community that would eventually be incorporated into Chicago.
Roscoe Village
While not 100 percent verified, it's assumed that this neighborhood name comes from John Lewis Cochran, again. Like Balmoral, Roscoe Street was probably named after a train stop outside of Philadelphia because Cochran's creativity was boundless—within the limits of Philadelphia train stations.
Roseland
Settled by Dutch farmers, this fertile and lush area full of flowers was dubbed "Roseland" in 1873 by James H. Bowen, the president of the Calumet and Chicago Canal and Dock Company.
Sauganash
Potawatomi chief Sauganash was born in Canada in 1780 to a Wyandot mother and an Irish father. Sauganash means "The Englishman." He moved to Chicago in 1820 and became a prominent citizen during the city's early days and was elected a justice of the peace. The government granted him a 1200-acre reservation along the Chicago River, and part of this area bears his name to this day.
Sheridan Park
Sheridan Park was named in honor of Civil War hero Philip Henry Sheridan in 1912. Sheridan was a successful Union Army cavalry commander and was the subject of Thomas Buchanan Read's poem "Sheridan's Ride."
Smith Park
Named for 32nd ward Alderman Joseph Higgins Smith in 1929 (who was the alderman of the area from 1914 to 1933).
South Deering
This area was originally named "Irondale" for its many steel mills. The village was bought up in 1902 by the International Harvester Company and further developed by the Deering Harvester Company, who inspired the new name.
Streeterville
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"Cap" George Wellington Streeter was a boat captain along the Mississippi River and a classic, big-time jerk. Legend has it that he and his wife "Ma" Streeter were cruising in their boat around Lake Michigan in 1886 when they hit a sandbar. (Others maintain Streeter deliberately crashed his boat into the shoreline.) Perfectly comfortable in their precarious position, the couple decided to stay put.
Silt accumulated around the ship and soon a land bridge connected them to Chicago. At that time, the city was filling in the lake in that area to build Lake Shore Drive. Cap Streeter was having none of Chicago's crap and he defended the swampy dump around his boat with a shotgun. Aided by the liquid courage he was known to pull from liberally, "Cap" had multiple standoffs with authorities before finally being arrested and tried.
Despite having the land stripped from him by the court, Cap had the last laugh: The neighborhood is named after him to this day.
Stony Island
Tens of thousands of years ago, glacial runoff formed Lake Chicago, which spread over the entirety of the modern-day city. Stony Island was an actual rocky island that eventually poked to the surface when the waters began to recede. In the 1920s, the "island" (which was just a boulder-covered hill) was destroyed to make way for drainage systems and a road, which is all that remains.
Tri-Taylor
The triangular convergence of avenues at the western end of Taylor Street gives the area the name "Tri-Taylor."
Ukrainian Village
OrganicNation Compfight cc
After the Great Fire, this area was mainly inhabited by German immigrants. In the early 20th century, Russian, Ukrainian, and other European residents started to call the neighborhood home, and by the end of WWI it was primarily an enclave for Ukrainians. In 1983, Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne designated Ukrainian Village as an "official neighborhood," the first such location in Chicago to receive this honor.
Uptown
For most of Chicago's early history, this neighborhood was the northern terminus for commercial rail lines. It became a popular shopping destination, and wealthy Chicagoans soon flocked to the area and bought up residential property.
Wacławowo
Like its neighbor Jackowo, Wacławowo is named for the local parish, St. Wenceslaus Church (Kościół Świętego Wacława in Polish).
West Lawn
Real estate developers James Webb and John F. Eberhart founded West Lawn on sprawling marshy lands in 1877. The village was annexed to Chicago in 1889.
Wicker Park
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Brothers Charles G. and Joel H. Wicker owned a subdivision in Chicago and in 1870 they gave a small area of it to the city. It was sectioned off so cattle couldn't graze on the fertile land, and soon a neighborhood sprouted around the park, which took its name from the men who donated it.
Wrigleyville
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This neighborhood is named after Wrigley Field, which was itself named after gum magnate and Chicago Cubs owner William Wrigley in 1926. While the area is known for its crowded bars and young, rowdy revelers, the Cubs themselves are all business and signs point to this being their year.*
*This will not be their year.
We're slowly working our way across the country. See how the neighborhoods in other cities got their names.American Science & Engineering, a Billerica, Mass.-company, tells Forbes it has sold more than 500 ZBVs, or Z Backscatter Vans, to US and foreign governments. The mobile X-ray technology works by bouncing narrow X-ray streams off an object like a car and then analyzing the scatter rate of the returning rays. Operators can then locate less-dense objects that could be bodies or bombs.
The US Department of Defense has bought the most for war zone use, but now it appears that US law enforcement has also deployed the vans to search for bombs inside the US, according to Joe Reiss, a company spokesman.
On Tuesday, a counterterror operation snarled truck traffic on I-20 near Atlanta, where Department of Homeland Security teams used mobile X-ray technology to check the contents of truck trailers. Authorities said the inspections weren’t prompted by any specific threat.
“This really trips up the creep factor because it’s one of those things that you sort of intrinsically think the government shouldn’t be doing,” says Vermont-based privacy expert Frederick Lane, author of “American Privacy.” “But, legally, the issue is the boundary between the government’s legitimate security interest and privacy expectations we enjoy in our cars.”
AS&E’s Reiss counters privacy critics by pointing out that the ZBV scans don’t capture nearly as much detail of human bodies as their airport counterparts. The company’s marketing materials say that its “primary purpose is to image vehicles and their contents |
-man rush and he decides to deke the way that he does. That’s all split-second things that you’re thinking, but it’s all how you’re positioning yourself, reading what you have and all that type of stuff. I don’t really know how else to explain it. It’s just things that come natural doing it over and over and over again. You just go with what you feel is the best at the time. It’s a high percentage play and you want to do whatever you can to make sure you execute on it when you do get a two-on-one.
Lucic, on what has led to the recent odd-man rushes:
I think our breakouts have been a lot better. Usually when you have good defense and you’re checking well, that’ll lead to odd-man rushes and offensive opportunities. So I think our D have done a better job of breaking the puck out and, for us as forwards, we’ve done a better job of getting back and being able to get going the other way. So it’s a combination of those things.
Lucic, on how his thinking changes if he’s leading a three-on-two rush:
Usually you want the middle drive and usually you want to isolate one D to make it a two-on-one. And if you can beat that guy and the guy gets the puck, you isolate the other D. You try to make it two two-on-ones. It’s all reading and reacting as well. It’s so fast. You’ve just got to trust your instincts and have a good feeling of where guys are going to be and those types of things. I think that’s a big part of the chemistry as well, is what comes to play in the rushes more than anything. So far we’ve been able to execute them the last couple games and hopefully we can keep creating more odd-man opportunities and creating more goal scoring chances for ourselves.Mayor Bill de Blasio is the first New York City mayor to release his tax returns in 12 years, according to the WSJ. de Blasio earned $165,000 as public advocate last year and brought in an additional $52,000 in rent on a second home he owns in Park Slope, according to his 2013 tax returns. Mr. de Blasio’s effective tax rate was 8.3%.
As WSJ reports, Mr. de Blasio’s predecessor, Michael Bloomberg, a billionaire who served as mayor from 2002 through 2013, released highly redacted copies of his return that gave scant information about his net worth.
In 2001, during Mr. Bloomberg’s first campaign for mayor, he lost his temper on the steps of City Hall when pressed by a reporter about why he was refusing to release his returns when his opponents had released their IRS filings. “That’s fine,” Mr. Bloomberg snapped. “They don’t make anything.”
Which means, Mr. de Blasio is the first city mayor in 12 years to release a full copy of his tax returns.WASHINGTON - Senior US lawmakers reached a deal to make it easier for President Barack Obama to negotiate trade accords, including a massive deal with 11 other Pacific nations.
US President Barack Obama speaks during an event in the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House, in Washington, DC, on April 16, 2015
If Congress grants Obama so-called "fast-track" authority, it would let lawmakers vote to approve or reject the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), but prevent them from introducing changes to the largest accord since the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The legislation "contains the clearest articulation of trade priorities in our nation's history," said Senate Finance Committee chairman Orrin Hatch, who reached the deal with the panel's top Democrat Senator Ron Wyden, and House Ways and Means Committee chairman Paul Ryan.
"We intend to move expeditiously on these bills," Hatch told a committee hearing.
Obama had been under pressure to show progress on TPP before he hosts Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the White House on April 28.
The Obama administration is also deep in negotitions on a trade pact with the 28-member European Union.
Obama expressed optimism about the congressional deal and said it was crucial the United States, "and not countries like China," write the global trade rules.
"It would level the playing field, give our workers a fair shot, and for the first time, include strong fully enforceable protections for workers' rights, the environment, and a free and open internet," Obama said in a statement.
Wyden said the deal will allow a "fairer fight" and offer "no back door" for special interests to insert their priorities into the agreement.
The bill notably requires Obama to publish the TPP at least 60 days prior to signing it. Due to the timing of negotiations, Congress may have up to four months to review the accord before voting on it.
And it contains a switch that would allow lawmakers to turn off "fast-track" authority if they feel the trade deal fails to support US priorities.
If negotiators "fall short and the product doesn't meet our standards, Congress can still hit the brakes on a bad deal," Wyden said.
"I'm proud this bipartisan bill creates what I expect to be unprecedented transparency in trade negotiations, and ensures future trade deals break new ground to promote human rights, improve labor conditions and safeguard the environment."
- Transparent or 'toxic?' -
House Speaker John Boehner, who has long pushed for a new trade policy, hailed the deal and said it would "strengthen" congressional authority over a final trade accord.
US Trade Representative Michael Froman gave a cautious thumbs up to the legislation.
"At first glance we see very important developments in terms of negotiations objectives," Froman said, mentioning progress on preventing unfair competition from state-owned enterprises and safeguards for US products including agriculture.
A tough legislative battle over "fast-track" authority lies ahead. A Senate aide said lawmakers want to start the process quickly so the wrangling does not drag deep into the 2016 presidential race.
Congressional authority over trade deals has been a point of contention for years, with critics warning that secret negotiations and hurried votes hurt American workers.
"There's too much at stake for Congress to be rushing through a bill that would allow more NAFTA-style trade deals," said Senate Democrat Sherrod Brown, citing a loss of millions of US manufacturing jobs since 1994.
The Sierra Club called the agreement "toxic" for the environment and a replay of a failed trade authority model that strips out vital protections.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a trade framework negotiated between Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.After witnessing the anti-Southern hysteria that has metastasized throughout the media and government in recent weeks I felt a pressing need to do something proactive. Of course, it’s certainly not as if our societal overseers didn’t hate the South and any symbol of our unique identity before the murders that took place in Charleston occurred, but they have since fully exploited the tragedy in order to launch an attempt to completely eradicate the Confederate flag and any memory of the righteous cause for which it stood. Their efforts have been particularly brutal and bloodthirsty in Memphis, where the local government unanimously passed a resolution to exhume the remains of General Nathan Bedford Forrest and his wife, as well as remove the monument that sits atop their graves. Not that it matters much, but Confederate Soldiers, Sailors and Marines who fought in The War of Northern Aggression were made U.S. Veterans by an act of Congress in 1957, U.S. Public Law 85-425, Sec 410, which was approved on May 23, 1958. This made all Confederate Veterans equal to all U.S. Military Veterans, but I digress.
This shocking display of hatred could not go unanswered. In faithful service to the Confederate cavalry my great-great-great-grandfather rode with Forrest at Shiloh. Upon reading the news about their desire to desecrate the grave of an American hero his spirit reminded me of Forrest’s own admonition to, “Get there first with the most men.” I had organized rallies in Memphis before and was determined to do so again. But, rather than rush in haphazardly I thought it would be most prudent to reach out to other acquaintances with similar interests. As it turns out, a pro-Forrest rally was already being planned by other local activists and instead of having two competing events it just made more sense to join in line with those who had already laid some ground work and use the influence of my radio program to provide auxiliary support and assist them in turning out a much larger crowd. We should always concern ourselves first with providing results rather than getting credit for something. [Continue reading James’ article at The Political Cesspool site; lots of great photos.]RIO DE JANEIRO — Sepp Blatter on Wednesday all but declared his intention to run for a fifth term as FIFA’s president, declaring that “my mission is not finished” in a speech to a congress of soccer’s top officials.
Blatter has put off an official announcement of his candidacy for another four-year term until after the World Cup, but he sent his strongest signal yet that he would run when he told the FIFA Congress in São Paulo that “I can tell you I am ready to accompany you in the future.”
The images of Blatter and FIFA have been battered in recent months by revelations of corruption in the bidding for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which have increased the pressure on Blatter, 78, to step aside.
Several top officials in UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, openly called on Blatter on Tuesday to decline to run in next year’s election. They pointed out that in 2011, when he was elected unanimously to a fourth term in a vote later found to have been rife with vote-buying and influence-peddling, he had promised to retire by 2015.At a recent meeting with law enforcement, Donald Trump suggested ruining the career of an unnamed Texas legislator who had allegedly proposed eliminating civil asset forfeiture. In case you don’t know much about it, John Oliver has a great explanation: it’s a civil procedure that police can use to seize property from people when they believe the property was involved in a crime
But, it is notoriously hard to challenge, has been used in questionable ways against poorer people and people of color, and funds resulting from the sale of seized property are typically given to the seizing law enforcement agency, creating substantial motivation for abuse.
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In his remark, Trump sidestepped a very large public policy problem. Imagine almost losing your house because your son sold a joint in it without your knowledge or losing the cash you had saved for a new car after a traffic stop for driving in the left lane too long without passing. Both happened—the housing case was in Philadelphia and the traffic stop in rural Texas, but these cases are examples of seizures throughout the United States.
Moreover, in most states, little information is required from police departments about how they use the funds, leading to abuses such as buying a margarita machine or expensive coffee machine with seized funds. It is something that progressives, libertarians, and even conservatives such as the Koch brothers are against.
An amazing amount of property is seized this way.
In 2012, the Justice Department alone seized $4.2 billion in assets, and that does not include other federal seizures held in other funds, or funds seized and retained by states. Civil seizure happens easily because technically the government’s problem is with your property, which has no constitutional rights, not with you, who does.
So, your property can be taken with very little evidence beyond suspicion. Attempts to resist are often met with threats about what will happen if one persists, and it’s hard to challenge even if you move past the threats.
Civil asset forfeiture is seen as an important tool in combatting drug cartels and other criminal conspiracies because its much lower burden of proof allows police to seize property even when they cannot gain criminal convictions. That lower burden of proof plays a major role in both the tactical utility and ability to misuse this procedure. Over time, it has increasingly helped to fund departments too, allowing police departments to buffer the ravages of state and local budget crises, even while other aspects of government have withered.
However, its misuse and the clear incentives to misuse it mean that if it is going to stay, we need to figure out how to preserve the good while limiting the bad. Some have suggested changes that would make it easier to challenge forfeitures such as assuming owners are innocent until proven otherwise, or requiring police meet a higher burden of proof such as clear and convincing evidence, both of which I support.
However, I suggest a simpler solution: state legislatures should require that any funds from the sale of seized assets go to supplement (not replace) funding to public defender’s offices. While some have suggested lessening the profit motivation for police by moving funds into general revenue funds, we know from the rising use of fees in criminal courts, this is no panacea as city officials may still pressure police to seize assets.
Using the money to fund public defenders is simpler.
If you want to curb the improper use of civil asset forfeiture, make the incentives work so that law enforcement will only use it when they really need to. Not only would seized assets no longer directly benefit their budgets, it would fund the attorneys that help keep their actions in check in the criminal courts.
When police really needed to bust cartels, the procedure remains at police disposal. When it is not needed, police will not see themselves or their city or state bosses (who control their annual budgets and approve their benefits packages) as benefiting from over-using it. And, future proceeds will go to support attorneys who defend individuals who face long odds in the criminal justice system already.
It avoids unnecessary commissions and oversight bodies by just flipping the incentives. Perhaps instead of trying to ruin someone’s career for working on an important issue, Mr. Trump could work to find practical and common sense reforms for policies that do some good but also do a lot of bad at the same time.
Jennifer Earl is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Arizona and a Public Voices Fellow with The OpEd Project. She researches the collateral consequences of arrests, particularly for protesters.
The views expressed by contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.Recently I tried something I had feared for a long time: Using code to create my views instead of using the traditional storyboard.
Background
In any given iOS programming tutorial, you will most likely use storyboards to complete your task.
Examples:
Now, there is nothing inherently wrong with using storyboards. They're perfectly fine and get the job done with creating your UI...
Right?
While the first part of my statement above is true, storyboards sometimes fall short when working in bigger projects with many view controllers or in views that have many elements and subviews.
The Problem
My largest project right now had 20-30 view controllers in a single storyboard. Whenever I would open the storyboard, my ancient MacBook Pro would struggle to load the storyboard. I needed to rapidly iterate on my views based on changes in code and having the storyboard load time be 10 seconds+ wasn't an ideal situation.
Note: I later switched to using multiple storyboards which (mostly) eliminated this issue, however having multiple storyboards with storyboard reference outlets all over each of them is really confusing.
When a view controller in a storyboard has multiple views, selecting the correct one becomes difficult if they cover each other or reside as subviews. It is possible, but it's a tedious task that I wanted to avoid.
I also wanted to try something new, and killing storyboards sounded fun.
My Solution
Code is great. And if I'm already using some code in my projects, why not go "full code"?
But wait... No storyboards = no visible view until runtime... How am I supposed to iterate quickly when I can't even see what I'm working on?!?
Ages ago, I read an article on how a fairly large app open-sourced and detailed their design iteration process. They used Swift Playgrounds to see the controller in real-time as they modified the code. Brilliant, let's do that!
Okay... so how do I use auto-layout and constraints without a storyboard? Through some research, I found out how to use constraints inside code.
Swift 3 Example:
let view = UIView () // Create view object view. translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false // Set this to false so this works as expected view. backgroundColor = UIColor. red // Let's set this to red so we can see where our view is in our controller self. view. addSubview ( view ) // Add our view to the view controller's view // View created, constraint time: view. heightAnchor. constraint ( equalToConstant : 50 ). isActive = true // Let's break this down. // view.heightAnchor will set our view's height, as the name implies. // constraint(equalToConstant: 50) Will set the value to an integer constant of 50 // isActive = true will activate our constraint // Simple! Let's do the rest of the constraints: view. widthAnchor. constraint ( equalTo : self. view. widthAnchor, multiplier : 1 / 2 ). isActive = true // Set our width to be 1/2 of the view's size view. centerXAnchor. constraint ( equalTo : self. view. centerXAnchor ). isActive = true // Center horizontally on the X axis view. centerYAnchor. constraint ( equalTo : self. view. centerYAnchor ). isActive = true // Center vertically on the Y axis // And... done!
Let's take a look at our playground:
http://i.imgur.com/IRSyJLb.png
Awesome! Let's play around with these constraints and make our view appear at the top of the controller.
let view = UIView () view. translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false view. backgroundColor = UIColor. red self. view. addSubview ( view ) view. heightAnchor. constraint ( equalTo : self. view. heightAnchor, multiplier : 1 / 3 ). isActive = true view. widthAnchor. constraint ( equalTo : self. view. widthAnchor ). isActive = true view. centerXAnchor. constraint ( equalTo : self. view. centerXAnchor ). isActive = true view. topAnchor. constraint ( equalTo : self. view. topAnchor ). isActive = true
Here I've used a new item: topAnchor
Setting it equal to the view controller's view's topAnchor (that's a mouthful!) will cause our view to reside at the top of the view controller's view.
I've also set our width to be equal to the view's width, centered our view horizontally, and set our height to be 1/3 of the parent view's height.
Let's see what this did to our view:
So cool! In just a few lines of code, we've created a view at the top of our view controller.
To learn more on how to use these constraints, I decided to take an existing view controller created in my storyboard and re-create it in code.
I actually ended up creating a simple view controller/tool called "AccountController" that can be easily modified to show a login and registration page. Neat!
Here's a GitHub link for anyone who wants to try it out.
Also, feel free to modify it as you wish, it's under the MIT license! I plan on fixing some issues and improving on it over time, but feel free to fix bugs and improve it for me via pull request!
Thanks for reading!
FYI, I'm only 15 (almost 16!) so if my grammar or wording is poor, I apologize :)Evan Jager Bombs dropping in Monaco!
What does this mean for London?
Top 6 Leading Marks in 2012 heading to London:
Intermediate times: 1000m Koech, John (KEN) 2:44.04
2000m Yego, Hillary Kipsang (KEN) 5:24.17
Jager runs personal best by 11 seconds to set American Record.July 20, Monaco- In the final meet before the 2012 London Olympic Games Evan Jager answered any questions of how he'd fair against the best steeplers in the world. In only the fifth steeple race of his life, Jager not only improved his Olympic Trials winning time of 8:17 by eleven seconds but he also took 2.01 seconds off of Dan Lincoln's American Record running 8:06.81 (Lincoln had run 8:08.82 on July 14, 2006). The time currently ranks Jager 8th in the world.When Jager made his debut at the Mt SAC Relays in April, fans let their imaginations run wild with the possibilities of how fast Jager could run in the event. Having run 3:38 for 1500, 7:41 for 3k and 13:22 over 5000 meters it seemed as though the newly turned steepler had the potential to go after at the American Record in the next year or two. Even in a post race interview after his first race Jager mentioned thoughts of the record and conversations he had with Lincoln. However, the steeplechase smacked Jager hard when he hit the final water barrier in his second steeple at Oxy causing him to go down and fade to third. Jager was visibly shaken up after what he called a mental lapse in the race and decided his next steeple wouldn't be until the Olympic Trials.During the Trials, Jager looked refocused and confident through the opening round. In the finals it was as though he was a seasoned vet pulling away from America's best steeplers with ease, including Dan Huling who had been the fastest American steepler since the American record was set in 2006 (Huling ran 8:13.29 in 2010). Jager went on to win the Trials by over two seconds running 8:17.41. Donn Cabral and Kyle Alcorn joined Evan in the top three to earn spots on the US Olympic team. All of a sudden American record thoughts were back in the minds of many.Many will not be surprised by the fact Jager set the American record but rather how quickly he accomplished it. Before Lincoln, only two Americans had ever broken 8:10 with Henry Marsh running 8:09.17 in 1985 and Mark Croghan running 8:09.76 in 1993. Outside of those three, no American steepler had run under 8:13. Evan Jager in one season, with only five races, has turned a corner in US steepling. The future looks bright and we expect more to follow in his footsteps.Although on the World list, the 23 year-old Jager ranks 8th and it must be noted that six of the athletes ahead of him are Kenyan. With only three Kenyans heading to London, not including #1 World ranked Paul Koech (ran 7:54 but only finish 7th at the Kenyan Trials) and Richard Mateelong (ran 7:56 in the race with Koech), Jager now looks to rank fourth in the world competing at the Olympics and only five seconds off of the leading time in London (and.65 out for the top three). All of a sudden Jager looks like one the best US chances for a distance medal in London and has the opportunity to break up Kenyan steeple domination at the Olympics, a daunting task. Since 1984 there have been 21 Olympic steeplechase medals awarded, Kenya has taken home 15 of them while sweeping the medals in both 2004 and 1992.The last American to medal in the steeplechase was Brian Diemer (coached by Ron Warhurst) in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Right behind him in fourth place was American Henry Marsh. The two ran 8:14.06 and 8:14.25 respectively, while the winner Julius Korir 8:11.80. Korir ran for Kenya.1. Abel Mutai, Kenya 8:01.67 (8:01.67 PR)2. Conseslus Kipruto, Kenya 8:03.49 (8:03.49 PR)3. Roba Gari, Ethiopia 8:06.16 (8:06.16 PR)5. Brahim Taleb, Morocco 8:10.20 (8:07.02 PR in 2007)6. Ezekiel Kemboi, Kenya 8:10.55 (7:55.76 PR in 2011, Reigning 2x World Champ)Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign rally at the American Civil War Center at the Historic Tredegar Monday, Nov. 5, 2012, in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
WASHINGTON -- Vice President Joe Biden rallied Latino members of Congress on Thursday to push for immigration reform, calling Latinos "the center of the nation's future" and reminding them that their political power will only grow after the last presidential election.
"The way to make the mark... is for the Hispanic community to step up and step out and let the world know, let the Republicans know, let others know that if you ignore the needs and concerns of the Hispanic community, you will not win," Biden said at a swearing-in event hosted by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, a nonpartisan group that runs programs encouraging Latino leadership.
A record 26 members were welcomed into the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which is separate from the institute, on Thursday. Not all Latino members of Congress joined the caucus, but their total, too, is a record: There are three senators and 33 House members of Latino descent in the 113th Congress.
Many of them are strong supporters of immigration reform, which also ranked high -- though not first -- on the list of priorities of Latino voters. President Barack Obama has promised swift action and will begin major work on the issue this month now that the "fiscal cliff" battle is out of the way. Members of Congress are already beginning to craft a deal and hope it can receive a vote by the end of the summer.
The president made something of a down payment on his promise of reform last summer when he announced that his administration would grant deferred action on deportation for some undocumented young people, often referred to as Dreamers.
Before the deferred action announcement, Biden told Thursday's crowd, he and Cecilia Muñoz, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, had met with now-retired Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (D-Texas), who chaired the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, to discuss what could be done for Dreamers.
Although deferred action was considered by many a risky political choice, Biden said he and Muñoz "absolutely believed that what we were about to do was not only the right thing to do, but that it would be embraced by the vast majority of the American people."
They found they were right, the vice president said. Obama won more than 70 percent of the Latino vote in his reelection bid.
Biden said the American people also recognize what Latinos, including those who are undocumented, can and will contribute to the country.Captain Ammar al-Wawi, a spokesman for the 30th Division, said that the situation remained critical Reuters/Corbis
A US attempt to relaunch its much-criticised rebel training programme faced a setback yesterday when a second batch of western-trained fighters were detained by other rebel groups in northern Syria.
About 70 fighters from the US-trained group, called the 30th Division, entered the Bab al-Salama border crossing north of Aleppo in a heavily armed convoy of 12 vehicles with US air cover, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
However, they faced “problems” from the Islamist Shamiya Front, a Turkish-backed rebel coalition operating against Isis around Aleppo, according to the US-trained rebels.
A spokesman for the Shamiya Front said that it had detained members of 30th Division, but only temporarily. He added that fighters from the group had been in possession of Syrian regime…Remember those little Radeon RX 460 cards from MSI that showed up last August? The Dragon Army has apparently decided they still weren't small enough, because it has now shrunk the petite Polaris cards even further. The MSI Radeon RX-460-2GT-LP and RX-460-4GT-LP use a tiny two-fan cooler and a single rear expansion slot, although the cooler extends into the second slot some ways.
Of course, to shrink it that small, some sacrifices had to be made. The GPU in both cards only boosts to 1200 MHz, the same speed same as the reference design. The cards only offer two outputs: an HDMI port and a dual-link DVI port. Those connections are common enough on monitors, but it would have been nice to see a mini-DisplayPort as well. MSI doesn't mention if the cards come with a low-profile rear bracket, either.
The new card might seem puny to some gerbils, but it could make a reasonably potent gaming upgrade for a slim OEM machine. Even the most basic of Intel's newer processors provides a solid platform for a card like this, and given its dainty size and the fact that it doesn't require a power connector, it'll fit almost anywhere. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like it's available yet, and sometimes products with a specific appeal like these can be a little hard to find. But hey, that XFX single-slot RX 460 finally came out, so chances are good.Students at the University of California believe they may have discovered a new, very slightly softer approach to the vicious suppression of the right to protest.
As California cops sprayed seated protesters directly in the face with pepper spray, some students noted that it marked a significant shift in violent over-reaction to peaceful situations.
“California has been a great place to study police brutality”, explained Drew Hershey, a biology major at the campus.
“From Rodney King to Oscar Grant, we’ve captured some really significant footage of officers acting like animals without the merest hint of provocation.”
Hershey believes that while forcing pepper spray down the throats of ideological youths may be a massive overreaction to clear and present passivity, it’s a marginal improvement on just shooting people.
Anthropology student Greg Hoosier thinks he can explain the change in behaviour.
“In some ways, the police of this State seem to be evolving, a small step at a time, into slightly less dysfunctional members of a civilised society”, said Hoosier.
“We even saw a couple of officers pick up batons, look at them quizzically and wave them a bit, before putting them back in their holsters. It’s as if they’ve developed a rudimentary understanding of when it’s appropriate to use certain tools.”
US pepper spray police
Hoosier is keen to study the behaviour further, and is working with authorities to take several of the officers into captivity.
“We shot some valuable footage of the event, and that may provide enough clues to put them away for a while. Well, unless there’s another cover-up.”
“There’s a clip that shows one of the specimens spraying pepper for ages, he’d clearly got the hang of his opposable thumbs.”
Hoosier believes that by studying the group, the public could ultimately become less fearful of riot cops, and perhaps even learn to pity them.
“I’m working on an experiment to see if they’re capable of responding to the behaviour of other people, and their own rudimentary human-like feelings”, confirmed Hoosier, “rather than acting on prejudice and a deep-rooted sadism.”
“I’ve looked into the eyes of one of these officers for a spark of recognition, there was electricity between us, I was shocked.”
“Though my doctor thinks the Taser burns should heal eventually.”A family in Winkler is heartbroken after learning their dog was stolen from the yard and dragged behind a truck until it died on the weekend.
"I know that he went up to those people willingly and thought that they were his friends," owner Hilda Wiebe said. "It's pretty devastating to think of that."
Wiebe, 21, first realized her eight-year-old mix Rusty was missing Saturday morning and called police.
Her parents, who earlier spotted a truck parked near their yard, believe the dog was taken sometime Friday evening.
After examining the road nearby, Wiebe found a screwdriver and a piece of tow rope.
"I guess they had taken him, stabbed him with a screwdriver, tied him up and dragged him down the road," she said.
Hilda Wiebe holds the screwdriver and a piece of tow rope she believes were used in her dog's death. (Holly Caruk/CBC)
When a co-worker later found Rusty about three kilometres away along Highway 3, there was tow rope around the dog's neck, Wiebe said.
"They just didn't care.… I honestly think it's just some young, stupid kids that were bored," Wiebe said.
RCMP said they are investigating the incident but cannot confirm the dog was dragged behind a vehicle.
Rusty's death has hurt her whole family, Wiebe said.
She is the eldest of five siblings who live at home and all grew up with the friendly, affectionate dog.
'He's just the sweetest'
"He'll do anything for a belly rub," she said. "He's just the sweetest."
Wiebe said the dog trusted everyone, including strangers.
Rusty was a trusting, friendly dog, said Wiebe, who would do anything for a good belly scratch. (Courtesy Hilda Wiebe)
If RCMP are unable to discover who killed her dog, Wiebe said she will create a reward for tips about what happened.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Carman RCMP at 204-745-6760 or call Manitoba Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477, submit a secure tip online or text "TIPMAN" plus a message to CRIMES (274637).B. Michael Payne owns stock in both Fanta and jolly ranchers.
There’s a version of this piece that doesn’t play the Guess The Race Game. I think we can all agree the Guess the Race Game is the worst. But there are many, many pieces to the Spark Master Tape experience that lend themselves to the GTRG. For starters, the cover of his 2012 mixtape, Syrup Splash. Is that a picture of him? A picture he thought was hilarious? A commentary on race? None of the above? (Maybe. Sure. Unlikely. Probably.)
The other thing about Spark Master that lends itself to the GTRG is that his music is just so damn formal. As in, it has a lot of conceptual jibber jabber and trope-laden imagery — all in accordance with a pretty identifiable standard. His videos are filled with footage of Coolio, 2pac, et al. The songs are filled with “trap” drums, air horns, and fake DJ drops. He liberally populates his raps themselves, which are more than capable, with meaningless signifiers: snap-backs, BasedGod, selling yams. He has an overriding love (lust?) for Amber Rose. In the internet irony era, where any misstep can be post hoc erased under the banner of “satire”, it’s hard to tell if Spark Master Tape’s music might not be the Tumblr rap version of the Sokal Hoax.
No matter what race Spark Master Tape is, it’s clear that he’s interested in stripping away all identifying characteristics of himself from his online presence. That in itself is a more interesting and fruitful subject matter than the GTRG.
It might be that Spark Master Tape’s self-effacement angle arose after he made some tough aesthetic decisions. The way his vocals are always pitched down recall Lil Ugly Mane. His graveyard production reminds you of Spaceghostpurrp. But, perhaps obviously, the music on Spark Master Tape’s Syrup Splash is most like DJ Screw’s body of work. The digital pitch manipulation doesn’t proffer the same dreamy, gauzy character of DJ Screw’s best work. It merely suggests that effect, and leaves the listener to decide whether the effect is earned. Some of the tracks, of course, are more propulsive than your average chopped and screwed joint. The lead-off track, “M80”, sounds like something Childish Gambino would record. (Another point in the GTRG for ‘white’?) The raucous “Bullet Holes” updates the synthesizes a lot of different musical ideas in less than two minutes, to great effect.
Brevity, in fact, is what separates Spark Master Tape and his primary producer, Paper Platoon, from DJ Screw and the whole nouveau chopped and screwed movement. None of the songs tops four and a half minutes, and the whole mixtape is 36 minutes long.
The way Spark Master effortlessly generates a well realized dreadful mood puts him into rare company within the very recent mixtape world. It’s pretty easy to get great beats (or at least jack them), and the lexicon is mostly set. But the way he combines a self-defeated misery and self-medicated revel gives the semi-anonymous Spark Master Tape more personality than many rappers.
Whether this personality is earned is, I guess, why we play the Guess The Race Game, though. Does it matter? Maybe. I’m reminded of an insightful post on the Elite Gymnastics tumblr, which made the point about the current “trapewave” craze,
maybe people insist on calling their productions stuff like “bmore” and “trap” because they think the association with crime and poverty makes something like a dance remix of the outfield that would normally be a very whitebread and mundane proposition on paper seem edgier and more dangerous.
It seems like the obvious and human point to make is that people should not be cultural tourists or ruthless appropriators. There’s a difference between an ostensibly poor kid with ‘no way out’ making music to cope with his friends getting shot and a kid in a dorm room in New Haven (lacking those concerns). It is the difference between trying to be a genuine human being and being a piece of human garbage.
As well, I came across this idea over the course of researching a big project that David Berman uses to justify his music style. He says in this interview:
In general techno and the electronic movement that is less lyric oriented. That to me really became a part of the shopping culture that’s really come up. Because music like that really makes you the star, you’re in the forefront, and it’s the soundtrack to your life.
I sense a similar rise in rap, which probably separates an old school fogey from, I guess, whatever the opposite is. As rap lyrics become more and more trope-obsessed — eg, just saying watchwords and repeating meaningless catchphrases — it does become less personalized and more all-purpose. It doesn’t let you in on a particular person’s ideas; it inculcates you into a culture’s obsessions.
When Spark Master Tape ends “Syrup Splash” saying, “That’s just life on the grizzle / live and die fast”, I mean, I have no reason not to believe in his nihilism. But I also don’t really believe it, either. He sounds way more earnest later on “Dope Dealer”, when he says, “I don’t want to die / just |
proved to be a fully loaded Smith & Wesson.38 caliber revolver. The serial number had been defaced, but the police managed to read it and determine the gun had been reported stolen in March 2012.
The mug shot shows that Brown has various tattoos: a skull on his neck, a star between his eyebrows, and what appears to be a gang symbol on his right cheek. The arrest report notes that he is a “self-admitted 4 Corner Hustler,” the Four Corner Hustlers being one of the city’s major gangs. A records check shows that he had been arrested 45 times, including for weapons.
Yet the day after he appeared before a judge, Brown was back out on the street, having paid a $5,000 cash bond, apparently no problem for someone allegedly in the leadership of the Four Corner Hustlers. He is said by police to have been outside with his son and several fellow gang members on the night of July 4.
Amari had attended a barbecue at his grandmother’s house earlier in the day. He was now with his father when the night’s fireworks were joined by gunfire.
Police believe the bullet that struck the boy was meant for the elder Brown. The assumption was that the father was not cooperating with detectives because he figured on settling things himself.
But as an outraged Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy made clear at a Sunday press conference, the father could not rightly consider himself blameless.
Nor could the system that had left the elder Brown at liberty after the April gun collar.
“Seven-year-old Amari Brown was the unintended victim of a bullet that was meant for his father,” McCarthy said. “His father is a ranking gang member with 45 previous arrests who is not cooperating with this investigation. He has had numerous and frequent encounters with the police.”
McCarthy held a paper copy of the elder Brown’s rap sheet.
“Quite frankly, I’ve never seen anything like this,” McCarthy said. “I don’t know how many pages it is. It’s probably about 22 pages long.”
The last arrest had been the gun collar. Antonio Brown had been freed only to become the target of another gun in somebody else’s hand.
“If Mr. Brown is in custody, his son is alive,” McCarthy told a press conference. “That’s not the case. Quite frankly, he shouldn’t have been on the street.”
On display near McCarthy were 75 of the guns the police had recovered at considerable personal risk in their effort to prevent such tragedies, ranging from assault rifles to a little but deadly.25 caliber automatic.
“If you think that putting more cops on the street would make a difference, then take a look at the fact that we put a third more manpower on the street for this weekend,” McCarthy said. “What’s the result? We’re getting more guns. Well, that’s great. It’s not stopping the violence. And it’s not going to stop the violence until criminals are held accountable and something is done to stem the flow of these guns into our city.”
McCarthy can rattle off statistics that attest to how dedicated the Chicago police remain and how frustrated they must be by the continuing carnage. His cops seize three times as many illegal guns as the NYPD does, and Chicago is only a third the size of New York City.
Then come the even more troubling numbers.
In the first three months of this year, Chicago cops arrested 688 people for illegal gun possession, but 60 percent of them were back out by April. The number rose to 75 percent by June, including six who had been arrested a second time in those six months.
The bloodshed on the Fourth of July weekend had begun with the killing of 17-year-old Vonzell Banks, who had been shot in a park named after 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton. Pendleton had been killed a week after she performed at the second Obama inauguration. The gunman had been a teenager on probation for a gun charge.
Hadiya, Vonzell, and now little Amari had all been cut down by bullets intended for others.
“The list goes on and on,” McCarthy said. “This has got to stop.”
After Amari was shot, the city was rocked by a startling number of unrelated shootings, 18 between midnight and 6 a.m. The total for the weekend stood at 10 dead and 55 wounded. A vigil was held for the youngest victim, who had loved Ninja Turtles and sports and dancing.
A YouTube video featured by the Chicago Sun-Times captured Amari’s mother, Amber Hailey, raising her hands and crying out to the heavens over Chiraq.
“Mommy’s so sorry, baby!...Lord Jesus!...My baby!...I’m so sorry, Amari! Mommy is so hurt, baby!”
Perhaps ceding to public or family pressure, the father belatedly agreed to speak with detectives. But either he did not know much or he simply did not tell them.
The detectives remained convinced that the elder Brown and his fellow gang members were the intended target. The Four Corner Hustlers had battled with other gangs, and there had recently been infighting among various factions.
Meanwhile, the other cops were out in the streets, determined in the face of all the frustration, trying to do what they can until somebody does something about the guns and the courts.GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida will be without second-leading scorer Dorian Finney-Smith for the third consecutive game Tuesday night at Missouri.
Coach Billy Donovan says Finney-Smith remains suspended for an undisclosed violation of team rules. Donovan says he will re-evaluate Finney-Smith's status later in the week, before Saturday's home game against Tennessee.
Finney-Smith is Florida's most versatile player. He's averaging 12.9 points and 5.8 rebounds this season. He missed games against Vanderbilt and LSU, and the Gators (13-14, 6-8 Southeastern Conference) went 1-1 without him.
Florida also will be without leading scorer Michael Frazier II for the fifth consecutive game because of a high ankle sprain. Donovan ruled Frazier out last week, saying he needs more time to heal before getting back on the court. Frazier is averaging 13.2 points and 4.6 rebounds and is the team's best 3-point and free throw shooter.We first heard about Google’s “Designed for Families” Play Store program in mid-May, and Google officially announced that it would be adding new family-focused features to the Play Store at Google I/O 2015. Now, a new section labeled as “New Family Fun” is popping up on the Play Store, featuring the friendly star mascot, iconic character categories, and more…
Deal: Get Pixelbook at 25% off: $750!
The new “Family” app category includes only apps that have gone through and been approved by a hand-picked selection process. Currently, the top section features apps that are only on Google Play, the second is a “New & Popular” list (assumably, apps that are new and popular), there’s a “Spotlight on Disney” section, a section that sorts apps by character, and more.
If you have a child that uses your Android tablet or smartphone, it’s now a lot easier to find and install apps that you can feel comfortable will be age-appropriate. The sections features everything from the notorious Minecraft, to Lego Star Wars, to creative apps for painting and drawing. As you can see below, the “Popular Characters” section includes apps sorted by “Dora the Explorer,” “Elmo,” “Peppa Pig,” and more.
Head over to the new section on the web Play Store to check it out, and the mobile version should be rolling out momentarily.It can go one of two ways.
The quarterback takes the snap.
Suddenly, you either see someone with the ball running up the middle. Or, you see the quarterback, who has tucked the ball away, searching for a receiver.
They call it "play action."
As the 2011 season rolls on, you get the feeling it could be one of Sean Payton's favorite calls: The choice of Drew Brees handing off to Mark Ingram, or Brees throwing the football to an assortment of Colston, Meachem, Moore, Henderson, etc.
This we know.
So long as No. 9 remains healthy, there's little doubt the New Orleans Saints will be anything but a pass-first offense, which is certainly what it was in 2009, when they had 100 more first downs throwing, when they passed for 4,355 yards and ran for 2,106.
But now the Saints have the explosive, up-the-gut presence of 215-pound Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, who could make a slight dent in those stats.
The little right tackle Jon Stinchcomb has seen of Ingram so far tells him he's an ideal fit for play-action.
"I've seen Mark make a few wicked cuts, the kind that come from good vision," said Stinchcomb, a nine-year veteran. "He's someone who can run for an 'ugly' 5 yards, but it's still 5 yards. Know what I mean? He's always moving forward."
Brees has an idea what's going on in Ingram's mind at this stage of a post-lockout, hurry-up training camp.
"His head is spinning," Brees said Monday. "He's not only thinking what he has to do on offense, he's thinking about blocking assignments, other things that go with the job. From what I've seen, Mark reminds me of DeAngelo Williams (the Carolina Panthers running back). Mark's smaller, but he's quick, extremely powerful. Right now he's working hard to establish himself with his own style."
Ask Nick Saban, his coach at Alabama, and it's more than that.
"I'll remember Mark for the intangibles, the whole package," Saban said Tuesday. "You hear a lot about work ethic. Mark is so competitive, the kind of competitor who'll make everyone around him better, sometimes you have to rein him in. He's that explosive by nature.
"For a coach, I found him fun to be around, not only for what he did on the field, but for what he did for his teammates. On the field, he might not be someone who could beat you in a 100-yard dash, but over 10-12-15 yards, he packs a burst of speed that changes the angles of the people chasing him. He's a game-changer."
That was one assessment from a head coach.
Another was offered by former Saints Coach Jim Mora, a training camp visitor, who told me a running back like Ingram would fit perfectly in any play-action schemes.
"Usually, the better a team establishes the running game, the more effective the play-action is," Mora said. "The other thing that's very important is having a quarterback who's great at selling the run, which, in play-action, goes hand-in-hand in disguising the pass. When I was coaching the Colts, I had in the best in the business in Peyton Manning in disguising the run and the pass. The Saints have an outstanding one in Drew, which is a huge plus in any play-action. The more a threat Ingram becomes, the more mini-seconds the quarterback has in the pocket."
When he was quarterbacking the expansion Saints, a perennial loser, in the 1960s, Billy Kilmer liked to tell stories about how an effective running game not only helped him throw more accurate knuckleballs, but also cut down on some of the sack-induced, Sunday beatings he took in Tulane Stadium.
"We were into our third season, in 1969, before we had any semblance of a ground game," Kilmer recalled. "Then we came up with two guys, Andy Livingston and Tony Baker, at a time each of them came close to 1,000-yard seasons. For me, football became a different game. You didn't spend most of the game on your back."
It got better when Kilmer was traded to Washington and became the quarterback who took the Redskins to the Super Bowl in the 1972 season, an underdog that lost to the Miami Dolphins, the only world champion to finish unbeaten.
Kilmer's memory was not a 14-7 loss in the championship game. It was Redskins running back Larry Brown.
"Boy, do I remember Larry Brown," Kilmer said. "He was the league MVP that season. Rushed for more than a 1,000 yards. Caught a ton of passes. Talk about play-action? We'd run bootlegs and Larry made me look like Sammy Baugh. I think Larry remembered me as the quarterback who couldn't wait to throw another incompletion."Oil industry hopes for a major new export route to global markets are slipping into the next decade, forcing companies to seek alternatives as production swells in Northern Alberta.
This week, Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd. sought special clearance from the National Energy Board to start work on its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project in Burnaby, B.C., accusing the city of failing to issue needed permits in a timely fashion.
Kinder Morgan had already warned that the $7.4-billion project could be delayed by as much as nine months, meaning oil deliveries would not commence until the fourth quarter of 2020. Now the company has raised the spectre that the expansion could by scuppered altogether.
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"A delay of an indeterminate nature will create uncertainty regarding the project's future and the in-service date of the project, potentially resulting in the failure of the project," vice-president of operations Michael Davies said in an affidavit filed with the federal regulator.
Lengthy delays or a decision to scrap it would deal a major blow to the Alberta-based industry and could further inflame tensions between the province and neighbouring British Columbia, whose Premier, John Horgan, has come out strongly against the project.
Kinder Morgan aims to almost triple the capacity of its existing pipeline to carry as much as 890,000 barrels a day of crude from Edmonton to an export terminal in suburban Vancouver.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signed off on the expansion last year, but it has been challenged in the courts by environmentalists as well as cities and Indigenous groups along the West Coast.
In Alberta, the upstart United Conservative Party has made much of the frustration over cancelled megaprojects, including TransCanada Corp.'s move this month to abandon its proposed Energy East pipeline.
Former federal cabinet minister Jason Kenney and other UCP leadership candidates have pledged to kill Alberta's carbon tax and take a harder line with Ottawa and other provinces on pipelines and energy policy.
Energy East had been scheduled to start up in 2020 at the earliest, sending Alberta crude to refineries and export terminals on the Atlantic Coast.
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TransCanada blamed an uncertain regulatory process for its demise, though analysts have said economics also played a role.
Its cancellation comes as a series of major projects near completion in the oil sands, threatening to dump more crude into a market already struggling with pipeline constraints. The excess production is bound to move by rail, eating into margins that remain pressured by weak oil prices.
"Most of the export pipelines out of Canada are running full right now," said GMP FirstEnergy analyst Martin King. "That's going to be the case probably for the next couple of years as the supply growth keeps coming at us."
On Thursday, Kinder Morgan said Burnaby's refusal to issue permits in a timely manner raises "serious issues of jurisdiction." The mayor, a vocal opponent of the project, has said the city is not holding up the process.
The company also asked the NEB to establish an "expedited determination" to avoid future delays. Mr. Davies said each month of delay results in as much as $35-million in costs and more than $90-million in forgone revenue for the company.
In the affidavit, he said oil-shipper customers could seek alternatives for committed volumes of more than 700,000 barrels a day should the company miss its planned startup date of 2019.
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Many of the project's backers are also supporters of TransCanada's rival Keystone XL pipeline, which would send Alberta crude through the U.S. Midwest to big refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast.
Shippers "may need to find alternate, and potentially higher-cost, transportation options for this production to other markets," Mr. Davies said.
Data suggest that's already happening.
Canadian crude-by-rail exports have steadily ticked up in recent months, from an average of 50,000 barrels a day in July to 66,000 a day in September, according to Genscape, an oil-industry consultancy.BATON ROUGE -- Lawmakers have once again struck down a proposal to let Louisiana residents carry a concealed gun without a permit. The House Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice voted 8-5 Wednesday (May 10) against Rep. Barry Ivey's "constitutional carry" measure.
Rep. Barry Ivey
State law lets people openly carry a gun without a permit. To conceal a pistol, however, residents must be trained, undergo a background check and have their fingerprints taken.
Supporters of Ivey's House Bill 68 said the permit requirements, which include fees, are costly and prevent law-abiding citizens from exercising their Second Amendment right. Opponents said the permitting process keeps concealed guns in the hands of responsible people.
This was the third attempt from Ivey, a Baton Rouge Republican, to have Louisiana join a dozen other states that don't require permits.
.......
Story by R.J. Rico.Ji Suk Jin has shared a selfie with his namesake, Jin of BTS!
On May 16, Ji Suk Jin posted a photo of Jin and himself against a backdrop of sand by the river, which is the same location previously seen in a photo of BTS from their “Running Man” filming. Jin’s real name is Kim Suk Jin (also spelt as Kim Seok Jin), and so Ji Suk Jin writes as the caption, “Suk Jin and Suk Jin.”
He goes on to say, “It was a pleasure to meet Suk Jin from BTS, who I’ve wanted to meet someday.”
Jin will be appearing alongside his six fellow BTS members in the special 300th episode of “Running Man” next Sunday!
Are you excited to see BTS on “Running Man”?A new generation of environmentally friendly 'hybrid airships' could be just about to take off
Germany is producing zeppelins again. More than 70 years after the infamous Hindenburg disaster, its latest airship was gently guided out of the hangar doors last month to make its maiden test flight.
The Zeppelin NT, built from endowment money left behind by German airship pioneer Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, will make further test flights around Friedrichshafen over the coming months, before flying to London - where a former contestant from The Apprentice, Rory Laing, plans to offer tourist joyrides over the capital for £150 a throw.
What is it about airships that continues to capture the imagination? By rights, the lumbering airborne relics of a century past should be no more than museum curiosities, consigned like gas lamps to the sentimental roll-call of redundant technology. But like sacked television contestants, it's hard to keep an idea as audacious as the airship down. With the cost of oil at record highs, and airline chiefs warning of the end of cheap flights, the idea of the airship is being seriously floated once more.
The appeal is of the airship is easy to grasp. Environmentalists like George Monbiot cite their frugal use of fuel when compared to other forms of flight. They are also quiet and fly at low altitude, at around 4,000ft compared with 35,000ft, further lessening their environmental impact. Although they are relatively slow, typically travelling at 125 mph - as quick as a high-speed train, but still needing about 43 hours to cross the Atlantic - most need no runway and could be deployed without need for further airport expansion.
One British company, SkyCat, is even floating the idea that airships could take off from the reservoirs bordering Heathrow airport. Airships appeal, moreover, to romantic travellers who see something glamorous in their more stately form of travel.
Once it's flown around London for a while, the new Zeppelin will cross the Atlantic itself en route to San Francisco where it will conduct more tourist flights (a sister ship is already operating in Japan). In engineering terms, the Zeppelin NT represents a remarkable revival in the fortunes of the airship.
On the right vector
It's more nimble than the old airships. The NT uses "vectored thrust", which is in principle the same ability to direct its thrust in much the same way as a Harrier jump jet. This is important, because one thing holding the airship back is it vulnerability to wind, especially gusts. Most traditional airships need a dozen people to tie it to a mast; the NT, just three.
The renaissance has been a long time coming. The development of the airship in the latter part of the 20th century saw the once stately transport reduced to the role of tethered balloon: a static camera platform and floating advertising hording like America's Goodyear blimp. But since the millennium, ideas for a new generation of airships have abounded.
Lockheed Martin, the world's largest defence manufacturer, has been secretly testing the crewed hybrid P-791 that marries the buoyancy of an airship with the aerodynamics of an aeroplane. Deep in development in California is the Aeroscraft, another hybrid that touts itself as a sky yacht and looks a lot like Thunderbird 2 from the old TV show.
Then there is the Stratocruiser, a beautiful re-imagining of the zeppelin by Tino Schaedler, a London-based German set designer and thinker. It's a wonderful flight of fancy designed to incorporate a gourmet restaurant, swimming pool and nightclub with resident DJs.
"Over the last year or so we've seen a real renaissance in the airship ventures, both in manned tourism-based airships and in surveillance," explains Andreas Grünewald, a zeppelin enthusiast who blogs at Airshipworld. "It's something very present and growing, especially over the last year or so. There's a lot going on".
The trouble though with the buzz of a zeppelin revival is a simple one: carrying capacity. The Zeppelin NT has a passenger capacity of just 12, plus two crew. The Aeroscraft, more ambitious offering, could be adapted to manage anything up to 180. (A 747 carries about 460 people.)
Airships may be enjoying their most exciting phase since the 1930s. But don't sell your shares in the airlines just yet. Though people think the 1937 Hindenburg disaster killed off airships, they never took off for mass transit. The Hindenburg was from a fleet of just two, and fixed-wing passenger aircraft had already overtaken the zeppelin for passenger carriage.
"They were for a very limited number of wealthy passengers and mainly as an alternative to luxury passenger shipping services to a very few destinations," says Douglas Botting, author of Dr Eckener's Dream Machine, a biography of the zeppelin. "If the Hindenburg disaster had not stopped the zeppelin service dead in its tracks, world war two would have done." The airship's passenger days seemed behind it. But around a decade ago, a British designer, Roger Monk, working inside the shed in Cardington where Britain's own airship programme was conducted in the 1930s, began to revive the idea with his SkyCat. The SkyCat was the first serious "hybrid airship" combining the aerodynamics of a fixed-wing aircraft with the lighter-than-air properties of a balloon.
The SkyCat also employs a "hover-skirt" which allows it to land not just without a runway, but without a mast to tie it to, giving it a drawing-board advantage over the zeppelin. "In our case we don't need any ground crew whatsoever," says Michael Stewart of SkyCat. "We can land our ship anywhere: on water or snow or marsh and even rubble."
The latter point you keep hearing about airships; that they could be used for disaster rescue. An airship can fly over broken bridges and land without a runway, taking aid to precisely the point it is needed.
What's new, SkyCat?
The SkyCat is a beautifully conceived vehicle, but one that has so far failed to receive proper funding. The team have built a 25m-long model, dubbed the "Sky Kitten", but that's it. The problem is money. Airships are expensive and don't carry many people. SkyCat has been floating around for a decade and yet it has failed to raise the hundreds of millions needed to get it off the ground. But even if hybrid airships can find commercial backers, they still face a steep climb.
The next thing holding airships back is the cost of the gas. To fill the SkyCat with helium, for example,would cost between £1m to £3m. However, the helium doesn't need to be refilled each time the airship lands, and "you only lose about 1% a year", says Stewart.
But a further disadvantage is speed. SkyCat will fly with a top speed of 100mph, far less when flying into a prevailing wind. London to Manchester would be far slower than the train.
Another problem is their vulnerability to wind. Although, "as they increase in size they become less so", says Grünewald. "With increasing technology that problem will be reduced to the same level of vulnerability faced by aeroplane."
The sight of zeppelins over London is sure to rekindle interest in the airship. The rising price of oil may one day make them affordable. For a short-haul journeys, they could easily compete with the likes of ferries and trains, but the return to long-haul remains something of a dream. And yet who would have thought, a decade ago, that passenger airships would ever fly at all?Robots or bots are automatic processes that interact with Wikipedia (and other Wikimedia projects) as though they were human editors. This page attempts to explain how to carry out the development of a bot for use on Wikimedia projects and much of this is transferable to other wikis based on MediaWiki. The explanation is geared mainly towards those who have some prior programming experience, but are unsure of how to apply this knowledge to creating a Wikipedia bot.
Why would I need to create a bot? [ edit ]
Bots can automate tasks and perform them much faster than humans. If you have a simple task that you need to perform lots of times (an example might be to add a template to all pages in a category with 1000 pages), then this is a task better suited to a bot than a human.
Considerations before creating a bot [ edit ]
It is often far simpler to request a bot job from an existing bot. If you have only periodic requests or are uncomfortable with programming, this is usually the best solution. These requests can be made at Wikipedia:Bot requests. In addition, there are a number of tools available to anyone. Most of these take the form of enhanced web browsers with Mediawiki-specific functionality. The most popular of these is AutoWikiBrowser (AWB), a browser specifically designed to assist with editing on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects. A mostly complete list of tools can be found at Wikipedia:Tools/Editing tools. Tools, such as AWB, can often be operated with little or no understanding of programming.
If you decide you need a bot of your own due to the frequency or novelty of your requirements, you don't need to write one from scratch. There are already a number of bots running on Wikipedia and many of these bots publish their source code, which can sometimes be reused with little additional development time. There are also a number of standard bot frameworks available. Modifying an existing bot or using a framework greatly speeds development time. Also, because these code bases are in common usage and are maintained community projects, it is far easier to get bots based on these frameworks approved for use. The most popular and common of these frameworks is Pywikibot (PWB), a bot framework written in Python. It is thoroughly documented and tested and many standardized Pywikibot scripts (bot instructions) are already available. Other examples of bot frameworks can be found below. For some of these bot frameworks, such as PWB, a general familiarity with scripts is all that is necessary to run the bot successfully (it is important to update these frameworks regularly).
Writing a new bot requires significant programming ability. A completely new bot must undergo substantial testing before it will be approved for regular operation. To write a successful bot, planning is crucial. The following considerations are important:
Will the bot be manually assisted or fully automated?
Will you create the bot alone, or with the help of other programmers?
Will the bot's requests, edits, or other actions be logged? If so, will the logs be stored on local media, or on wiki pages?
Will the bot run inside a web browser (for example, written in Javascript), or will it be a standalone program?
If the bot is a standalone program, will it run on your local computer, or on a remote server such as the Toolforge?
If the bot runs on a remote server, will other editors be able to operate the bot or start it running?
How does a Wikipedia bot work? [ edit ]
Overview of operation [ edit ]
Just like a human editor, a Wikipedia bot reads Wikipedia pages, and makes changes where it thinks changes need to be made. The difference is that, although bots are faster and less prone to fatigue than humans, they are nowhere near as bright as we are. Bots are good at repetitive tasks that have easily defined patterns, where few decisions have to be made.
In the most typical case, a bot logs in to its own account and requests pages from Wikipedia in much the same way as a browser does – although it does not display the page on screen, but works on it in memory – and then programmatically examines the page code to see if any changes need to be made. It then makes and submits whatever edits it was designed to do, again in much the same way a browser would.
Because bots access pages the same way people do, bots can experience the same kind of difficulties that human users do. They can get caught in edit conflicts, have page timeouts, or run across other unexpected complications while requesting pages or making edits. Because the volume of work done by a bot is larger than that done by a live person, the bot is more likely to encounter these issues. Thus, it is important to consider these situations when writing a bot.
APIs for bots [ edit ]
In order to make changes to Wikipedia pages, a bot necessarily has to retrieve pages from Wikipedia and send edits back. There are several Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) available for that purpose.
MediaWiki API (api.php). This library was specifically written to permit automated processes such as bots to make queries and post changes. Data is available in many different machine-readable formats (JSON, XML, YAML,...). Features have been fully ported from the older Query API interface; see the API manual page. Status: Available on all Wikimedia projects, with a very complete set of queries. The ability to edit pages via api.php has also been enabled on all Wikimedia projects, enabling bots to operate entirely without screen scraping. There is also an API sandbox for those wanting to test api.php's features.
Screen scraping (index.php). Screen scraping involves requesting a Wikipedia page, looking at the raw HTML code (what you would see if you clicked View → Source in most browsers), and then analyzing the HTML for patterns. There are certain problems with this approach: the Wikipedia interface can change without notice, which may break the bot code, and calling for HTML creates a larger server load than processing the wikitext itself. There is basically no reason to use this technique anymore. Status: Deprecated.
Special:Export can be used to obtain bulk export of page content in XML form. See Manual:Parameters to Special:Export for arguments; Status: Built-in feature of MediaWiki, available on all Wikimedia servers.
Raw (Wikitext) page processing: sending a action=raw or a action=raw&templates=expand GET request to index.php will give the unprocessed wikitext source code of a page. An API query with prop=revisions&rvprop=content or prop=revisions&rvprop=content&rvexpandtemplates=1 is roughly equivalent, and allows for retrieving additional information. Status: Built-in feature of MediaWiki, available on all Wikimedia servers.
Some Wikipedia web servers are configured to grant requests for compressed (gzip) content. This can be done by including a line "Accept-Encoding: gzip" in the HTTP request header; if the HTTP reply header contains "Content-Encoding: gzip", the document is in gzip form, otherwise, it is in the regular uncompressed form. Note that this is specific to the web server and not to the MediaWiki software. Other sites employing MediaWiki may not have this feature. If you are using an existing bot framework, it should handle low-level operations like this.
Logging in [ edit ]
Approved bots need to be logged in to make edits. Although a bot can make read requests without logging in, bots that have completed testing should log in for all activities. Bots logged in from an account with the bot flag can obtain more results per query from the Mediawiki API (api.php). Most bot frameworks should handle login and cookies automatically, but if you are not using an existing framework, you will need to follow these steps.
For security, login data must be passed using the HTTP POST method. Because parameters of HTTP GET requests are easily visible in URL, logins via GET are disabled.
To log a bot in using the MediaWiki API, 2 POST requests are needed:
Request 1
If the password is correct, this will return a "NeedToken" result and a "token" parameter in XML form, as documented at mw:API:Login. Other output formats are available. It will also return HTTP cookies as described below.
Request 2
where TOKEN is the token from the previous result. The HTTP cookies from the previous request must also be passed with the second request.
A successful login attempt will result in the Wikimedia server setting several HTTP cookies. The bot must save these cookies and send them back every time it makes a request (this is particularly crucial for editing). On the English Wikipedia, the following cookies should be used: enwikiUserID, enwikiToken, and enwikiUserName. The enwiki_session cookie is required to actually send an edit or commit some change, otherwise the MediaWiki:Session fail preview error message will be returned.
Editing; edit tokens [ edit ]
Wikipedia uses a system of edit tokens for making edits to Wikipedia pages, as well as other operations that modify existing content such as rollback. The token looks like a long hexadecimal number followed by '+\', for example:
d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e+\
The role of edit tokens is to prevent "edit hijacking", where users are tricked into making an edit by clicking a single link.
The editing process involves two HTTP requests. First, a request for an edit token must be made. Then, a second HTTP request must be made that sends the new content of the page along with the edit token just obtained. It is not possible to make an edit in a single HTTP request. An edit token remains the same for the duration of a logged-in session, so the edit token needs to be retrieved only once and can be used for all subsequent edits.
To obtain an edit token, follow these steps:
MediaWiki API (api.php). Make a request with the following parameters (see mw:API:Edit - Create&Edit pages). action=query prop=info titles=PAGENAME intoken=edit The token will be returned in the edittoken attribute of the response.
. Make a request with the following parameters (see mw:API:Edit - Create&Edit pages).
If the edit token the bot receives does not have the hexadecimal string (i.e., the edit token is just '+\') then the bot most likely is not logged in. This might be due to a number of factors: failure in authentication with the server, a dropped connection, a timeout of some sort, or an error in storing or returning the correct cookies. If it is not because of a programming error, just log in again to refresh the login cookies. The bots may use Assert Edit Extension to make sure that they are logged in.
Edit conflicts [ edit ]
Edit conflicts occur when multiple, overlapping edit attempts are made on the same page. Almost every bot will eventually get caught in an edit conflict of one sort or another, and should include some mechanism to test for and accommodate these issues.
Bots that use the Mediawiki API (api.php) should retrieve the edit token, along with the starttimestamp and the last revision "base" timestamp, before loading the page text in preparation for the edit; prop=info|revisions can be used to retrieve both the token and page contents in one query ( ). When submitting the edit, set the starttimestamp and basetimestamp attributes, and check the server responses for indications of errors. For more details, see mw:API:Edit - Create&Edit pages.
Generally speaking, if an edit fails to complete the bot should check the page again before trying to make a new edit, to make sure the edit is still appropriate. Further, if a bot rechecks a page to resubmit a change, it should be careful to avoid any behavior that could lead to an infinite loop and any behavior that could even resemble edit warring.
Overview of the process of developing a bot [ edit ]
Actually, coding or writing a bot is only one part of developing a bot. You should generally follow the development cycle below to ensure that your bot follows Wikipedia's bot policy. Failure to comply with the policy may lead to your bot failing to be approved or being blocked from editing Wikipedia.
Overview of Wikipedia bot development cycle
Idea [ edit ]
The first task in creating a Wikipedia bot is extracting the requirements or coming up with an idea. If you don't have an idea of what to write a bot for, you could pick up ideas at requests for work to be done by a bot.
Make sure an existing bot isn't already doing what you think your bot should do. To see what tasks are already being performed by a bot, see the list of currently operating bots.
Specification [ edit ]
Specification is the task of precisely describing the software to be written, possibly in a rigorous way. You should come up with a detailed proposal of what you want it to do. Try to discuss this proposal with some editors and refine it based on feedback. Even a great idea can be made better by incorporating ideas from other editors.
In the most basic form, your specified bot must meet the following criteria:
The bot is harmless (it must not make edits that could be considered disruptive to the smooth running of the encyclopedia)
The bot is useful (it provides a useful service more effectively than a human editor could)
The bot does not waste server resources.
Software architecture [ edit ]
Think about how you might create it and which programming language(s) and tools you would use. Architecture is concerned with making sure the software system will meet the requirements of the product as well as ensuring that future requirements can be addressed. Certain programming |
me.
From what I've been able to piece together, it seems that last October someone, I do not know who, stumbled across my profile on a private, registration-required website for alternative-lifestyle people, with some 5 million members, on which they apparently had an account as well. They were Offended(tm) and took screenshots of a post I'd made 7 years ago at a D/s friends' wedding I attended, to pass around and show what a terrible person I am. It should be noted that such behavior is a direct violation of that site's Terms of Service (duh).
Eventually that information made it to the Community Working Group (CWG), who concluded "there was no code of conduct violation present for [them] to take any action on". While it should have stopped there, the gossip campaign continued (apparently with even more excerpts of stuff I'd written) and the CWG informed me of the situation, in broad strokes. I made it clear that if anyone wanted to speak to me privately to better understand my personal life I was open to doing so.
The only person who did so was Klaus Purer, who seems to have set himself up as the primary antagonist. Klaus pulled me aside to talk at Drupal Iron Camp in Prague, although by "talk" he apparently meant berate me and stumble over declarations of how terrible a person I am without any details or any apparent desire to ask me questions or hear me say anything. He ended the conversation by stating that he was going to "distance himself from me", and I ended it with an offer of a handshake.
It didn't end there, though. Apparently, Klaus took it upon himself to sign up for the site for the express purpose of going spelunking through my posting history to find the worst-sounding things he could, out of context. (Once again, a gross violation of that site's Terms of Service, not to mention my privacy.) Apparently he also had someone forward him excerpts from my profile on a dating site, too. Since the CWG still held that I had never violated the Code of Conduct they recommended that he contact me to "work it out between yourselves", which he did.
Klaus and I had a single Google Hangout conversation in January, although again "conversation" is a generous word. It's hard to call an exchange a conversation when it begins with one party berating the other for their private life, calling them an abuser (of whom? No one), and demanding that they resign from all positions within Drupal and excommunicate themselves. He strongly implied that he was speaking on behalf of other, anonymous individuals as well. It's also not a "conversation" when Klaus informed me that I need to do so or he will bring in more "others" to help pressure Drupal's leadership to throw me out. I informed him that his statements constituted blackmail, with which he partially agreed.
I do not suffer threats and bullying lightly. I immediately referred the matter back to the CWG, who tried to set up a mediation that consisted of a single conversation with each of Klaus and I and concluded once again that I had in no way violated the Code of Conduct.
Apparently, during this time, Klaus continued to "monitor" my posting on the private forum and share further excerpts from there with the CWG, at least, in a continued effort to get them to kickban me. (See previous statement about their Terms of Service.)
Then on 24 February I got a phone call from Drupal project lead Dries Buytaert. Apparently Klaus was insisting that I be removed from DrupalCon (where I have been a track chair for many years, and was selected as a speaker) before speakers were announced the following Monday (the 27th). It seems Dries and Drupal Association Executive Director Megan Sanicki had been informed of the situation weeks earlier, but neither had reached out to me once about it. Now, in my first contact with Dries, he asked me "to step down from Drupal", including as a Drupal advocate for the PHP community, "in the best interest of the project".
I informed him how impossible that was, given that Drupal has been the cornerstone of my career for the past nearly 12 years. (My work to grow the community in that time, and to build bridges with other communities, and to mentor newcomers in Drupal, and the utter lack of any indication that I had treated anyone with less than dignity and respect didn't seem to be relevant.) Simply abandoning Drupal would be direct material harm to me and my career, not to mention Drupal. (Telling the PHP world "Sorry, I can't say nice things about Drupal anymore, they don't like me" would reflect very poorly on the project and community.) It would also be giving in to bullying and blackmail from another Drupal member.
We talked further, but Dries wouldn't budge on me leaving, including making it clear that it wasn't an option, but an instruction. The conversation ended with Dries saying "think about it, let's talk again, maybe soon", and indicating that he needed "time to process".
I should note that the Drupal Code of Conduct says:
We expect individuals to first try to resolve conflicts between themselves in a constructive manner
Bullying, blackmail, and ultimatums do not constitute a "constructive manner", yet is exactly what I was receiving.
The next communication I received from the Association was an email from Megan on Monday 27 February, informing me that I'd been summarily dismissed from my position as track chair and as a speaker at DrupalCon, "per [my] conversation with Dries".
I do not know if "per my conversation with Dries" means I'm unwelcome in Drupal because of my sex life, I'm unwelcome in Drupal because Dries was afraid Klaus would go public and embarrass the project otherwise, or something else. I have been given no further information than that and still have not been.
I never expected to be subject to prejudice and discrimination in Drupal, least of all from Drupal's leadership. I therefore referred the matter to the Board of Directors, as I didn't think they would approve of discrimination within the community. The Board's only available time to meet was while I was presenting at a conference and thus was unable to attend, instead submitting my case in writing, at length, detailing the same information as I've presented here and then some. They sent me no questions in advance of the meeting. I know nothing of the Board's internal deliberations. I only know that their response came back "The board has voted to affirm Megan’s decision to revoke the session for DrupalCon Baltimore and end the track chair term."
To say I am disappointed in Drupal's leadership is a gross understatement.
Wait, what?
In summary, then, a group of people decided that they didn't like my personal life. They don't approve of Gor, and so feel it appropriate to talk about me behind my back, violate my privacy, threaten me, bully me, and run me out of the project. And they may have succeeded.
Now take that paragraph, replace the word "Gor" with "being gay", and go back in time 15 years. Maybe even 10. Imagine being told that you need to leave Drupal before people find out that you're gay and it embarasses the project.
Now try replacing "Gor" with "Muslims", and think about it today.
Bigotry and prejudice are directly against Drupal's stated values. Against anyone. From the Drupal Code of Conduct:
We expect members of the Drupal community to be respectful when dealing with other contributors as well as with people outside the Drupal project and with users of Drupal.
And the DrupalCon Code of Conduct:
Sponsors, volunteers, speakers, attendees, and other participants should strive to treat all people with dignity and respect, regardless of their culture, religion, physical appearance, disability, race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation.
Gor is a culture. D/s is a sexual orientation. No one in this matter has even claimed, much less shown, that I have treated anyone in Drupal or elsewhere with anything less than "dignity and respect".
We will not tolerate bullying or harassment of any member of the Drupal community.
And yet here I am, being bullied, harassed, and excluded because of my personal activities, which I don't even publicize much less advocate for in tech circles.
Does Gorean culture have things to say about sex and gender? Yes it does. You know what else has things to say about sex and gender? All abrahamic religions.
Yet no one would even think to exclude someone from Drupal because they were Jewish, Christian, or Muslim. Some (although certainly not all) practitioners of those religions have cultural traditions and practices that others find distasteful, but no one would tolerate a "religious test" for Drupal participation or Drupal leadership. If someone suggested that certain "religious symbols" from Judaism or Islam were unwelcome at Drupal events there would justifiably be a riot. Hell, I'd join it.
Are we not now already engaged in a cultural and social battle against excluding people because of their religion or culture? Just what side of that fight are you on? (I'm on the "refugees welcome, #NoWallNoBan" side myself.)
And yet here I am, being bullied, harassed, and excluded because of my personal activities, which I don't even publicize much less advocate for in tech circles.
This is not the Drupal I know. The Drupal I know wouldn't excommunicate people because of the books they read or what they do in their private lives. The Drupal I know doesn't force people to bare their personal lives to the world as their only recourse to a gossip and bullying campaign.
The "charges"
So what have I said or done to drive people in Drupal, up to and including the project lead, to try and ostracize me? Putting aside the "he must have deserved it" implications of that way of thinking, here's what's filtered back to me (which is apparently not everything, since not everything the gossip chain has access to has been shared with me).
Larry gave a speech at a wedding saying all women are slaves
False. Seven years ago, friends of mine in the BDSM community were already in a consensual M/s relationship and were getting married, and asked me to officiate a small informal after-event the next day for the power dynamic side of their relationship. Who am I to say no? I worked with them to design a brief ceremony that was meaningful for them, including a speech by me (because this is me; I give great speeches). In it, I referred to the voluntary act of submission they were showing (remember, they just got married the day before) as an act of love.
Several of the other attendees really liked my speech and asked me to post it on my profile, which I did. When posting it on my profile's journal I noted "I do believe that", in reference to the ceremony being an act of love, not of debasement. Which... is true. A healthy D/s relationship (yep, that's a thing) can and should be very loving, caring, and supportive. I have no interest in demeaning or debasing anyone, regardless of the relationship dynamic, and no one else should, either.
It was apparently a screenshot of this post that started all the hullabaloo. Why a private ceremony for two loving people that talks about love and community is offensive to people I cannot fathom. Why a private ceremony posted on a private forum is anyone else's business I do not know. Is some of the language in it rather flowery? Of course. It's a wedding speech! I've also been part of the wedding party for Catholic friends, which had overly flowery language about submission to God, too.
Larry run a Meetup group for Goreans in the Chicago area
... Yes. I run a book club, which meets at a public library that knows the sci-fi book series we're talking about. I also have friends over for dinner from time to time. Why anyone should give a damn is beyond me.
Larry promotes Gorean symbols at Drupal events
If by "promote" you mean "has a few cultural quirks that are meaningful to him derived from the books that inspire his culture", then yes. Try telling a Jew they're not allowed to say "Shalom" at a Drupal event. Imagine what would happen if a Muslim woman was berated for wearing a hijab at DrupalCon (or for not wearing one). You'd get sued even faster than you were fired (and rightly so).
I've been advised that I need to stop... applauding, or telling people to "be well", because somehow that is offensive. True story. What's offensive is the cultural intolerance that even cares, and yes, I do find that statement offensive and discriminatory.
Larry is going to abuse his positions in Drupal to force women to be his slaves
... Because any man with any kind of position is of course going to use it to abuse any woman he's around. Yes, there are people who have abused their positions like that. This line of thinking implies that any man with any power will somehow use it to abuse any woman he's around. That is nonsense. As far as I'm aware there have been no actual complaints about my behavior toward anyone, woman or otherwise, or of any abuse of any kind. Judge me by my actions, not by what some fear without cause that I might do.
In the nine years that I've been a core subsystem maintainer, I have never once been accused of using that position to pressure anyone into, well, anything. That's because I haven't. Frankly the idea that I could leverage my role in Drupal into pressuring people for sexual favors is laughable, even if I wanted to (I don't).
If we let Larry speak at DrupalCon, he could influence others to become Gorean!
I've been speaking at DrupalCon for a decade without that happening, so yeah...
That aside, "if we let a homosexual present at DrupalCon, other people there might catch the gay!"
Really? Are we as a community still at the level of ignorance of "catch gay"? Is that really the discussion we're having? I hope your stomach is turning at that thought, because mine is. The only thing anyone "catches" at DrupalCon is... Drupal. Which is the point.
(And possibly Drupal Flu, but that doesn't discriminate at all.)
Larry is a proponent for the enslavement of women!
Patently absurd and absolutely false. I have never, ever advocated for treating women, as a class, with anything other than dignity and respect. I am a proponent of honorable behavior, strength of character, community building, teaching, explicit clarity and honesty in relationships of all kinds, and of allowing people to practice whatever sort of personal, cultural, romantic, and sexual relationships they like as long as it's consensual. That anyone in Drupal would disagree with that position is disturbing.
The kind you like may not be the kind I like, and vice versa. S'ok. That's the whole diversity thing. I don't judge you or force you into anything you don't want and you return the favor. That's kind of what diversity and tolerance means.
I spent ten years working at one of the most women- and family-friendly companies you can imagine (although again, I never discussed my private life with my employer). Some of the best projects I have worked on, I was the only guy on the team.
I have actively encouraged places I've worked to hire more diversely.
I've been a DrupalCon track chair since 2011. For most of that time I was the global chair for the Core Conversations track, and I'm happy to say that it generally beat-the-average in terms of getting women up on stage. The conference selection team, though, always felt unbalanced, and I pushed hard to get the Drupal Association content lead (Steph El-hajj and after her Amanda Gonser) to select women to be the co-chair on my tracks. (I don't recall if I ever outright threatened to step down if they didn't, but I know I implied it.)
Later on I switched to chairing the PHP track, which has had a challenge getting session submissions from women. My co-chairs and I have debated how to improve that, and have tried to reach out to more women in the community. This is an area we're still working on, or rather were until I was summarily dismissed.
I've informally mentored a number of people in Drupal and elsewhere, but on balance I think I've spent more time mentoring women. That includes actively pushing some to take more risks, be more outspoken, get up on stage and speak, helping them with ideas for presentations when asked, and otherwise doing my best to encourage everyone to take steps to succeed.
These are not the actions of someone who wants to "put women down".
So here we are
I've been working in Drupal for more than a decade, personally and professionally, working to teach, educate, and build bridges. I have treated everyone I've worked with, men and women, with respect as peers and equals. But now because a few people are squeamish about my private sex life and what I say on private forums I am being attacked as an abuser, excluded from the project, and my career actively undermined. These actions have already caused me direct, material, professional harm.
When prejudice, bigotry, and bullying became accepted behavior in Drupal, I don't know. Maybe they aren't, except for a few people. I would like to think so. Unfortunately it takes only a few people to cause massive personal damage.
The only way to combat this sort of coercion and behind-the-scenes abuse is to short-circuit it with transparency; I am left with no alternative but to share my personal life with the world, for I will not slink away into the night just because some bully decides to feed the rumor mill.
So, here I am. This is me. I will not deny or hide who I am or what I do, though I will protect and respect the privacy of those with whom I associate even as mine was not. I am not ashamed of the relationship-styles I prefer, and I reject the idea that there should be any stigma associated with anything consenting adults freely choose to do. I will not back down from my beliefs or my nature because of a few bigots. I am the exact same person I was yesterday, and will continue to be the same person tomorrow, despite what a few bullies may want.
I will continue to do what I do: Write good code; teach others to do so; try to inspire people to do good in the world (technically or otherwise), regardless of their background; and encourage everyone to do the same for others. I will continue to build bridges, help, and teach. Because that is simply who I am.
If all this is far more information than you ever wanted to know about Larry's personal life, well, I agree, and I am sorry that the situation called for this. If you still have questions, then as I have stated since the beginning of this matter I am willing to talk to people one-on-one if they want to better understand where I'm coming from.
But I will not be bullied.
(Comments on this post are allowed but for obvious reasons will be moderated.)Jack Dorsey, the CEO of both Twitter and Square, recently said he believes blockchain can be used to solve problems in a range of different areas.
Speaking in an interview with tech media publication The Verge, Dorsey described the technology as the “next big unlock”, arguing that it has a plethora of applications beyond payments and the like.
“There are so many problems we can help solve [with blockchain] that are not just related to finance, but finance is an obvious one,” he told the site.
That said, Dorsey cautioned against trying to reach too far in applying the tech, decrying the push to try and solve “every single problem with it.
He went on to say:
“I think we need to be more thoughtful. What are people struggling with? How does the technology help them progress or does it distract them?”
Speaking about bitcoin specifically, Dorsey said that he’s hearing from a number of people close to him about investing in those markets, expressing surprise at the degree of interest.
“It’s not about the currency at all to these people who asked me. It’s about the investment,” he concluded.
Image Credit: JD Lasica/FlickrMedicine can be a minefield of uncertainties; no matter how thoughtful and careful we are, physiology is infinitely complex and fate is capricious, and occasionally something blows up in your face. If this happens, you have to integrate the experience, but for a while you lose your bearings. It is discombobulating. When this is followed by litigation, the effect can be paralyzing. And the lawsuit felt like an assault. Being sued, even with assurances that “it’s nothing personal” and that my insurance would most likely cover any settlement, was in fact deeply personal. The experience was devastating.
Still, I coped well enough. I was able to see patients and almost lose myself in their stories. One day I went in to see a delightful 95-year-old woman for a blood pressure check. In the middle of the visit, she gave me a piercing look. “You’ve got something on your mind,” she told me. “You take care of yourself.”
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A few months later, my lawyer, Amy, arrived, a brisk, no-nonsense woman hauling a suitcase full of records. We spent an exhausting and inconclusive morning reviewing the case and the questions it raised. I couldn’t tell if she thought I might win or lose the suit. This was the first of many such marathons.
I had been cautioned not to discuss the details of the case with anyone except my defense team. At one point, I told Amy that I had decided to keep a journal of the experience. Apparently, this was a bad idea. A journal could be subpoenaed, and even if it contained no evidence of wrongdoing, the plaintiff’s lawyer could very likely find something that would be used against me. So talk only to Amy and my claims representative; other than that, suck it up.
After the initial flurry of activity, things subsided, and more than a year elapsed before I was deposed. For a grueling four hours, the plaintiff’s lawyer asked a lot of questions, but he did not hold my feet to the fire, and then that was that. It is often the case that these suits drag on for years, so I was taken by surprise when, in fall 2007, a trial date was scheduled for Oct. 27, 2008, in Middlesex Superior Court. In January 2008, I left my primary care practice after almost 30 years. I can’t say it was because of being sued, but I can’t say it was irrelevant either.
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In September 2008, Amy and I resumed the process of reviewing records and discussing strategy. In early October, I was coached on how to testify: keep your feet on the floor, do not cross your legs or fold your arms. Don’t put your fingers together and pontificate. For heaven’s sake, don’t slump. Answers should be crisp and cogent, but do not hesitate more than three seconds before responding. Look at the jury. Don’t lose your cool during the cross-examination. And above all, relax and be yourself.
On Oct. 16, 11 days before trial, I got an urgent e-mail message from Amy. It turned out that the plaintiffs and their law firm had “irreconcilable differences.” These differences weren’t spelled out, but it appeared that the lawyers had decided they were not going to win the case. They couldn’t have figured this out four and a half years earlier? Before all this wasted time, the emotional anguish, and the more than $150,000 spent by my insurance company in the run-up to trial?
The plaintiffs, my patient’s children, refused to let their lawyers drop the case. I could imagine that they didn’t feel well served by this process. They met with their lawyers to resolve this, but neither side gave in. As this slowly unfolded, my mood turned from stoic resignation to a toxic muck of apathy and irritation.
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On Oct. 23 everyone except me went in front of the judge. The plaintiffs’ lawyers asked to withdraw from the case, and the family requested a continuance, which would allow the case to be tried at a later time with a new set of lawyers. Amy opposed the continuance. The judge denied the continuance and ordered everyone to proceed with the trial as scheduled.
Just before Amy left, the children and their lawyers conferred again. The lawyers told them that they were unlikely to win and that they would have to pay for the expert witnesses if the case went forward. Finally, the family agreed to drop it, and they all went before the judge to seal the deal.
Amy called me. All in all, I thought I was pretty cool about the whole thing by now. The initial turbulent emotions had been squeezed out or tamped down, and I was ready for whatever happened. But when she told me the news, I started to cry.Cofound.it Playoffs: A Night to Celebrate and Support Your Favourite Seed Teams
David Prais Blocked Unblock Follow Following Nov 8, 2017
Our mission at Cofound.it is clear — select and train the best teams and blockchain startups and involve our community in the process. And we have come up with an amazing new way to do that!
On November 30, 2017 Cofound.it is going to host an extraordinary event here in Ljubljana, Cofound.it Playoffs. Our top Seed programme teams will participate in a “live” crowdsale surrounded by Cofound.it Priority Pass™ members and other supporters.
No one has ever done anything like this, or to this scale. This event really is a celebration of the Cofound.it community, because only by connecting the best startups with passionate early adopters are we able to pull something like this off!
Choosing the Teams for Cofound.it Playoffs
All Cofound.it community members get to play a vital part in the event planning.
Starting today, Cofound.it platform users can vote for the teams to appear on the Cofound.it Playoffs roster. By logging in with your existing account or creating a new account, you can rate your interest for each of the candidate projects. (This rating will be private to you.) We will collate all the data to measure interest in each of the projects. When doing the calculations, votes by Priority Pass™ members will of course have more weight.
The full list of seed teams selected to participate at the Cofound.it Playoffs event will be announced on November 15. These four to six teams will share the stage with previous Cofound.it teams and Priority Pass™ community members. On the day of the event, Cofound.it Priority Pass™ members will be able to support their favorite teams in their respective seed pre-sales. These initial funds raised (typically in the range of $200k to $1M) allows teams to quickly validate their business idea, raise enough funds to complete the team, and work on their product in preparation for a later, full crowdsale.
Special Perks for Priority Pass™ Members
Because participating in Seed pre-sale rounds carry more risk than full ICOs, there will be significant bonuses for Priority Pass™ members who participate in the Seed crowdsales. More details about the benefits to supporting Seed pre-sales will be announced this week.
We are also looking for a few super-dedicated Priority Pass™ members to attend the event. Check the #playoffs channel on our Priority Pass™ Slack for more info on how to apply for one of these coveted invites. Application deadline is Friday November 10, at 10 AM CET.
Ready to party?
Tickets to the event will be made available exclusively to the Priority Pass™ community starting on November 15. And if you can’t make it to Slovenia, don’t worry, we are going to be livestreaming the event, so you can watch the excitement no matter where you are!
To learn more about the event and support your favorite Seed candidates, visit the event website: https://cofound.it/playoffsTragic drugs death: Top Belfast DJ dies in'speckled Rolex' party drugs horror BelfastTelegraph.co.uk This is the west Belfast DJ and record producer who lost his life to deadly ‘speckled Rolex’ ecstasy pills. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/tragic-drugs-death-top-belfast-dj-dies-in-speckled-rolex-party-drugs-horror-29873639.html https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/incoming/article29873574.ece/f3675/AUTOCROP/h342/d%20Mulholl.jpg
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This is the west Belfast DJ and record producer who lost his life to deadly ‘speckled Rolex’ ecstasy pills.
Gerard Mulholland, a well-known figure on the Northern Ireland club scene, died after taking the killer yellow drug during a marathon two-day house party.
There were unconfirmed reports on Twitter last night that in a separate incident, another young man from Ardoyne in north Belfast had also died after taking similar pills.
Gerard — known to pals as Mul — hosted the party which began on Boxing Day at his flat in Twinbrook where friends also took the lethal £2 pills which cause the body to overheat.
Paramedics desperately tried to save the 42-year-old’s life pm Friday night but he died at the scene.
Four other men at the same house party were given emergency treatment before being hospitalised. They continue to receive treatment.
Shocked neighbours gathered as the ill party-goers received medical treatment.
Local Sinn Fein councillor Bill Groves, who arrived at the tragicscene in Thornhill Court, said it was chaotic and distressing.
“There was some confusion, the three ambulances arrived and then the police.
“Then people started to come over and have a look, they were just worried and concerned because this is a close community where everybody knows everybody.”
Mr Mulholland’s tragic death sparked police to issue a stark warning about highly toxic death pills.
They have urged anyone who might have the drugs to safely dispose of them immediately.
It is thought the pills taken on Friday night were yellow and stamped with a Rolex logo, but they also come in green and other colours.
The pills get their name because of a crown logo stamped on them similar to that of the luxury watchmaker.
Neighbours say ‘Mul’ lived alone and kept three Doberman dogs.
The DJ’s sudden death has seen an outpouring of grief on Facebook from the clubbing community.
They describe him as a godfather of the nightclub scene in Northern Ireland who was always offering support and encouragement to young up and coming DJs.
Mr Mulholland played regularly in nightclubs across Northern Ireland and was part of the underground sessions team who DJ on global internet radio.
Earlier this year, he started his own record label called Dark Energy Records.
One grieving pal said he was a “genuinely lovely person who had time for everyone”, adding that he would “never be forgotten”.
Another posted: “You had such a passion for music which a lot of DJs are missing these days, always in a good mood and cracking jokes.”
One friend said the death was “a nightmare” he could not wake up from.
“Gerard was a true gentleman. Sleep well, the word is a little less shiny without you in it.
“I can’t believe you’re gone, you were one of the most nicest people you could ever meet.
“You always had time for everyone, such a kind man.”
Earlier this year, eight deaths here — seven in Belfast and one in Coleraine — were linked to the toxic ‘green Rolex’ pill.
Following those deaths, Detective Chief Superintendent Roy McComb, head of the PSNI’s Organised Crime Branch warned that taking any drug was playing “chemical Russian roulette” with your life.
He said police were concerned that pills laced with bulking agent PMMA, which causes the body to overheat, were circulating in Northern Ireland.
Yesterday, SDLP councillor Brian Heading said he is now making himself available to dispose of any ‘speckled Rolex’ pills in a bid to get the drugs off the streets.
“This tragic loss of life will be a devastating blow to his family and friends, particularly at this time off the year,” he said.
“It is clear that whoever may be supplying this drug has no regard whatsoever for human life.
“But we need to get the message out there that there is no such thing as a recreational drug.”
He urged anyone with speckled Rolex pills to hand them to him, local community workers or clergy so they could be passed on to police to be destroyed.
Sinn Fein councillor Charlene O’Hara, who lives nearby, said: “Our appeal at the minute is to get people to stop taking these drugs, to think about it, and either pass them on to be destroyed or destroy them themselves.
“Don’t leave them lying around, don’t be tempted to take them.
“There has been one life lost and four other people are still in hospital.”
Belfast Telegraph Digital"We need to become agitators," says Norman Solomon, Marin County activist and co-creator of the Green New Deal for the North Bay.
"It's the agitator that gets the dirt out in the washing machine," he explains, borrowing an analogy from Jim Hightower. Solomon sees the wash cycle as a good behavior model for those of us who avoid political activism in favor of safe and lazy pondering over how much trouble the world is in right now. It's such a hassle to get involved with strangers and go to meetings. Can't we just whine to our friends about corporate greed and corruption in the comfort of our own homes?
We can, at high cost.
"So much is at stake for future generations and for the planet," declares Solomon, "that we need to be willing to organize as if our lives and the lives of those close to us depended on it." For Solomon, this means that as individuals and as communities we need to get more serious about our involvement with one another and with things we care about. "Getting involved is essential," says Solomon. "There's that saying, 'I'm not into politics.' I say, 'But politics is into you.' When you turn on the tap for a drink of water, that's politics."
For those who turn off like a faucet at the mention of political activism, Solomon's approach may inspire willingness to open up and flow. The secret seems to be finding out how "agitating" looks for each individual. (I can just hear Garrison Keillor asking, "What are the shy folks supposed to do?") Agitating can be direct or it can be as uncomplicated as pursuing something we love with greater gusto than we ever have before.
"One simple step," Solomon explains, "is to learn and to agitate." This means choosing something close to your heart, learning everything you possibly can about it and then becoming a source of information for others, the go-to font of knowledge in your neighborhood or community.
"People get afraid that they will have to do something they don't want to do. Everyone is different, and it's important that everybody engage at their level of passion and interest and capacity."
Can political involvement be something more uplifting than a dose of corporate-sponsored news each night? "People look at the news and are depressed, but activists tend to be less depressed," Solomon says. "There's something so enlivening that happens when you share your thoughts and feelings and ideas with others—people inspiring because of who they are."
A critical byproduct of all this social agitation is a changed relationship with power. "'Power' is a word that causes a lot of ambivalence," says Solomon. "For progressives, we need power to shape the future instead of just having it created for us. I know we will not like it if it is created by the most powerful forces that exist right now."
Referencing what one beloved agitator, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., called the paralysis of analysis, Solomon says we need to stop pondering and get out and do something, and as a consequence, we "get to find out what we are capable of." He believes that sinking roots more deeply into the communities where we live is part of a broad social movement that can take on corporate power. "These roots already exist," says Solomon. And because these roots feed the community in various ways, as we learn to become agitators, we allow ourselves to be more extensively nurtured by roots that already exist.
"Everyone cares about something," Solomon says. "Learn about it and agitate about it. If you care about it and you want things to get better, then you get with your friends and your neighbors, and together you say we can get this done, yes we can turn this around. Si, se puede. There are reasons to be engaged, because it's about the future. It's a cliché, but it's true, that if the people will lead, the leaders will follow."
Find Norman Solomon at www.greennewdeal.info.A new report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has found that the massive investment in grants and student loans by the federal government is a major contributor to the unbridled growth in the cost of attending college.
College tuition rates have consistently risen faster than inflation for some 25 years. One theory for the rise, dubbed the “Bennett hypothesis,” was put forward by Ronald Reagan secretary of education William Bennett, who argued that hikes in government student aid simply gave colleges a free pass to hike tuition.
Now, the New York Fed’s research suggests there’s some merit to the idea, and that it means the government could be spending billions on education to no effect.
“While one would expect a student aid expansion to benefit recipients, the subsidized loan expansion could have been to their detriment, on net, because of the sizable and offsetting tuition effect,” the paper concludes.
On average, the report finds, each additional dollar in government financial aid translated to a tuition hike of about 65 cents. That indicates that the biggest direct beneficiaries of federal aid are schools, rather than the students hoping to attend them.
The numbers were not quite as grim for Pell Grants, where 55 cents of each additional dollar turned into higher tuition, but it was even worse for subsidized student loans (the most common type of aid), where every dollar loaned translates to a 70-cent tuition hike.
The report reached its conclusion by comparing tuition levels at different schools and determining the percentage of students at each who were able to make use of Pell Grants and more-available student loans. The evidence showed that schools where students could access more aid were also able to impose higher tuition levels, with the effect strongest at expensive private schools that are reasonably selective but not among the most elite schools in the country |
deeper.
Even the possible consequences discussed thus far are best-guess speculations based on a not-yet-seen peak from our infatuation with social media over the past decade or so. Rather than force her to retroactively clean up her digital life in the future, I want my daughter to make a conscious, informed decision about what she shares about herself with the world. I'll save the baby photos, embarrassing stories, and updates for those with whom our family is very close, and I'll email her the photos, stories, and praise for her to look at once she's old enough for me to give her the keys to her digital life. Until then - until she can decide - my wife and I have vowed to do everything we reasonably can to give her a clean slate while still feeling loved and cherished.
--
PS: I know this is going to be difficult, especially living so far away from family! I may periodically update people about how this is going, and I invite any thoughts, comments, or criticisms. I also invite any other parent who wants to do this together to contact us somehow. It's going to be difficult, but we do feel that this is one thing we can do for our children.Share
Published in Esquire's May 2010 "Women: The Issue" on sale very soon
1. What is your annual salary?
Less than $30,000 47%
$30,001 to $50,000 27%
$50,001 to $75,000 15%
$75,001 to $100,000 6%
More than $100,000 5%
2. How does your income compare with that of your husband/boyfriend/partner? (Percentages shown reflect respondents in relationships only.)
More 29%
Less 47%
Same 24%
3. Are you:
Overpaid 2%
Underpaid 54%
Appropriately paid 44%
4. Have you had or would you have plastic surgery?
Yes 31%
No 69%
6. Do you pray?
Yes 45%
No 55%
7. Do you know how to change the oil in a car?
Yes 35%
No 65%
8. Have you ever been to a strip club?
Yes 42%
No 58%
9. Do you support gay marriage?
Yes 89%
No 11%
Click Here for Funny Jokes from 61 Beautiful Women >>
10. Do you believe in evolution?
Yes 89%
No 11%
11. How many alcoholic drinks do you have in a week?
None 20%
1 to 2 32%
3 to 5 30%
6 or more 18%
12. When do you think abortion should be permitted?
Never 4%
Only in cases of rape or incest, or a threat to the life and health of the mother. 12%
A woman should be free to make her own decisions. 84%
13. Can you parallel park?
Yes 84%
No 16%
14. How many times a week do you work out?
None 23%
1 to 2 32%
3 to 5 40%
6 or more 5%
15. Charlie Weis is:
A recently deceased jazz musician. 7%
A starting forward for the Cleveland Cavaliers. 10%
The head of Citibank. 12%
The recently fired football coach of Notre Dame. 71%
75 Things Men Don't Know About Women >>
16. Do you practice safe sex?
Sarah Illenberger
17. The best-looking man in America is:
Johnny Depp 29%
George Clooney 28%
Jon Hamm 21%
Brad Pitt 12%
Robert Pattinson 4%
Barack Obama 3%
Zac Efron 3%
18. The best-looking woman in America is:
Visual evidence of why Christina Hendricks gets so much support >>
19. Who is the most admirable woman in America?
75 Things Men Don't Know About Women >>
Hillary Clinton 29%
Michelle Obama 19%
Ellen DeGeneres 16%
Oprah Winfrey 12%
Sarah Palin 3%
Other 21%
20. Who is the most admirable man in America?
Barack Obama 50%
Bill Gates 21%
George Clooney 7%
Mitt Romney 2%
Other 20%
21. How much did you spend on your last haircut?
Less than $25 30%
$26 to $50 34%
$51 to $100 26%
$101 to $200 8%
More than $200 1%
22. How much credit-card debt do you carry each month?
55% $0
23% $1 to $1,000
10% $1,001 to $3,000
5% $3,001 to $6,000
7% $6,001 or more
24. Who would be the strongest Republican presidential candidate in 2012?
Who Are the 75 Best People in the World? >>
Mitt Romney 50%
Tim Pawlenty 16%
Stephen Baldwin 15%
Sarah Palin 11%
Newt Gingrich 8%
25. Are you more likely to vote for a candidate simply because she's a woman?
Yes 10%
No 90%
26. Compared with your opinion of him when he was elected, your opinion of President Obama is:
Higher 6%
Lower 30%
Unchanged 64%
27. If you are/were a lesbian, which of these women would you most want to sleep with?
28. Have you ever had an affair?
Yes 24%
No 76%
29. If you knew you wouldn't be caught, would you cheat?
Yes 16%
No 84%
30. Have you ever been cheated on?
Yes 49%
No 51%
31. How do you feel about giving oral sex?
Sarah Illenberger
32. How do you feel about receiving oral sex?
I don't like it. 10%
It's nice every once in a while. 44%
It's a necessary part of foreplay. 35%
I'd rather have that than intercourse. 10%
33. How does your attractiveness compare with that of your husband/boyfriend/partner? (Percentages shown reflect respondents in relationships only.)
More attractive. 35%
Less attractive. 6%
As attractive. 59%
Who Are the 75 Best People in the World? >>
34. What's the first thing you look at when you see a man?
His hair 14%
His clothes 15%
His shoes 2%
His eyes 49%
His Body 17%
His girlfriend 4%
35. If you were Elin Woods, would you stay with Tiger?
Yes 11%
No 89%
36. True or false: It's okay for a woman to use her sexuality to get ahead in the workplace.
True 29%
False 71%
37. True or false: It's okay for a woman to use her sexuality to get a table at a restaurant.
True 65%
False 35%
38. Do you want sex more often, less often, or as often as your husband/boyfriend/partner?
More often 34%
Less often 22%
As often 44%
40. How often do you masturbate?
Never 14%
1 to 2 times a month 30%
1 to 2 times a week 41%
Once a day 14%
41. Which of the following do you expect a man to do? (Mark all that apply.)
Open the door for you. 72%
Help you with your chair. 23%
Help you put on your jacket. 33%
Get the check. 42%
Stand up when you leave the table. 10%
Click Here for Funny Jokes from 62 Beautiful Women >>
42. What type of gift do you most like to receive?
Lingerie 2%
Jewelry 11%
A trip 81%
An Xbox 5%
43. Are you satisfied with the size of your breasts?
Sarah Illenberger
44. As a gender, are men funnier than women?
Yes 35%
No 65%
45. Should a man wear cologne?
Yes 58%
No 42%
46. In terms of facial hair, which do you prefer?
Clean shaven 47%
Stubble 45%
Full beard 8%
47. Do you feel comfortable naked?
Yes 75%
No 25%
48. With the lights on?
Yes 69%
No 31%
49. On average, how many dates do you go on before you offer to pay for dinner?
I offer on the first date. 51%
2 to 3 dates 32%
4 to 6 dates 7%
More than 6 dates 2%
A man should always pay for me. 7%
50. On average, how many dates do you go on before you have sex?
I offer on the first date. 6%
2 to 3 dates 36%
4 to 5 dates 28%
6 to 10 dates 21%
As many as it takes to get married. 9%
The Survey of the American Woman was taken by 9,617 women on Esquire.com (and other Web sites) between February 4 and March 3, 2010. Since the pool of respondents was limited to Internet-connected adults, the results do not reflect a scientifically random sample of the population. But it's still fun.
Because of rounding, not all percentages add up to 100.Advertisement Nikko Jenkins: 'I will not plead guilty to charges' Accused killer writes KETV NewsWatch 7 second letter Share Shares Copy Link Copy
In a second letter to KETV NewsWatch 7, accused killer Nikko Jenkins now says he will not plead guilty to the charges he faces.This development comes after the case against the 27-year-old raised questions about the lack of mental health treatment he received while serving prison time for robbery and assault.Jenkins, who was released from prison in late July -- days before police allege he carried out four Omaha killings -- claimed he was following orders from Egyptian demons.Jenkins now faces multiple charges, including four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Jorge Cajiga-Ruiz, Juan Uribe-Pena, Curtis Bradford and Andrea Kruger.In letters he wrote in November to Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine, District Judge Peter Bataillon and the Omaha World-Herald, Jenkins had said he wished to plead guilty to the charges and spare the families the pain of a trial.This week, however, KETV NewsWatch 7 received two letters from Jenkins that indicate he's changed his mind. In one dated Jan. 12, Jenkins said he will not plead guilty to charges he faces because he is suffering from a severe psychosis condition of schizophrenia.-- PDF: Read the second letter to KETV“Because of this mental disability, I am chemically imbalanced,” he wrote. "These state officials and prison officials possessed complete and full knowledge of the dangerous person of mental illness Nikko Allen Jenkins, yet they failed to preserve and protect human life."In a letter dated Jan. 10, Jenkins said the state of Nebraska should be liable for facial injuries he inflicted on himself.According to his interpretation of state law, Jenkins said since he was mentally ill, the state is responsible for any injury he suffered while in custody, including the self-mutilation facial carving Jenkins carried out on at least two occasions. In the letter, Jenkins also repeats his contention that the state ignored his mental illness and denied him proper treatment while he was in prison.A hearing is set for next month to determine whether Jenkins is competent to stand trial.On International Women’s Day we celebrate our solidarity with women around the world — women who are engaged in many different struggles. And we show our determination to continue working to meet the challenges we face at home.
Gender equality has not yet been achieved in the workplaces of the western world. Research institutions have a special responsibility to contribute to progress. Knowledge gives insight as we identify the challenges that remain; our job is to deliver that knowledge.
How will we know that gender equality has been achieved? One hallmark of true gender equality is that the sex of an employee does not affect processes such as hiring, evaluation, setting salaries, and other processes in the workplace.
Have we already achieved gender equality by this definition? Not by any means!
In honor of International Women’s Day, here are a few morsels from the research literature that support my claim that we’re not yet where we want to be.
In Sweden, researchers studied a selection of post-doc applications and determined that women must have 2.5 times as many publications as a man to be considered equally well-qualified.
A project in Spain examined the profiles of men and women who applied for promotion to the rank of full professor. They concluded that the chances for a man to be promoted were 2.5 times the chances of an equally well qualified woman.
When around 250 professors at research universities in the United States were asked to evaluate the resumé of a fictitious job applicant, some of them received the CV of hypothetical applicant John while others received the otherwise identical application of hypothetical applicant Jennifer. John received job offers more often than Jennifer and those offers had a higher salary — and this was from both male and female professors.
One research project reviewing evaluations of employees showed that evaluations based on numerical scores were consistently higher for men than for women, but that evaluations based on prose descriptions did not distinguish groupwise between the sexes..
In a simulation asking employers to hire someone to do a job that required skills in mathematics, 90% of erroneous hires — i.e., hiring a less qualified person over a more qualified person — consisted of hiring a less qualified man over a more qualified woman.
In an online course taught by one man and one woman, students were asked to evaluate the teachers at the end of the course. The students had never actually seen the teachers. When one cohort gave the man better reviews than the woman, the teachers switched their names with another cohort. The result was that the man — now being presented to the students as a woman — got worse evaluations while the woman — now presented as a man — got better ones.
It seems as though we are incapable of ignoring the sex of the person we are evaluating — and this is equally true of evaluations carried out by women as it is of those carried out by men.
It’s important to know where we’re at and research institutions have a responsibility to communicate knowledge about the status quo to society at large. The researchers who have carried out the studies I’ve mentioned have done just that.
The next question is why things are like this and what we can do about it. Here, too, there is research on which we can build our policy decisions. The second question in particular — what can we do? — defines the work of Norway’s Committee for Gender Balance and Diversity in Research, which I lead. Our mandate identifies the following goals.
The Committee shall support and give recommendations regarding measures that promote the integration of gender balance and diversity activities at universities, university colleges and research institutes, thus helping to increase diversity among the staff and in research. The Committee shall seek to raise the overall level of awareness regarding problems related to diversity and inclusion in the research system.
One way in which we do this is through our website. We convey knowledge about measures that can contribute to better gender equality. This includes argumentation regarding the benefits of gender equality and an overview of the relevant legislation.
You can download Talent at stake: changing the culture of research — gender-sensitive leadership and much more. I hope you’ll find time to surf your way to kifinfoeng.no — I think you’ll be both surprised and satisfied.
We have the research. Now we need to act!
This essay was originally published in Norwegian, as Kvinner og kunnskap, in Khrono, the online newspaper of the Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences.
It has also been published at Huffington Post.Israel's embassy in Dublin tweeted this week a photograph of the Mona Lisa wearing a hijab and holding a rocket, with the words "Israel now, Paris later" – a reference to the terrorist attacks in the French capital.
The tweet – which has since been deleted - said "Don't say we didn't warn you."
This is not the first gaffe to have come out of the Israeli embassy in
Ireland. In August 2013, the embassy suggested in a Facebook and Twitter post that Adolf Hitler would be happy with the United Nations, which it described as “a tool against Israel.”
In December 2012, ahead of the Christmas holiday, the embassy posted an image of the Virgin Mary on its Facebook page, accompanied by the caption: "Athought for Christmas... If Jesus and mother Mary were alive today, they would, as Jews without security, probably end up being lynched in Bethlehem by hostile Palestinians. Just a thought...."Written by Shaun Waterman
Weeks before the WannaCry ransomware spread like wildfire through unpatched Windows systems, a more sophisticated, stealthier attacker used the same NSA-engineered cyberweapon to infiltrate the IT networks of companies across the world, including at least one publicly traded in the U.S., according to new research.
So stealthy was the fileless, in-memory attack, which hides itself inside the activity of a legitimate application, that it evaded five different security products running on the infected system, Gil Barak, CTO of Israeli cybersecurity firm Secdo told CyberScoop. Those products included so-called “next generation” filters that don’t rely on known signatures, he said.
“Not only did they not stop the attack, they couldn’t even see it,” he said. Attackers using the technique “can pretty much do what they want, unnoticed — and then vanish.”
Barak wrote a blog post on the attack and appeared with noted security researcher Jake Williams on a webcast this week where the two discussed the technique, which is not completely novel but has been previously deployed only by attackers with a nation-state level of sophistication. Researchers saw WannaCry, by comparison, as amateurish.
“These were sophisticated attackers,” Barak told CyberScoop, “much more sophisticated than [those that wrote WannaCry] but not necessarily at a nation-state level.”
He said the attacks had begun in April, shortly after the anonymous group the Shadow Brokers dumped the exploit toolset online, complete with source code which can be cut-and-pasted to make your own cyberweapon.
Barak wouldn’t comment on the victim enterprises other than saying one was a publicly traded U.S. company. Williams told CyberScoop that because the attack was “really, really stealthy … No one is catching them … [and] the sample size of demonstrable attacks is very small.”
Williams’ company, Rendition Infosec, has a honeypot on the internet looking for large-scale or automated attacks using the NSA-built DoublePulsar and EternalBlue exploits.
“We haven’t seen the attacks that Secdo [customers] are seeing [in our honeypot], but to be honest, we weren’t instrumented for it. No one is. Unless you have their tool or the [indicators of compromise they are now providing] you are not going to catch it,” Williams said, adding that his honeypot was also “not very convincing. … Any attacker who looks at it for more than a minute or two is going to realize it’s not real.”
More than fileless
Conventional malware is loaded onto an infected computer in the same way any other software application is — a Windows program called an executable, with a.exe file extension, is downloaded over the internet and installed on the hard drive. By contrast, fileless or in-memory attacks inject their malicious code directly into the computer’s working memory. But even that leaves traces at the process level which can be discovered using conventional forensic tools, Barak said.
“This is different [from previously observed fileless or in-memory attacks], They’re not using scripts or applications, the thread [doing the hackers’ work] is hidden inside a legitimate process … run by a regular application.” A thread is the smallest and simplest sequence of programming commands managed by the computer’s microprocessor.
After compromising a system using the NSA tools, the attackers disguise their activity as a thread in lsass.exe, the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service — a process that enforces Windows security policy.
Then they start stealing credentials — usernames, passwords and encryption keys. The stolen data is exfiltrated using the Tor network, said Barak, which encrypts all its traffic and then bounces it around at random among hundreds of volunteer-maintained nodes — making it impossible to track.
“We don’t know where they took the data,” he said, but added, “The attack originated from a Russian IP address,” meaning someone accessing the internet via a device located in Russia.
The credential theft “is the really dangerous part” of the attack, said Williams. “DoublePulsar can’t survive a reboot,” and most enterprises will soon patch the vulnerability that DoublePulsar and EternalBlue exploit if they haven’t already, “but with those credentials, you can come back anytime [masquerading] as a legitimate user.”
Because the attack leaves no traces that can be detected by conventional security programs, Williams adds, compromised companies won’t even realize they’ve been compromised — and won’t force employees to change their passwords or get new encryption keys.
Financially motivated?
In at least one case, after exfiltrating the credentials, the attackers then used a fileless version of a ransomware program called Cry128 to encrypt files on the compromised machine.
That seems to be evidence that the attackers were financially motivated, but with so few samples, it’s hard to tell. “Obviously, ransomware is asking for money,” said Barak, “But it’s hard to tell this early. Was it a targeted attack or opportunistic… We don’t know at this stage.”
“My gut says it’s nation-state,” said Williams, “most criminals don’t need to operate so stealthily,” but he acknowledged that there was very little data to go on so far.
As researchers get more data, they will know more about the attackers, he said.
Also unknown: How widespread the attacks were and whether they’re still ongoing.
Williams’ internet scanning found a number of machines compromised with DoublePulsar that varied from 25,000 some days to as many as 150,000 at other times. “What we don’t know is how many of those machines [having been compromised] were then attacked” in this way. “We don’t know what the attackers did after they compromised the machines,” because that’s not possible to discern from a simple internet scan, Williams said.
He added that even the in-memory thread-emulation attacks detected by Secdo left some indicators behind and that the scale of the attack would soon become clearer. “As time goes by and when we get access to a system that was infected, we’ll be able to tell more,” he said.Sunderland must pay for Alvarez
By Football Italia staff
Sunderland must pay Inter €10.5m for Ricky Alvarez after the final appeal over the 2015 controversy ruled in the Nerazzurri’s favour.
The Black Cats signed Alvarez on loan with option to buy in the summer of 2014 and, as part of the contract, they’d have to buy him outright if they stayed in the Premier League.
Sunderland protested at this decision, claiming that because he was injured for most of that season, they could not be expected to buy him outright.
He did eventually make 17 appearances for the club in all competition, scoring one goal.
The legal battle has been dragging on for years through various courts and seems to have finally reached a conclusion.
The TAS court in Lausanne has ruled in Inter’s favour, meaning Sunderland must pay up the full €10.5m sum.It’s not surprising that the latest edition of Mark Twain’s paired classics, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn,” will remove all traces of nigger and Injun from its pages when our leaders confuse books with bars, Charles Dickens’ words with Leo Tolstoy’s, and omit slavery from Confederate History Month. Our leaders obviously aren’t reading. So why should we care about an old book like Twain’s? Here are 10 reasons.
1. It’s Mark Twain. You know, the guy who said, “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” If he had wanted other words used, he would’ve used them.
2. Tampering with literature even if it’s not Mark Twain’s. It’s a simple case of censorship and it’s a bad idea. What’s next? Perhaps we will remove references to the Moors from Shakespeare. Wait — Thomas Bowdler is halfway there. He edited Shakespeare’s profanity and sexual content in the interests of younger readers.
3. Erasing racial epithets doesn’t erase race or racism. Actually, not talking about the “hurtful epithets” perpetuates racism because we’re never allowed to make corrections. The desire to be less racist doesn’t give us the right to erase someone’s words. Being less racist would mean that we’d be able to face those words and recognize their repugnance as a sign of how much we’re evolving.
4. It eliminates teachable moments. We’re teaching our children that no one should talk about race, not even dead or fictional people. We’re doing this because we adults don’t know how to talk about race. It’s like saying, “I don’t really know how to explain this … so forget it.” It’s a good thing that people like Isaac Newton, Copernicus or Thomas Edison didn’t give up so easily.
5. Freedom of choice. If you find this book offensive, don’t buy it or read it. There are plenty of books that none of us have an interest in reading for one reason or another. We don’t rewrite them. We simply choose not to read them. We don’t let others make that choice for us.
6. There were other options. Alan Gribben, the book’s editor, could’ve rewritten the story from a different perspective or context, like Gregory Maguire wrote “Wicked.” He could’ve rewritten “Huckleberry Finn” from Jim’s point of view to explain why these two terms are offensive. Or, he could’ve written a foreword that struggles truthfully with race, racism and the questionable terms in the book.
7. You can’t fight censorship with censorship. Twain’s critics said that they didn’t want their children exposed to hateful speech, so the book was banned in some places. Now Gribben is censoring Twain’s words in order to fight that censorship. His goal of “introducing Twain’s work to new readers” implies that his freedom of speech gives him the right to do so. But Gribben has conveniently plowed over Twain’s freedom of speech in the process. After all, Twain isn’t here to comment.
8. We’re not talking about the words that will replace nigger and Injun. While this could be an effective marketing ploy, the publishers should be as open about what they’ve added to the book as they are about what they’ve deleted. Fairness suggests that potential buyers and readers of the book should know how Gribben decided what the “less offensive words” would be.
9. Offensive terms are being invented and popularized right now. Why pick on historically offensive terms when offensive “buzzwords” are being invented today by living people? This week MSN’s “Business on Main” featured “10 Buzzwords You Need to Know.” No. 2 on the list was Jennifer Lopez. Usage: “I wouldn’t mind seeing a little more Jennifer Lopez (highly desirable rounding bottom of a stock’s price on its way up) on the NASDAQ.” The use of Lopez’s name in this context is definitely problematic, yet readers are told they must know about and even use it.
10. It’s coming from the “New South.” Actually, NewSouth is the name of the publisher. But some research I’m conducting reveals that there is a quiet movement called the New South that is about rewriting history, reviving the Confederacy and erasing the historical fact of slavery’s existence. Though the publisher does not appear to be connected to this New South movement, and doesn’t appear to have racist intent, it’s hard to ignore a shared revisionist impulse.This excerpt is adapted from the expository guide Romans 8–16 For You, edited from the study by Tim Keller and published by The Good Book Company. It originally appeared on The Good Book Company blog.
The doctrine of election—that those who freely come to God are those whom God has freely chosen—is easy to understand, and clearly taught in God’s Word, but it is not easy to accept. It has given thoughtful believers problems for centuries, and continues to do so today.
Here are three of the most common questions the doctrine of election raises:
1. If you believe in election, doesn’t that leave you with the problem of why God doesn’t choose to save everyone?
Yes, but the same is true for Christians who don’t believe in election. Election doesn’t create the problem, it only leads us to think about it. To deny the doctrine of election does not help you escape the issue. All Christians have this problem, and so we cannot object to election by appealing to it. A person who doesn’t believe in election faces this dilemma:
(a) God wants everybody saved.
(b) God could save everyone.
(c) God does not.
The question, though, still remains: Why not? That is the ultimate mystery, but abandoning the doctrine of election does not answer it.
Someone says: “But I believe that though God doesn’t want us to be lost, some are lost because they choose wrongly and God will not violate their freedom of choice.” But why is freedom of choice sacrosanct? I try to honor my child’s freedom of will, but not if I see he is about to be killed by it! Why can’t God “insult” our freedom of will for a moment and save us for eternity?
Regardless of whether you think we are saved by our choice or by God’s, you still face the same question: Why wouldn’t God save us all if he has the power and desire to do so? Again, it is a hard question, but it cannot be used as an argument against the doctrine of election.
We can go further. Suppose election is not true. Suppose that eons ago God set up salvation on this system: Every person will have an equal ability to accept or reject Christ, who will die and be raised and be presented through the gospel message. The moment God determined to set up salvation on that system, he would’ve immediately known exactly which persons would be saved and which would be condemned on that basis. So the minute he “set it up,” he would be de facto electing some and passing over others. We come out to the same place. God could save all, but he doesn’t.
So why doesn’t he? We can only know two things. First, the answer must have something to do with his perfect nature. He is perfectly loving and perfectly righteous, and neither can be preferred over the other or he wouldn’t be God. Somehow the answer has to do with his being consistent with himself. Second, we cannot see the whole picture. Why? If we can conceive of a more merciful system of salvation than God has, we must not see it rightly, for God is more merciful than we can ever imagine. Indeed, when we finally see the whole plan and answer, we will not be able to find fault with it.
2. But if everything is fixed and certain, why pray, evangelize, or do anything at all?
This objection is short-sighted. First, if everything was not planned by a holy and loving God, we’d be absolutely terrified by the prospect of even getting up in the morning. Our actions (always done with very little understanding) could have horrible consequences. Everything would depend on us! If everything was not planned by a holy and loving God, there’d be enormous pressure on Christians when we evangelize. We would know our inarticulateness could result in a person missing his or her one “chance” for salvation. It would be a horrible prospect.
Second, we evangelize and pray because of the privilege of sharing in God’s work with him. For example, a father might be able to chop wood for the stove himself, but he asks his children to learn to chop the wood and stoke the fire as well. What if the children say, “We have no incentive to chop the wood. We know that if we don’t cut it, our father will do it anyway—he won’t let us freeze!” But the father would respond, “Of course I could do it myself, but I want you to share the work with me.” The authority and the privilege of working with our heavenly Father is surely plenty of incentive. He wants to work with us and for us.
Also, we are not supposed to second-guess God. We are never to try to guess who is “elect”—ever! God calls all to repentance and so should we. In fact, the doctrine of election should give us far more hope about working with people. Why? Because no one is a hopeless case! From a human point of view, many look totally hard and lost, but since salvation is by God’s election, we should treat everyone and anyone with hope, since God calls the dead to life through us.
Therefore, God’s absolute sovereignty is a motivation to evangelize, not a discouragement. In Acts 18, Paul is in Corinth and the gospel has been rejected by the Jews there. How does God encourage Paul not to be afraid, to “keep on speaking and not be silent” (v. 9)? “I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city” (v. 10). God assures Paul of his presence, his protection, and his election. And Paul responds by staying “for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God” (v. 11). The point is this: the next person you pray for and/or share the gospel with may be one of God’s elect, and you may be part of the way God has ordained to bring them to faith.
3. I believe the Bible and I see all the teaching about election, but why do I still dislike it?
My theory is that the biblical gospel is so supernatural that it always combines qualities that by natural reason and culture we cannot keep together. The doctrine of justification is one way of looking at the gospel. It combines both law and love in ways no one could have thought up. We are saved apart from the law so that now we can obey the law. All other philosophies are either law-ism (legalistic) or law-less (antinomian). Now, the doctrine of election is just the gospel viewed from another perspective. It combines the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of human beings. Here, too, we find that human cultures and philosophies cannot combine these things.
Whoever you are, you come from a culture that has saturated you in some view that’s so unbalanced that you will see the doctrine of election as something more simple and extreme than it really is. Eastern philosophies and religions have always been more fatalistic. They believe individual autonomy to be an illusion. When people from that background come to the gospel, they may see it as “just individualism.” On the other hand, Western secularism believes strongly in the right and power of individuals to determine their own course and destiny. When people from that background come to the gospel, they see it as “just fatalism.”
No matter which “side” we come from and no matter our culture or temperament, then, we must make an effort to discern the carefully nuanced balances of the gospel of free election and justification. We must remember the prejudices we bring with us to the Scriptures. And we must be willing to learn to balance out our own views.Stephen Miller said on “Fox & Friends” Monday morning that Sen. Elizabeth Warren “is entitled to her own opinion, but not her own Constitution.”
WATCH:
“The reality is the Constitution of the United States very clearly gives the executive control over immigration authority and gives the government control over who can come enter the United States,” Trump’s senior policy advisor stated.
“More fundamentally, no person — anywhere in the world, outside of the United States who is not a citizen of this country — has a constitutional right to enter the United States.”
“Think about this,” he told host Steve Doocy. “If you were to establish the rights that Sen. Warren has suggested that any one of the 7 billion people in the world who was denied a visa for any reason could sue the citizens of this country and demand payment and relief for denied benefits — that would be insane.”
Follow Datoc on Twitter and FacebookHi,my dear friend in Da,im back,now im in beijing and preparing my collection art book and exhibition in China.i hope you're all well,this is my recent work in Beijing.How to capture a dragon. If you want to capture a dragon, one of the spirits of the nature, you will need all kinds of apotheosized props. Inside the "Fulongshen" (means string which is used for capturing dragon) that in the hand of three hunters there is an energy ball. The ball is refined from eyes of black dragon and black steel. When the soul chain of the Fulongshen attaches the dragons horn, the energy ball will imbibe the nerve cell energy from the dragons brain. The dragon will paralysis immediately and cannot move at the moment. Later, if you inject essence that extracted from "Fulongcao" (a kind of grass, means grass which can capture the dragon) into the horn of the dragon, and set its nerve cell energy back to the dragon, it will move again. But in the moment, you can pull the dragon following you. The injected essence is controlled by the "Fulongshen". Once the dragon tries to revolt, it will feel strong hurt in its brain.In order to make the graphics looks in reason, we need to endow the apotheosized props with strong power. For the illustrations with scene, you also need to learn to give them reasonable definition and explanation. The interesting introduction that full of story will make your illustrations attractive. The illustrations with no points which only aim to fight and flaunt skills will become boring soon. The illustrations are just pictures. If you want to tell stories in them, it needs much more skills than drawing pictures. It includes not only conceiving graphics. All the every tiny elements in the illustrations will affect the wonderfulness of the story.I've made a particular tutorial for this one and below is the Chinese version address: [link] A big hug for S crowder who have translated the text of the tutorial from Chinese to english,here is the link.but because i linked the images from the Chinese website.so im not sure the images could display normally.In Photoshop Cs 5,about 14hours work,i hope you guys like this,thanks.Some things just go together perfectly: peanut butter and jelly, macaroni and cheese, Milo Yiannopolous and 4chan … Yes, Breitbart’s own “free speech” advocate is looking to make his position as |
Americans from voting. Holder pledged to oppose "political pretexts" which, he said, "disenfranchise" black voters. [University of Delaware Center for Political Communication, 7/18/12]The New York Yankees were a downtrodden franchise in the late 1960’s and the early part of the 1970’s. On this day in 1973, George Steinbrenner purchased the team, determined to make them winners once again.
The New York Yankees had been a dynasty, the best team of the 1950’s and into the early part of the 1960’s. With stars like Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, and so forth, the Yankees were a force to be reckoned with. However, as the team began to age, and when CBS, who purchased the team in 1964 began to cut costs, the Yankees fell from atop the American League.
Then along came George Steinbrenner, who purchased the Yankees on this day in 1973. Despite his initial claims that he would be a hands-off owner, he quickly injected himself into the team’s plans. In signing Catfish Hunter as a free agent, and later inking the likes of Reggie Jackson, Dave Winfield, Goose Gossage, and Don Gullett, he brought the Yankees back to prominence.
That desire to win at all costs led to some less than stellar signings. Players like Omar Moreno, Ed Whitson, and Roy Smalley, amongst a plethora of others, were brought in without any consideration of how they would fit the team. Steinbrenner would demand that a player be traded for the slightest of gaffes. And if they made a mistake that he considered particularly appalling, they would be out the door almost before the game ended.
Of course, the Steinbrenner Era was not without controversy or, in the early days, chaos. Billy Martin had five stints as the manager, and was even expected to come back a sixth time. Steinbrenner changed managers like people change socks, and almost with the same frequency. Eventually, after staying with Joe Torre, the Yankees got back to their expected place atop the standings.
Then there were the suspensions. He was initially suspended for two years in 1974 for making illegal campaign contributions to Richard Nixon, but an appeal dropped the ban to 15 months. Steinbrenner was suspended a second time in 1990 for associating with gamblers, and Howard Spira in particular, to destroy Winfield’s reputation. He was later reinstated in 1993.
Throughout it all, Steinbrenner changed baseball. He used free agency as a tool to build a team, rather than to supplement the squad. One of the first to give out lavish contracts and to use the Yankees financial situation to his advantage, he changed the playing field in baseball forever. And, who could forget his character on Seinfeld? Makes me want a calzone.
On this day in 1973, the fate of the New York Yankees would change as George Stenbrenner purchased the team for $10 Million. Considering what they became, and their value now, it was quite the wise investment.This article was originally published Sept. 29, 2017 by the University of Chicago’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies and can be accessed here.
Minorities and the Kurdish Referendum
by Alda Benjamen
“We must write a new constitution for the region [Kurdistan Regional Government] that guarantees the rights of all components, and reassures them of their role in writing the constitution for an independent Kurdistan. We need a new national anthem, and changes to the Kurdistani flag so that it includes symbols of the components and is reflective of all.”1
–Masoud Barzani, August 2017
“In addition to the threat which this war has aimed at the existence and legitimate aspirations of our people, both Kurds and Assyrians, it has brought disaster and affliction upon all its victims, deprived the people of Kurdistan, particularly the Assyrians and the Kurds, of education and health [needs], and rendered tens of thousands of them refugees. All these [calamities] have been inflicted upon us only because we have claimed the basic and legitimate human and national rights, to which we, like any other people, are entitled.”2
–Mustafa Barzani, 1967
Faced with reluctance towards and outright rejection of the Kurdish referendum, Masoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), has turned to minorities for support. Under increased pressure and feeling more isolated, Kurdish politicians are resorting to a tactic they abandoned in 2003: negotiating with minorities. The similarities between the two quotations above, half a century apart, are revealing of an earlier period of political maneuvering and cross-communal partnership. Is it too late for negotiations? And have the historic links – cultural, economic, political – connecting the diverse ethno-religious communities in this region become too disrupted?
Though treated as welcome “guests” of the Kurdistan Regional Government, many of these “components,” to use Barzani’s term, are historic communities indigenous to the region. They include ethno-religious and linguistic groups, like the Assyrians, an Aramaic-speaking community belonging to a handful of Syriac Christian denominations; the Yezidis; and the Turkomen. Over the course of the twentieth-century and into the twenty-first, all of these communities have experienced dramatic shifts in their status. With the rise of nationalist and extremist ideologies, several events (Genocide of 1915, Simele Massacre 1933, Anfal Campaign 1988, and most recently ISIS) have precipitated significant declines in their numbers.
Kurdish policymakers and diplomats in the US have attempted to present the KRG as providing a safe haven for minorities that have escaped persecution in the rest of Iraq. This narrative, however, should be challenged on a few grounds.
The Kurds and Assyrians have deep cultural roots across the same region, and members of both communities began migrating to major urban centers in the second half of the twentieth-century in search of better educational and employment opportunities, mainly in the oil and transportation districts (Kirkuk, Baghdad and Basra). Following the civil war in 1961 between the Iraqi state and the Kurds, who were supported by various Assyrian groups and Iraqi leftists, many Assyrian villages were destroyed. The 1975 Algiers Agreement between Iraq and Iran put an end to Iranian support for the Iraqi opposition, and saw the onset of government campaigns against Kurdish and Assyrian villages along the Turkish and Iranian borders that persisted into the 1980s. Hundreds of thousands of Assyrian villagers were displaced, and their crops and cultural sites were destroyed. Most were forcibly removed from their ancestral lands and relocated in central and southern parts of the country. Iraq’s Ba‘ath regime subjected the Kurds and other groups inhabiting the territorial remit of today’s KRG to forced demographic movement – particularly in oil-rich Kirkuk, which was heavily populated by non-Arabs.
Though divided by periods of violence – for example, the Kurds were deployed by the Ottoman state in the 1915 Genocide against Assyrian and Armenian minorities, whose removal they ultimately benefited from economically – the Kurds and Assyrians have shared a similar fate, pursuing common political goals for most of the twentieth century. Both communities historically leaned left, joining parties espousing secular, nonsectarian principles. Kurds and Assyrians subscribed to leftist ideals that supported workers’ and farmers’ rights. Moreover, the pro-Iraqist political stance of leftist parties appealed to Assyrians and Kurds alike, who felt alienated from Arab nationalist and conservative ideologies.
Both economically and culturally marginalized, and under the influence of the powerful Barzani network, Assyrians joined the Kurdish uprising of 1961. Later, in the 1980s, Assyrians participated in the formal Iraqi opposition. In the early 1970s, 3,000 Assyrian men enlisted in the battalion of the Higher Committee for Christian Affairs in the north. In 1982 the Assyrian Democratic Movement – a political party founded by Assyrian students and youth – moved its bases to the north. Eventually, thousands joined its militia, which fought Saddam’s authoritarian regime alongside Kurdish and other Iraqi opposition groups. It is this momentous demonstration of Kurdish-Assyrian unity that Mustafa Barzani, leader of the KDP and father of Masoud Barzani, invokes in his 1967 statement.
Following the first Gulf War, the Kurdistan Regional Government was created in 1991, presiding over the safe haven and no-fly zone established by the United States and protected by coalition forces. Under this political configuration, the region’s identity was ethno-nationally Kurdish, but Kurdish leaders made room for Assyrians in the public sphere and civil society. However, disputes began to emerge when Assyrians, displaced by the Ba‘ath regime, sought to return and rebuild their villages now populated by Kurds. Lawsuits have been filed in Kurdish courts relating to 45 or so villages, with little or no effect, and new violations against other villages continue.
After Saddam Hussein’s Ba‘athist government fell in 2003, Assyrian groups active in the opposition turned south to negotiate with the new government in Baghdad. The KDP leadership felt betrayed, preferring to take the lead in discussions involving its “components.” Territories heavily populated by minority communities along the KRG borders, though officially under Mosul’s administration, came to be contested between the central and regional governments. Minorities preferred to administer their regions locally, as was allowed by the Iraqi constitution. Concerned that its territorial goals were being undermined, the KRG co-opted minorities by creating and funding civil society organizations and political groups on whose loyalty it could depend.3 More directly coercive methods followed, which included preventing ballot boxes from reaching contested territories and blocking the creation of independent local police forces. This last step would foreshadow the break in relations between the KRG and minority communities following the 2014 ISIS invasion. As both the Peshmerga, the KRG’s military arm, and Iraqi government forces withdrew from Nineveh and Sinjar, leaving Assyrians and Yezidis to face ISIS’ brutal onslaught alone, community leaders rallied to form independent local forces, as they had done just two decades before.
In a lecture delivered earlier this year, Dr. Muna Yaku, assistant professor of law at Salahaddin University-Erbil, suggested that for minorities to feel fully engaged with the referendum they must have real dialogue with Kurds on equal terms, instead of being treated as guests. She highlighted KRG violations against minority communities ranging from political manipulation of quota seats, the continuation of forced demographic change, and the exclusion or misrepresentation of minorities within educational curricula.4 Dr. Yaku was chosen to represent Christians in a committee formed to amend the KRG constitution, but eventually she withdrew in protest at violations of minority rights.5 Similarly, Dohuk native Ashur Sargon Eskrya, President of the Assyrian Aid Society-Iraq, recalling atrocities experienced by minorities, insisted: “When our Assyrian Christian people are facing challenges that affect their national existence on their historic lands…the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples must be adopted in a manner that preserves for our people the right to self-determination and the preservation of their lands and cultural and social heritage, as well as all peoples of the world.”6
A day before the referendum, the high committee for KRG’s referendum issued a declaration guaranteeing the rights of minorities.7 Many community leaders have since criticized that statement, calling it unbinding and shortsighted.8 Whether the referendum drives the KRG to independence or stifles it in the face of mounting pressure, the discussion that led up to it has highlighted the need to revive real and transparent dialogue between the Kurdish leadership and minority leaders, as well as between civil society groups and intellectuals on both sides. Relations between the two will take time to normalize, but engaging with politically independent, local representatives of minorities is a step in the right direction. It is important to remember that only a few decades ago, the Kurds themselves insisted on their community’s rights to full political participation.
______________________________
Dr. Alda Benjamen specializes in the history of the modern Middle East; in particular she focuses on twentieth-century intellectual, cultural and social history of Iraq and Syria, Middle Eastern minorities and their transnational networks, and women and gender issues. As a postdoctoral Researcher at the Penn Cultural Heritage Center, University of Pennsylvania Museum, she examines cultural heritage in times of conflict, focusing on intangible heritage within agricultural domains.
Notes:
1. http://www.nrttv.com/AR/Detail.aspx?Jimare=56032
2. Department of State, Division of Language Services (Translation), LS No. 10056, T-58, Arabic, April 22, 1969, “The Honorable William Rogers, Secretary of State of the United States of America,” 1.
3. Alda Benjamen, “Assyrians in Iraq’s Nineveh Plains: Grassroot organizations and Inter-Communal Conflict.” The American Academic Research Institute in Iraq no. 6-1 (Spring 2011): 13-20.
4. “A lecture by Dr. Muna Yaku on the future prospects for the region and the view of our peope,” Facebook video, 18:52, posted by “Radio Ashur,” February 12, 2017, https://www.facebook.com/radioashur/videos/1174189616013352/?hc_ref=ARS2…
5. http://baretly.net/index.php?topic=50352.0
6. Ashur Sargon Eskrya statement was issued on the on the tenth anniversary of the UNDRIP, September 13, 2017, on his facebook page.
7. http://www.presidency.krd/arabic/articledisplay.aspx?id=kpY+pCLPyQY=# ; http://www.ankawa.com/forum/index.php?topic=854423.0
8. http://www.ankawa.com/forum/index.php?topic=854474.0 ; http://www.ankawa.com/forum/index.php?topic=854522.0
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RedditEither the entire world is set to experience dramatic additional warming once we stabilise at the current (400+ ppm) CO2 concentration – or we are still dramatically underestimating the local climate sensitivity of the Arctic – a region that might in that case not warm 2 or 3 times as fast as the global average, but rather about 6 to 8 times. (Perhaps most likely it’s something in between.)
In any case, it’s bad news that’s being dredged up from the bottom of Lake El’gygytgyn.
Lake El’gygytgyn and additional Arctic Pleistocene and Pliocene drilling sites. The results of these sediment cores are worrying: the last time the atmosphere had CO2 concentrations around 400ppm, temperatures in the Arctic were about 8 degrees higher. Does this imply there is still a huge amount of global average warming in the pipelines?
Just listen to us. Don’t go hiking in the Siberian Arctic 3.6 million years ago
If you’re the adventurous type and you like the company of sizeable wolf packs for some proper permafrost hiking, we would definitely recommend Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. But we would not advice to go there 3.6 million years ago.
That’s when a huge meteorite blasted an 18 kilometre wide crater in this part of the Siberian Arctic – creating the (in today’s world) ice-covered Lake El’gygytgyn.
Lake El’gygytgyn is special. Although it is close to the Arctic, there are no (high-precipitation) mountain ranges anywhere near, so its surroundings were never covered by an ice sheet. Therefore throughout the 3.6 million years that passed, the lake has been able to very steadily pile up sediment layers at its bottom – establishing a very nice paleoclimate record, that scientists are now drilling for.
The sediments that filled this crater tell us something about the Arctic climate in the times before the onset of the (Pleistocene) ice ages – the warmer Pliocene.
The Pliocene climate analogue. Useful – and worrying
The Pliocene is very interesting for paleoclimate comparisons, because it is recent enough for Earth to have had a very similar appearance, geographically, as today’s world. That means the oceans, the continents and the mountain ranges were about where they are now. That cannot be said of the ice sheets (none on Greenland, none on West Antarctica) – nor the sea levels, that were up to 32 meters higher than they are today.
What was also at a similar levels though, worryingly, was the Pliocene’s CO2 concentration – about as high as it is today (400 ppm, or just over).
So you would expect temperatures in the Pliocene were also as high as they are today?
But they were not. And that’s bad news. We may still be looking way too much at short-term climatic responses – and therefore underestimate the magnitude of the ‘real’ thermal climate inertia, the warming you get once the atmospheric CO2 concentration is stabilised.
We learned from Hansen in Science in 2005 that on a time scale of a couple of decades this ‘warming in the pipeline’ is now likely in the order of 0.6 degrees. That’s bad enough – but something continued ocean CO2 absorption (another inert climate process) could still compensate for – essentially saving us from a runaway warming scenario.
Three Science publications in a row telling us at current CO2 levels there’s more warming to come – if at least there’s truth in paleoclimate
But then there’s this research, performed by a large group of paleoclimatologists led by Julie Brigham-Grette of the University of Massachusetts and Martin Melles of the University of Cologne – that managed to get their findings published twice in Science (2012 and 2013).
Their first publication (that looked at the El’gygytgyn sediment record up to 2.8 million years ago) showed super interglacials in the Pleistocene that were much warmer than thought – with Arctic maximum summer temperatures 4 to 5 degrees higher than today.
Their second publication (that looked at the oldest part of the El’gygytgyn sediment record – between 2.8 and 3.6 million years ago) showed that at current CO2 concentration levels, the Pliocene climate was a lot warmer.
The researchers write the following:
“Evidence from Lake El’gygytgyn, in northeast (NE) Arctic Russia, shows that 3.6 to 3.4 million years ago, summer temperatures were ~8°C warmer than today, when the partial pressure of CO2 was ~400 parts per million.”
Now perhaps most interesting to look at is the question at the top of this article. Do their findings tell us something about (higher than thought) Arctic climate sensitivity – or about (higher than thought) global average climate sensitivity?
In other words: is this paleoclimate lesson a prediction for increased expected Arctic warming – or can we expect a huge additional rise in global temperatures, even if we manage to stabilise atmospheric CO2 concentrations at the current level (404 ppm – so ‘close to’ 400 ppm)?
Paleoclimate research. Let’s just acknowledge it’s work for specialists.
The answer may be provided by yet another Science study, one that was performed by a research group led by the University of Cambridge and published in 2009. That one looked at the middle Miocene – the predecessor of the Pliocene epoch (boundary is at 5.3 million years ago).
These authors write the following:
“The carbon dioxide (CO2) content of the atmosphere has varied cyclically between ~180 and ~280 parts per million by volume over the past 800,000 years, closely coupled with temperature and sea level. For earlier periods in Earth’s history, the partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) is much less certain, and the relation between pCO2 and climate remains poorly constrained. We use boron/calcium ratios in foraminifera to estimate pCO2 during major climate transitions of the past 20 million years. During the Middle Miocene, when [global average] temperatures were ~3° to 6°C warmer and sea level was 25 to 40 meters higher than at present, pCO2appears to have been similar to modern levels.”
Bad news.
Another important lesson: climate sensitivity increases with warming (skip those Last Glacial Maximum ECS estimates)
We may extent this even further back in Earth’s history, to the Paleocene-Eocene. At the border of these two geological epochs a rapid warming occurred that we wrote about more often here at Bits of Science. It’s called the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, and often simply referred to as PETM. PETM is interesting because it was a CO2 and methane-induced warming spike that was in geological terms really rapid (therefore leading to a minor extinction event) – but one that still happened about 10 times slower than the current rise in carbon concentrations.
Now new research, led by Gary Shaffer of the University of Copenhagen, published in Geophysical Research Letters, shows evidence that the CO2 sensitivity of Earth’s climate system may in fact increase with warming.
During the PETM, when temperatures rose by 5-8 degrees in about 10,000 years Earth’s CO2 climate sensitivity rose from 3.3–5.6 to 3.7–6.5 – values that are much higher than today’s most cited numbers (IPCC’s range = 1.5/2-4.5 degrees – most experts say ‘close to or just over 3 degrees’)
This new understanding is important because it implies we may need to look for climate comparisons that are close to today’s average global temperatures – to find the best paleoclimate assessments of climate sensitivity. Ice age estimates, like the much-used Last Glacial Maximum climate sensitivity estimates (ranging between 2 and 3 degrees Celsius) could lead to underestimation of today’s world’s climate sensitivity.
© Rolf Schuttenhelm | www.bitsofscience.orgToday, the EPA accused Volkswagen of illegally using software to cheat emissions standards. The agency alleges that the German automaker's vehicles have a sophisticated algorithm that was designed to undermine official emissions testing by engaging full emissions controls only during testing and disabling them afterward. As a result, the car maker was able to sell half a million diesel-powered vehicles that produce nitrogen oxide, which creates smog, at up to 40 times the legal limit during normal driving situations.
The EPA learned about the issue only last year after researchers at West Virginia University published a study revealing that VW cars had emissions higher than expected. The agency has now accused VW of violating the federal Clean Air Act.
But two months ago, the EPA opposed some proposed measures that would help potentially expose subversive code like the so-called "defeat device" software VW allegedly used by allowing consumers and researchers to legally reverse-engineer the code used in vehicles. EPA opposed this, ironically, because the agency felt that allowing people to examine the software code in vehicles would potentially allow car owners to alter the software in ways that would produce more emissions in violation of the Clean Air Act.
The issue involves the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DCMA), which prohibits anyone from working around "technological protection measures" that limit access to copyrighted works. The Library of Congress, which oversees copyrights, can issue exemptions to those prohibitions that would make it legal, for example, for researchers to examine the code to uncover security vulnerabilities.
In December of 2014, a group of proponents suggested to do exactly this by seeking to add computer programs used in cars, trucks, and agricultural machinery to the list of DMCA exemptions. Having access to car controls would allow for "good-faith testing, identifying, disclosing, and fixing of malfunctions, security flaws, or vulnerabilities," they argued, according to comments they submitted to the Federal Register.
Various parties submitted three classes of proposed exemptions that would have potentially assisted in uncovering this type of software—the proposals have been categorized by the Copyright Office as Class 21, Class 22, and Class 25. The EPA opposed Class 21 and Class 22 but stayed silent on Class 25. Class 21 argued for the ability of owners to examine software for purposes of modifying their vehicle. Class 22 argued not only for owners to be able to modify their vehicle but also to allow researchers to examine the software for security vulnerabilities and safety issues. Class 25 proposed only to allow reverse-engineering code for security and safety purposes.
In opposing the exemption for individual car owners to examine the software, the EPA would close an important avenue for uncovering security and safety issues in vehicle software, because often these kinds of issues are uncovered by individual researchers while simply examining their own product or vehicle for fun or curiosity, not during formal research. Of course, examining software in this way can potentially uncover other things a car maker wouldn't want anyone to see, such as code designed to circumvent emissions testing.
The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, an advocacy group that represents most of the world's major automakers, including Volkswagen, opposed the DMCA exemption (.pdf), arguing it would create or exacerbate "serious threats to safety and security."
The EPA, surprisingly, also argued against the research exemptions, saying it was concerned drivers might hack their own cars to improve performance in ways that would violate federal controls.
In a letter (.pdf) sent by the EPA's assistant general counsel to the Copyright Office on July 17, the EPA wrote that the proposed exemptions "would allow users to modify that software for purposes other than those the proponents envision" in a way that "could slow or reverse gains made under the Clean Air Act."
Computer programs that control engine operation "have been critical to achieving the reduction" in vehicle emissions, EPA Assistant General Counsel Geoff Cooper wrote. Consumers allowed to "tinker with" that software could boost performance, and thus increase emissions, Cooper argued. The Copyright Office's decision on the exemption is still pending.
Andrea Matwyshyn, law professor at Northeastern and Princeton Universities, says it's not a done deal that the Copyright Office will oppose the proposed exemptions and that the office has been coming around recently to recognizing the need to examine code for safety purposes.
"Historically the Copyright Office has been conservative about granting requests that involve any form of [exemptions] for reverse engineering or for research," she notes. "However, because our whole economy now relies on the integrity of code, the Copyright Office in our hearing with them expressed a recognition of changed circumstances and did not adopt an inherently hostile position to [this kind of exemption]."
The irony of the EPA"s concern over owners altering their vehicle code in a way that would violate the Clean Air Act is that VW was allegedly using its surreptitious algorithm to do exactly this—that is, to favor performance over fuel economy in a way that violated the Clean Air Act. And legalizing public access to the software used in the 482,000 VW cars now being recalled could possibly have revealed the alleged "defeat device" code earlier. As noted on Twitter by Thomas Dullien, a prominent security researcher and reverse engineer who goes by the handle Halvar Flake: "The VW case is an example why we need more liberal reverse engineering regulation. In a world controlled by code, RE creates transparency."
"It's possible" a researcher with legal access to Volkswagen's software could have discovered the code that changed how the cars behave in testing, says Matt Blaze, a professor in computer information science at the University of Pennsylvania. Blaze was among those who petitioned for a wide range of DMCA exemptions, though he does not specifically work on automotive research.
Third party reverse engineering is a powerful tool, says Blaze, and could have turned up the "defeat device," even if whoever found it didn't know what they were looking at, or that it was deliberate. If someone suspected something fishy with VW's engine software, they would have had a good chance of discovering it.
The EPA's "concern was about retail hacking," says Blaze, that individual consumers would increase emissions. But "the actual threat" was "a much more wholesale problem."
Senior staff writer Kim Zetter contributed to this piece.Share this
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A new device can produce enough food to make one salad per week for an entire year—and do it inside an apartment.
“The pumps are always going,” says Dominique Schaefer Pipps, who worked on the “produce cultivation machine” with a team of senior mechanical engineers at Rice University’s Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen. “The water never stops moving, keeping the plants alive.”
Sprouting from tiers of PVC pipes are lettuce, garlic, and other vegetables, grown hydroponically—that is, without soil—and kept fresh by a pump circulating 55 gallons of water.
“The emphasis of the project is on using as few resources as possible, using little energy, and wasting nothing,” says Sanjiv Gopalkrishnan.
A “zero-resource house” at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden commissioned the project. The original prototype came together last November after two months of brainstorming. It’s a much bulkier, space-consuming model and went outdoors where it is overgrown with sprawling tomato plants, broccoli, and Swiss chard.
“We wanted to minimize power consumption and environmental impact, but maximize nutritional content and yield,” says George Dawson. “The machine should coexist with humans in a rather small living environment. Noises, lights, and smells shouldn’t interfere with the sleep cycle or life in general, and basic maintenance should be kept simple.”
The device uses about 900 watts—or as much power as a microwave or medium window air conditioner—and runs off one outlet even after replacing fluorescent lights with LED growing lights to improve the health of plants farther away from the fixtures.
The new prototype stands eight feet tall. The biggest change is it now uses square rather than round plastic pipes, which have a larger internal surface area and move more water. Pegs and friction hold the frame together without glue or nails. The entire device weighs around 70 pounds.
“That makes transporting it easy. We have to get it to Sweden. This is like Ikea for toddlers, with really big parts,” says Jared Broadman.
The team will install sensors to automatically monitor pH levels, nutrients, temperature, and other factors before the device’s installation in Sweden. The current setup uses one reservoir but the students expect a multiple-reservoir system, each with varying levels of nutrients, could permit fine-tuning the nutrient requirements of various plants.
They demonstrated their work at the George R. Brown School of Engineering Design Showcase.
Source: Rice UniversitySponsored by Ron Paul, Barney Frank, Dana Rohrabacher, and others, the bill would transform the drug war, but is unlikely to pass.
Reuters
It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution or proceeding under any Federal law for marijuana-related activities, which the proponent must establish by a preponderance of the evidence, that those activities comply with State law regarding the medical use of marijuana."
Say you've got cancer. It's important to your health that, as you undergo treatment, you keep eating meals. But you get so nauseous -- except for when you're able to smoke a bit of marijuana. Lucky for you, the state you live in, California, permits purchase of marijuana for medical use. But the federal government, though now presided over by a series of men who've all smoked weed for non-medical use, continues to harangue states with medical marijuana laws. Democrats are mostly okay with that, even though President Obama swore he'd put an end to the practice. And Republicans, who extol federalism and its laboratories of democracy, suddenly lose their selective enthusiasm for local control when the subject is decriminalizing a narcotic.*But there are some members of Congress who are eager to protect medical-marijuana patients who abide by the laws of their states from being harassed by federal agents fighting the War on Drugs. "Any person facing prosecution or a proceeding for any marijuana-related offense under any Federal law shall have the right to introduce evidence demonstrating that the marijuana-related activities for which the person stands accused were performed in compliance with State law regarding the medical use of marijuana," the proposed legislation states.It goes on:Given the slim chances this bill has for passage, you'd think that it goes too far for the majority of Americans. The opposite is actually closer to the truth. According to Gallup, support for legalizing marijuana has been increasing for years in the U.S., and last year a majority of Americans favored legalizing marijuana outright, not just the stuff that various sicks folks use as medicine.This more modest bill has official support from 15 Democrats and 3 Republicans in the House of Representatives, including Democrat Barney Frank and Republicans Ron Paul and Dana Rorhrabacher. When it fails, very sick people who use medical marijuana will continue to stress about being needlessly harassed by federal law-enforcement agents with absurd priorities.*Conservatives never much troubled themselves about whether the government could force them to stop growing broccoli in their backyard. But it could using Justice Scalia's logic in the medical marijuana case ofRight now, at your fingertips, you have access to the interior monologue of the president of the United States — or, as former press secretary Sean Spicer called @realDonaldTrump’s digital feed, “official statements.” Unless, that is, you’re blocked. Trump and his staff have now stopped dozens of citizens from reading his dispatches, seemingly because they disagree with or insulted him. Several Twitter users (including those below marked with an *) have filed a lawsuit with Columbia’s Knight First Amendment Institute, claiming a violation of their right to free speech. The DOJ has counterargued that tweeting is a modern presidential duty and you can’t sue the president for doing his job. New York asked those #BlockedByTrump about the experience. The White House had no comment for this story, on Twitter or off.
Marina Sirtis @Marina_Sirtis
actor
Followers: 197,000
Date blocked: May 8
Tweet that got her blocked: “@realDonaldTrump threatening to go to WAR to deflect from Russiagate!! Willing to let our boys die to save his sorry ass!”
Holly O’Reilly* @AynRandPaulRyan
songwriter, activist, mom of five
Followers: 106,000
Date blocked: May 28
Tweet that got her blocked: “This is pretty much how the whole world sees you,” followed by a GIF of Pope Francis rolling his eyes.
What happened: “One day in late May, I thought, He’s being really quiet today! Maybe this is the pivot! Um, no. My first response was, ‘Are you serious? He sat there and blocked me with his little thumbs?’ But then I got angry. I was never personal — I don’t pick on his kids or his wife.”
Will Fischer @votevets
director of government relations for VoteVets
Followers: 89, 300
Date blocked: June 13
Tweet that got him blocked: “You’re describing your road to the White House to a T, @realDonaldTrump. Well, this and colluding with an adversary of the United States.”
What happened: “He’d started attacking the ‘fake news media,’ saying that the media drive a narrative of hate and divisiveness. We advocate for health care, raising the minimum wage, things from the perspective of veterans. It’s frustrating because our members know exactly how much these issues are life-and-death, and Donald Trump doesn’t. Ivanka Trump isn’t going to put on a flak jacket anytime soon.”
Rebecca Buckwalter-Poza* @rpbp
attorney and legal writer
Followers: 6,014
Date blocked: June 6
Tweet that got her blocked: “To be fair you didn’t win the WH: Russia won it for you.”
What happened: “It was never ‘LOL’ for me. Two of my grandparents came into the country seeking political freedom, one from Colombia and one from Franco’s Spain. I’ve lived in China and seen what it’s like. Also, I’m a contributor at Pacific Standard and my mandate is to cover Trump and the law. So you can imagine that this is cramping my work.”
Anne Rice @AnneRiceAuthor
author, Interview With the Vampire
Followers: 172,000
Date blocked: June 25
Tweet that got her blocked: “The Trump-GOP health care plan is a tax cut for the rich. Millions will lose coverage. A complete rip off.”
What happened: “I offer my political views every day on Twitter. I do believe in tweeting to arch-conservatives with whom I disagree, and so far Sarah Palin has not blocked me, and neither has Laura Ingraham. Speaker Ryan has not blocked me either, and the House Republicans haven’t. I was completely supportive of Hillary Clinton, and I had terrible experiences with the filth. I got threatening messages saying that Bernie Sanders supporters would boycott my books. As an American I just don’t know what to think. I’m worried. I hope it ends up being okay.”
Eugene Gu* @eugenegu
surgeon, medical researcher
Followers: 48,000
Date blocked: June 18
Tweet that got him blocked: “Covfefe: The same guy who doesn’t proofread his Twitter handles the nuclear button.”
What happened: “My research on using stem cells from fetal tissue to cure congenital heart defects got the attention of Marsha Blackburn, a [pro-life] congresswoman from Tennessee. It was absurd, because my research was literally trying to save the lives of infants. That’s when I got involved with politics. After he blocked me, I felt really sad and left out. I still feel like the area underneath his tweets is the most engaging area in all of social media.”
Chrissy Teigen @chrissyteigen
model, cookbook author
Followers: 7,360,000
Date blocked: July 23
Tweet that got her blocked: “Lolllllll no one likes you”
AJ Joshi @AJ
technology entrepreneur
Followers: 335,000
Date blocked: June 1
Tweet that got him blocked: “I guess ‘Making America Great Again’ means destroying the world.”
What happened: “The key benefit of being able to reply is to be part of the conversation. Some people think the benefit is to get exposure, but if you get a ton of Trump followers that doesn’t help you unless you’re selling MAGA hats. I’ve been completely silenced.”
Bess Kalb @bessbell
writer for Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Followers: 106,000
Date blocked: May 28
Tweet that got her blocked: “Honestly, hun this is all so far over your head. If you need to have another ‘bone spur’ and let Mike take over, no one will blame you.”
Philip Cohen* @familyunequal
University of Maryland sociologist studying inequality
Followers: 10,400
Date blocked |
the community to reduce fear is key, as is keeping publicity and media attention to a minimum.July 25 (Reuters) - High-end sound system and headphone maker Bose Corp is going after the newer kid on the block, Beats Electronics, with a lawsuit accusing Beats of infringing several patents related to noise-cancellation technology.
In a lawsuit filed Friday in federal court in Delaware, Bose said Beats had willfully infringed upon five of its patents, which Beats allegedly uses in its Studio and Studio Wireless line of headphones. Bose said it had lost profits and sales as a result.
Bose was seeking unspecified damages from Beats, which Apple Inc announced this year it would acquire for $3 billion.
Privately held Bose also filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission seeking to prevent Beats’ noise-cancellation headphones from being imported into the United States from China.
“We are committed to protecting our investment, protecting our customers, and defending the patents we own,” a Bose representative said in a statement. Beats declined to comment.
Founded by rap mogul Dr. Dre and music producer Jimmy Iovine in 2006, Beats headphones have become popular with music fans.
Apples deal to acquire Beats is pending regulatory approval. If the deal is consummated, the Bose lawsuit would be another legal front for Apple, which is already waging patent battles with companies such as Samsung.
In the filing, Bose said the patents relate to the company’s “active noise reduction” technology, first used in Bose products for the military in the 1980s and released for consumers in 2000.
Earlier this month, Beats filed a lawsuit in Illinois against unnamed individuals and businesses from China that it claimed sold counterfeit Beats products over the Internet. The company said it had a “worldwide anti-counterfeiting program” that regularly swept websites and marketplaces for suspicious products.
The suit is Bose Corp v. Beats Electronics LLC and Beats Electronics International Ltd, in U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, No. 14-cv-00980. (Reporting By Andrew Chung; Editing by Ted Botha and David Gregorio)Iraqi army units have seized positions in and around Kirkuk, a major oil city that's dominated by the country's Kurdish people, who voted for independence last month.
Iraq's U.S.-trained Counter Terrorism Service has taken control of the provincial government headquarters in Kirkuk, and the Iraqi flag is flying over disputed areas, Reuters reported. The Iraqi national army also took over the North Oil Company, a refinery in Kirkuk, oil fields and an air base, according to news agencies.
Reports indicated that the Iraqi troops had not faced significant opposition from Kurdish peshmerga militia fighters in the area. However, the General Command of the Peshmerga Forces responded strongly to the advance, local news reported.
"The attack is a clear declaration of war against the people of the Kurdistan Region," the General Command said in a statement.
The Iraqi units went on the move toward Kirkuk around midnight local time in order to "safeguard" the area, military commanders said.
An aid group said several peshmerga fighters and Iraqi soldiers had been killed in a clash south of Kirkuk overnight, according to Reuters. There were no other reports of fatalities.
The U.S. Central Command, which coordinates the campaign against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, said it was aware of gunfire exchanges overnight. The engagement appeared to be a misunderstanding that occurred in the dark of night, it said on its website.HPD officer named as suspect in 5 more attacks HPD officer named as suspect in 5 more sex attacks
Officer Abraham Joseph was indicted on Thursday. Officer Abraham Joseph was indicted on Thursday. Photo: HPD Photo: HPD Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close HPD officer named as suspect in 5 more attacks 1 / 1 Back to Gallery
A Houston police officer accused of sexually assaulting a woman while on duty has been implicated in five other possible cases, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Abraham Joseph, 27, was indicted last week on charges of aggravated sexual assault. The allegations stem from an alleged attack on Jan. 2 in which Joseph is accused of handcuffing a cantina waitress outside of the bar, taking her to a dark area and raping her on the trunk of his police car, according to a civil lawsuit filed by the woman.
In court, Assistant Harris County District Attorney Eric Bily said investigators questioned people in the area and turned up leads on as many as four other women reporting five other possible sexual assaults. He declined to comment further, saying authorities are still investigating.
Joseph's defense attorney, Nicole DeBorde, said the police officer maintains his innocence.
"He'll be pleading not guilty to any charges," DeBorde said.
She said she did not know about any other allegations before Tuesday's arraignment.
State District Judge Denise Collins kept Joseph's bail at $500,000 after hearing that he has four passports, including one from India.
DeBorde said the officer cannot make bail and will ask for a reduction at the next scheduled hearing in March. She said the bond should be set at $100,000 in line with the Harris County bond schedule.
However, prosecutors said Joseph may be a flight risk.
Joseph was born in India and came to America as a child and has since been naturalized, DeBorde said.
"He's an American citizen," DeBorde said. "He does not have dual citizenship. He doesn't have any family in India."
She said the family has turned over three of the passports and the fourth was lost.
Assigned to HPD's Southwest Patrol Division, Joseph joined the force in July 2009.
Houston Police Department officials referred questions about the investigation to the Harris County District Attorney's Office.
Joseph was relieved of duty the day of the original incident. Because he is an officer, Joseph is in a secured cell, not in general jail population, DeBorde said.
brian.rogers@chron.comESWC CS:GO in Montreal Canada, July 9 to 12, 2015
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OXENT and the Mondial des Jeux Loto Québec are proud to present their association for the production of the next Counter-Strike:GO ESWC Grand Final, organized in Montreal, Canada, from July 9th to July 12th, 2015.
Two international tournaments, a main one dedicated to the world’s best teams selected through qualifiers and applications, and one reserved to CS:GO women teams, will be organized as opening events of the Mondial des Jeux Loto Québec and Just for Laughs Festival, which gather each year around 1.6 Million visitors in Montreal.
The selected venues, official partners, prizes and details about qualifiers will be announced soon.
In 2015, ESWC will produce 3 international finals on different games: a Call of Duty special edition in Paris on May 2-3, a CS:GO special edition in Montreal on July 9-12, and a multi-games festival during Paris Games Week from October 28th to November 1st.
12 years of Counter-Strike @ ESWC:
www.eswc.com/cs-historyFollowing one of the biggest years in Halo esports history with record viewership and participation, we’re excited to announce a new partnership between 343 Industries and Major League Gaming (MLG) to take the Halo Championship Series (HCS) to the next level.
The HCS league and brand were born out of the desire to create a platform for the best Halo players in the world – to tell their stories and provide a stage for their incredible talent. It’s an investment back into the Halo community, honoring Halo’s rich esports legacy while laying the groundwork for Halo titles and Halo esports as a whole.
For most of 2017, the HCS team at 343 Industries have been hard at work on some fundamental changes – changes in the way we communicate with our fans, players, and team organizations, changes in our events and format structure, and changes in the tournament organizers that we partner with.
Interwoven in Halo’s deep history in competitive gaming is MLG. Before esports became a household phrase, “Halo: Combat Evolved” was one of the top titles in competitive gaming due in part to the passion and dedication of then start-up Major League Gaming. As Halo grew into the one of gaming’s most legendary franchises, so too did MLG, creating its reputation for incredible production, storytelling and event experiences. We watched as local hometown heroes became global icons on the MLG mainstage, and their stories continue to be told today in the Halo Championship Series.
For 2018, 343 Industries and MLG are partnered up to work hand-in-hand in overseeing the Halo Championship Series, beginning with the next Halo World Championship. 343 Industries esports lead Elizabeth Van Wyck said, “MLG is one of the world’s premier esports organizations, and we’re thrilled to partner with them to take the Halo Championship Series to the next level with unforgettable live-events and unrivaled community-building experiences.”
“We’re excited about the opportunity to reconnect with Halo esports fans around the world and deliver a truly memorable Halo Championship Series in 2018,” said Adam Apicella, MLG VP of league event operations. “Working with Microsoft and 343 Industries again is the perfect way to begin an incredible year, and we look forward to celebrating Halo’s top players and showcasing their talents to the community.”
We can remember watching those legendary MLG Halo tournaments dating back to over a decade ago, and we’re excited to work with a team as passionate about Halo and its community as we are here at 343.
The Halo World Championship kicks off on Jan. 13 worldwide on MLG’s Gamebattles tournament platform, with the first event of the Halo World Championship 2018 season taking place in Orlando from Feb. 16-18. For more details on today’s announcements, including dates, cities, and formats, head on over to HaloWaypoint.com.
A new chapter in the Halo Championship Series begins in 2018, and we hope you’ll join us!The alleged heads of the most powerful criminal organizations in Montreal were rounded up Thursday as part of a drug trafficking investigation that has shaken up the city’s underworld and uncovered an incredible murder plot.
Leonardo Rizzuto, 46, and longtime friend Stefano Sollecito, 48, were described as being the new heads of the Mafia in Montreal after more than 200 police officers made 48 arrests as part of two investigations — Projects Magot and Mastiff — that were joined together and revealed the Mafia, the Hells Angels and the city’s major street gangs were allegedly working in concert to control drug trafficking in the city and share in the profits their alliance generated.
Rizzuto is the son of Vito Rizzuto, the former head of the Mafia in Montreal who died of natural causes in 2013. Sollecito is the son of Rocco Sollecito, a longtime Mafia leader who remained loyal to the organization while attempts were made to overtake it roughly four years ago.
The police also alleged that Loris Cavaliere, 61, a longtime defence lawyer, used his office in Little Italy on St-Laurent Blvd., as a place where the major players assumed they could meet in private because of the attorney-client privilege that keeps their conversations secret.
Cavaliere was arrested Thursday morning and is charged with “participating or contributing to the activity of a criminal organization” to facilitate its crimes. Cavaliere is also charged with trafficking in cocaine, between Jan. 1, 2013 and Nov. 16, 2015, along with nine other men, including three who are considered to be very influential members of Montreal-area street gangs. Cavaliere was a longtime friend of Vito Rizzuto’s.
Also charged on Thursday was Maurice (Mom) Boucher, the former Hells Angels leader who is serving a life sentence for having issued orders that led to the murders of two provincial prison guards and the attempted murder of another in 1997. Boucher, 62, is alleged to have used his daughter, Alexandra Mongeau, 25, to relay messages to his former bodyguard, Gregory Woolley, 43, as part of a plan to kill Raynald Desjardins, a former right-hand man of Vito Rizzuto, who is currently awaiting his sentence for his role in the murder of a Mafioso.
According to an indictment filed at the Longueuil courthouse, the plot to kill Desjardins began in July and ended on Nov. 9.
Salvatore Cazzetta, 60, a longtime member of the Hells Angels and one of its more influential members in Quebec, was also arrested on Thursday. He is alleged to be the man who handled the money for the alliance between the Mafia, Hells Angels and street gangs.
Sûreté du Québec Chief Inspector Patrick Bélanger said the combined investigations “allowed the arrests of the very influential heads of organized crime who formed an alliance.”
“This alliance was born out of a desire to control territory, particularly drug trafficking, and more particularly the area of Montreal, and to share revenues,” Bélanger said. “During the investigation, Gregory Woolley, 43, of St-Hubert, was identified as the head of street gangs and also an influential player within the alliance.”
“For their part, Stefano Sollecito and Leonardo Rizzuto were identified as the heads of the (Mafia in Montreal). They took the place of Vito Rizzuto who died in 2013.”
When Cavaliere appeared before Quebec Court Judge Christian Tremblay at the Montreal courthouse late Thursday afternoon he appeared calm. The Crown objected to his release and Tremblay informed him that the court will likely not be able to set a date for a bail hearing until next week.
“I understand,” Cavaliere said before he thanked the judge for pointing out the delay to him.
Rizzuto smiled broadly when he made his first appearance, also before Tremblay. He also appeared to have no strong reaction when told he will have to wait a week before a bail hearing can be set.
Not all of the defence lawyers who packed into room 4.02 of the Montreal courthouse agreed to waive the normal three-day maximum limit before an accused must have a bail hearing in Canada. Anne-Marie Lanctot, an attorney who represented Cazzetta on Thursday, objected to the lengthy delay. She said the Hells Angel had recently been operated on and was still recovering.
Lanctot also objected when informed that Boucher’s daughter would also have to wait more than a few days for a bail hearing. Mongeau appeared at the Montreal courthouse on a charge alleging she was in possession of money derived from a crime, sometime between 2013 and 2015. Lanctot said that Mongeau had a baby three weeks ago and argued it was unfair for a woman in that situation to have to wait a week before her bail hearing could be set.
“I can’t believe that in 2015 something can’t be done in this situation,” Lanctot said in apparent frustration.
“I have empathy for what you’re saying,” Tremblay replied before trying to find a solution by discussing it with the co-ordinating judge for the Montreal region during a quick break. But Lanctot was later informed Mongeau is scheduled to appear at the Longueuil courthouse on Friday, where she is charged with the murder conspiracy. That means Mongeau will have to wait until her case is moved up to Superior Court before she can have a bail hearing. When Lanctot was informed of this she said arrangements might be made to have Mongeau’s baby brought to her at a detention centre.
All of the accused who appeared before Tremblay were ordered not to communicate with a man who was used as an undercover agent during the investigation “as well as members of his family.” Oddly, almost everyone who received the court-ordered condition appeared to not recognize the man’s name, which is under a publication ban.
pcherry@montrealgazette.com
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Montreal Mafia timelinePro Tour Fate Reforged Preview: Ten Decks, Ten Cards
by SaffronOlive // Feb 05, 2015 Tweet
finance pro tour modern ptfrf
It's Pro Tour time once again, and this one is special not only because it is the only Modern Pro Tour of the year, but we are fresh off the format shaking bannings of Treasure Cruise and Birthing Pod. While I will be covering the big event all weekend for MTGGoldfish, I wanted to put out a preview today. Many other writers have been publishing great pieces about cards that could benefit from this weekend festivities, and I agree with a lot of what has already been said. As such, instead of just rehashing everyone else, I decided to take a bit of a different approach. Here are ten deck that I am looking out for this weekend, and also ten cards (one from each deck) that I think could benefit from having a good showing at Pro Tour Fate Reforged.
1. GB/x
BGx (Junk or Jund) was one of the defining decks of Modern before Khans of Tarkir unleashed Treasure Cruise. When Treasure Cruise was banned, Tarmogoyf strategies were one of the first places people looked when trying to figure out the new Modern. Since it offers the flexibility pros love — one of the long-standing benefits of playing BGx is that you're pretty much 50/50 against the field, which in theory allows a superior player to grind out percentage points and victories — it seems likely to be among the most played decks in DC.
Most of the big pieces of BGx spiked in response to the B&R announcement, so many of the most obvious speculation targets are no longer attractive. Liliana of the Veil is about to be reprinted as a PTQ promo. Tarmogoyf is pushing $800 a set. Dark Confidant is already $70 and, like Tarmogoyf, is a likely include in Modern Masters 2015. Any of these cards represent a lot of money tied up in a spec that is far from a slam dunk. However, one GBx card does have some appeal.
Scavenging Ooze
The bad news about Scavenging Ooze is that is has been printed multiple times: first in Commander, then as a Duels of the Planeswalker promo, and finally in M14. The good news is that it is seeing a bunch of play in a lot of different decks. It has a solid spread in the low twenties and is one of the only main-deckable ways to deal with graveyards in the format. While I'm far from convinced that Dredge will be a thing in Modern (more on this later), if it is, then Scavenging Ooze is a good place to be. Even if it's not, Scavenging Ooze is still a solid card in most matchups. While I think the supply is too high for a major spike, I expect Scavenging Ooze to grow over the next months leading up to Modern Masters 2015.
2. Affinity
Affinity is the default aggro deck in Modern and has been for quite some time. It's pretty much always playable, although if things ever start to go too well for the robots, players up the number of Stony Silences, Shatterstorms and Creeping Corrosions in their sideboards and send it back to earth. It's guaranteed that some players will be on the artifact deck in DC and it would be far from surprising if a skilled Affinity pilot like Frank Karsten made it to the top eight.
Financially Affinity is in a weird place. Before the spoiling of Etched Champion, I thought that the deck might dodge Modern Masters 2015, but now that seems less likely, so buying for the longer term is questionable. This means we are looking for a card that has potential to spike based on its performance this weekend, rather than the slow-growth potential of a card like Scavenging Ooze. Using this criteria, the best option might be Inkmoth Nexus.
Inkmoth Nexus
Blinkmoth Nexus was about $17 before it was reprinted in Modern Masters, and today it manages to maintain nearly $10 — almost exactly the same price as the one printing Inkmoth Nexus. This is despite the fact that Inkmoth Nexus sees more play. While Blinkmoth Nexus is exclusively an Affinity card, Inkmoth Nexus is a 4-of in Infect as well. If someone gets really ambitious, it could even be a backup win condition in Bloom Titan with Kessig Wolf Run like the old Standard Wolf Run deck. The list of lands that Inkmoth Nexus sees more play than is actually quite impressive and includes Celestial Colonnade, Flooded Strand, Polluted Delta, and all of the Urza's lands. I'm not sure why this card isn't $15 dollars already other than the uncertainty of a possible Modern Masters 2015 printing.
3. Tarmo-Twin
Thanks to Patrick Dickman, the Tarmogoyf build of Splinter Twin has become pretty much the default build, which seems to be another vote for Tarmogoyf as the best blue card ever printed. Splinter Twin is a UR Combo deck; it's playing every horrible cantrip in Modern all the way down to Peak in an effort to put together its two-card infinite combo on Turn 4. And Tarmogoy manages to make this deck better. I was working on a UWR Control build with a Gifts Ungiven package the other night and posted my list on Twitter. What was one of the first responses I received? "You probably should be playing Goyf." Anyway, Tarmogoyf is good, very good, but by now we all know it, so I'll just shut up and talk about something else.
Financially, there are a couple appealing targets in the deck. If you playing on Magic Online, Sulfur Falls is near the bottom of its cycle at 1.2 tix. It has a history of dropping to 1, then spiking back to 2.5 or 3. With a good showing this weekend, I expect it to be back over 2 tix next week. In the paper world, Splinter Twin still has room to grow. It was pushing $25 not long ago, and is closer to $16 currently. However, Modern Masters is a concern, the spread is weak, and buylist prices have dropped recently. The slam dunk, though, is Snapcaster Mage.
Snapcaster Mage
Now, the appeal of Snapcaster Mage isn't from Twin alone. It sees play in quite a few decks, but with Treasure Cruise gone and being safe from a reprint in Modern Masters 2015, it's hard to imagine a world where Snapcaster Mage isn't pushing $50 by the end of the year. Of course nothing is for certain in MTG finance — for all we know he will be reprinted at uncommon in M16 — but the odds of this, or any other reprinting happening this year are so slim, Snapcaster Mage may be the safest bet in all Modern at the moment. Even beyond speculation, if you think you might want to play with Snapcaster Mage in the next year, buy him now.
4. Burn
Burn in Modern comes in three flavors: Mono-Red, like the list above, Boros (splashing for Boros Charm, Lightning Helix, and sideboard cards), and Rakdos/Mardu splashing for Bump in the Night and maybe even Dark Confidant. I'm unsure how many pros will pick up the deck in DC because there really isn't much flexibility — your major decision every game is when to Lightning Bolt your opponent's creature and when to Lightning Bolt their face — so it's likely that Burn will be played less in an all-pro metagame where budget is no concern than in other events or online.
Financially, there is't a whole lot to look at. 1/3 of the deck is Mountains and more than 1/3 is common burn spells, which are relatively inexpensive. However, if you are buying collections or digging through bulk, keep your eyes open for Lava Spikes, Rift Bolts, and Shard Volleys because they are each worth a dollar or two and are very easy to move. Goblin Guide is already $16, and while it has been over $20 before, it's also a likely include in Modern Masters 2015. So unless ChannelFireball or some other major team shocks the Modern world and brings Burn to DC, I would expect the hasty one-drop to stay put before crashing when reprinted. This brings us to Eidolon of the Great Revel:
Eidolon of the Great Revel
Eidolon of the Great Revel only recently fell from ~$10 to $5. Without a random reprinting, it should be back to $10 again soon. Unlike most Standard cards, rotation doesn't scare me in regards to Eidolon of the Great Revel simply because it hasn't been Standard players driving demand — it's been the eternal crowd. If you look back through the tournaments since Journey into Nyx was printed, you'll find that Eidolon of the Great Revel has shown up in 90 Standard decks, 160 Modern decks, and 36 Legacy decks. This is despite the fact that Standard has nearly twice as many events in the database than Modern, and magnitudes more than Legacy. So it's primarily Modern that is driving demand, which means rotation should hurt less, if at all. Being an enchantment creature makes Eidolon of the Great Revel more difficult to reprint, it has a solid 5x foil multiplier, and could be a staple in aggro/burn strategies in the emerging Tiny Leader format where every card your opponent casts will trigger Eidolon's ability. $10 in the immediate future isn't out of the question, and a slow-and-steady climb to $20 over the next year or two is possible. The card is a legit eternal staple.
5. Tron
There are three reasons to play Tron in Modern: The most obvious is that while casting a turn three Karn Liberated isn't quite GG against every deck, it's close enough. Even a turn three Wurmcoil Engine requires your opponent to specifically have a Path to Exile or it will run away with the game. Second, it's the only non-green deck that gets maindeck graveyard hate in the form of Relic of Progenitus, which is played mostly as another artifact that cycles from the battlefield, but can also gain the deck some percentage point if someone shows up playing Dredge. Finally, the deck has more inevitability than any other in the format. Barring something like a maindeck Blood Moon, if you give Tron enough turns you will die to Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. I've definitely had games with my UWR deck where I Tectonic Edge three times, resolve a Sphinx's Revelation for six and still die to the flying spaghetti monster on turn 13.
Financially, Karn Liberated almost has to be in Modern Masters 2015. It's creeping up among the most expensive cards in Modern, and with Ugin, the Spirit Dragon running around in Standard, it seems unlikely Karn Liberated returns to Standard for at least the next year. Wurmcoil Engine was just reprinted in Commander 2014 and still has pre-release promo copies out there, so his status as a mythic isn't really indicative of his supply. Even most of the commons and uncommons like Sylvan Scrying and Expedition Map are already a few bucks, so this leaves us with Oblivion Stone.
Oblivion Stone
Oblivion Stone could be the card that spikes if Tron puts up a good showing at in DC. Considering it has two printings, it's supply is relatively low, with just over 100 vendors combined selling on TCGPlayer and several major vendors are currently sold out of both versions. Buylist prices have ticked up since December, and the sell-price has yet to follow. The spread is right at 30%, which isn't amazing, but not bad either, so I think it really comes down to this weekend. If Tron performs well more people will play it and Oblivion Stone could be sold out come Sunday. Given the apparent low-supply, I don't think a spike to $20 is out of the question, but again, it's all dependent on the Pro Tour results.
6. Bloom Titan
So maybe Bloom Titan would be more aptly named as Speck.dec? Mr. Goldfish Richard asked a good question yesterday when we were working on the podcast, "Is Bloom Titan good? Or is Speck just really good at Bloom Titan, like Tom Ross is with Infect?" I don't know the answer. What I do know is that if I tried to pick up Infect in Legacy, rather than casually crushing tournaments like Ross, I would probably 0-3 drop from every event I entered. While I don't think Bloom Titan is quite as hard to play well (I mean, if all else fails, just attack with Primeval Titan, right?), I do think it probably is one of the harder decks to master because there are a lot of moving pieces, tutors, and Hive Mind is just a strange card.
Financially, I think the above question is very important. If you think the deck is actually good in the hands of non-Speck players, there are a few attractive targets. Amulet of Vigor has been creeping up over the last week, but is still only half of its $7 peak. It could get there again with a good showing. Online prices have really spiked in the past few weeks, and so far, the paper world has not caught up. I like Gemstone Mine. It sees play as a 4-of not only in Bloom Titan, but in Phyrexian Unlife/Angel's Grace combo, Goryo's Vengeance reanimator, and Jeskai Ascendancy as well. The problem is, the numbers don't back up a spike. Supply is high and the spread is average. Primeval Titan was $20 this past spring, and is only $12 or $13 now, so there could also be some potential here. One card I do really like is Hive Mind.
Hive Mind
Full disclosure: I picked up a few foil Hive Minds yesterday, because the spread was low (best sell price was $5, best buy was $4). While I'm not sure this deal still exists, you might be able to find some cheap copies if you scour some of the smaller sites.
Everyone has been on Amulet of Vigor and rightly so, but I think there are some good arguments that Hive Mind is just as good of a pickup. Unlike Amulet of Vigor, it has seen Legacy play in the past, and could again, although Show and Tell into Hive Mind has lost some appeal with Griselbrand and Omniscience being printed in the past couple years. As far as Bloom Titan goes, at this point Hive Mind is locked into the deck just as strongly as Amulet of Vigor. I have no idea if or when this card will be reprinted. It doesn't seem like the type of card that Wizards is really looking to reprint, just because it plays so weirdly and is hard for new players to understand. Doubling up to $5 isn't out of the question with a good weekend.
7. UR Storm
If I had to pick one "lock" for DC, it would be that Finkel plays UR Storm and makes the Top 32. When you're Jon Finkel, you are good enough to not care how many cantrips and rituals Wizards bans from your deck. You just replace your Ponders with Serum Visions, replace your Preordains with Sleight of Hands, replace your Seething Songs with Pyretic Rituals and go to town. Financially, there are only two non-land rares/mythics in the deck: Past in Flames and Pyromancer Ascension. While the enchantment may be a fine target, it's only commanding $5 compared to a previous high of over $8. The real winner from the deck is likely Past in Flames.
Path in Flames
Currently, the best buylist on Past in Flames is $2.05 and the best sell price is $2.89, putting the spread on Past in Flames at less than 30%, which is where you want to be. There are less than 100 vendors selling the card on TCGPlayer, which is also fine. At $3 each, supply could dry up very quickly. Perhaps even more important is that Past in Flames is past the cutoff for Modern Masters 2015 and is pretty difficult to reprint in Standard barring yet another return of the Flashback mechanic. This means that like Snapcaster Mage, the sorcery seems like a safe place to be for the next year and there is plenty of time for this card to hit $10 on the slow road. If Finkel hits the top eight, it could happen even quicker.
8. UWR Tempo/Control
While the above build is more tempo-based, featuring Geist of Saint Traft and Young Pyromancer, other UWR build are more on the control side, featuring less creatures and more sweepers. I'm not sure which build is better as each have their own pluses and minuses. Geist of Saint Traft is a very powerful card when backed up by cheap permission and tempo plays.
Financially, you already know how I feel about Snapcaster Mage, but there are some other juicy targets in the deck. Restoration Angel sees play in UWR along with Hatebears / Death and Taxes and some Junk builds. She also has a solid spread at 27%. Furthermore, like Scavenging Ooze, you can buy foil promos for about the same price as AVR non-foils, and there is no risk of a Modern Masters 2015 reprinting. Celestial Colonnade is one of my favorite cards in Modern, and it's almost $10 lower than its $25 high of a year ago. However, the Worldwake manland cycle could definitely make a Modern Masters 2015 appearance, which limits my interest. This bring us back around to Geist of Saint Traft.
Geist of Saint Traft
I wrote about foil Geist of Saint Traft a couple weeks ago. With its recent reprinting as a foil promo, the fact that Innistrad redemption recently ended, and its safety from Modern Masters 2015, it's likely all the foil Geist of Saint Traft that will be in the market for the next year or two are already there. Unfortunately, since then the price on the promos have spiked from $40 to $60 and even now they are pretty much gone from TCGPlayer (ChannelFireball has two copies for sale at $60 and that's it). Pack foils haven't moved as much, which makes me think people prefer the promo to the pack foil. Thankfully, you can still pick up regular copies for $20, even with the recent post-banning increase. I'm uncertain how high Geist of Saint Traft can climb, but with a good showing this weekend and an increase in play heading into Modern Masters 2015 hype this summer, $30 or even $40 doesn't seem out of the question. Plus, if Tiny Leaders becomes a thing, he is pretty clearly the most powerful commander in the format. I don't know how much demand Tiny Leader can generate, but it certainly can't hurt the Geist.
9. Eternal Ghostway
This deck caused quite a stir earlier this week, and in some ways seems like a rebuild of the now extinct Birthing Pod decks. The problem is, all we have is one list in one Magic Online daily. For all we know, Miro83 had all three opponents mull to four every game while he beat them down with a Kitchen Finks. I'm not saying the deck is bad, but it's hard for me to get too excited with such a small sample size. On the other hand, it could be a darkhorse this weekend. Financially, it there is one card in specific that is worth talking about.
Chord of Calling
Admittedly, my love of Chord of Calling is based more on my gut and price memory than the numbers. The spread is weak and a ton of copies entered the market with M15. On the other hand, in just the past week, two Modern decks prominently featuring the instant have been getting a bit of hype. Along with the Eternal Ghostway list above, there is also a new Ezuri, Renegade Leader Elves deck running around which is looking to use Chord of Calling like a Natural Order to find Craterhoof Behemoth. Both lists are relatively cheap and seem like the type of deck semi-competitive players will try to build. Casual players love their infinite combos and their elves, so it seems like there will be increased demand for Chord of Calling in the coming weeks. Whether or not this demand can outweigh the massive supply is yet to be seen, but it was only six months ago that the Ravnica version of Chord of Calling was commanding $40. With this in mind, it seems unlikely that players will grumble too much about paying $10 a piece.
10. Dredgevine
I almost left dredge off the list all together, but there has been a crazy amount of hype around the deck ever since Golgari Grave-Troll came off the banned list a couple weeks ago. This was bolstered by not one, but two Dredgevine lists showing up in the top 16 this past weekend at SCG Indianapolis. There are a few reasons why I think that Dredge, at least for the Pro Tour, is more smoke and mirrors than a real contender.
First, as I've mentioned before, Dredge in Legacy and Vintage is about Bridge from Below and I just don't see enough enablers in Modern to make Bridge from Below work, at least without playing some pretty bad cards. Second, the main reason to play Dredge in Legacy/Vintage is you are an overwhelming favorite in game one (something like 90/10 in a lot of matchups). Your goal is to always, always, always, win game one, and then hope that in either game two or three your opponent doesn't draw their backbreaking sideboard cards like Rest in Peace, Leyline of the Void, and Relic of Progenitus. Modern Dredge doesn't get this advantage. Sure, maybe you're decent in game ones, but I would bet something like 60/40 rather than 90/10. Without Bridge From Below, all it takes is a couple of well-timed Path to Exiles to clean up Vengevine and you're left beating down with 2/1's like Gravecrawler and Bloodghast. Third, a good portion of the players at the Pro Tour play Legacy or Vintage, so they know how powerful Dredge can be. I have to imagine that the pros have tested against the deck, and if they think its good enough to see play, will come packing hate. If you build your Modern sideboard like you build your Vintage sideboard, Dredge is very unlikely to win. Finally, in true eternal formats, Dredge is primarily a tournament stealer. The typical cycle |
in multi-drug use. We believe that it is and that it is reasonable to assume that many would not engage in certain kinds of drug use if they did not use cannabis. These predisposing relationships are not established by statistics. They are, rather, inferences from the nature of the drugs and the patterns of drug use. The fact that a very high proportion of the users of a certain drug have also been users of cannabis does not establish a causal relationship between the two kinds of drug use. On the other hand, there are affinities between certain kinds of drug use which are strongly suggestive of a predisposing relationship. We believe, for example, that there is probably such a relationship between the use of cannabis and the use of LSD. This cannot be established statistically but it is an inference from the nature of the two,drugs and their close association in the drug culture. We believe that the use of cannabis probably reduces inhibitions about the use of LSD, and that it is unlikely that many individuals would experiment with LSD before having used cannabis. The general conclusion that we draw is that while only a proportion of users of cannabis will also use LSD, the use of cannabis definitely facilitates the use of LSD or predisposes a certain number of individuals to experiment with it. The relationship between the stronger hallucinogens, the amphetamines and the opiate narcotics is not as clear. There is obviously a close relationship between the intravenous use of amphetamines and the use of heroin. The relationship between the hallucinogens and the amphetamines is less obvious. It has often been assumed that the users of hallucinogens and the users of amphetamines are quite different populations who live in two separate worlds. This assumption has been based on the difference in the effects of the two classes of drugs and in the cultural associations surrounding their use, as well as the difficulty of overcoming the "needle barrier" for the intravenous use of amphetamines. These factors may still operate to inhibit movement between these two kinds of drug use, but there is evidence that a significant number of people use both. Our surveys indicated that in 1970, in Canada as a whole, over 50 per cent of the persons who had used amphetamines at one time or another had also used cannabis and LSD. Amphetamines are often used to overcome a depression produced by excessive use of hallucinogens. Moreover, amphetamines are sometimes mixed with'street' LSD, and some drugs which are generally classed among the strong hallucinogens, such as MDA, combine the properties of amphetamines and hallucinogens. Thus there is a marked relationship between cannabis and LSD, a less obvious one between LSD and the amphetamines, and a marked relationship between speed and heroin. Because of this succession of relationships, which can be linked up, it is possible for people to progress from cannabis through LSD and'speed' to heroin, but the number of cannabis users of whom this might possibly be true would be a very small proportion of the total number of cannabis users-less than one per cent. The theory that cannabis leads to heroin because the vast majority of heroin users are found to have used cannabis has to be dismissed on the ground of faulty logic: the vast majority of heroin users may have used cannabis, but the vast majority of cannabis users do not use heroin. The real question is whether a significant number of heroin users would not have used heroin had they not used cannabis. Unfortunately, it is impossible to answer such a question. It is sometimes argued that if cannabis were not readily available more people would use more dangerous drugs such as the stronger hallucinogens and the amphetamines, and that any policy which restricts the availability of cannabis encourages the use of more dangerous drugs. The argument that cannabis users will turn to other, stronger drugs, if they cannot have cannabis, is an argument which, if anything, reinforces the view that cannabis facilitates resort to stronger drugs. It is at least not inconsistent with such an hypothesis. It is also based on the assumption that those who would resort to stronger drugs in times of cannabis shortage would not do so when it is available. This seems to suggest-contrary to other arguments which the same people generally make concerning cannabis-that cannabis creates such a desire for drug experiences that people will run the risk of using stronger. more dangerous drugs rather than go without. Cannabis and other crime. One of the contentions used to support the current legislative policy on cannabis is that cannabis is a significant factor in the cause of other crimes. There is a discussion of this issue in Chapter 2, including evidence presented to us by the R.C.M. Police. The suggestion that cannabis can be a cause of serious crime has come mainly from other countries. It is impossible to verify the evidence. it may well be that in certain cases cannabis has been used, just as alcohol apparently sometimes has, to lower inhibitions and to make it easier to commit a crime of violence which the criminal has already formed an intention of committing. There has been little evidence in Canada to support an association of cannabis with crimes of violence. Nor is there any suggestion that cannabis users are obliged to engage to any significant extent in a career of petty crime to support their habit in a manner similar to that of heroin addicts or even'speed freaks'. The use of cannabis, under present conditions, does involve exposure to contact with criminal elements and may encourage a certain amount of delinquency or anti-social behaviour in some users. But we do not believe there is evidence to support a generalization in this regard. Many users of cannabis exhibit high ethical standards, apart from their wilful violation of the drug laws. This aspect of the case against cannabis appears to reduce itself upon closer examination to a disapproval of the attitudes and values of cannabis users, and particularly their attitude towards conventional standards of behaviour and morality. We have referred to the physical and mental effects of cannabis, its role in the development and spread of multi-drug use, and its relation to other crime. it is also necessary to consider the perspective in which it is viewed by the majority of people in its relation to the social harm which they consider is caused by non-medical drug use in general. The drug use with which the majority is chiefly concerned is that which has not yet become a socially accepted part of the culture. It is the drug use which is considered to be outside the pale: the use of hallucinogens, the intravenous use of amphetamines and the use of opiate narcotics. There are varying degrees of concern about the heavy use of alcohol, tobacco, tranquilizers, barbiturates, and oral amphetamines, but these are not the focus of the great concern with drug use in recent years. When they think of the social harm caused by drug use the majority of the people seem to be chiefly concerned with its effect on the leading of reasonably normal and productive lives. They more or less accept the drug use in which people engage in order to help them to function effectively in conventional lines of endeavour. But it is the presumed effect of certain kinds of drug use on the motivation and attitudes required for conventional patterns of living which is the chief concern of the majority of people. They fear that certain kinds of drug use will sap the will and capacity for functioning in a socially acceptable manner. They very much fear the development of a widespread passivity and withdrawal from responsibility for the everyday work required to make the society function effectively. We have to face this attitude squarely. Whatever our personal views may be of the cultural conflict which underlies it, it cannot be brushed aside in a spirit of lofty detachment. It is a very real fear. It is this fear which is reflected in the concern with the "amotivational syndrome." There is a widespread feeling that certain kinds of drug use adversely affect certain qualities which have played an important part in the development and functioning of our present society: aggressivity, competitiveness, acquisitiveness, goal-orientation, the willingness to defer present pleasure for future rewards, and the capacity to tolerate the tedium of routine tasks, particularly those requiring painstaking attention to detail. Those who are critical of modern industrial society, particularly of the western variety, and of the values and attitudes that make up its dynamic, reply that it will be a good thing in the end if the old values and attitudes are undermined and replaced by new ones, less aggressive, less competitive, more co-operative, less activist, more contemplative, less materialistic and acquisitive, more oriented toward simplicity in demand and pleasure, less dependent on things, and more able to enjoy the simple pleasures of being human in the natural environment. This is not an issue that can be resolved by polemic. It is far better frankly to face the fact that there are definitely two points of view that are not likely to be reconciled, at least not without a great deal more empirical evidence in the form of human experience. Drug use is not the cause of the cultural conflict. It is merely an aspect of it. But it may be to some extent a catalysing and reinforcing aspect. The close association of certain kinds of drug use with the cultural conflict which is shaking modern society is part of the essential perspective in which the debate about legislative policy must be conducted. Failure to recognize these factors makes reasonable accommodation very difficult. To sum up, then, it seems to us that there are at least four major grounds for social concern: the probably harmful effect of cannabis on the maturing process in adolescents; the implications for safe driving arising from impairment of cognitive functions and psychomotor abilities, from the additive interaction of cannabis and alcohol, and from the difficulties of recognizing or detecting cannabis intoxication; the possibility, suggested by reports in other countries and clinical observations on this continent, that the long-term, heavy use of cannabis may result in a significant amount of mental deterioration and disorder; and the role played by cannabis in the development and spread of multi-drug use by stimulating a desire for drug experiences and lowering inhibitions about drug experimentation. To these grounds of concern must be added the extent of its use, particularly among persons of high school age, as indicated in Chapter 4. THE OBJECTIVE OF SOCIAL POLICY In our opinion, these concerns justify a social policy designed to discourage the use of cannabis as much as possible, particularly among adolescents. We do not yet know enough about cannabis to speak with assurance as to what constitutes moderate as opposed to excessive use. In these circumstances, it is prudent to discourage its use generally. THE AVAILABLE INSTRUMENTS OF SOCIAL POLICY To control the use of a drug we must control availability and demand. There are basically only two ways of controlling availability: criminal law prohibition and administrative regulation. Because of the profits to be made in trafficking there is no point in attempting to control availability by education, propaganda or moral suasion. The law must be used in a coercive or regulatory manner. Prohibition is resorted to where the object is to eliminate the drug as far as possible; administrative regulation, where it is necessary to make it legally available to some extent. The issue with respect to cannabis is whether it is still desirable and feasible to attempt to pursue a policy of prohibition or whether conditions are such that we are obliged to resort to administrative regulation. Administrative regulation may have objects other than the regulation of ailability; it may seek to control quality and price. Prohibition is not directed to these matters although it may indirectly have an effect on them. Prohibition and administrative regulation may be compared in terms of their impact on availability, quality and price. These are not, however, the only important matters affected by these two legal approaches. Other matters are effect on individuals of having to deal with an illicit rather than a licit market, and of having their conduct defined as criminal. Demand may be controlled by the deterrence of criminal law prohibition, information or education designed to dissuade people from using a drug indicating its dangers, and by other influences and substituted activities in home and elsewhere designed to remove the desire for drug use. Unlike the distribution of drugs, demand is more amenable to influences of a non-coercive or non-regulatory nature. The object of our social policy must be to reduce the availability and demand of cannabis as much as possible, if that can be done at an acceptable cost. The question is whether, and to what extent, the criminal law is a proper instrument for such a policy. The answer to this depends on how effective the initial law is in achieving its purpose, what the costs are of using it, and whether there are alternative methods of control that would achieve the purpose as effectively at less cost. An initial question is whether there is any reason in principle, apart from cost-benefit, why the criminal law should not applied against this kind of behaviour. WHETHER, IN PRINCIPLE, THE CRIMINAL LAW SHOULD BE USED IN THE FIELD OF NON-MEDICAL DRUG USE Some people take the position that non-medical drug use is an entirely personal and private matter, not unlike many other things that one does with one's body in the satisfaction of various appetites and the pursuit of various pleasures, and if any harm is being done it is harm which one is doing to oneself alone. They argue that the law should be concerned only with the damage or injury which an individual directly causes to another as a result of drug use. The classic exposition of this point of view is to be found in John Stuart Mill's celebrated Essay on Liberty, in which he states his central proposition as follows: The object of this Essay is to assert one very simple principle, as entitled to govern absolutely the dealings of society with the individual in the way of compulsion and control, whether the means used be physical force in the form of legal penalties, or the moral coercion of public opinion. That principle is, that the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self-protection. That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant. He cannot rightfully be compelled to do or forbear because it will be better for him to do so, because it will make him happier, because, in the opinions of others, to do so would be wise, or even right. These are good reasons for remonstrating with him, or reasoning with him, or persuading him, or entreating him, but not for compelling him, or visiting him with any evil, in case he do otherwise. To justify that, the conduct from which it is desired to deter him must be calculated to produce evil to someone else. The only part of the conduct of any one, for which he is amenable to society, is that which concerns others. In the part which merely concerns himself, his independence is, of right, absolute. Over himself, over his body and mind, the individual is sovereign. The fundamental value which Mill emphasizes is freedom, and it is not freedom as an abstract principle or independent good, but as a utilitarian value with which he is concerned: the necessity of freedom to the development and well-being of the individual and society. There is no question that we, as a democratic society, regardless of our particular or individual political persuasion, are profoundly committed to the supreme importance of freedom. But opinions differ as to its proper or necessary limits, and the issue as to what should be the legislative policy towards non-medical drug use reflects the debate as sharply as any. Before considering the response which has been made to Mill's thesis by philosophers and laymen, it should be observed that Mill himself admitted one very important qualification to his general principle that is of particular relevance for the subject of non-medical drug use. He took it to be obvious that the principle, that the state does not have the right to interfere with an individual in order to prevent him from causing harm to himself, does not apply to persons who do not have the requisite maturity for the exercise of truly free choice. As Mill put it: It is, perhaps, hardly necessary to say that this doctrine is meant to apply only to human beings in the maturity of their faculties. We are not speaking of children, or of young persons below the age which the law may fix as that of manhood or womanhood. Those who are still in a state to require being taken care of by others, must be protected against their own actions as well as against external injury. This is, of course, a qualification of major significance insofar as nonmedical drug use is concerned because young people are so heavily involved in it. Unfortunately, Mill does not indicate the kind of intervention which he would consider appropriate to protect the young from causing harm to themselves. We do not know what intervention he would consider possible and compatible, as a practical matter, with the freedom on which he would insist for adults. As to the limits of state intervention which he would regard as permissible, insofar as adults are concerned, Mill indicates the general tenor of his thinking in certain observations concerning government policy with respect to poisons and the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Always making exception for the protection of the young, his policy with respect to poisons is that where they have legitimate uses the government must limit its intervention, despite the risks of harm, to assuring that people are suitably warned of the dangers by proper labelling. His reasoning is that, assuming such poisons have useful purposes, people should not be deprived completely of access to them merely because they present serious dangers. He goes further and says that people should not be put to the inconvenience and expense of having to obtain a special permission, such as a doctor's prescription, to obtain them. This is, in fact, the general approach which is adopted by present legislative policy to a wide variety of substances with a potential for harm, at least in certain applications. It is felt that they cannot be removed entirely from the market because of their necessity or usefulness. Such is the case with drugs having a medical value, despite the dangers which they may esent in certain applications, and such is the case with the wide variety of industrial and household products containing volatile substances, gases and solvents. Despite their potential for harm, especially to young people, as a result of their chemical properties, it is not practicable to consider their removal from the market because of their utility, and in many cases necessity, in legitimate uses. Occasionally, it may be necessary to remove a substance entirely from the market because of its general hazard to health even in its principal application. Such was the case with the cyclamates. With drugs having therapeutic value, the requirement of a prescription must for the reasons indicated by Mill-inconvenience and cost-be applied very judiciously. With respect to the consumption of alcoholic beverages, Mill is of course against prohibition, and he sees the prohibition of sale as an attempt to prohibit use, as an infringement not only of the liberty of the seller but of the liberty of the user as well. Thus Mill would appear to be opposed to the "vice model" (which obtains in such matters as pornography and prostitution) whereby the law punishes the seller but not the user. At the same time Mill acknowledges that trade is a "social act" with which government has a right to concern itself. In other words, it affects others besides the trader. But on closer examination of what he has to say, it would appear that Mill is somewhat ambivalent or uncertain as to how far and upon what principles society is justified in interfering with the operations of the seller or purveyor of goods or services of which it disapproves. He concedes some force in the argument that access to the means of indulging in certain vices such as gambling and prostitution should be rendered as difficult as possible so as to reduce the opportunities for contact with them, but he does not feel that the same considerations apply to the sale of alcoholic beverages. The following passage reflects the general direction of his thinking, if not the whole of his analysis on this point: There is considerable force in these arguments. I will not venture to decide whether they are sufficient to justify the moral anomaly of punishing the accessory, when the principal is (and must be) allowed to go free; of fining or imprisoning the procurer, but not the fornicator, the gambling-house keeper, but not the gambler. Still less ought the common operations of buying and selling to be interfered with on analogous grounds. Almost every article which is bought and sold may be used in excess, and the sellers have a pecuniary interest in encouraging that excess; but no argument can be founded on this, in favour, for instance, of the Maine Law; because the class of dealers in strong drinks, though interested in their abuse, are indispensably required for the sake of their legitimate use. The interest, however, of these dealers in promoting intemperance is a real evil, and justifies the State in imposing restrictions and requiring guarantees which, but for that justification would be infringements of legitimate liberty. Mill recognized that such enterprises may be properly subjected to a variety of regulations and safeguards touching such matters as the reliability of the proprietors, hours of opening and closing, and the like, but he did not think that the regulations should have as their object, the attempt, by restricting the number of outlets, to render access to alcoholic beverages more difficult. Hence the reasoning seems to be that alcoholic beverages can be resorted to without abuse, and that it is not right to subject the majority who do not abuse them to inconvenience simply because of those who are liable to do so. Finally, Mill conceded that it was legitimate to allow a relatively heavy burden of taxes to fall upon alcoholic beverages since such taxes, which must be imposed by the state for revenue purposes, are bound to inhibit some forms of consumption. "It is hence the duty of the State," said Mill, "to consider, in the imposition of taxes, what commodities the consumers can best spare; and afortiori, to select in preference those of which it deems the use, beyond a very moderate quantity, to be positively injurious. Taxation, therefore, of stimulants, up to the point which produces the largest amount of revenue (supposing that the State needs all the revenue which it yields) is not only admissible, but to be approved of." It is not clear from all this how Mill would approach the modern phenomenon of non-medical drug use, and more particularly how he would propose to allow adults freedom while providing adequate protection for the young. It is a reasonable assumption that he would have assimilated all nonmedical use to that of alcohol and would have favoured a system of legal availability with regulations designed to minimize the opportunities for exposure of the young to it. It is also probable, however, that Mill would have found the problem particularly perplexing because of the extent to which modern youth is actively engaged in non-medical drug use. He might also have found considerable difficulty in determining that degree of maturity or discernment which should distinguish those who require protection from those who do not. The point is that Mill's general principle of non-interference with conduct that does not cause harm to third persons or to society generally is clear enough as an abstract proposition; it is its application, with its important qualification that the state has the right to intervene to protect persons under the age of maturity from causing harm to themselves, that presents difficulty, particularly in the context of contemporary drug use. With certain drug use the issues, if Mill's principles were to be followed, would be not merely how to protect the young while allowing freedom for the mature, but how to ameliorate the present problem, by a system which continued to attempt to deprive the young of access to the drug. Mill's thesis has been challenged by other philosophers and laymen oil several grounds. First, there is challenge of the assumption that might seem to be implicit in Mill's general position, that harm which one causes to oneself can never be a cause of harm to others or to society generally. Many-indeed we would think the vast majority-would strongly dispute this suggestion, particularly with respect to non-medical drug use. They would stress the effect which harmful drug use frequently has on the members of the user's family in emotional disturbance, family relations and discharge of one's family responsibilities, as well as the effect which it has on others in the community who must assume some responsibility for dealing with the consequences to the user and the members of his family-the demands upon the over-taxed resources of medical and social service facilities, sometimes causing neglect of other priorities, as well as the expense of establishing and maintaining necessary additional facilities. They would also stress the general effect of harmful drug use on the motivation and productive capacity required to maintain the institutions and life of the society. They would be concerned with the possible effects of widely diffused drug use on the present way of life. Actually, Mill concedes that the harm which one causes to oneself by a certain kind of behaviour may in many cases cause inconvenience, special burdens, and even injury to other individuals and to society generally, but he contends that this is not a reason for prohibiting the conduct altogether. It is his contention that we should deal with these secondary effects, as they arise, on their own merit as being attributable not to the general kind of conduct (for example, non-medical drug use) as such, but to certain factors in the individual, such as excessive use, lack of responsibility, and the like. Thus, in Mill's view, the fact that driving while under the influence of a drug may result in injury to others would not be a reason for prohibiting the use of the drug altogether. The injury to others is not the direct result of drug use as such but of driving while under the influence of the drug, and the law should direct itself to prohibiting and punishing this particular conduct rather than drug use as a whole. While Mill in the enunciation of his central principle recognizes the right of society to use the criminal law or moral coercion for its legitimate selfprotection, there is an implication that even if it could be demonstrated that non-medical drug use will frequently result in impairment of a person's general potential for usefulness to society, he would not consider this a sufficient ground for the exercise of such self-protection. This is where the issue is joined today. A majority of those who support the existing law do so not merely because of the effect of drug use on the welfare of the individual but chiefly because of what they feel to be its effect on the welfare of society as a whole. Mill would appear to exclude this, as a matter of principle, as a valid consideration for application of the criminal law, although the difference may be essentially a matter of appreciation of what constitutes a sufficient injury or harm to society to warrant intervention. What is really involved is a weighing of values: as Mill puts it, "the inconvenience is one which society can afford to bear, for the sake of the greater good of human freedom." Others take the view, in the case of non-medical drug use, that what is involved is more than a matter of "inconvenience" but rather a threat to other values on which the present society depends, such as the capacity and willingness to discharge personal responsibilities in work and personal relations, and that such value as there may be in the personal freedom to pursue non-medical drug use must cede to these other values which are held to be essential to the society's survival. The philosophic debate concerning the appropriateness of the criminal law in the field of non-medical drug use is associated with expressions such as "crime without victim" and "law and morals" which obscure the essential issue: how different people characterize the personal and social effects of nonmedical drug use in the light of their respective systems of value. This, rather than an abstract debate as to the appropriate limits of the criminal sanction, is what is really at stake. The quarrel is not so much with Mills' premises as with the practical conclusions which he drew from them in the light of a nineteenth century liberalism. Once he concedes, as he does, that society has a right to use the criminal law to protect itself, that a special protection is owing to those under the age of majority, and that people may be restrained from giving public offence to the sense of decency of others, then it seems that what essentially separates him from his critics are questions of application-the weighing of the competing values in the light of the particular facts, and consideration of the ways and means best calculated to promote the ends. For example, the English judge, Lord Devlin, who is generally regarded as the exponent of a legal philosophy that is at extreme variance with that of Mill, because of his insistence on the right, and indeed the duty, of the state to enforce morality, is seen on closer examination simply to take a different view of what the self-protection of the state requires. Although he speaks in a general way about the moral values of the majority as being essential to the preservation of the society, where the criminal law is concerned, his notion of morality is not divorced from consideration of the actual harm caused by particular conduct. It would not appear that in his view any departure from the prevailing moral code is to be considered a social harm warranting the application of the criminal law. Once again, it is a question of the subjective evaluation of the effects of certain conduct from the social point of view. His general approach is set out in the following passage from The Enforcement of Morals: I think, therefore, that it is not possible to set theoretical limits to the power of the State to legislate against immorality. It is not possible to settle in advance exceptions to the general rule or to define inflexibly areas of morality into which the law is in no circumstances to be allowed to enter. Society is entitled by means of its laws to protect itself from dangers, whether from within or without. Here again I think that the political parallel is legitimate. The law of treason is directed against aiding the king's enemies and against sedition from within. The justification for this is that established government is necessary for the existence of society and therefore its safety against violent overthrow must be secured. But an established morality is as necessary as good government to the welfare of society. Societies disintegrate from within more frequently than they are broken up by external pressures. There is disintegration when no common morality is observed and history shows that loosening of moral bonds is often the first stage of disintegration, so that society is justified in taking the same steps to preserve its moral code as it does to preserve its government and other essential institutions. The suppression of vice is as much the law's business as the suppression of subversive activities; it is no more possible to define a sphere of private morality than it is to define one of private subversive activity. It is wrong to talk of private morality or of the law not being concerned with immorality as such or to try to set rigid bounds to the part which the law may play in the suppression of viceThere are no theoretical limits to the power of the State to legislate against treason and sedition, and likewise I think there can be no theoretical limits to legislation against immorality. You may argue that if a man's sins affect only himself it cannot be the concern of society. If he chooses to get drunk every night in the privacy of his own home, is any one except himself the worse for it? But suppose a quarter or a half of the population got drunk every night, what sort of society would it be? You cannot set a theoretical limit to the number of people who can get drunk before society is entitled to legislate against drunkenness. Despite the general sweep of his statements in favour of the enforcement of morality, it seems clear that Lord Devlin is involved in the same process as Mill of weighing the values of personal freedom and privacy against other values which he deems to be essential to the preservation of a certain kind of society. If anything, what possibly distinguishes them is the relative importance or primacy which Mill, in the particular political context of his time, assigned to freedom as a social as well as individual value. But the essential perspective of Lord Devlin is not at such variance with that of Mill as some of his language suggests. For at one place, he says: "There must be toleration of the maximum individual freedom that is consistent with the integrity of society." And at another place he says, "But before a society can put a practice beyond the limits of tolerance there must be a deliberate judgment that the practice is injurious to society." Thus,whether one agrees or not with Lord Devlin's assumption that morality is essential to the preservation of society, it would not appear to be his thesis that, irrespective of the harm which appears to be caused by the conduct in question, it is proper to use the criminal law to enforce morality. Nevertheless Lord Devlin's general position on law and morality was attacked by the English philosopher, H.L.A. Hart, on the ground that since his belief in the importance of morality to the preservation of society appeared to be an a priori rather than an empirical conclusion, and he seemed to equate society with its morality, the natural and inevitable tendency of his position would be to regard any departure from the prevailing morality as a threat to the preservation of the society. Hart himself is in essential agreement with Mill that the criminal law should not be used to enforce morality, but he differs from Mill in regarding it as a legitimate object of the law to attempt to prevent individuals (including those of the age of maturity) from doing harm to themselves. This he justifies as "paternalism" (as distinct from "legal moralism", which he ascribes to Lord Devlin) on the ground that Mill exaggerated the capacity of adults to make wise use of their freedom. Hart's notion of paternalism may also impliedly challenge another assumption of Mill-that somehow the young can be protected while conceding freedom to adults. If an attempt is to be made to deny access to certain drugs to the young, either on the paternalistic basis of protecting them from causing harm to themselves or on the basis that their use of drugs will have an adverse effect On society as a whole, then it must be asked whether the achievement of this Purpose is rendered more or less difficult by permitting adults to have access to such drugs. On this whole philosphic issue as to whether, in principle, the criminal law should be used in the field of non-medical drug use, we adhere to the general position which we expressed in the Interim Report as follows:... In our opinion, the state has a responsibility to restrict the availability of harmful substances-and in particular to prevent the exposure of the young to them-and that such restriction is a proper object of the criminal law. We can not agree with Mill's thesis that the extent of the state's responsibility and permissible interference is to attempt to assure that people are warned of the dangers.... Obviously the state must be selective. It can not attempt to restrict the availability of any and all substances which may have a potential for harm. in many cases it must be satisfied with assuring adequate information. We simply say that, in principle, the state can not be denied the right to use the criminal law to restrict availability where, in its opinion, the potential for harm appears to call for such a policy. [Paragraph 442]... Without entering into the distinction between law and morality, we also subscribe to the general proposition that society has a right to use the criminal law to protect itself from harm which truly threatens its existence as a politically, socially and economically viable order for sustaining a creative and democratic process of human development and self-realization. [Paragraph 4431... The criminal law should not be used for the enforcement of morality without regard to potential for harm. In this sense we subscribe to what Hart refers to as the "moderate thesis" of Lord Devlin. We do not subscribe to the "extreme thesis" that it is appropriate to use the criminal law to enforce morality, regardless of the potential for harm to the individual or society. If we admit the right of society to use the criminal law to restrict the availability of harmful substances in order to protect individuals (particularly young people) and society from resultant harm, it does not necessarily follow that the criminal law should be applied against the user as well as the distributor of such substances. There is no principle of consistency that requires the criminal law to be used as fully as possible, or not at all, in a field in which it may have some degree of appropriateness. We do not exclude in principle the application of the criminal law against the user since it is a measure which can have an effect upon the availability and the exposure of others to the opportunity for use, but the appropriateness or utility of such an application must be evaluated in the light of the relative costs and benefits. [Paragraph 4441 We did express a general reservation concerning the offence of simple possession as follows: Our basic reservation at this time concerning the prohibition against simple possession for use is that its enforcement would appear to cost far too much, in individual and social terms, for any utility which it may be shown to have. We feel that the probability of this is such that there is justification at this time to reduce the impact of the offence of simple possession as much as possible, pending further study and consideration as to whether it should be retained at all. The present cost of its enforcement, and the individual and social harIn caused by it, are in our opinion, one of the major problems involved in the nonmedical use of drugs. [Paragraph 4491 In effect, it is not particularly helpful in this case to attempt to set theoretical limits to the application of the criminal law. The criminal law may properly be applied, as a matter of principle, to restrict the availability of harmful substances, to prevent a person from causing harm to himself or to others by the use of such substances, and to prevent the harm caused to society by such use. In every case the test must be a practical one, we must weigh the potential for harm, individual and social, of the conduct in question against the harm, individual and social, which is caused by the application of the criminal law and ask ourselves whether, on balance the intervention is justified. Put another way, the use of the criminal law in any particular case should be justified on an evaluation and weighing of its benefits and costs. Generally speaking, the adverse effects for the individual of the criminal law process are such that it must be justified in each case by rational and convincing reasons of necessity, in relation to other available means of achieving the desired purpose. We propose to address ourselves to the following questions: To what extent can we hope to achieve our objectives through use of the criminal law? Does the benefit which we think we obtain by the use of the criminal law outweigh the costs of using the criminal law in this particular case? What would be the effect of using the criminal law in some reduced measure? What would be the effect of replacing it by some other form of regulation? It is convenient to proceed with this analysis in terms of a comparison of criminal law prohibition and administrative regulation. The major issues in the choice between criminal law prohibition and administrative regulation of cannabis are whether criminal law prohibition exercises a more effective control upon availability and demand, and if so, whether this margin of control justifies the costs of criminal law prohibition in the form of the various adverse effects upon individuals, the law enforcement processes and the society generally. CONTROL OF AVAILABILITY A policy of administrative regulation-that is, making cannabis legally available under government controls-would increase rather than reduce availability. The government control of the distribution of alcohol is not really an effective limitation upon availability. Some attempt is made to limit the number of distribution outlets, and while this may cause some personal inconvenience in obtaining supplies, people are not effectively prevented from obtaining as much as they want. Unless one is prepared to introduce a quota or rationing system, administrative regulation is not a means of limiting or reducing availability, and even then there are ways of circumventng the system. The chief means by which a system of administrative regulation seeks to control use is through the |
, as a huge asset: The ability to be discarded offensively for most of the game, then deliver at important times when the ball may find you in a flurry. That’s not easy to do, but Barnes does it extremely well.
Another thing Barnes’ critics fail to realize is he actually has the perfect mindset, the perfect mentality for this team. If Barnes were more of a high-maintenance player he’d be talking about his lack of touches or need for a bigger role on the team.
He’d be forcing the issue on the court, perhaps trying to do too much. And can someone out there tell me why you’d ever want Barnes forcing the issue or being aggressive on a team with Curry? There’s only one ball, people, and Curry’s GOT to have it most of the time. Barnes knows how to deal with that.
I may have buried the lead but Barnes’ versatility on the defensive end is really what makes him special – yes, special – at least for the Warriors. Barnes’ ability to defend both 3s and 4s is where one of his core values resides.
Barnes’ ability to defend 4s competently helps the Warriors play the style that has become most successful for them: Put better basketball players on the floor than the other team, size be damned.
Think about how the Warriors substitute to start many games. Andre Iguodala comes into the game for Barnes at some point in the first quarter. Then, after Barnes gets a rest, he often returns to the game, replacing Draymond Green, the team’s starting power forward.
At that point, Barnes will usually defend the opposition’s power forward, leaving Iguodala to stay on the small forward, which is what he does best. Frequently, those are periods where the Warriors excel. And a big reason is because Barnes can hold his own against bigger players in the post at the defensive end and then exploit the hell out of them at the other end – but only when it comes naturally, through the Warriors’ organic flow.
Off the top of my head, I’m thinking about other NBA wing players … Rudy Gay, Paul George, DeMarre Carroll, Gordon Hayward, Lance Stephenson, Chandler Parsons, Nic Batum, Marvin Williams, etc.
Well, Barnes defends 4s better than any of those guys. Now, that’s not to say Barnes is necessarily a better player than any or some of those guys, just that he excels at an aspect of the game that they don’t.
And that strength helps allow the Warriors to be the Warriors. Golden State used a lineup of Curry, Thompson, Iguodala, Barnes and Green to finish up against the Clippers, and that’s when they overcame a 10-point deficit.
Barnes had to match up with Blake Griffin for much of the fourth quarter. Griffin went scoreless. Was that solely because of Barnes? Of course not. In fact, the Warriors sometimes must double 4s when Barnes is defending them, but note: sometimes.
The fact is that Barnes can hold his own most nights at that spot. And Green can hold his own most nights at power forward and center positions, if needed.
That kind of versatility makes the Warriors unique. And Barnes is a huge part of it.
***Hey, if you made it down this far, this guy Matt Steinmetz co-hosts the Sal and Steiny Podcast, along with Bay Area legend Sal Castaneda, and a few people have said it’s pretty good. You can download ’em here:
http://apple.co/1FkAyGI
AdvertisementsIt was June 4th, the last day of the first week of 2017 NA LCS Summer Split, and also the day when Immortals defeated Team SoloMid in a series for the first time.
As we prepared to interview Hojong "Flame" Lee of Immortals, we saw Robert Yip, the team's coach who'd been on stage with the players during the draft phase. We wanted to ask Flame about how Sangsoo "SSONG" Kim, Immortals' new head coach, changed the team. As a fellow coach, we thought he might have a different perspective of how a Korean coach had changed the North American team.
So, we've spontaneously asked Robert to join in, and we've started our first joint coach-player interview with Immortals' Hojong "Flame" Lee and Robert Yip.
Congratulations on winning both matches in the first week by defeating P1 and TSM. Why do you think you were successful in Week 1?
Flame: The first thing that comes to mind is how we grew as a team with the new jungler and coach. I was always confident about my own skill, but now that I know how to play as a team, I feel like I can play much better. Also, we've done better in the draft phase too, so we had the upper hand.
Robert: The team that we have, including the substitute members, is very skillful. More importantly though, everyone worked super hard from Day 1. Everybody plays solo queue, and all the players are ranked high on the ladder. Pobelter is ranked first place, AnDa is ranked fourth place, and everyone else is climbing very high. The motivation that you get when you come downstairs and see everyone playing the game makes the players want to play more by themselves. Even today, we've won, we're tired, but when we go home, we'll play more solo queue because we motivate each other to work hard.
Flame has been with Immortals for two splits. How well do you think Flame has adjusted in the NA LCS?
Flame: I'm not exactly a person who adapts fast. We didn't have a Korean cook or a translator last split, and I wasn't really good at English, so it was very difficult for me to adjust quickly. Now, I'm really grateful that we've got a Korean cook, translator and also Coach SSONG when I asked. I've adjusted pretty well, I'm satisfied with how the team is supporting me this split. Now I just need to focus on myself to improve my game.
Robert: When Flame first came to US, we had an interview before we signed him, and his English was good: He tried to answer the questions in English, and he was motivated to come to North America not for money but to work hard. He brought experience and very good communication in-game, and he is a very nice person. He was very easy to work with, and he improved a lot to be a better team player. As a coach, I'll say that he is very good player.
Flame: Thank you.
Robert, Flame and Huni have a lot of similarity in playstyle. Do they have something in common that Immortals look for?
The playstyle similarity between the two is a coincidence. What we've first looked for in our prospects were two things: motivation and skill. Then we talked and asked many questions to see who'd be the best fit for the team. For example, a Korean player with good mechanics who doesn't want to learn English wouldn't be a good fit, and same with a player who only wants money. We want to make sure that everyone can be friends, kind of like ROX Tigers.
How do you feel about the new head coach, Sangsu "SSONG" Kim?
Flame: SSONG is always thinking about the game, and he is very professional and strict when he needs to be. He could sometimes be too strict, but his results speak for themselves. Also, since he has a good career and good skill as a coach, so we tend to respect his authority.
Robert: SSONG changed the whole culture of the team. I feel like we are a Korean team now, because we have two Korean players, AnDa loves everything about Korea, we eat Korean food everyday, and we talk a lot in Korean too. It's good for Korean players. In spring split, Korean players had some difficulty understanding language in and out of the game, so they didn't feel like NA was their home. In this split, the players are comfortable and happy, and usually happy players play better, so I feel like it's been a good change.
What are your goals for this split, and how much do you feel that you've come to attain that goal?
Flame: I'm not so sure yet, but I think we'll be at about fourth or fifth place in the regular season. Also, I'm sure that we'll improve over time so that we can make it to the Worlds. If we do make it to the Worlds, I feel like we might even have a chance of going to finals as long as we don't meet Korean teams. [Laughs] Seriously, it would be really great if we'd make it to the semis, and I feel like we'll be able to make a breakthrough if we make it to the Worlds.
Personally, I want to become the best top laner in NA and go to the All-stars to meet the fans all over the world. We've improved a lot both individually and as a team compared to before, but we still have a long way to go though, so we are always trying our best. I'll say that I'm about 60% complete as a player this split.
Robert: I'd like our team to be Top 5, but not 'barely making it to playoffs' top 5. I want us to be a strong team going into playoffs, and I want us to keep growing and learning. Maybe, we could go on to the Gauntlet, and maybe we might go to the Worlds. I want to wait until week 2-3 to show whether we are consistent, but I feel like we are at about 70%, but it will depend on how the players and the coach can work on the composition and the playstyle.
Flame, feel free to share whatever that you'd like to say to your fans back home.
I don't go on social media much anymore, and I live in a different timezone with most of my Korean fans. So, I feel like I'm growing more distant from my fans. If I go on to the international stage, I will make sure to do my best, and I hope that the fans would cheer for me there.
Robert, if you have something that you want to say to your players, feel free to share it with us.
Remember today - Remember how you feel, the motivation that you have right now, and how good it feels. Keep practicing hard to so that you can get this feeling every weekend. If you work hard as a team, trust each other and listen; we can have more days like today.Sarah Myles on The LEGO Movie franchise and the marriage of movie merchandising…
Forty years ago, there was a seismic shift in the film industry, when Bernard Loomis of Kenner Toys decided that Star Wars was ‘toyetic.’ That shift, all those years ago, has led us on a journey of courtship between movies and merchandising, that has brought us to The LEGO Movie franchise. There have been many diversions along way – perhaps, most notably, Hasbro and the Transformers film franchise – but LEGO… well, LEGO is different. LEGO – with all its flexibility and trans-generational appeal – has created the ultimate marriage between movies and merchandise.
The rise of movie merchandising
Bernard Loomis was a toy development executive who had worked for Mattel during the introduction of its Hot Wheels line of toy cars in the late 1960s, and proposed the animated television show that subsequently went along with it. Such an endeavour proved problematic, as rival toy companies filed complaints with the Federal Communication Commission, alleging that the show was essentially a 30 minute long commercial for Mattel in the guise of a children’s show. Loomis departed Mattel for the Kenner Toys division of General Mills, and shifted his focus to cinema.
Star Wars was on the radar of Loomis and Kenner Toys as having merchandising potential, but the toy executive initially met with Steven Spielberg – with a view to developing toys connected with Close Encounters of the Third Kind. He soon determined that the movie was not ‘toyetic,’ and discussion with Spielberg helped Loomis settle on Star Wars as Kenner’s next big deal. This deal – which ultimately saw over 300 million Star Wars action figures sold between 1978 and 1985 – influenced the next step in the evolution of studio filmmaking, as it revealed a highly lucrative additional revenue stream that had never before been fully exploited.
It is clearly this point in the history of the film industry that gave rise to a new approach by studios – in which the ‘toyetic’ nature of potential film projects became a higher priority in the ‘greenlighting’ process. Merchandising tie-ins subsequently became a big part of the success of films such as E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Ghostbusters, and the Back to the Future films, and this only increased as we moved into the following decade. Jurassic Park branded lunchboxes quickly filled school canteens, and everybody wanted a Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story for their very own.
The decade that followed – the 2000s – saw the rise of the cohesive cinematic universe which, combined with superheroes, became the new merchandising tie-in mother lode. Marvel products soon became the must-have items, certainly rivalling the popularity of Star Wars toys during their heyday. But, while consumers were getting excited for each new branded product that hit the shelves every Christmas, the LEGO brand was quietly plugging away – waiting for its moment.
LEGO – the simplest ideas are the best
It is arguably the simplicity of LEGO that has ensured its longevity as one of the most popular toys ever created. The interlocking bricks of various colours and sizes were invented in 1949, by Ole Kirk Christiansen of the Denmark-based company The LEGO Group. There are currently over 600 billion LEGO pieces in circulation, which – six decades on – is testament to the loyalty the brand inspires over successive generations.
Like all the most successful commercial brands, though, LEGO’s power lies in its diversification within pop culture. Had it remained a simple construction tool for children, it would undoubtedly have maintained a healthy sales level, but the exponential growth of LEGO is a result of moves into film, television, video games, and theme parks – which is a strategy similar to that seen with the growth of the Disney brand (which now includes Star Wars, Pixar, and Marvel, of course).
But, LEGO has a secret weapon – and it is this that allowed for the creation of The LEGO Movie franchise, and subsequently secured its position as brand consultancy Brand Finance’s ‘World’s Most Powerful Brand’ in 2015. In its capacity as a toy product, LEGO has acquired license to produce various lines tied in with other examples of the biggest pop culture brands – which essentially began in 1999, with the licensing of LEGO Star Wars. As its licensing agreement with Lucasfilm has been repeatedly extended ever since, there are now over 370 individual Star Wars LEGO sets available, in addition to other LEGO-themed Star Wars merchandise items – such as key chains, and lamps.
This licensing strategy proved to be very successful in the evolution of LEGO animation – Brickfilm – which began in the 1970s, when amateur animators produced short films using LEGO and stop-motion techniques. The short-lived LEGO Studios line of products reflected the brand’s support of LEGO filmmaking, but it was not until LEGO partnered with Miramax in 2003 that the brand began to make official films based on LEGO products – the first being Bionicle. Since that trilogy ended, there have been 12 straight-to-video films, seven short films, 12 TV specials, and 14 TV series. All of these projects – which have included Star Wars, DC, Marvel, Indiana Jones, Scooby-Doo, and LEGO’s own Clutch Powers and Hero Factory lines – have served to merge the ideas of LEGO and screen entertainment in the consciousness of pop culture.
Continuing this expansion – and its strategy of connecting with other successful brands – LEGO introduced the LEGO Super Heroes range in 2011, which specifically featured construction sets of DC characters and scenarios, Marvel characters and scenarios, eight home-release animated movies, and a variety of video games. During the following years, the range would expand to include sets that were specific to giant genre movies, such as Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, and titles from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This reintroduced LEGO Batman – which had previously featured as a product range from 2006 to 2008, tying in with Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight movies.
Suddenly, with the explosion of superhero cinema, the reboot of the Star Wars franchise, and the video-game expansion of both, LEGO was perched at the intersection of maximum brand recognition within pop culture – and there is surely no better time to launch a cinematic universe than that.
The LEGO Movie film franchise
When your own product is one of the most iconic brands in the world, and you have license for several of the other most iconic brands in the world, everything is indeed awesome. Leaning heavily on its ability to mix instantly recognisable characters and sets with brand new inventions, LEGO debuted its first feature film for theatrical release in 2014, with The LEGO Movie. The brand’s licensing deals meant that productive relationships with studios were already in place, and it was Warner Bros. that developed and released the movie.
Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs), from a script they wrote with Dan and Kevin Hageman, the film was a giant critical and commercial success – to the tune of $469 million in worldwide box office, against an estimated budget of $60 million. It was a unique movie, thanks to its ability to bring together beloved characters from Star Wars, DC, Marvel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Simpsons, Harry Potter, and The Lord of the Rings on the big screen, for the first time – alongside a new set of figures who were instantly elevated to iconic status, thanks to an excellent script and outstanding direction. This ensured that The LEGO Movie was a celebration of both LEGO construction, and pop culture in general – which, in turn, guaranteed its universal appeal.
Once that secret weapon – the licensing of other brands – was deployed within the confines of The LEGO Movie, the effect of that strategy spread far and wide through pop culture, with the release of LEGO products and merchandise tied in with the movie. To be clear, that’s merchandise for a film, based on a toy line that expanded its brand by licensing movie and television brands for merchandising, and then turned all that into a movie of its own. The beauty of it was that by including LEGO’s own products – such as Duplo – alongside the other brands, The LEGO Movie served to raise the profile of LEGO’s entire product line without it ever feeling like a feature length commercial.
This success was consolidated with the release of The LEGO Batman Movie in 2017 – which delivered a feature film story involving all the characters included in LEGO’s DC product line. The film – directed by Chris McKay, from a script written by Seth Grahame-Smith, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Jared Stern, and John Whittington – was a little less commercially successful than The LEGO Movie, but still generated $312 million against an estimated $80 million budget.
The real test came in September 2017, with the release of The LEGO Ninjago Movie. This was the first instalment of the theatrically released LEGO film franchise to be based entirely upon the brand’s own characters. LEGO Ninjago was launched as a LEGO range in 2011 – as a reinvention of the Ninja theme that ran from 1998 to 2000. Ninjago takes elements from this previous range, but channels them into a new line, sub-titled Masters of Spinjitzu.
The LEGO Ninjago Movie was assumed to be a solid bet for LEGO and Warner Bros., because it was preceded by a lengthy and very popular animated TV show – titled LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu – which launched on Cartoon Network in 2011. Directed by Charlie Bean, Paul Fisher, and Bob Logan, The LEGO Ninjago Movie was written by Logan, Fisher, William Wheeler, Tom Wheeler, Jared Stern, John Whittington, Hilary Winston, Dan Hageman, and Kevin Hageman. In the film, the six ninja and their Master Wu must defend Ninjago from the evil Lord Garmadon – who also happens to be the father of Green Ninja, Lloyd.
With this first movie in The LEGO Movie franchise to be based entirely on its own brand, LEGO faced drastically diminished returns, though. A combination of lower box office takings ($119.4 million worldwide, against an estimated budget of $70 million), and a luke-warm critical reaction suggests that it is, in fact, the merging of brands – evident in The LEGO Movie and The LEGO Batman Movie – that viewers respond to most strongly. If this is indeed the case, then we can expect to see significant box office success for The LEGO Movie sequel (due for release on February 8th, 2019), followed by a small, but notable drop in box office business for The LEGO Movie spin-off, The Billion Brick Race (scheduled for release on May 24th, 2019).
This trend, over the course of three released franchise films, would seem to indicate that the power of the LEGO brand does indeed stem from its secret weapon – its ability to permeate pop culture further by combining globally iconic brands in ways that are entirely unique to its line of toy products. Nobody does Brickfilm animation like LEGO does – and as long as it adds a dash of Star Wars, Marvel, or DC magic, everything remains awesome.
Sarah Myles – Follow me on TwitterI received this email today from Boaz Shuval, a fermentation experimentalist in Israel, about a fascinating experiment he tried:
One of my favorite fermentations is yogurt making, and I’ve been making my own since 2005. For years I have been using commercial yogurt cultures as starters, and have had to replenish them every few generations. In your book you mentioned the heirloom yogurt cultures, which intrigued me. Unfortunately, the commercial sources of heirloom yogurt cultures do not ship to Israel, where I live. Nor do I know anyone who has an heirloom yogurt culture here in Israel. Therefore, it was with great interest that I read the chapter [in The Art of Fermentation ] about plant origins of yogurt.
You mentioned a great deal of possible natural sources for yogurt cultures, some of which, like ant eggs, I was not keen on trying. However, you did mention that in India chili-pepper stems may be used as a source for yogurt cultures. This was something I was willing to try. So, I bought a package of red chili peppers from the store. I heated one liter of whole milk to 180F, and let it cool gradually to 110F (I let it cool slowly, over 2-3 hours). I briefly rinsed the chili peppers, and cut the stems off a dozen. I place the stems in a container, and added the milk. I placed that in my yogurt incubator. After 10 hours, nothing had happened. I decided to let it continue fermenting. After about 13 hours, the magic happened, and the milk had gelled! In fact, it had over-fermented a bit, and split. I had a layer of whey at the bottom, on top of which floated a very thick curd. I cooled it in the fridge, and it tasted like spicy, chili-flavored yogurt. I used one teaspoon of this yogurt to inoculate a fresh batch of milk.
Again, I repeated the same process: heat to 180F, cool to 110F, incubate at 110F-115F. The yogurt set beautifully after about three hours. This is a really fast-setting yogurt culture. The result was a very thick yogurt (this time I stopped the heat on time, so it did not split). I should probably say that it is a yogurt-like product as I don’t actually know what’s in it. Flavor-wise, it tasted very good. It is quite sweet and not very acidic, even thought its pH level does go down to 3.5-4 (I used a pH strip to test).
This yogurt culture so far has reliably made 5 generations of yogurt. My routine now begin at about 6:00 PM, where I heat up my yogurt. I then let it cool gradually over three hours. If, at 9:00 PM, it has cooled too much, I will heat it a little to raise the temperature to 110F. I add a teaspoon of yogurt culture from the previous batch (this I remove after the initial cooling of the yogurt and set aside). I incubate at 110F-115F for three hours, until midnight. By this time, the yogurt has begun to gel, although the gel is quite fragile. I kill the heat from my incubator at this point, and keep it insulated until the morning. By morning time, the yogurt will have beautifully set into a firm curd, and be just slightly warmer than room temperature. I then refrigerate it for several hours, where it continues to firm.
I am very excited about this. Naturally, I was very doubtful that this would even work. I have been sharing it with whomever would listen. I have also given some culture to a friend. I wanted to share this with you, so you could share it with more people than I can. It also makes me wonder what other sources of plants are used to make yogurt. Perhaps different plants can make different flavors and consistencies of yogurt? If you know of some information on the matter, I would greatly appreciate it if you could share it with me.
Thank you again for writing your fabulous new book. It is indeed a fantastic source, possibly the best source, of information about fermentation. It has been the source for many fermentation experiments at my home.
Best,
BoazAt Prime Minister’s Questions, at six minutes past midday, Theresa May almost began to dance. Jeremy Bernard Corbyn had just tried to catch her off-guard – rather like a mugger – by leading on London’s crime wave. That is, the plague of midnight stabbing and acid-ing unleashed by New Labour’s lost children. Cue Theresa: “He might not have noticed but the Police and Crime Commissioner in London is the Mayor…”
As soon as she said “mayor”, Theresa May started to flick her wrist back and forth, finger outstretched, pointing between the government and opposition benches. This is a new action in a limited repertoire of gestures, a far cry from the ‘nothing has changed maniacal double-hand wave’. Turning side on, she paused, then said: “is he one of ours or one of yours?”
Unusually, her backbenchers roared with glee. Damian Green raised a smile wider than a pornstar’s legs. And then it really started to happen. Riding the crest of the wave, as stand-up comics call it, Theresa May herself smiled and said: “perhaps the leader of the Labour Party thinks the mayor’s not Labour enough for him.”
Had her Strepsils been swapped for some banned performance enhancing drug? How long could this near-symphonic high last for the Prime Minister? She had succeed in delighting the House more with this attacking first answer than she has at any parliamentary appearance since the election. Put more of this in her Benylin!
Meanwhile, presumably bogged down in a three-day discussion on the Illuminati with Emma Dent Coad, Jeremy had forgotten to send Georgina’s letter to Downing Street. Georgina is one of the distressed constituents who does what any reasonable person would do when down on their luck: write a raving letter to a national hate figure. If we’re perfectly honest, Jeremy wouldn’t know Georgina if he fell over her in the street. His interest in her goes as far as political point scoring and no farther. The doddery old fool has probably lost her letter.
We can’t move on without dwelling on Dent Coad for a moment. She wasn’t spied in the chamber, as, like Jared O’Mara before her, she was presumably busy by her computer, madly attempting to delete her library of hate from the internet. Too late.
A by-now-buzzing May capitalised, digging at Corbyn: “actually I think this is a major moment, he has got something right today, we are the government and he is the opposition”. Later, she had a good salvo riffing on various indicators which were “up” or “down”, clearly designed for backbenchers to join in, chorus-like. If she carries on like this, there’s just a slim chance they actually might.
Suspended Charlie Elphicke was called, and for a moment everyone thought there might be some controversy. There was none.
At 46 minutes past the hour GMT, or four minutes past the hour SBT (Speaker Bercow Time), pea-brained irrelevance Angela Eagle rose to ask the Prime Minister: “how she thinks it’s going?” Eagle, although named for the most majestic of all birds of prey, has the intellectual capacity of cold mashed potato.
There is nothing appealing about this overpaid dunderhead, who, by attempting to string together a sentence in the Chamber, seemed somehow to believe she had dealt a killer blow to May.
This was the longest PMQs so far of the parliamentary session. Can’t we get them all on May’s super-Strepsils, if only to finish more quickly?Namkeen and Meetha kulcha
Made in Azad Kashmir’s capital Muzaffarbad, Kashmiri Kulcha is recognized for its unique recipe and taste, which is equally favorite to children, young and old. Kashmiri kulcha has been known for nearly 150 years. Traditionally, Kashmiri kulcha is taken in breakfast. However it can be taken at any time as desired. Made from fine wheat flour (maida), eggs & ghee, Kashmiri kulcha is baked both in sweet (meetha) & saltish (namkeen) tastes. People enjoy taking Kashmiri kulcha especially with milk tea or qahwa. Good thing is that Kashmiri kulcha stays eatable for many days without keeping it in refrigerator. However to preserve its freshness, it is preferable to keep it in an air tight jar. Tourists who visit Kashmir often take Kashmiri kulcha with them as a gift.You might have already read the news and witnessed the ensuing circus of conjecture, but for the uninitiated: Rumors of Nintendo's next console and its imminent unveiling are percolating, and they aren't the ordinary "a friend of a friend who works for the Petco near the Kmart said" rumors. These are the sorts of rumors that carry some urgency because they've made their way through trusted channels, or more specifically, third-party publishers that are likely privy to such events. Where it all starts to get a little murky is in the details. Is it more powerful than the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3? Will it be backward compatible? Is it true that the control mechanism will have some kind of touch screen? Will it at least display HD resolutions? The answers to these questions vary, and we're left to interpret the vagaries of the situation until Nintendo confirms details. Until it does, if you want a real peek into Nintendo's future, its past serves as a suitable, if not surprising, guide.
The Nintendo DS sprang from the silicon loins of the dual-screen iteration of the Game & Watch, Nintendo's first successful foray into handheld gaming. The Super Nintendo's Mode 7 effects and Super FX chip heralded Nintendo's forthcoming push into 3D worlds and the coming age of polygonal graphics--perhaps too much so, because Nintendo canceled Super FX projects to create greater demarcation between the Super Nintendo and the Nintendo 64. The Nintendo 64DD's roots are traceable to the Famicom and its disk drive. Even the "it's so bad" Power Glove, though only licensed but not developed by Nintendo, and its technological aspirations ostensibly live on in the Wii.
Then there's the 3DS. The entire existence of Nintendo's new handheld platform is expressly owed to Nintendo's sheer stubbornness with 3D technology and its repeated attempts to make it more than an afterthought. This is a company that has constructed no fewer than three devices (starting with the Famicom 3D headset, Virtual Boy, and the GameCube's unused 3D display technology) devoted in some form to the technology. For Nintendo, it was only a matter of time before the technological stars aligned and 3D integration could happen in a logical and nonintrusive way, and quite frankly, we all should have seen it coming.
Two decades in the making.
Of course, hindsight being the great historical equalizer, it's far easier to correlate Nintendo's past with its future when the future is already on store shelves, but the lesson is this: What we perceive as successes or failures in the company's vast product pantheon, Nintendo views as opportunities to extract, improve, and use as a foundation for a new product. To establish a link with Nintendo's next system, the key is to focus on something that falls in line with this entire philosophy; something that reveals an iterative, improvable process; something that gives insight into Nintendo. That something is Animal Crossing.
More than Zelda and more than even Mario, Animal Crossing is Nintendo's hardware functionality test bed--it's the game the company uses to push features that sit outside of what's normally expected of games on Nintendo platforms. It was the first Nintendo game to support connectivity between the GameCube and the Game Boy Advance in a huge way, letting users access a secret island, customize clothing patterns, and even download NES games to the Game Boy Advance. It even supported the woefully underutilized e-Reader and let item exchanges occur via codes in the absence of online functionality. More importantly, its entire premise is built around the internal system clock and how the ensuing passage of time changes the game.
The confluence of time and gameplay is significant in itself because it highlights a concept that had been bouncing around at Nintendo HQ for years. The Satellaview system, an add-on released for the Super Famicom in 1995, was in essence the hardware incarnation of Animal Crossing. Various forms of content, including full downloadable versions of games as well as Satellaview-specific products, were available at designated times set by Nintendo.
While there wasn't anything noteworthy about the ports, the original Satellaview games were remarkable because not only were they episodic (long before that became a thing), but their mechanics also changed at the whim of the in-game clock. This translated to changes in weather, gameplay tweaks (like infinite ammunition), or even special events involving in-game characters. Sound familiar? There are some other obvious connections between Animal Crossing and Nintendo's Satellite-powered hardware. The included software featured a town that represented various features of the service. Avatars were able to navigate that town as well as use an inventory system to access money and other items.
WiiConnect24 is a modern take on the Satellaview concept, and not surprisingly, Animal Crossing: City Folk (and Mario Kart Wii to a lesser extent with its tournaments) has made some of the most effective use of the service, offering special items to commemorate holidays and other celebrations. More importantly, these items are available even when the Wii is in standby mode, giving greater incentive to revisit the game long after the initial purchase. This is exactly the same reason the 3DS's SpotPass feature exists--to push content for specific games and notify users when new content is available, even when the 3DS is in sleep mode.
In fact, SpotPass is an important feature in relation to Nintendo's next system because it supports the idea of an online-focused, living console--always connected, always promoting changes. From a general standpoint, this plays into what the industry is already doing. The Halo series features playlists that change according to parameters set by Bungie. From Software's Demon's Souls executes something similar, changing the difficulty of creatures at specific intervals. But the difference between what's happening now and what Nintendo can do with its console is as simple as active versus passive promotion.
It's like the difference between receiving a new email notification on a phone (active) and the hassle of starting an email client over and over to check for new messages (passive). Xbox Live and PSN are passive. They both require users to either boot up the game in question (like Mass Effect 2's Cerberus Network, for example) to receive notification of changes, or browse around labyrinthine menu systems, the appearance of which is largely dictated by marketing strategies. At worst, these platforms assume their users are already up to speed on what events or changes are happening and when.
Nintendo's new console, like the 3DS, may be able to take the active approach by detecting what games you've already played and then allow developers of those games to send notifications of changes or upcoming events directly to the system. This potentially opens the floodgates for advertising spam about the next downloadable content available for purchase, but it also gives developers an opportunity--and more importantly, a reason--to actively support their games for longer periods of time. Additionally, it incentivizes the development of Satellaview-style games that aren't quite episodic, but they're not quite full games in the traditional sense, either. Instead, this gaming environment can theoretically produce new types of experiences that essentially reward users for playing a specific game every day. This can even take the form of a new achievement and trophy system (that Nintendo has been reluctant to embrace), in which players are rewarded for accomplishing certain goals on designated days--not unlike what Blizzard does with timed World of Warcraft achievements and rewards, or what Animal Crossing does with its traveling salesmen.
The visual representation of this ecosystem can take two forms. Nintendo can go with its preexisting WiiConnect24 system, which occasionally updates a section for messages on the system, but it's possible that Nintendo is aiming in a different direction. First, consider this: Miis aren't going anywhere. They're one of the most popular functions of the Wii and the 3DS. Second, and keeping with the Satellaview theme, it's entirely possible for Nintendo to layer an Animal Crossing-like experience on top of everything and populate it with Miis instead of the traditional Animal Crossing characters. Throw in the ability for users to visit each other's towns, collect items, display rewards, manage a house, and you have a great piece of software built into the system that doubles as an easily digestible user interface. For those familiar with PlayStation Home, this concept should sound immediately familiar, but the two would differ in focus.
A glimpse of the future?
Where does that leave the particulars of Nintendo's new system? One thing that stands out is the rumor of the screen on the new controller. While this poses some interesting questions about the size of the screen and the resulting bulk of the controller itself, it's something Nintendo has done before with connectivity between the GameCube and Game Boy Advance, so it's not all that far-fetched and carries some obvious applications. What will be interesting to see is if Nintendo takes this opportunity to re-create what it already did with Animal Crossing and let users |
Note: make sure to select Y for the Y field.)
In the Options sub-menu, select “Always Show Entire Image”.
Click OK.
Now, if you drag and drop the X and Y measures onto the columns and rows, Tableau will display the background image.
Pick a place on the image where you would like the call-out to appear, and right-click to select “Annotate > Point”.
Tableau will show the exact coordinates.
Repeat the process to find the exact coordinates for each link location. Save your work in Tableau as a TWB workbook and close Tableau.
Return to Analytics Canvas to add the exact coordinates for X and Y.
Click on the output stub of the Calculate block and select pageviews, and the X and Y columns. Right click and select “copy”. Then right-click on the Write space on the Canvas and select “paste”.
Analytics Canvas will create an Internal Dataset. Click on it, and edit coordinates to match the exact coordinates you found using Tableau. Simply type in the exact coordinate values in each cell.
Add a Join block and join the Google Analytics data with the Internal Dataset that you’ve just created. Select pageviews as a column to join by (if your pageviews values aren’t 100% unique, select pagePath instead).
Here is what the result of the Join procedure will look like:
We are now ready to map the data to the background image. Write the new data to your TDE file by clicking the Full Run button.
Creating the In-Page Analytics Report in Tableau
Re-open your TWB workbook. Tableau will add a point next to each button according to the coordinates specified.
All we have to do now is to make each blue circle a call-out.
Drag and drop pageviews onto the Label Mark.
If you would like to display the call-outs as a percentage of the total, duplicate the pageviews measure by right-clicking and selecting Duplicate. Then, drag it onto the Label Mark and add a Quick Table Calculation > Percent of Total.
All done! Now you can add In-Page Analytics to your Tableau reports!The Cubs understand Wade Davis cannot only be measured in saves (76 across the last three seasons) or career postseason ERA (1.40) or All-Star appearances (three years running). There is real value to the way Davis interacts with teammates, the peace of mind that comes with the ninth inning and the outsized influence those elite closers have in the playoffs.
That makes Davis such an interesting case study for a front office that generally avoids long-term commitments to closers, viewing the job as too narrow and too volatile and believing that the next great reliever can develop organically.
Maybe the Cubs will ultimately decide that they need to pour their resources into filling roughly 400 rotation innings while planning for next winter’s blue-chip class of free agents and the escalating costs for their young hitters.
Davis is 32 years old and coming off a season where he put up a career-high walk rate, got hit noticeably harder in the second half and threw 92 pitches in his last two playoff appearances.
Davis also has a 32-for-33 in save chances on his 2017 stat sheet, a World Series ring from the 2015 Kansas City Royals, a more sophisticated ninth-inning style than, say, Aroldis Chapman’s 100-mph fastball and a reputation for being a baseball gym rat and a pitcher whisperer.
“He is always trying to learn, always trying to figure things out,” said Brian Duensing, another free-agent reliever who would be a good fit as the Cubs rebuild their bullpen. “The guy’s so well-prepared. He’s got great stuff, obviously. But he’s also a guy that knows what he has. He knows the type of pitcher he is, and he’s constantly in the film room looking at video.
“He has an approach every time he faces a team. He knows what he wants to do to certain guys. He’ll even talk about it to us in the bullpen.
“He won’t talk about every hitter, but there will be two or three guys. He’s just like: ‘This guy is a prime candidate for’ – whatever, a front-hip cutter – and sure enough he faces the guy and he called the whole at-bat four innings beforehand.”
Duensing remembered being with the Royals on a minor-league deal for spring training in 2016 and how Davis subtly pointed him in a new direction.
“Literally, we were sitting next to each other and he was talking about some mechanical things (Zack) Greinke would do,” Duensing said. “(Wade) said (Greinke) would try this and this and that. I’m like: ‘Oh, that makes sense.’ So I went out and tried doing it from the left side. I’m like: ‘Oh, well, that feels way more comfortable than I had been feeling for two years now.’”
Duensing wound up earning a role with the Baltimore Orioles bullpen in 2016, parlaying that into a one-year, $2 million deal with the defending World Series champs, posting a 2.74 ERA in 68 appearances for the Cubs and becoming part of Joe Maddon’s playoff circle of trust.
“(Wade) turned my career around a little bit,” Duensing said. “I had been struggling for a while, but he helped me kind of find my release point again, and it felt comfortable to be on the mound, just by having a nonchalant conversation with him.”
Are those quiet leadership skills worth the four-year, $62 million contract the San Francisco Giants gave Mark Melancon last offseason? Probably not, but presence and intangibles do matter as the Cubs try to reboot Carl Edwards Jr., fix Justin Wilson and overhaul their bullpen while continuing to be a 90-win team that’s expected to compete for a World Series title.
“He’s just cool, calm, collected – ‘Triple Cs,’ I call him,” Edwards said. “Watching him, it’s like reading one book – ‘Three Little Pigs’ – over and over again. Sooner or later, you’re going to know exactly how to do it, and you’re going to know exactly what the story is. Just watching Wade, it actually gave me some motivation and it gave me a lot more confidence.”
The Cubs have traded for two of the game’s best closers within the last 16 months, using Chapman and Davis as short-term solutions and setting up one of their most critical decisions this winter: Can they afford to not think big again?
“Wade has been such a big factor for us,” general manager Jed Hoyer said, “not only in terms of how he pitches in the ninth inning, but there’s also a calmness and a consistency to him that I think is contagious to the guys in the bullpen.
“We’ve been really fortunate to have him this year. There’s no doubt there’s a disproportionate value in a bullpen in October. We’ve seen that for the last few years, and that’s not going to go away.”The bucket of a hydraulic garbage truck struck a pedestrian bridge on Joy Road at Southfield in Detroit early Friday morning, collapsing it to the ground.
The driver, a man in his 40s, was taken to the hospital by EMS and later pronounced dead, according to Michigan State Polict Lt. Michael Shaw.
In a bizarre twist, Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford was on the scene mingling with observers after his car was stopped by the bridge collapse.
One of Detroit’s biggest sports stars was quickly — and safely — picked up by a member of the team’s security, a spokesman confirmed, saying Stafford was uninjured.
The semi’s driver was reportedly injured and taken away from the scene by EMS.
“There’s concrete all over … It’s amazing, I’ve never seen anything like this,” said WWJ’s Charlie Langton, reporting live from the scene. “The pedestrian overpass is totally down, smashed to bits, the sign for Warren Avenue is smashed to bits. It’s just a mass of concrete and metal, it’s incredible.”
Gary Kleinart of Novi said his vehicle was hit by a piece of the debris.
“I was just driving south on…Southfield, and all of a sudden it just came down right in front of me…it hit my car,” said Kleinart. “The whole top is smashed in and the back window is all blown out.”
“I’ve got a couple of scrapes from the glass hitting me, but other than that I think I’m OK,” Kleinart said.
“It was pretty wild, you’re like half asleep, it’s 5 a.m., you’re thinking ‘Am I seeing what I’m seeing?'” one witness told Langton.
The road was closed in both directions, and traffic quickly backed up for Friday morning commuters. The freeway remained closed for the afternoon rush, but the northbound side reopened at around 6:30 p.m. Friday. Southbound M-10 remains closed at I-96. Alternate route suggestions include Evergreen or Greenfield.
Diane Cross, spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Transportation, said “it’s an older bridge,” adding it’s too soon to tell if the bridge being in a ‘weakened state’ due to age contributed to its collapse. MDOT officials say the bridge was inspected by state officials in May and was due to be replaced in 2017.
State Police Lieutenant Mike Shaw said they’re working with MDOT determine exactly what happened.
#Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford involved in Pedestrian Bridge collapse. Car one of last to get through. @charlielangton on scene — TomJordanNews (@TomJordanNews) September 26, 2014
#BREAKING: Close call for #NFL QB Matthew Stafford. He was 1 of the last cars before #BridgeCollapse via @rooprajfox2 pic.twitter.com/qpT3Th1F6Q — Alcides Segui FOX (@seguifox13) September 26, 2014
Southfield freeway closed both directions due to overpass collapse concrete all over the road. @WWJ950 pic.twitter.com/fxiU0P5eqq — Charlie Langton (@charlielangton) September 26, 2014
Pedestrian overpass bridge collapses on the Southfield freeway. @WWJ950 pic.twitter.com/iyQOLJ8R0q — Charlie Langton (@charlielangton) September 26, 2014
Speaking to reporters after Lions practice later in the day, Stafford talked about his morning ordeal.
“Obviously you don’t expect to see a bridge down, you know, on the highway,” Stafford said. “But I was just mostly worried about trying to get her as fast as I could; and, obviously, the health of the driver.”
MORE: Stafford Recounts Trying To Get To Practice Following Bridge CollapseAhlan أهــْــلاً Arabic lovers! In a previous post, we discussed the origins and meanings of the Arabic names of the weekdays. In today’s post, we are going to discuss the meanings of the Arabic names of months and where they came from. Before we explore the meanings and origins of these months’ names, let’s have a look at some facts about them:
The Arabs who lived in the Arabian Peninsula adopted the tribal system. They traveled a lot for the sake of pasture for their animals or for the sake of trade with other tribes or other nations or for the sake of pilgrimage to the Holy City of Mecca since the time of Abraham or even for the sake of war against other tribes for many different reasons.
Some of these tribes settled in some places that formed the civilized cities at the time, like those in Hejaz, Yemen and Oman.
The Arabs adopted the Lunar System (Some Arabs also used the solar system). They mostly depended on the moon for determining the months of the year. However, they had no calendar. They named the years after some great events that happened during those years.
The Arabs used to have different names for the months until the time of the fifth grandfather of Prophet Mohammad 150 years before the Prophet’s time. That fifth grandfather was named كــِــلاب (Kilaab). He gathered the major tribal figures in Mecca during the pilgrimage season to discuss the matter of choosing names for the months. The names of the Arabic months that we know today dates back to that time.
The Second Muslim Caliphate Omar Bin Al-Khattab was the one who set the Islamic Hijri Calendar starting its first year from the Year of Hijrah (Immigration of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Al-Madinah). A.H. refers to After Hijrah. However, the names of the months remained the same.
The Arabic (Hijri) months play an important role in determining major religious events in Islam like the pilgrimage season and the fasting month of Ramadan.
Today, not all the Arab and Muslim countries use these months names in their formal calendar except for maybe Saudi Arabia.
Since the Hijri Calendar depends on the moon, the Hijri month is either 29 or 30 days long. Hence, the Hijri year is about 11 days shorter than the Gregorian year that depends on the sun.
The Arabic (Hijri) Months:
1) Muharram مــُــحــرَّم
The name literally means “forbidden” and the Arabs used to abstain from any act of fighting, killing or aggression during this month (and during three other months called The Forbidden Months الأشــهــر الــحــُــرُم). It is the first month in the Arabic Hijri Calendar.
2) Safar صــَــفــَــر
Literally means “void” and the month was named like that maybe because pagan Arabs used to go on raids on other tribes emptying their homes or their opponents’ homes.
3) Rabi’ Al-Awwal ربــيـــع الأول
Literally meaning “the first spring” and the name happened to appear at the beginning of spring.
4) Rabi’ Al-Akhir ربــيـــع الآخــِــر
It means “the last spring”. The month is also called Rabi’ Al-Thani ربــيـــع الــثـــانــي which means “the second spring”. The reason for this reason is that because it was named at the end of spring season.
5) Jumada Al-Oula جــُــمــَــادَى الأولــى
Arabs came with this name to mark the first time when the land became parched or dry. Some say it was because of the summer heat while others say it was because of the winter cold.
6) Jumada Al-Akhirah جــُــمــَــادى الآخــِــرَة
Literally means “the last time of parched land”. It is the same meaning as the previous month but it marks the end of that time when the land becomes parched or dry. The month is also called Jumada Al-Thaniyah جــُــمــَــادى الــثــانــيـــة (The Second Jumada).
7) Rajab رَجــَــبْ
It is one of the Forbidden Months. Arabs took away their arrows from the bows and gave up any fight during those four months. It means “respect or honor”.
8) Sha’ban شــَــعــْـــبـــان
It was named like this because Arabs used to disperse in this month seeking water and grass.
9) Ramadan رَمــَــضــَــان
It literally means “burning” and was named at the hot season in the desert of Arabia. It is also the sacred month of fasting for Muslims.
10) Shawwal شــَـــوَّال
The name refers to what happens to the female camels when they are in calf. They become thinner and shorter in giving milk during that time of the year.
11) Dhu Al-Qi’dah ذو الــقــعــدة
It literally means “the one of truce”. Arabs sat in this Forbidden month and ceased fight.
12) Dhu Al-Hijjah ذو الــحــجــة
The literal meaning is “the one of pilgrimage”. It is the holy sacred and Forbidden month when Arabs and Muslims performed their Hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca.
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Peace ســـَـــلام /Salam/Targeting diseased cells in the lungs
September 6 (CMU News): Like a cyclist weaves in and around stalled rush-hour traffic, a novel delivery method called nano delivery carries drugs through the body directly to their destination cells without getting lost along the way.
In a new study, a Central Michigan University College of Medicine researcher used nanodelivery to target drugs directly at affected or diseased cells within the lungs without harming the healthy cells around them. This method could treat patients with cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder and lung cancer without the side effects.
“Using cystic fibrosis and COPD as a model, we wanted to target delivery to specific cell types within the lungs,” said Neeraj Vij, associate professor of molecular and cell biology. “Blockage in a patient’s airway can lead to cellular destruction, infection and an overall decline in lung function. If we can treat this, we can improve quality of life for these people and control the symptoms of these diseases more effectively.”
Pediatric cystic fibrosis and other obstructive lung diseases such as emphysema and asthma are treated by drugs delivered by inhalation. This can pose a challenge, however, when a buildup of mucus blocks the airway in patients with these ailments. Vij’s nanodelivery system works through this buildup to target only the cells which need to be treated.
“A considerable challenge we faced with cystic fibrosis was access in obstructive airway diseases,” Vij said. “These patients have thick mucus and inflammation within the lungs, but the nanoparticles help bypass this and deliver anti-inflammatory and other drugs and get into the lungs where the affected cells live.”
“Moreover, we can use a nano-based strategy to treat the underlying cause of the disease,” he said.
Vij’s study was published in Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine. Nanodrug delivery is a relatively new way of approaching a variety of disorders such as COPD-emphysema, chronic bronchitis, asthma and cystic fibrosis. COPD alone is the third-leading cause of mortality in the United States.
“This is the first time we were able to test the specific approach inside lungs,” he said. “We are very excited as it has potential for further development.”
Attacking cancerous cells
In traditional chemotherapy, drugs are targeted to an area, not specific cells. This treatment is often considered aggressive, particularly when used in the lungs. Vij’s nanodelivery, however, attacks only the bad cells, limiting the damage caused to surrounding tissues.
“Anytime you change the cell, you have side effects,” said Vij. “We want to treat the bad cells and kill them, but if treatment is too aggressive it will kill everything– including the surrounding healthy cells. This is the problem with many chemotherapy treatments.”
Vij also recently published in PLOS One Scientific Journal about using nanotechnology to deliver a drug that can target specific cancer cells to effectively stop them from multiplying. Nanodelivery technology is not a new concept in medicine. Though it is used in some cancer treatments and imaging methods, it was not developed enough to be used in cystic fibrosis and COPD patients until recently.
Vij has already seen the potential of nanodelivery as a viable strategy for treating some types of lung cancer and as a method for the treatment of lung diseases.
[su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvP0qfLL46Q”]
Nanodelivery in the future
Last week, Vij published an expert opinion on drug delivery, linking the treatment to potentially decrease lung inflammation caused by cigarette smoke. His research in this area links together his history of studies tying e-cigarettes to emphysema and his discovery of a predictive markerfor advanced lung diseases. The potential for nanodelivery is only now being recognized, he said.
“We also can use imaging modality within this delivery method to get a real-time assessment of the state of the disease, efficacy of drugs and even make a diagnosis,” Vij said.
Vij and his team members from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and CMU’s College of Medicine were supported by grants from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute and the National Institutes of Health.In article 5.5 we’ve covered ride height, and with this article we’ll continue the setup adjustments on the suspension, namely camber and toe. We’ll go over both of them together, as their effects are tightly coupled.
Camber
Camber is the vertical inclination of the tire. Zero camber means that the tires are straight, perpendicular to the road and parallel to each other. With positive camber, the top of the tires points outwards of the car. With negative camber, the top of the tires points inwards.
Toe
Toe is the angle the tires are rotated around their vertical axis, looking at them from above the car. You have no toe if the tires are parallel to each other, along the direction of the car. You have toe-in when the tires point in towards each other, and toe-out when they point away from each other.
The effect of camber on available grip
As you go through a corner, the cornering force (as discussed more thoroughly in 5.3) causes the car to roll and the tire to deform, as it twists between the car which wants to go one direction, and the track that’s going the other direction. This is called lateral tire deflection.
With zero camber, the force on the tires are equally distributed along the contact patch when you’re standing still or driving in a straight line. This increases the available grip under straight line braking and acceleration (assuming no camber gain). Cornering with zero camber causes one side of the tire to unload, while the other side of the tire takes more load. This is unequal load distribution and lowers the overall available grip on the tire, just when you need it most: while cornering!
With negative camber, the force distribution along the contact patch is somewhat unequal while driving in a straight line. However, when cornering forces and carcass deflection come into play, they can negate the effect of negative camber, equalising load distribution along the contact patch. This maximises the available grip on the outside tires (which are the ones taking the heavier load), exactly the moment when the car is limited by its available grip. This is the exact reason why typically on road cars you’d use negative camber.
Tradeoffs of using camber
As always, nothing comes for free. While camber can help cornering, it causes additional heat, more tire degradation and uneven wear pattern on the tires. You should also realise that you are trading off traction on a straight line (braking and acceleration) with cornering grip. This means that the track profile is a determining factor on how much camber you want to run. In general, a track with mostly straights and low speed corners, you’d run lower camber; and on tracks with lots of bends or high-speed corners, you’d run more camber. And, as always with mixed profile tracks, you’d have to experiment different settings to see where you can gain more time; on the straights and low-speed corners, or high-speed corners.
Camber and vertical stiffness
Vertical stiffness of the tire is hugely tied with tire pressures, as discussed in 5.2. This is mostly to be considered on tires with high sidewalls. Having the tire inclined at an angle may cause the sidewall to deform a little. The effect is that of a softer tire without changing the tire pressure. As of time of writing, this really is only something to consider with two cars on iRacing, the Williams FW31 and the McLaren MP4-30.
Effects of toe-in and toe-out
There is one more effect of camber that we haven’t mentioned yet. If you roll a free tire at an angle, it would want to follow an elliptical trajectory instead of a straight line. In other words: an angled tire wants to turn. The force that causes this effect is called camber thrust. This results in a bit more friction, heat and wear, which can be offset by a toe-out adjustment. You can also use a toe-out adjustment to get the slip angles of the front tires in a more optimal spot. So you’d typically run some toe-out on the fronts.
Toe adjustments on the rear tires also have an effect on car handling. Toe-in on the rear creates understeer, which can help with cars that are oversteery on exit. The tradeoff is wear and heat in the rear tires. Toe-out on the rear is generally wrong, as you’re likely to get more oversteer on exit.
Up to you
While building a setup, go through the order of tire pressures, anti-roll bar, ride height and spring rates. If you have that set, experiment with the camber angles to find the optimal balance between speed in the corners and on the straight. Use toe-out on the front tires to counteract camber thrust, and possibly toe-in on the rear tires, to optimise handling.The i's Essential Daily Briefing
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Created by [AG]LaughingSkyPig Plus
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Last Online 46 hrs, 0 mins ago See all 33 collections created by [AG]LaughingSkyPig Plus and other people (some may be hidden) 65,339 Unique Visitors 727 Current FavoritesDallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott said President Trump was free to comment on the Cowboys' act of kneeling as a team before the national anthem was played on Monday night.
Prescott told The Dallas Morning News he was not paying attention to Trump’s tweet claiming fans booed “the loudest I have ever heard” when Prescott and his teammates knelt with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones before walking to the sideline and standing for "The Star-Spangled Banner."
In a second tweet, though, Trump noted the team stood for the anthem itself and described that as “Big progress.”
TRUMP SPEAKS WITH COWBOYS OWNER AFTER PROTEST: ‘PLAYERS WILL STAND FOR COUNTRY’
On Wednesday, Trump tweeted about the Cowboys again, calling Jones a “winner.”
Trump tweeted: “Spoke to Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys yesterday. Jerry is a winner who knows how to get things done. Players will stand for country!”
Prescott said he wasn't about to critique the president.
"That's between them, I guess," Prescott told the Morning News. "I'm not here to judge what the president said. I mean, he's free to speak just like the rest of us are. He's going to say whatever he wants. We've all figured that out.”
He added: "For me, it's just about doing the best I can to help this team and show unity about what we're trying to accomplish in this country."
MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL: COWBOYS KNEEL BEFORE NATIONAL ANTHEM
Prescott said he has not had a chance to speak with Jason Witten, the team’s tight end, about what the Cowboys will do during the playing of the national anthem before Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Prescott said he has received positive feedback on the team’s national anthem protest.
"It's all been positive feedback for me for the most part," Prescott said. "I'm sure it's something we will talk about with the team, with the coaching staff and figure out what we want to do, if we want to continue to do something like that going forward."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.By Richard Walker —
The West’s willingness to allow Saudi Arabia to spend over $100 billion spreading Islamic extremism across the globe and financing terror has led to the emergence of the Islamic State (ISIS), as well as the growing terror threat to the Western world.
And if ISIS achieves its goal of building a dirty bomb—a radiological device designed to spread radiation with conventional explosives—and then setting it off in a major city, the scale of atrocities that can be directly attributed to Saudi Arabia will rise exponentially.
The role of Saudi Arabia, and its Arab allies like Qatar, as the master funders of terror began decades ago when the House of Saud began exporting Wahhabism, its medieval version of Islamic doctrine, to Europe and other parts of the world. Wahhabis preached hatred of non-Arabs, namely Shiites, as well as Christians and all other religions. Imams versed in this theology in Saudi religious institutions were taught to preach that the followers of all other religions were infidels not worthy of mercy.
One can now see in Wahhabi doctrine the roots of the savagery in the mass executions of Christians and non-Arabs by ISIS in Syria and Iraq. The perpetrators of these heinous acts felt as if they were ridding the world of infidels, and the more the better.
The Saudis exported their ideology in a very clever way. In the 1980s, they began a program of building mosques in cities as far flung as Brussels and Karachi, Pakistan. They then dispatched preachers from Saudi theological centers to run those mosques. As part of their strategy to dominate Sunni Islam, they devoted billions more dollars to creating schools called madrassahs. The aim was to give the Muslim poor in many countries free education while indoctrinating the most young and vulnerable in Wahhabi principles. As a consequence, madrassahs from Europe to Pakistan, the Philippines, and Indonesia have since produced a constant flow of recruits for terror groups worldwide.
In Europe no effort was made to counter Saudi preachers advocating revolution or to prevent them establishing a bridgehead into prisons where they recruited criminals. The fruits of the prisons strategy have been evident for some time in Britain, France, and Belgium. Some of the terrorists, who blew themselves up in Paris and Brussels, had converted to Wahhabism in jail.
In tandem with the spread of virulent sectarian principles, Saudi Arabia began diverting huge sums of money to terror groups, starting with al Qaeda. They also used freelance arms dealers to provide the terrorists with weapons.
Congressional intelligence committees are sitting on a pile of classified Federal Bureau of Investigation documents linking the Saudis to terrorists groups, including the group of Arabs who were willing partners in the September 11 attacks. Those files, which remain hidden from the American public, show that the Bush administration allowed Saudis to flee the United States after the 9-11 attacks.
What is most shocking is the complicit role of the West in treating the House of Saud as an ally while it has continued to undermine Western policies across the globe.
One of the leading Saudis responsible for arming, training, and financing ISIS, and its fellow travelers in Iraq and Syria, is Prince Bandar Bin Sultan, who has been featured before in the pages of this newspaper. This member of the Saudi royal family was known as “Bandar Bush” when he was Saudi ambassador in Washington, due to his close ties to the Bush family. He was later head of his country’s national security and ran its foreign intelligence operations during 2012-2014.
In 2014, Senator John S. McCain III (R-Ariz.) was so thrilled with Bandar’s work he told CNN, “Thank God for the Saudis and Prince Bandar.” Of course, McCain, like so many of his colleagues on Capitol Hill, conveniently ignored Bandar’s role in arming the Islamic militias like al Qaeda and al Nusra that were steadily merging into ISIS. McCain was, in fact, applauding a regime that had the blood of Christians on its hands. The senator should also have been aware that Bandar flew fellow Saudis out of the U.S. on his private jet in the wake of the Twin Towers’ collapse.
It is notable that, shortly before 9-11, Bandar Bush told Sir Richard Dearlove, head of Britain foreign intelligence agency MI6, that a time was coming when it would be “God help the Shia.” He was in effect foretelling how the Saudis through their terror surrogates would slaughter Shiites. Perhaps he forgot to mention the slaughter would include Christians.
Despite the mounting evidence of the Saudi role in terror, Washington prefers to promote Russia as the real threat, conveniently ignoring the sinister House of Saud and its allies, the Turks.
Algerian journalist Kamel Daoud put it best when he said: “Daesh [ISIS] has a mother: the invasion of Iraq. But it also has a father: Saudi Arabia and its religious-industrial complex. Until that point is understood, battles may be won, but the war will be lost.”
Richard Walker is the pen name of a former N.Y. news producer.The gargantuan mastodons, mammoths, and giant ground sloths that once roamed North America seem much too big for most prehistoric predators to contend with. But a new study suggests that the lions and saber-toothed cats that once roamed North America did indeed attack these beasts and may have significantly reduced their populations. If so, these carnivores may have had a much more dramatic impact on ancient ecosystems than previously believed.
“This is a landmark paper because it really puts together an unusually broad range of lines of evidence on this issue,” says John Damuth, paleobiologist at the University of California (UC), Santa Barbara, who was not involved in the study.
The scientific thinking that large herbivores are immune to predators goes back to Charles Darwin. In his 1859 Origin of Species, the famed naturalist wrote that “… with the elephants and rhinoceroses, none are destroyed by beasts of prey. Even the tiger in India most rarely dares to attack a young elephant protected by its dam.” But Blaire Van Valkenburgh wasn’t so sure. “I just said, no, I don’t believe that,” says the UC Los Angeles paleoecologist and lead author of the new study. Predators might think twice before attacking an adult mammoth, she theorized, but a baby could have been a different story.
To find out what ancient predators were capable of, Van Valkenburgh and her colleagues first had to figure out just how big the large herbivores and carnivores were that lived during the Pleistocene epoch, 12,000 to 2.5 million years ago. The researchers used thousands of measurements of fossil bones and compared them to the bones of modern elephants to infer the range of body masses of both adults and juveniles of the different species of extinct megaherbivores, including mammoths and mastodons. They used a similar method to infer the size ranges of extinct carnivore species, comparing saber-toothed cats to modern tigers, for example.
The analyses indicated that the juvenile megaherbivores weighed from 200 to 2000 kg. Adults weighed several tons; estimates for some adult males exceed 10,000 kg. The prehistoric carnivores ranged from 150 kg to more than 400 kg.
So could ancient carnivores have actually taken down these herbivores? To answer this question, the researchers compiled information from thousands of records of prey killed by big modern carnivores such as lions and tigers hunting solo and in groups—a task that took several years. Conservation ecologist and co-author Matt Hayward of Bangor University in the U.K. used these data to develop a mathematical model to predict typical and maximum prey size for any given carnivore.
Finally, the researchers needed to determine how protected young mega-herbivores were. “There’s a sweet spot in there, from the predator’s standpoint, where the juveniles can wander away from mom frequently enough and far enough to be accessible, and where they are of a size small enough that they can actually be tackled,” explains co-author Louise Roth, a biologist at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
For this, the researchers relied on earlier studies of the chemical signature in the enamel layers that are added annually at the base of herbivore tusks as they grow out from the skull. The chemistry of the tusks changes when the animal’s diet switches from mother’s milk to vegetation. The researchers assumed that baby herbivores stayed close to mom while nursing, but wandered farther away once they began to forage for themselves. The team found that there was indeed a window when juvenile mammoths and other herbivores were weaned but were still small enough to be hunted by lions and other predators. “A solitary saber-toothed cat could have taken young mammoths aged 2 to 4—sometimes up to age 9—and a pride would have been able to take adult females,” says Roth.
All told, lions, wolves, and saber-toothed cats could have killed about 17% of young mastodons and other mega-herbivores, the team reports online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science [url tk]. Although the researchers do not have direct evidence of predation on the bones of the extinct herbivores, for studies of prehistoric ecosystems, “getting smoking gun evidence is always difficult,” notes Kathleen Lyons, paleobiologist at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History who was not involved in the study. But the evidence that Van Valkenburgh and her coauthors brought together to make the case is convincing, she says. “It’s a really nice, solid, piece of work.”
These predators didn’t just have dramatic impacts on prey populations—they could have had cascading effects on the entire ecosystem, Van Valkenburgh says. “Large carnivores provide carcasses that feed a whole array of smaller species like eagles, coyotes, and foxes,” she says. And keeping the megaherbivore populations in check meant that there was more vegetation for small mammals and birds. The predators might even have indirect effects on river ecosystems, she says, because the banks of the rivers |
one room which features a kitchen and a separate bathroom. Prices for studio flats are normally about some weekly inclusive of all utility bills. For students who love privacy, this might be ideal. Privacy this might be ideal.
Student Hostels
Student hostels on the other hand house students and provide meals and other utilities for a fee. They are also a cheaper option for getting student housing in London compared to getting a private residence.
The choice of housing options for a student is dependent on their affordability and their needs. Student housing options tend to be in most cases cheaper than normal housing. If a student is especially lucky to get an owner-occupied the residence, then they get to enjoy the good conditions and maintenance of the property in most cases. Sometimes the student housing options are the only way that a student can find a property to own if they intend to stay in London for a long time or forever even after graduation.Keep arriving and departing airplanes safe from collisions, while avoiding unnecessary delays. In this game you will work at the world's most complex airports. Human pilot voices, a radar screen, 12 different real-world airports, plus an awesome soundtrack make this game a must-have for anyone who likes aviation. Sound complicated? Airport Madness is for everyone, and it is very easy to learn. Do you have what it takes to be an air traffic controller at a busy international airport?
You are paid the big bucks for your visualization skills and guts. Just like the real job of an air traffic controller, you must pay attention and keep your eyes moving. There is always something that you should be doing. You must give takeoff clearances, landing clearances and taxi clearances in a strategic effort to maintain safety and efficiency where there would otherwise be total chaos. This is not a spectator's sport! Can you hack it?
The Airport Madness series began in 2008, and has sold more than 75,000 copies. Airport Madness: World Edition is the sixth and most popular version of the series.
San Francisco
Honolulu
London
Las Vegas
Vancouver
Anchorage
New York JFK
Madeira
Barcelona
Dubai
Amsterdam
Zurich
Airport Madness has no in-app purchases or ads. Once you buy Airport Madness, you own all of it! Got a favorite airport? Send us a message and we'll consider it for a future update.Demonstration Video!
Changelog! 19/03/14 (i spent way too much time on this xd)
Fixed a lot of bugs/inconsistencies
Added all the missing 2x elements
Skin is now finished!! (sadly i won't be making this for Mania/CTB/Taiko as i don't really play them and have no idea where to start)
19/03/14
Added Mod Icons for Cinema, 4k-8k, Random, FadeIn and FadeOut
Added Selection Buttons
Changed "Spin!" and "Clear!"
Fixed a stupid error on my part where Score-0 was actually Score-2 and added the actual Score-0 (Thanks Mesita!)
Redid the Ranking screen, it doesn't burn your eyes anymore yay
Added some missing 2x elements
Changed Hit-100 and Hit-300
Changed Count1-2-3 and Go!
Changed Followpoints
Tweaked selection-mod-autoplay
17/03/14
Released Initial Version.
Screenshots!!(updated) Menu
Song Select
Default Hitcircles
Ration Hitcircles
Rugged Hitcircles
Ranking Screen
Pause Screen
Fail Screen
Mod Icons(most of these i had to make from scratch excuse my terrible pixel art )
Download!!
http://puu.sh/byF9m.osk
http://puu.sh/byFmB.zip
This skin uses new skin behaviour
Welcome, after making mix skin after mix skin i decided my next skin would be themed and what's better than freaking METAL GEAR?!This skin isn't meant to be flashy and in your face, I like minimalist styled skin's a lot and this is intended to be one, just MGS themed.now go download and enjoy!Kirk Cameron has been working overtime trying to save his film, Saving Christmas, but after this bit of news, maybe it’s time for him to try and start saving face. IMDB reports that Saving Christmas is officially the worst movie in IMDB history as reported by Patheos.
The reviews have been so horrendous for Saving Christmas that Kirk Cameron has taken to his own Facebook to beg his followers to deluge Rotten Tomatoes with good reviews to boost the film’s rating. Inquisitr previously reports that Saving Christmas had an average rating of 2.9 out of 10. We all know what that means.
As Cameron’s Saving Christmas hits rock bottom, let’s take a look at a few movie titles that actually scored a higher rating on the worst movie list on IMDB. Saving Christmas received a whopping 1.3. A movie called Breaking Wind scored a 2.5, Blubberella: 2.6, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians: 2.5, The Tony Blair Witch Project: 2.5, Lawnmower Man: 2.3, and one final flop, Santa With Muscles at 2.3.
It’s certain that Cameron had good intentions with his film, which cost producers $2.5 million that they may never see again. It seems as though Cameron wants the world to remember that Christ should be the center of Christmas, however, the storyline may not be well enough developed for viewers to grasp that concept. It seems as though the moviegoers can’t get past the bad acting and cheesy filmmaking.
IMDB gives a full synopsis of the storyline.
“Kirk is enjoying the annual Christmas party extravaganza thrown by his sister until he realizes he needs to help out Christian, his brother-in-law who has a bad case of the bah-humbugs. Kirk’s fresh look at Christmas provides Christian the chance to see Christ is where He has always been: at the center of our Christmas celebrations and traditions.”
According to Samuel Warde, the storyline comes across as Kirk “convincing his brother-in-law that all of the materialism associated with the holiday is, in fact, all good and well because it is how we honor Jesus.” Samuel Warde goes on to say, “A thinking individual might be confused as to how celebrating materialism puts the “Christ” back into Christmas when Jesus despised materialism.”
Unfortunately for Kirk Cameron, it seems as though all his efforts to save his film Saving Christmas are moot. Samuel Warde has posted moviegoer reviews that may actually make you laugh much harder than if you paid full price to go see the film in the theater.
“Simply HORRIBLE! Could not sit through all of the crap. Tried to get a refund, but no luck. Don’t waste your money, give your $10 + the cost of popcorn to a homeless family, do something ACTUALLY Christian!” – Mark S
“The thing that so impressed me about this movie was the closing credits. They were manna from Heaven after this soul-sucking ordeal. Well, I was impressed by the closing credits, and how the teams of EMTs shouting ‘CLEAR!’ as they tried to revive several audience members who’d tried to end their own lives rather than sit through this movie, sounded like a sort of round-robin chorus of abandoned hope. The star, Kirk Cameron, is an evangelical Christian who not only believes in eternal salvation, he tries to sap the will to live in this world from his audience through his demonically bad acting. This is a can’t-miss motion picture if you’ve recently lost the power of sight and want to stop yourself from longing for visual entertainment.” – Gina C
“I would rather a video of a stranger passing a tapeworm while picking lice nits out of my own chest hair than watch this drivel. They should have named this movie ‘Hurting Christ.'” – Chris B
“I get that he wants to bring the world to Christ. His intentions are honorable because at the end of the day he is really just trying to ‘save us’. That being said his energy and efforts would be better put towards sitting quietly in the basement of an abandoned house with no lights on for the next fifty years. This makes a vasectomy seem entertaining.” – Roy W
“”I’ve had hemorrhoids more enjoyable than this movie.” – John M
According to Patheos, it is possible that Kirk Cameron may blame the crash of his film on Christian persecution. However, Patheos reminds us that the blockbuster Christian film God’s Not Dead received a 5 star rating on IMDB.
[Photo Credits: Facebook.com, Patheos.com, Samuel-Warde.com]Now that the Super Bowl has been played and free agency is approaching in early March, the Last Word On Sports NFL department will be looking at the top three needs for each team. In this article, the Buffalo Bills are the focus.
The Bills had flashes of brilliance during Rex Ryan’s first year as head coach. That said, nobody was happy with the fact the team finished 8-8 and missed the playoffs for a 16th consecutive season, currently the longest drought in the NFL. The objective heading into the off-season clearly is centered around shedding this dubious distinction. Buffalo has the 19th pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft and will likely have to clear cap space between now and the start of free agency.
Buffalo Bills 2016 Off-Season: Top 3 Needs
Defensive End
After two seasons which saw Buffalo emerge with perhaps the top defensive front in the NFL, 2015 was a huge step back. The Bills struggled to implement first-year defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman’s base 3-4 defensive schemes after having been in a 4-3 under the previous regime. It showed in the sack department, where they managed a paltry 21 sacks last season, good enough for second-worst in the league. To put that in perspective, they averaged 55.5 sacks the previous two years.
It got so bad that an unnamed player had accused high-priced defensive end Mario Williams of “checking out.” Then came news after the season concluded that the Bills were intending to release Williams at the start of the new league year. Doing so would enable them to realize $12.9 million in salary cap savings in a year where quite a few players on the roster are likely to become cap casualties.
General manager Doug Whaley has even admitted the team’s a bit constrained by their cap situation. Does that mean they’ll address this need via the draft? It’s certainly possible considering the depth of this year’s crop of defensive linemen prospects. Though it’s unlikely players such as Noah Spence and Emmanuel Ogbah will be available at 19 in the first round, Robert Nkemdiche of Ole Miss could be a target. Though he mostly played in the interior, he has the speed and versatility to move to the edge, particularly in a 3-4.
If the Bills do choose to go the free agency route, pay attention to two players: the Jets’ Muhammad Wilkerson and Denver’s Malik Jackson. Wilkerson would bring familiarity with Buffalo’s defense considering Ryan and Thurman’s previous coaching experience with the Jets, even though he won’t come cheap. The Super Bowl-winning Broncos also run a similar defense and Jackson was one of the more underrated players on the unit. He actually led all 3-4 defensive ends in quarterback hurries. The fifth-round pick in 2012 carried just a $1.595 million cap hit last season. Despite a breakout season, it’s possible he could be signed as a bargain compared to other high profile free agents on the defensive side of the football.
Outside Linebacker
Much like the defensive line, the Bills didn’t get the most stellar play in the world out of their linebackers last season. Nigel Bradham and Manny Lawson got the bulk of the snaps and neither set the world on fire with their play, tallying just a sack apiece and finishing fifth and eighth on the team in tackles respectively.
Bradham’s an impending free agent and it remains to be seen if the Bills will attempt to re-sign him. Lawson will enter his 11th season in 2016 and has one year left on his current deal. The Bills could release him and save $2.65 million in cap room.
How the Bills address this need might hinge on whether they decide to sign a new defensive end or use their first round pick on one. Yes, Von Miller would fill in nicely but that’s about as far-fetched of a dream as it gets given Buffalo’s cap situation. And there are a few talented prospects that could be available when Buffalo’s on the clock.
Alabama’s Reggie Ragland and Notre Dame’s Jaylon Smith played more on the inside in college but could be shoehorned into a weak-side role on the outside of the Bills four linebacker formation. Michigan State’s Shilique Calhoun, who played primarily at defensive end for the Spartans but might be better suited at linebacker at the next level, might be a good fit and could be available in the first round. But they also could wait and hope a player such as Joshua Perry of Ohio State or Dominique Alexander of Oklahoma falls into their lap. Both of those players are projected to go in the middle rounds.
Right Tackle
The Bills offensive line had its fair share of ups and downs last season. Right guard Richie Incognito and center Eric Wood both ended up playing in the Pro Bowl. Incognito will likely be on the high priority list in terms of re-signing along with left tackle Cordy Glenn, both of whom are free agents. But then there was right tackle position which was a revolving door between Cyrus Kouandjio, Jordan Mills and Seantrel Henderson, none of whom were particularly effective.
Considering the large number of talented tackle prospects this season, Buffalo could certainly try and upgrade via the draft. The only drawback is that many of the top players at the position played primarily as left tackles in college and would need to shift over to the right side. The Bills could have a look at Taylor Decker of Ohio State in the first round or possibly Jason Spriggs of Indiana when they make their next pick in round two.
Among possible targets in free agency might be Cleveland’s Mitchell Schwartz or the Falcons Ryan Schraeder, the latter of whom was one of the better pass blocking tackles in the NFL last year. The only challenge in getting Schraeder to sign is that he’s a restricted free agent, having gone undrafted as a rookie in 2013 and now at the end of a three-year deal. This means the Bills could possibly be looking at forking over a draft pick to Atlanta if they choose not to match a potential offer sheet extended by Buffalo.For a nation of nearly 200 million people, not many Nigerians pay taxes. Indeed, as of May 2017, only 14 million—or one in five—of Nigeria’s estimated 70 million economically active citizens were paying taxes. As such, Nigeria’s government has typically earned much less than it could have from taxes.
Back in June, Nigeria’s finance minister revealed only 214 people in the country pay more than 20 million naira ($55,600) in taxes.
Like several other African countries, Nigeria has seen its economy slow down due to the drop off in commodity prices over the last two years. Africa’s largest economy is under pressure from multilateral organizations like IMF and World Bank to diversify its revenue base away from an over-reliance on oil and gas export revenue. The IMF suggests “better balancing income taxes and indirect taxes, and broadening the tax base to improve the resilience of tax revenues.”
When it comes to taxes in Nigeria, the problem is less about raising taxes but more of a focus on improving collection rates. This is easier said than done in an economy which is dominated by its cash-led informal sector.
Earlier this year, as part of a planned increased tax collection drive, the government introduced a Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) to try to plug the gap. The idea of the scheme was simple: within an amnesty period (July 2017 to March 2018), the government would allow anyone who hadn’t paid taxes or had under-declared their income to pay what they owe without being prosecuted or paying penalties. After the deadline, tax evaders could face criminal prosecution.
The hope for the tax amnesty period was to widen the tax base by registering more individuals and businesses that previously didn’t pay taxes and, so far, it appears to be paying off. Babatunde Fowler, head of Nigeria’s internal revenue service, says the country has collected nearly $47 million from former tax evaders through the scheme in the past six months. Increasing its tax base means Nigeria can also improve its tax to GDP ratio which currently ranks among the lowest globally.
Beyond an amnesty program, Nigeria could also remarkably boost its tax base if the government can crack how to tax its vast informal sector. For many in formal employment, taxes are typically deducted from monthly salaries making tax evasion more tricky. But for many local businesses owners or artisans, with government unable to track their income, tax evasion is possible and likely rampant.
In the short-term, generating more revenue via taxes is essential to Nigeria as the government is looking to finance a record budget in 2018. Even though oil production, Nigeria’s primary source of revenue, is making a rebound, it remains around 200,000 barrels per day short of the oil production benchmark needed to fund the record budget.'GTA 6' Will Arrive In 2020 Not 2018? Possible Features Explained
Close
"GTA 6" is certainly on the list of the most highly anticipated games of all time. The hype is real and it is snowballing each day. Although many expect it to arrive in 2018, recent reports suggest otherwise -- Rockstar Games might likely to unleash it in 2020. Apart from, the title is said to feature more widespread illegal activities.
According to N4BB, "GTA 6" is more likely to be ready in 2020, as opposed to the closer 2018 release window. The game was originally believed to be unleashed together with two new consoles -- namely, Sony's PlayStation 5 and Microsoft's Xbox Two. If this is the case, then the studio is keen towards releasing the game along with the aforesaid upcoming consoles.
It should be noted, too, that Take-Two Interactive has just announced Rockstar's plans to make its future projects known to the general public. And, as speculated by many, one of these is "GTA 6" in one way or another.
BreatheCast, on the other hand, cites about the possible "GTA 6" plot, which will revolve around more illegal activities. That the devs will introduce more crime-themed operations so as to bring new excitement and thrill. And this will surely elevate the gaming experience of fans.
"GTA 6" is believed to introduce more and larger territories. More so, killing missions and a couple of small-scale crime shenanigans are also expected to be included.
As for the "GTA 6" location, it remains a mystery as of this writing. Nonetheless, a number of reports are pointing at three major cities -- Tokyo, San Diego and London. The latter, however, is more likely to be the perfect choice. This is for the fact that the people involved in developing the game are mostly British.
If "GTA 6" indeed ends up being in London, a new kind of gamestyle is expected. And one of these is the utilization of right-hand drive cars.
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Uber is changing its tune on getting the state required permit for self-driving cars in California.
After refusing for months to get the necessary permit to test its autonomous vehicles on public roads, the ride-hailing company said Thursday it will now abide by California rules just like more than 20 other companies working on self-driving technology in the state, including Google, Tesla, Honda, BMW and Ford.
"We are taking steps to complete our application to apply for a DMV testing permit," an Uber spokeswoman wrote in an email.
Uber made its name by pairing passengers with drivers via a phone app. Over the past six years, it's grown from small startup to multinational company with operations in more than 400 cities in 72 countries. Now Uber is going a step further, venturing into robotics and artificial intelligence with autonomous vehicles.
But Uber's rollout of these cars in California was bumpy.
Within hours of the self-driving car launch in San Francisco in December, California's Department of Motor Vehicles told the company it was breaking the law and needed to halt the program until it got a permit. Uber refused to back down and said it would keep the cars on the road.
After a week of back-and-forth between Uber and the DMV, along with an intervention from California's Office of the Attorney General, the DMV announced it was revoking the registrations of 16 of the company's autonomous vehicles. Again, the agency told Uber to get the $150 permit. Again, the company refused.
Instead, Uber packed up its cars and moved to Arizona.
Since then, Uber has brought five of its autonomous vehicles back to San Francisco's streets. The company says the self-driving systems in these cars are disabled and they're only being used for mapping. It appears, however, Uber is now ready to switch them into self-driving mode. The DMV has also confirmed to CNET that Uber is planning to get the self-driving permit.
"Uber hasn't formally submitted their autonomous vehicle tester program application, but just as we would with any other manufacturer, the DMV is providing assistance with the steps necessary to apply for and receive a test permit," DMV spokeswoman Jessica Gonzalez wrote in an email.
It's unclear why Uber has lightened its hard-line stance on getting a permit. During a conference call with reporters in December, Uber vice president of self-driving technology Anthony Levandowski said the company wouldn't get the permit was because the law didn't apply to it.
"We cannot sign up to regulation for something that we are not doing," Levandowski said. He added that the main reason Uber wanted to stay in San Francisco was because "California is our home state... its track record on innovation is second to none."
Levandowski is now embroiled in a lawsuit with Waymo, the autonomous car company owned by Google's parent Alphabet. Waymo alleges Levandowski, a former Google employee, stole 14,000 "highly confidential" files related to autonomous vehicle technology. Uber has called these claims "baseless."
Further complicating issues for Uber's self-driving car project are public safety concerns. The day of Uber's launch in San Francisco, one of the self-driving cars was recorded running a red light. Similar incidents were reported throughout the city in the following days.
Uber initially said the red light incident was due to "human error," but it was revealed last week that the car's autonomous-driving system was to blame. Citing two unnamed Uber employees, as well as internal company documents, the New York Times reported that Uber's cars failed to recognize six traffic lights in San Francisco.
Batteries Not Included: The CNET team reminds us why tech is cool.
CNET Magazine: Check out a sample of the stories in CNET's newsstand edition.CFNY-FM, branded as 102.1 the Edge, is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 102.1 FM in the Greater Toronto Area. The station rose to prominence in the 1970s and 1980s due to its freestyle DJing format and unique (at that point) choice to play alternative music. Following a number of years hallmarked by the station changing hands several times, internal morale problems and a listener rebellion as a result of management decisions, the station eventually evolved into its current Alternative rock format owned by Corus Entertainment.
The station's legal city of licence is the suburban city of Brampton, Ontario, where the station was originally launched in 1960, although today its studios are in Downtown Toronto at Corus Quay on Toronto's Harbourfront and its transmitter is located atop the CN Tower.
History [ edit ]
From CHIC to CFNY [ edit ]
The station commenced operations on August 8, 1960, as an FM rebroadcast of an AM station, CHIC. On September 21, 1962, two brothers, Leslie and Harry Allen Jr., agreed to purchase all shares of CHIC Radio Ltd. from S.W. Caldwell, Frank M. Early, F.J. Shouldice, John Fox, W.S. Martin, Frank W. Richardson, Garth H. Ketemer, G. Clare Burt, J.R. Jenkins and Gordon F. Keeble. The sale occurred on October 15 later that year and was subject to government approval. They began playing album rock music in the evenings while simulcasting the AM programming during the day. The nearby Humber College provided a steady stream of young employees, who were encouraged to play their own selections. Noted Canadian radio and television personality Vicki Gabereau was one of such employees. At this point in the station's existence, it operated under the call letters CHIC-FM, broadcasting about 30 hours per week, with a transmitter power of 857 watts ERP mono.[3] This was enough to just service the town of Brampton.
Until approximately 1975, the AM control room operator spun LPs from the third turntable in AM master control. Nonstop full play of each side of the LP was the norm - with just a break by the AM operator for ID and to flip the LP over. The music was picked by the AM operator prior to their shift. Some of those on air people were Dave Gordon, Mike Lynch, Steve Martak, Rich Elwood, Ted Woloshyn, Scott Cameron; any genre of music was open to airtime.
The style of the station was well received by listeners. In 1976, a new FM studio was built just up the road from the old studio in Brampton on a very limited budget. Engineers Mike Hargrave Pawson and Steve Martak built the new studio and a new transmitter site in Georgetown to increase the coverage from 857 watts to 100 kW ERP.[citation needed]
CHIC & CFNY billed side by side
In 1976,[4] CHIC-FM officially became CFNY-FM. The phrases "Canada's First New Youth" and "Canada Finds New Youth" have been cited as backronyms for the call sign. Staff employed to that point were fired in favour of hiring a new team and David Pritchard joined the station as CFNY's first program director. He had previously been a DJ at CHUM-FM, and under his guidance the station became more structured. It also began hosting specialty programs of reggae and blues music, and a popular, nationally syndicated Beatles show.
David Marsden, who had started as an announcer at the station, was selected as Pritchard's successor in 1978.
"The Spirit of Radio" [ edit ]
During Marsden's tenure as program director, the style of the station evolved into a sound which is perhaps best described[by whom?] as a more professional-sounding version of a campus radio station. At the time, alternative music was new and had not yet received wide exposure, but it was also in 1978 that new wave and punk rock emerged as dominant forms of popular music—and so the station became known as one of the few commercial stations at the time which played alternative music.
"The Spirit of Radio" logo used by CFNY during the early and mid-1980s
During this period, the station began using "The Spirit of Radio" as a promotional catchphrase. In turn, listeners of the station began to refer to CFNY as "The Spirit of Radio". Canadian band Rush was unable to obtain airplay on many radio stations other than CFNY early in their career, and in 1979 wrote the song "The Spirit of Radio" about the station. Unable to mention CFNY directly for fear of alienating airplay on other stations, the band instead ensured the catalogue number for their album Permanent Waves was 1021, a nod to the station's 102.1 FM frequency.[5]
While the fan base was loyal, the station struggled to grow its audience due to its small studio and low broadcasting power. With only a small broadcast range, the station used unconventional promotional strategies in an attempt to grow the brand. CFNY would send DJs to host regular new wave dance parties, both to build a community amongst its fans and to supplement the station's limited advertising revenue through admission fees.[6]
Turbulence and expansion [ edit ]
In 1979, the station's original owners were involved in court action unrelated to CFNY and forced to sell the station. In spite of its problems, CFNY garnered praise from its listeners and other broadcasters alike. Referring to its free-form format, the station was called "one of the last truly alternative radio stations in North America". When the new owners went bankrupt in 1979, the station received 6,200 letters and tens of thousands of names on a petition lobbying the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to "save real radio."[7]
With the Canadian economy in recession and interest rates high, the station's owners sold the station to media conglomerate Selkirk Communications. Selkirk moved the station's transmitter to the CN Tower in Toronto, thereby greatly increasing the broadcasting power and range of the station.[8] By 1985, the station had reached new heights of popularity, capturing over 5.4% of the Toronto area listeners and becoming internationally famous for its music mix. By this time, the station's dance party tradition had evolved into a large video dance party, hosted by Martin Streek, who joined the station as a DJ and on-air personality in 1984. This event regularly toured throughout southern Ontario and expanded the station's influence well beyond its actual broadcast range.[6] For a brief period, it was also available on satellite across North America, although this also led to the introduction of more "popular" music.
Through the early and mid-1980s, CFNY was well-respected for introducing new performers that other stations wouldn't play due to not being well-known names, including Canadian artists such as Martha and the Muffins, Rough Trade, Blue Rodeo, Jane Siberry, 54-40, Skinny Puppy, and Spoons.
CFNY also created Canada's first independent music awards, the U-Knows, the name of which was a pun on Canada's mainstream Juno Awards. In 1986, the station held a listener contest to rename the awards, which were re-dubbed the CASBY Awards, for "Canadian Artists Selected By You".
In 1987, after nine years in the position, David Marsden stepped down as program director. He was succeeded in the role by on-air personality Don Berns.[9] Marsden moved to Vancouver, where he created and launched the variety series Pilot One for CBC Television and became program director of Coast 800.
One notable broadcast was their worldwide period of silence for John Lennon, followed by "Remember" for the recently slain singer. More than 500 radio stations, including one in each Canadian province and American state, plus one in Sydney, Australia played this Dream Network tribute broadcast.[10]
Format change and listener rebellion [ edit ]
Late in 1988, management at CFNY ordered a change in format. After nearly 13 years of success and popular acclaim as a freestyle rock and alternative radio station, CFNY switched to a primarily Top 40 format and began to identify on-air as FM102. Alternative, which had supported the station for most of its history to that point, was relegated to weekends and late night programming.[6]
This dramatic shift in format would not be without consequences. Most significantly, the change sparked a rebellion in its fan base. The station's mid-day phone-in request show was inundated with requests for alternative songs. In support of their new policies and format, station management quickly attempted to put a stop to this by ordering that DJs were to refuse all such calls and fulfill only those requests which were for Top 40 music. Not just unpopular with the station's fan base, the new format also resulted in the dismissal or resignation of much of the on-air staff. Perhaps the most notable of these was the resignation of program director Don Berns after only two years in the role, in protest against station management's decisions.[9]
In response, the more devoted of the station's listeners and fans began signing petitions, even going so far as to file an intervention with the CRTC to oppose the station's 1989 licence renewal.[11] Certain radio analyst reports suggested that as many as 100,000 new listeners had been gained by the change, but this masked the fact that the market share dropped considerably, to 4.3%.[12]
Revival, evolution, and beginning of the Edge [ edit ]
In the summer of 1989, Selkirk was acquired by Maclean-Hunter, which was committed to returning the station to an alternative format. Instead of reviving the old free-form programming, however, Maclean-Hunter tweaked the station's programming to create a more conventional modern rock station. In the same year, "Humble" Howard Glassman and Fred Patterson launched the station's new morning show, Humble & Fred, which would go on to receive wide acclaim.
Transition to modern rock
In the early 1990s, the station again became an important outlet for new Canadian music, with bands such as Barenaked Ladies, The Lowest of the Low, Rheostatics, and Sloan counting CFNY as their first major radio supporter. Unfortunately for the station's influence, alternative rock became the decade's dominant genre and so CFNY did not sound as distinctive compared to other radio stations as it once had.
Unfortunately it would also be some time before the changes were effective in resolving the staff morale problems born during the station's recent turbulent years. The most public manifestation of the station's morale woes came in 1992, when DJ Dani Elwell resigned from the station by reading her résumé live over the air.[13][14] But the 1990s were also a period of revival and sowing seeds of growth for the station. In addition to the growth of the Humble & Fred morning show, Jason Barr also joined the station at this time[15] and would go on to become a significant contributor to CFNY.
On-air personality Alan Cross launched a new feature on the station in 1993, The Ongoing History of New Music. The program, created, hosted, and personally managed by Cross, chronicled all manner of history and trivia about the roots of rock music in a quasi-documentary style. Over time the feature would come to be one of the most recognizable and long-running pieces on the station, being owned by the station until 2008 and continuing to air new segments up until May 2011.
The mid-1990s were another era of transition for CFNY as station owner Maclean-Hunter was acquired by Rogers Communications in 1994. CFNY was sold to competing telecommunications conglomerate Shaw Communications as a result of the acquisition. During this period, the station dropped its old branding and became 102.1 The Edge. For several years toward the end of the 1990s it was also referred to as Edge 102 before this was dropped in favour of the current usage. On May 1, 1996, the station finally moved from its old studio in Brampton to a new facility at Yonge-Dundas Square along with a street-level studio at 228 Yonge Street in downtown Toronto.[9]
After only four years of ownership, Shaw Communications chose to spin off its radio holdings to Corus Entertainment in 1999. Corus remains CFNY's owner today.
Corus Entertainment [ edit ]
After 13 years as CFNY's morning show hosts, Howard Glassman and Fred Patterson departed CFNY for CFMJ in April 2001. Taking their place were newcomers Dean Blundell and Todd Shapiro, as well as station regular and Humble & Fred contributor Jason Barr.[15] The new morning show was launched as The Morning Show with Dean Blundell, and later renamed The Dean Blundell Show. This remained the station's morning show until its cancellation in January 2014[16] broadcasting from 5:30 a.m. until 10 a.m., and was a significant driving force behind many of the station's contests and events. Shapiro was fired from the station on July 24, 2013.
Josie Dye joined the station in 2002 as its new mid-day host, on air from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.[17] 2002 also saw Derek Welsman join the station as a commercial producer. Welsman was a member of the Dean Blundell morning show until the show was canceled. In June 2003, assistant program director, music director, and host Kneale Mann left the station to launch CJDV-FM, a new Corus station in Kitchener-Waterloo as program director. He left Corus two years later to launch and become program director for CILV-FM in Ottawa. In 2007, he became a leadership and business consultant and in 2016, an executive recruiter.
Alan Cross (left), Kayvon (right), March 2009
Alan Cross, host of The Ongoing History of New Music, as well as on-air personality since 1986, departed the station in 2001 to pursue an opportunity as program director at Hamilton-based radio station CJXY-FM for several years. However, in 2004 he returned to the Edge as program director. His tenure as program director for the Edge garnered acclaim for both him and the station, as he was awarded Canadian Program Director of the Year three times—in 2005, 2006, and 2008. Cross returned to the station in 2014 as a programming consultant and to resurrect his popular syndicated show "The Ongoing History of New Music".
For a number of years in the 2000s, it became rare that the station would announce its call letters. To most, it was simply 102.1 The Edge. Perhaps due to CRTC regulations requiring radio stations to announce their call letters, the station began in August 2005 to identify itself as both CFNY and the Edge during identification breaks. In 2006, however, the station fell afoul of the CRTC. The regulating body opted to give CFNY only a four-year licence renewal, rather than the customary seven.[18] The regulator's concerns reportedly involved the station failing once to meet its mandated Canadian content targets.[18]
Further staff shake-ups and alterations came with the close of the 2000s. Program director Alan Cross departed the station once more in 2008 to take a position at Corus Entertainment's interactive division, Splice Media. His replacement was former national program director Ross Winters who was fired in July 2013. In May 2009, host Barry Taylor, as well as longtime personality and live-to-air club host Martin |
fund has already invested in at least nine start-up companies investigating potential ways to stop or reverse the biological processes that lead to dementia, according to Reuters.
A member of the 24-member WDC, Vradenburg met with Gates in September about the billionaire’s interest in Alzheimer’s. He said Gates’ involvement is transformative in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. “We know that when Gates goes out to solve a problem, he is persistent, he is resourced and he partners with the best of the best,” Vradenburg said. “And he cares about actually measuring progress.”
Vradenburg was named by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to serve on the Advisory Council on Research, Care, and Services established by the National Alzheimer's Project Act (NAPA) and has testified before Congress about the global Alzheimer’s pandemic. He has been appointed to the bipartisan Commission on Long-Term Care. And he and USAgainstAlzheimer's co-convene both the Leaders Engaged on Alzheimer's Disease (LEAD) Coalition and the Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer's Disease. A lawyer, Vradenburg has served in senior executive and legal positions at CBS, FOX and AOL/Time Warner.
“The battle to find a cure for Alzheimer’s today lacks funding, urgency, collaboration, and entrepreneurial approaches. The announcement that Bill Gates is joining this fight has the potential to significantly change that paradigm. In talking to him, I am pleased he has identified essentially the same challenges and opportunities as we have at UsAgainstAlzheimer's and has chosen to invest in a disruptive mechanism to change business as usual. A worldwide Alzheimer’s epidemic is looming as both a health and economic crisis and we need every player in the game to avert it. I can think of no one better than Bill Gates."
President Ronald Reagan declared the first National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month in 1983 just 11 years before he would be diagnosed with the disease that eventually claimed his life. “While President Reagan’s experience raised our collective awareness about this cruel disease, Americans today are, sadly, no less vulnerable to its ravages,” President Donald J. Trump said in a statement this month on National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month, 2017. This year, Trump added caregivers to the list of those who should be remembered this November. “This month, we also acknowledge the millions of caregivers currently assisting those with a diagnosis of dementia. They know firsthand that the cost of such a diagnosis is measured not just in dollars and cents, but also in the emotional and physical effort required to help loved ones.”
Gates told Reuters he hesitated to guess at when a cure might be found or an effective drug developed, though he hopes there will be major developments over the next decade. ”It’ll take probably 10 years before new theories are tried enough times to give them a high chance of success. So it’s very hard to hazard a guess…I hope that in the next 10 years that we have some powerful drugs, but it’s possible that won’t be achieved.”
According to Reuters, “alongside the $50 million investment in DDF and the additional $50 million planned for start-ups, Gates said he would like to award a grant to build a global dementia data platform. This would make it easier for researchers to look for patterns and identify new pathways for treatment.”
Via his personal blog, where he says he shares “about the people I meet, the books I'm reading, and what I'm learning,” Gates today wrote about why he is “digging deep into Alzheimer’s.”
"In every part of the world, people are living longer than they used to. Thanks to scientific advancements, fewer people die young from heart disease, cancer, and infectious diseases. It’s no longer unusual for a person to live well into their 80s and beyond. My dad will celebrate his 92nd birthday in a couple weeks, a milestone that was practically unimaginable when he was born,” Gates wrote. “This fact—that people are living longer than ever before—should always be a wonderful thing. But what happens when it’s not? The longer you live, the more likely you are to develop a chronic condition. Your risk of getting arthritis, Parkinson’s, or another non-infectious disease that diminishes your quality of life increases with each year. But of all the disorders that plague us late in life, one stands out as a particularly big threat to society: Alzheimer’s disease."
Gates goes on to quote the dismal statistics of the disease, including that individuals who live into their mid-80s have a 50% chance of developing Alzheimer’s.
He said he took an interest in Alzheimer’s “because of its costs—both emotional and economic—to families and healthcare systems,” including the fact that a person with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia spends five times more each year out-of-pocket on healthcare than a senior without a neurodegenerative condition and unlike those with many chronic diseases, depending on when they develop Alzheimer’s, could require expensive care for decades.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, Americans will spend $259 billion caring for those with Alzheimer’s and other dementias in 2017, Gates wrote. “Absent a major breakthrough, expenditures will continue to squeeze healthcare budgets in the years and decades to come. This is something that governments all over the world need to be thinking about...”
Gates also wrote about the human cost of the disease, including that he too has personal reasons for finding a cure. “It’s a terrible disease that devastates both those who have it and their loved ones,” he wrote. “This is something I know a lot about, because men in my family have suffered from Alzheimer’s. I know how awful it is to watch people you love struggle as the disease robs them of their mental capacity, and there is nothing you can do about it. It feels a lot like you’re experiencing a gradual death of the person that you knew. My family history isn’t the sole reason behind my interest in Alzheimer’s. But my personal experience has exposed me to how hopeless it feels when you or a loved one gets the disease. We’ve seen scientific innovation turn once-guaranteed killers like HIV into chronic illnesses that can be held in check with medication. I believe we can do the same (or better) with Alzheimer’s.”
And in the end, that’s what Alzheimer’s patients, their families and friends see. They don’t see checks or financial statements. They see the suffering. Penny Bonner, 52 of Houston, Missouri, watched her dad succumb to Alzheimer’s. She said the hardest part was losing him before he actually died. “I lost daddy physically two years ago Halloween. I lost the person I knew growing up long before then. I wouldn’t wish going through this wretched disease on my worst enemy. I think one of the cruelest things I witnessed was that he knew his memory was failing him. He’d say things like, ‘I know I’m going to forget who you are. Please remind me. It might help me remember my daughters a bit longer.”
“What we all need is a better understanding of how the disease begins. We all know the outcome of it,” said Michael Stephens, 57, of Epsom, North Carolina, whose father died October 23 at 86 years old from the complications of Alzheimer’s disease.
His dad, Michael Joseph Stephens, Sr., was a decorated war veteran, with a lifetime of memories taken by Alzheimer’s disease. Born April 25, 1931 in Chicago, IL, the son of Frances and Marie (Horvath) Stephens of St. Louis, MO, he was a husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He retired from the U.S. Army after serving 23 years, two tours in Korea, one in Vietnam, three years in Germany and four years in Japan. He was awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit (LOM), Korean War Service Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Army Commendation Medal. He served the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church as a eucharistic minister and was a lifetime member of the VFW, a Third Degree Knight of Columbus and an active member of the Elks Lodge.
“Alzheimer's took my grandfather back in the 90's, then my dad just last month. And my mother was diagnosed with it three years ago. I don't worry about myself going through it. It's what my family will have to deal with if the Good Lord sees fit that I do. To watch a loved one deteriorate every day before your very eyes to me is a hardship beyond any reason. I think finding out what and where are the beginnings of this disease would be the best place to spend a good part of whatever monies is given.”
Sarah Moeller, 37, of Troy, Missouri is hopeful of the president’s addition of caregivers to the list of critical issues surrounding Alzheimer’s disease. “Loving someone with Alzheimer's means losing them twice. First, when they lose their mental faculties, and then when they physically die. It is insidious, especially to those around them,” she said. “I helped take care of my grandma for a few years at the end of her life. She lived in our home, and my mom was her primary caregiver. Although many people have complications secondary to Alzheimer's, my grandma actually died from Alzheimer's. I was proud of my mom for keeping her so healthy that she didn't die from something else. It changed our whole life around to have Grandma come live with us, but I'm so glad that we are able to do that for her. Caregiver support is crucial. It’s a key part of Alzheimer’s life.”
Gates said he has spent the last year studying about Alzheimer’s and has put forth a tentative strategy for fighting the disease:
We need to better understand how Alzheimer’s unfolds. He said that if we’re going to make progress, we need a better grasp on its underlying causes and biology, including why African Americans and Latinos are more likely to get the disease.
He said that if we’re going to make progress, we need a better grasp on its underlying causes and biology, including why African Americans and Latinos are more likely to get the disease. We need to detect and diagnose Alzheimer’s earlier. More reliable, affordable, and accessible diagnostic tests are needed to make it easier to see how Alzheimer’s progresses and track how effective new drugs are.
More reliable, affordable, and accessible diagnostic tests are needed to make it easier to see how Alzheimer’s progresses and track how effective new drugs are. We need more approaches to stopping the disease. He said backing is needed for scientists with different, less mainstream ideas. “A more diverse drug pipeline increases our odds of discovering a breakthrough,” he said.
He said backing is needed for scientists with different, less mainstream ideas. “A more diverse drug pipeline increases our odds of discovering a breakthrough,” he said. We need to make it easier to get people enrolled in clinical trials. “ The pace of innovation is partly determined by how quickly we can do clinical trials. Since we don’t yet have a good understanding of the disease or a reliable diagnostic, it’s difficult to find qualified people early enough in the disease’s progression willing to participate. It can sometimes take years to enroll enough patients. If we could develop a process to pre-qualify participants and create efficient registries, we could start new trials more quickly.”
The pace of innovation is partly determined by how quickly we can do clinical trials. Since we don’t yet have a good understanding of the disease or a reliable diagnostic, it’s difficult to find qualified people early enough in the disease’s progression willing to participate. It can sometimes take years to enroll enough patients. If we could develop a process to pre-qualify participants and create efficient registries, we could start new trials more quickly.” We need to use data better. Data produced by pharmaceutical companies and research labs should be compiled in a common form, Gates wrote, “so that we get a better sense of how the disease progresses, how that progression is determined by gender and age, and how genetics determines your likelihood of getting Alzheimer’s. This would make it easier for researchers to look for patterns and identify new pathways for treatment.”
As the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, Alzheimer’s disease is ravaging the brains of an estimated 5.3 million Americans age 65 and older as you read this article. But Trump said there is “light on the horizon,” however, as America’s scientific, medical, and caregiving communities break new ground in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. “Advancements in computing, genetics, and imaging technologies are facilitating greater collaboration among researchers around the world.”
Trump went on to say “The United States Government is committed to supporting cutting-edge research that will help people with Alzheimer’s through activities such as the National Institutes of Health’s Brain Research, through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative, and the Exceptional Unconventional Research Enabling Knowledge Acceleration (EUREKA) prize competitions. Congress endorsed both of these efforts last year in the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act. In addition, this past month, the Department of Health and Human Services convened a national research summit focused on improving quality of care, services, support systems, and outcomes for people suffering from dementia and their caregivers.”
“This is a frontier where we can dramatically improve human life," Gates said. "It’s a miracle that people are living so much longer, but longer life expectancies alone are not enough. People should be able to enjoy their later years—and we need a breakthrough in Alzheimer’s to fulfill that. I’m excited to join the fight and can’t wait to see what happens next.”
If you want to receive updates on how Gates is getting involved in the fight to stop Alzheimer’s disease, you can sign up to become a Gates Notes Insider.The emotional pain never goes away, but Tom Goodwin is never alone.
Goodwin’s son Weslee died in June 2014, a victim of suicide. He was just 20.
The Mets’ first-base coach said without the support of these Mets, who are going to the World Series to play the Royals beginning Tuesday in Kansas City, one of Goodwin’s former teams, he never would have been able to make it.
When the Mets talk about being a team, about being together to support one another on and off the field, this is what it means.
It’s not about living day by day, Goodwin told The Post, it’s living “moment by moment.”
“Nobody knows how to react. I didn’t know what was supposed to happen, and I pray to God that they never find out what it’s like,’’ he said.
Goodwin looked across the field and said: “They have come together for me. They’ve brought me into their families. They rallied for me and have just been there for me since Day 1. It happened, it’s something I don’t think would have happened any other place.
“These guys,’’ he said with emotion in his voice, “have given me space, but they’ve given me love at the same time.’’
When Goodwin’s son Satchel is with the team, whether it’s during spring training or various trips throughout the season, he is taken under the wing of coaches and players. He becomes the 26th Met.
“These guys have Satchel on their Facebooks and Twitters and all that kind of stuff,’’ Goodwin said. “It’s been great how they’ve kind of let me into their family from the stuff that has happened to my immediate family.
“They’re the reason I was able to get back to work, and that means a lot to see how much a guy like Dan Murphy has grown. He’s got a family now, and it’s a great feeling coming in here every day.”
Goodwin has played a huge part in the Mets’ success, especially in their running game during the postseason, when the Mets ran the Cubs ragged — and don’t forget Murphy’s silent steal of third the clinching game against the Dodgers.
“Sometimes Daniel thinks he’s invisible, and that game he was,’’ Goodwin said.
Through it all, Goodwin said he has felt Weslee’s presence.
“I’ve had days and moments where I could feel him here,’’ Goodwin said.
“I’ve told the guys, if you see me at first base crying or whatever, I say, ‘I’m OK, I’m just having a moment with my son.’
“When I get in the locker room, every now and then I just have to get away. I was thinking about him the day we clinched the [NL] East in Cincinnati. I was thinking how happy he would be. So every time we celebrate now, it’s kind of a good moment.
“You don’t want anybody to have to go through this. You can’t put it in perspective, but it does make me realize about the good stuff that goes in life, that you have to appreciate.
“I haven’t gotten to any support groups yet. I have some guys back home [in Texas] that I talk to. Teen suicide … we had no idea anything was wrong. It was an off day, and I was out at dinner. My phone was off. I didn’t even know how to react when I got the messages.
“I was with [bullpen coach] Ricky Bones and a friend and when I got out of the car I just broke down.”
Bones, 46, and Goodwin, 47, are close friends.
“Goody is a great guy who brings a smile every day to the ballpark,’’ Bones told The Post. “For me, it was so hard when he received the news. I didn’t know what to say, my heart was broken. I just tried to support him on a daily basis.’’
That’s all anyone could do.
“I think about Weslee every day,’’ said Goodwin, who played 14 years in the majors. “My ex-wife sent me a picture when we were in the World Series in 2002 with the Giants, and he was sitting there in Anaheim with those Thundersticks, he’s 9 years old and he’s got that beautiful little smile on his face.
“Those memories are what I think about.’’
“We clinched against the Cubs on the day before his birthday. I was all tied up on that flight home, it was a tough flight, but a good flight.
“I’m grateful for these guys getting me through these tough times.’’
Like every day, the Mets are there for Tom Goodwin and one another.There’s a pervasive American myth that good teachers are born, not made, and that good teachers have a set of inborn traits that naturally blossom as they figure the job out on their own. To get better teachers, the theory goes, schools need to find more people with those traits. The other myth is that teaching is easy -- the work involves children and the content is pretty basic, so it must be easy.
“Teaching is complex work that people actually have to be taught to do,” says Deborah Loewenberg Ball, dean of the School of Education at the University of Michigan. Ball spent years as an elementary school teacher and was always praised for being a “natural,” but she says teaching never came easily. She worked hard at her job.
Now, she’s trying to dramatically change teacher training to focus on the specific knowledge and skills that teachers need to effectively help students. Understanding math and knowing how to teach it are two separate skills. And understanding how to teach math well doesn’t come naturally.
People who want to be teachers “deserve to learn how to do this work well,” Ball says. “And the children that they teach particularly deserve to have those teachers taught.”
Professionalizing Teaching
Ball and her colleagues at the University of Michigan have started treating teacher preparation like any other profession. That means identifying the core set of skills, techniques and knowledge required by an entry-level employee in that field. To be a plumber, for example, one needs to know how to vent a sanitary drainage system. To be a pilot, one needs to know how to do a crosswind approach and landing. And one would have to prove one can do these things to get licensed.
“This is true primarily at least across occupations and professions where people’s safety is at risk,” Ball says. “And I do think it’s of great concern that we don’t as a culture appear to think that children are at risk when we don’t execute that same kind of responsibility” when it comes to training teachers.
There’s a lot of resistance to the idea of defining a core set of skills and knowledge that teachers should know before they start teaching, Ball says. It goes back to the belief that the ability to teach is a personal trait, dependent on individual style and talent. But Ball isn’t advocating that teachers give up their personality. She’s just trying to ensure every new teacher has the right skills for the job.
High-leverage teaching practices
About 10 years ago, Ball and her colleagues at the University of Michigan decided to try to identify what that core set of teaching would look like.
Tim Boerst, chair of the Elementary Teacher Education program, says the question they asked themselves was this:
“When a teacher goes out into the field, what are they routinely going to be needing to do? And how are those routines, those particular practices, really important in the learning of students? Because there are all kinds of things that teachers routinely do. Which are the ones that we’re going to be picking that we really think advance the learning of academic subject matter?”
They got a bunch of teachers and researchers together and came up with a list of the things they thought all beginning teachers should know how to do. Their list had 84 things on it. That was clearly too many. They needed a set of skills they could actually teach in their two-year program, so they whittled their list down to 19 skills and gave them a name: high-leverage teaching practices.
The list includes skills like these:
Leading a whole-class discussion. “In instructionally productive discussions, the teacher and a wide range of students contribute orally, listen actively, and respond to and learn from others’ contributions.”
Designing a sequence of lessons toward a specific learning goal. “Teachers design and sequence lessons with an eye toward providing opportunities for student inquiry and discovery and include opportunities for students to practice and master foundational concepts and skills before moving on to more advanced ones.”
Eliciting and interpreting individual students’ thinking. “To do this effectively, a teacher draws out a student’s thinking through carefully chosen questions and tasks and considers and checks alternative interpretations of the student’s ideas and methods.”
Analyzing instruction for the purpose of improving it. “Learning to teach is an ongoing process that requires regular analysis of instruction and its effectiveness.”
Helping Teachers Learn Those Skills
Teaching teachers is particularly difficult because everyone has some experience of either being a student or teaching something informally. And those prior experiences shape ideas about what education should look like.
When a student comes into the teacher preparation program at Michigan, faculty want to know what beliefs and skills students are bringing with them. Professors then tailor the curriculum to focus on the things students don’t know. They also work hard to help pre-service teachers unlearn habits or beliefs they picked up from their own years as children in school that are not productive ways to help kids learn.
To figure out what incoming students already know about teaching, Michigan faculty asks them do a role-playing exercise where they actually do some teaching. The pre-service teachers are given a piece of paper with a math problem on it. The paper also includes an answer. Here’s one of the problems the Michigan students are given, with an answer a student might actually have given.
The Michigan students get a few minutes to look at the problem. Then they sit down with a graduate student or professor who plays the role of the kid who came up with the answer 83. The pre-service teacher’s goal is to find out what the student did to produce that answer, and why. The entire teaching moment is recorded on video.
The point of this simulation is to see how well the Michigan student can elicit and interpret student thinking. That’s one of the high-leverage practices, and it’s hard to do. Even if the pre-service teacher can figure out what the student did, it’s really hard to leave space for the student to explain his or her own thinking.
Often, rather than eliciting the kid’s thinking, the “teacher” tells the kid what she thinks the kid was thinking, says Boerst. He calls it “filling in student thinking.”
“And that happens in classrooms all the time,” he says. “Teachers make assumptions about what kids are thinking. Kids don’t really know how to say otherwise or maybe aren’t inclined to say otherwise. Like, ‘Yeah, that’s what I was thinking 'cause I don’t really want to say what I was thinking.’”
Boerst says this can lead teachers to think kids understand the material when they don’t.
By watching and coding these simulated assessments, Boerst and his colleagues have found that half of the students coming into the elementary teacher prep program at Michigan do this “filling in of student thinking.”
Teaching students out of this habit is one of the goals of the Michigan teacher prep program. But just reading or talking about the fact that you shouldn’t do this as a teacher isn’t enough, says Boerst. People have to practice doing it a different way.
Teacher preparation in the United States hasn’t been focused enough on practice, says Ball. Traditionally, students in teacher prep programs spend a lot of time reading and talking about teaching.
“The assignments in the past were much more reflection, analysis,” Ball says. “In some sense, we could have been misled by people getting good grades for writing well. And, although it may sound a little too extreme, I think we’re more interested now in whether they can do it well, not how well they can talk about it.”
At Michigan, students are continually recording themselves as they practice teaching, and then watching the video and analyzing it. When teachers encounter a difficult moment in the classroom, like a misconception that they aren’t sure how to debunk, they have a tendency to just get through it and try not to think about it again.
“Many of us have had that experience of, ‘OK, phew, that’s over, I don’t have to do it again,' ” says Betsy Davis, a professor in the elementary education program. That’s exactly what Michigan is trying to train its pre-service teachers not to do. Instead, the program tries to instill reflection for the purpose of improvement into everything, especially mistakes.
“By having the interns watch their own video of their teaching really carefully, they see things or they hear themselves saying things that don’t make sense or that are missed opportunities,” says Davis. “And that’s one of the things we ask them to highlight in their videos: What did you miss the chance to do that if you were doing this over you would do?”
A New Approach to Student Teaching
But is all this video recording necessary when most teacher preparation programs include a student teaching component? Many people expect student-teachers will learn practical skills from the veteran educators with whom they are paired.
The problem with pinning all the practical experience on student teaching is that the quality of those experiences varies widely. Even more shocking, data collected in the mid-2000s showed that more than 20 percent of first-year teachers had no student teaching experience at all. Forty-two percent of science teachers did no student teaching.
Remember Jasmine Bankhead, the student teacher who was left alone in the classroom on her very first day? That’s not so uncommon. Student teachers are either given too much responsibility, or they’re not given enough; they make copies or do recess duty. Or they just sit and watch the teacher teach. They might see really effective teaching, and they might not.
All of these things were happening when students at Michigan went out into the field for their student teaching experience. It was always a scramble to find classrooms to send them to. There was no consistency. Students “were actually starting to pick up some negative practices from the field,” says Elizabeth Moje, an associate dean at the Michigan School of Education who helps oversee the student teaching program.
Moje wanted her students to see teachers who were really good at things like eliciting student thinking and leading class discussions. She needed a way to send only students to observe teachers the university knew were very effective. So that’s what they did.
Now, rather than sending the students out to dozens of schools all over the Detroit metropolitan area, Michigan rotates its students in groups to just a few different classrooms in a few different schools. It’s similar to the way medical students rotate through different specialties during their training. There’s a lot Michigan has borrowed from the medical field. In fact, all the pre-service teachers are now called interns.
When interns visit classrooms, they check in with the teacher and then work in small groups or one-on-one with students. A Michigan adviser is also in the class, observing as interns work with students. If one of the interns struggles, the advisor can jump in with real-time feedback.
For example, in a discussion about the causes of the Civil War, one intern repeatedly asked questions hoping to solicit a particular response from the middle school students that just wasn’t coming. There were lots of awkward pauses as the intern waited for the kids to pick up on his train of thought.
Adviser Rebecca Gadd was observing. When the intern had tried a few different questions with no luck, she stopped the discussion and pulled the intern aside to give him some tips.
“OK, so what I would suspect is that the way that this is explained is a little bit abstract,” she says, referring to the reading assignment.
“So you need to think, are you going to ask or are you going to explain?” She recommends that he stop asking the students questions because they clearly missed the point in the reading. It’s time to explain it to them. Just tell them what you want them to know.
Gadd is a former middle school teacher. She wishes her training had included this kind of guided practice. Teachers can go through their entire training -- their entire careers even -- without anyone taking them aside and offering in-the-moment feedback. She says Michigan got the idea for doing this from medical training.
“When aspiring doctors are practicing with patients, medical educators don’t wait until they’ve killed the patient to intervene and say, ‘You should have done this differently,' ” she says. “Instead, they intervene in the moment and say, ‘OK, we need to be doing this.' ”
Becoming a Teacher
Michigan students in the secondary teacher education program spend two semesters in classrooms, observing and working with kids one-on-one or in groups. The idea is a gradual assumption of responsibility.
They don’t actually do what most people think of as student teaching until their third semester. That’s when they’re promoted from intern to resident, and they actually get to take charge and teach the class.
Grace Tesfae is in her semester-long residency, getting ready to graduate from Michigan in a few months. She’s excited about having her own classroom, but also scared to be on her own. “I feel like I’ll be ready when the time comes,” Tesfae says, sounding a bit uncertain.
Michigan doesn’t have much data yet on whether the new approach is working. It’s not even clear what kind of data would provide a meaningful measure of what Michigan is trying to do. They could look at test scores of students in their graduates’ classrooms. That would tell them something. But Michigan wants to know if its teachers can do things like elicit and interpret student thinking and lead class discussions. Test scores don’t tell you that.
Michigan does have its interns repeat the simulation they did at the beginning of the program, where they tried to figure out how a kid was thinking while solving a math problem. By the end of their first year in the program, most interns are no longer filling in, rather than eliciting, a student’s thinking. The Michigan interns show progress on other elements of the 19 high-leverage teaching practices, too.
Deborah Ball admits that those 19 practices are just a first bet for changing teacher education. “These aren’t necessarily the end, but they are the best bets we had,” Ball said. "And we have to have a systematic way of revising those.”
Bottom line though, from Ball’s point of view, is that the teaching profession needs to come to some kind of common understanding about the skills that are required to enter the profession. And just like plumbers and pilots, new teachers should have to demonstrate they have these skills.
Ball has started an organization to try to develop new licensing assessments for people who want to be teachers and to work with teacher preparation programs across the country to develop common approaches to professional training. It’s a big job. The U.S. Department of Education projects that by 2020, the United States will need nearly 430,000 new teachers a year.
Ball’s ultimate goal is to make sure every first–year teacher in the United States is what she calls “a well-started beginner.” That’s what she and her colleagues are aiming for at Michigan.
“We’re really eyeing the first year, honestly,” she says. “Really, the goal is that kids wouldn’t have first-year teachers who are completely underprepared, that it wouldn’t be true anymore that you could just end up with a teacher who, this is her year to have a wreck year.”
Ball feels particular urgency about this question because in the United States, it’s poor kids who are most likely to get first-year teachers. Ball says that to improve education for all kids, and especially for poor kids, first-year teachers have to be much better prepared.From the origins of the Academical Village to the latest research in renewable fuels, this fall’s “More Than the Score” lecture series will offer football fans plenty of thought-provoking material as a mental warmup before home games.
The series, offered by the Office of Engagement in partnership with the Alumni Association, will kick off on Sept. 5 when UVA hosts William and Mary. Richard Guy Wilson, professor of architectural history; and Andrea Douglas, curator of the UVA Art Museum, will discuss Thomas Jefferson’s design for the Academical Village.
The lectures begin at 10 a.m. each home game day at Alumni Hall on Emmet Street. For more details and to register, visit www.hoosonline.virginia.edu/morethanthescore (the Web site will have updates or changes in the schedule).
“Cavalier Countdown” at Alumni Hall will continue to include food, beverages, chalk talks 90 minutes before kickoff, and other family-friendly activities.
Lecture series
Sept. 5: “Designing Thomas Jefferson’s Academical Village”
Richard Guy Wilson, Commonwealth Professor of Architectural History; and Andrea Douglas, curator, University of Virginia Art Museum.
(Read our article, This Old Academical Village, on this topic.
Sept. 12: “Beyond Oil, Coal and Natural Gas: Opportunities and Challenges for Renewable Fuels and Chemicals”
Robert Davis, Earnest Jackson Oglesby Professor and Chair of Chemical Engineering.
Also on Sept 12: Presidential search committee will meet at Alumni Hall to hear alumni input at 11:00
Oct. 10 (Homecomings): “Sabato’s Crystal Ball”
Larry Sabato, founder and director of the Center for Politics and Robert Kent Gooch Professor of Politics (watch the Web site for potential location update).
Oct. 24: “UVA’s Commitment to Global Health: A Declaration of Interdependence”
Dr. Rebecca Dillingham, assistant professor, Department of Medicine, Infectious Diseases.
Oct. 31: “Frankenstein and Dracula: Separated at Birth—and Not Dead Yet”
Susan Tyler Hitchcock, former UVA faculty and author; and Stephen Arata, Mayo Distinguished Teaching Professor of English.
Nov. 14: “Whatever Happened to Thrift? Why Americans Don’t Save and What to Do about It”
Ron Wilcox, professor of business administration, Darden School of Business.
(Read our Short Course article by Ron Wilcox on this topic.)
Nov. 28: “Sex Matters”
Dr. Anita Clayton, David C. Wilson Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences and medical director, Center for Psychiatric Clinical Research.AKA Dirty Duck; Cheap (working title)
DIRECTED BY: Charles Swenson
FEATURING: Voices of,, Robert Ridgely, Cynthia Adler
PLOT: Miquetoast Willard works at an insurance company where he hopes to woo a coworker, but crossing paths with a duck leads him on a psychedelic journey of sexual awakening and New Age enlightenment.
WHY IT SHOULD MAKE THE LIST: Animated anti-establishment Yippie circlejerks are obligated to be at least a little weird, but even within that category, the Duck soars above the competition (especially Fritz the Cat). It is much more surreal than it had to be, and for that, we thank it.
COMMENTS: Duck starts with an introduction by a used-car-salesman-cum-host of the late night movie variety, complete with funny animal sidekick—a reference to 1970s TV staples such as Cal Worthington, for those of you who never lived on the left coast. The dated cultural references get harder and harder to explain from here, but considering our protagonist, a human insurance investigator named Willard, starts his day by sniffing a potted flower which morphs into a woman’s head he kisses and a set of boobs he motorboats, being misunderstood wasn’t exactly this movie’s chief phobia.
Willard has a rich fantasy life to make up for his wimpy demeanor. When brushed aside by a horny couple at the bus stop, he morphs into King Kong and strips the girl naked and hold her in his palm. Next, he turns his abusive boss into a basketball for some Harlem Globetrotters tricks. There’s a scene like this every few minutes, to the point where we lose track of what’s going on in the story and what’s just another of Willard’s flights of fancy. But anyway, we’re pretty sure the plot is that Willard has a crush on a girl at work and plans to ask her out, but will be thwarted by this cruel universe which constantly taunts him with lascivious female bodies that he cannot have.
But what was this movie about again? Oh, yes, a duck. A duck with a Ouija-board-reading owner with a gig at a tattoo parlor. Willard visits them regarding the woman’s life insurance claim (she is not, in fact, dead) and is mistaken for a wizard from a prophecy. He denies it, but doesn’t help his case when she drops dead at a harsh word from him. But this gives the insurance man and the duck a great excuse to hit the road on a voyage of sexual awakening through the psychedelic landscape of 70s Americana. The duck interrupts Willard’s guilt trip by popping out of a toilet to hand Willard his robe and wizard hat. While Willard is devoid of actual magical powers, the movie around him just gets more free-form and dreamlike. Scenery drops in from behind, new characters sprout from the ground, nonsensical conversations occur, then on to the next scene. We’re pretty sure they go to a brothel. They get stranded in the desert for a long time and encounter lesbians and a cop doing the most hilarious John Wayne impression ever filmed. And then there’s that ending, as if your head weren’t tied in enough knots already.
At some point, you have to give up trying to make sense of anything, turn off your brain, |
under the category of the rarest of rare, hence the accused is awarded death sentence...he must be hanged by his neck till he is dead," said special women's court judge Vrushali Joshi while pronouncing the verdict.On Wednesday, during the arguments on the quantum of sentence even as the special public prosecutor Raja Thakare sought the death sentence, defence advocate Prakash Salsingekar sought life and contended that the fact that since Sanap had visited an astrologer soon after the incident and sought atonement for his sins against a woman, showed that he was remorseful and was on the path for reformation. “The fact that he had visited the astrologer on January 5, last year (hours after the incident) has been accepted by the court. This proves that he had immediately become remorseful,” defence advocate argued.However, Thakare told the court, “The truth is that some crimes are so outrageous that society insists on adequate punishment because the wrongdoer deserves it, irrespective of whether it is a deterrent or not.” He further submitted that in the present case besides the murder charge, the Indian Penal Code section, 376 (A) (while committing rape, inflicting an injury that causes the woman’s death) under which Sanap was additionally found guilty, also attracted the maximum sentence of death.Thakare said that this charge was the distinguishing factor between this case and two other murder cases in which the same court had awarded the life sentences. “Also the accused attempted to even burn the body after the murder to destroy the evidence and decamped with her valuables. He has committed the heinous act on an innocent, helpless woman who had trusted him like a brother to drop her home from the station,” he said.File photo of Esther AnuhyaAnuhya was working as a techie in the city and lived at the YWCA hostel. A native of Andhra Pradesh, she had boarded a train from Vijaywada to LTT on January 4 last year and was expected to arrive in the city the following morning. However, her father’s attempts to contact her on her mobile phone did not yield results, forcing him to file a missing complaint with the Vijaywada Railway Police.The father then arrived in the city to look for his daughter and another missing complaint was lodged at Kurla police station. The last signal of Anuhya’s phone was traced to Bhandup. In his statement to the court, Prasad said that he began to look for his child along the Eastern Express Highway with the help of relatives. On January 16, last year a badly burnt body was found. With the help of the finger ring present on it, Prasad identified the body as that of his daughter.The matter was handed over to the Crime Branch on March 2, 2014. CCTV allegedly revealed that Anuhya had arrived at LTT but had left with a man who was later identified as Sanap. A resident of Karve Nagar, Kanjurmarg, Sanap was arrested. The investigators claimed that Anuhya had accompanied him after he had agreed to drop her home on his bike.Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on Friday demanded Congress do everything in its power to nullify a $300 million rebuilding contract between Puerto Rico and Whitefish Energy Holdings, a two-person Montana energy company with little experience in large-scale grid repair.
“From everything that I have seen, I think it’s an outrage,” Sanders said after a press conference in San Juan. “I think the idea that the government or the appropriate authority did not look for mutual aid and call up utility companies in the United States, which is what is normally done, surprises me.”
Sanders, who’s a member of both the Senate Energy and Environment and Public Works committees, said Congress “sure can hold hearings and we sure can do everything that we can” to push to nullify the contract.
“It smells badly to me,” he added. “We’ll be looking at every aspect of this contract. I am on the energy committee; we will be demanding hearings as well.”
The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, known as Prepa, opted to hire a for-profit company to restore electricity to Puerto Rico’s 3.4 million residents instead of going for a “mutual aid” agreement that has helped others rebuild after natural disasters.
“The kind of compensation packages that we are looking at seems to be extraordinarily high,” Sanders said. “We learned today that apparently there was a provision in the contract that says the government cannot audit the profits or the salaries that are taking place which is simply not acceptable, and in fact is illegal. This is federal money. And our job is to make sure that Puerto Rico is rebuilt as quickly as possible, as effectively as possible, as cost-effectively as possible.”
Under the contract, Whitefish is charging $330 an hour for a site supervisor and $227.88 an hour for a “journeyman lineman.” Subcontractors, who make up most of Whitefish’s workforce, cost $462 per hour for a supervisor and $319.04 for a lineman.
“Now what I worry about, not only in Puerto Rico, but when billions of dollars comes in to reconstruction, there are people out there who are going to try to make as much money as they possibly can, in any way possible,” Sanders said. “And our job is to say, ‘No.’ This is taxpayer dollars. Money has got to be spent cost effectively. The money should not go — excessive profits should not be going to into the hands of large companies. That money should be used to improve the lives of the people impacted.”
The Trump administration has already distanced itself from the contract. The White House, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke all said Puerto Rican officials were responsible for having signed the deal. Zinke, who comes from the same Montana town as Whitefish Energy, said he had “absolutely nothing” to do with the company receiving the contract.
Sanders addressed both the island’s immediate and long-term needs after meeting with locals and government officials during his visit to San Juan on Friday. He pointed out that besides water, electricity, food, and opening up schools, the process of reconstruction should also deal with figuring out how to adopt sustainable energy sources and rebuild housing that won’t be blown away in the next hurricane.
“It is no secret that before the hurricane, Puerto Rico faced very, very serious economic problems,” he said. “Poverty rates, very high, higher now. Unemployment rates much, much too high. Puerto Rico is saddled with a debt of some $73 billion.”
Sanders went on, “It would be absolutely unacceptable for the vulture funds on Wall Street to squeeze this island dry and take resources that are desperately needed here for education and housing and infrastructure to give it to greedy, greedy people on Wall Street.”
As for the $4.9 billion loan Senate passed last week as part of a $36.5 billion hurricane relief bill, Sanders said it’s his expectation that the loan “will be converted into a grant” or “forgiven as a loan.”
In three or so weeks, Sanders said, there will be a big debate in Congress over a supplemental disaster relief package, which will include substantially more money for Puerto Rico, Florida, Texas, and the Virgin Islands.
Update:
BuzzFeed reporter Nidhi Prakash reports that Gov. Ricardo Rosselló has requested that the power authority cancel Whitefish Energy’s contract:My colleague came up with the bright idea to start doing live chats, which we hope will end up being kind of like Reddit AMAs except with people directly or tangentially related to accounting.
Lucky me, I get to kick things off with a CPA exam-centric chat on 1/31. The grilling starts promptly at 1pm EST.
Ask me how your school did on the CPA exam, how CPA review companies come up with their pass rates, how to come up with a study plan… whatever. Don't ask me about my flair but I'm up for just about anything else as long as it's somewhat on topic. If you'd like to submit questions ahead of time, feel free to email and anything we don't get to in an hour may be addressed in future posts.
For those of you who have long put the CPA exam behind you and could not possibly care less about any of this, we're trying to set some of these chats up with real people in the future – if there's someone you'd love to see us try to subject to your badgering, let us know and we'll attempt to bribe them into participating. Barry Melancon doesn't return our calls so that's probably out.Economists predict slowdown will be sharper in Britain than in any other major European country
Britain will suffer a deeper recession than any other mature EU economy, with a contraction of 1% next year and only 0.4% growth in 2010, the European commission said today.
The EC's latest half-yearly forecast predicts UK unemployment will rise from 5.3% in 2007 to 7.1% in 2009 — which would bring the number out of work to about 2.25 million.
It expects the budget deficit to jump to 5.6% next year, which would be around £80bn, and 6.5%, or £94bn, in 2010. Government debt is forecast to rise by more than 15 percentage points to more than 60% of GDP in 2010-11. The figures would break stability and growth limits set by the EU's stability and growth pact.
The bleak EU forecasts blow a hole in the government's assertion it has been running the EU's model economy for the past decade.
Britain's contraction will be worse even that that of Ireland, which is forecast to shrink 0.9% in 2009 but recover to 2.4% growth in 2010. Ireland's budget deficit is forecast to be higher, at 6.8% of GDP in 2009 and 7.2% in 2010.
Only Estonia and Latvia are expected to suffer deeper recessions in 2009, contracting 1.2% and 2.7% respectively. Germany, France and Italy, the eurozone's three biggest economies, are expected to stagnate.
Presenting his "dark" forecast, Joaquín Almunia, economic and monetary affairs commissioner, said it was highly uncertain and volatile given the fragile state of global financial markets.
He indicated tension had eased in inter-bank lending after the co-ordinated stabilisation plans adopted by governments in recent weeks.
But he insisted the EC would stick to its revised stability and growth pact, with the UK expected to receive a warning early in the new year. The UK is already in the so-called excessive deficit procedure but cannot be sanctioned as it is not part of the eurozone.
Senior EC economists said: "The central outlook (for Britain) envisages a marked fall in private consumption in 2009 and 2010, driven by more restrictive borrowing conditions and lower household wealth."
Presenting a bleak picture of falling housing prices, falling living standards and rising joblessness, they said: "The heightened unemployment risk is also likely to prompt increases in savings from their currently very low level."
The EC is forecasting a gradual recovery in the eurozone and most of the rest of the 27 EU member states in the second half of next year but this is unlikely in Britain until 2010, with business investment shrinking until the end of 2009. Inflation is likely to fall to 1.2% in 2010.
The forecast comes ahead of this week's expected decisions by both the bank of England and European Central Bank to cut interest rates by up to 0.5 percentage points as governments adopt fiscal stimulus packages to help lead the way out of recession across Europe.Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2015 April 30
Across the Sun
Image Credit & Copyright: Göran Strand
Explanation: A long solar filament stretches across the relatively calm surface of the Sun in this telescopic snap shot from April 27. The negative or inverted narrowband image was made in the light of ionized hydrogen atoms. Seen at the upper left, the magnificent curtain of magnetized plasma towers above surface and actually reaches beyond the Sun's edge. How long is the solar filament? About as long as the distance from Earth to Moon, illustrated by the scale insert at the left. Tracking toward the right across the solar disk a day later the long filament erupted, lifting away from the Sun's surface. Monitored by Sun staring satellites, a coronal mass ejection was also blasted from the site but is expected to swing wide of our fair planet.Photos: Different flavors of Raspberry Pi Different flavors of Raspberry Pi – The Raspberry Pi has been shortlisted for the London Design Museum's "Designs of the Year" awards, with judges citing its affordability, power and accessibility to children. An exhibition accompanying the awards is showing off some of the creative uses of the hugely popular personal computer. Hide Caption 1 of 8
Photos: Different flavors of Raspberry Pi Different flavors of Raspberry Pi – Gareth James built this stylish, personalized train departures board to keep him informed of the times of the next trains to Brighton, UK. "It's a little bit of art with a bit of techy-usefulness built in -- and it's proven really handy," he said. "No longer do I end up hanging around on the cold train platform." Hide Caption 2 of 8
Photos: Different flavors of Raspberry Pi Different flavors of Raspberry Pi – Alyssa Dayan and Tom Hartley created AirPi, a cheap, home-based air quality and weather surveillance station. The team hope that others will replicate the device and feed their readings into their website, airpi.es. Hide Caption 3 of 8
Photos: Different flavors of Raspberry Pi Different flavors of Raspberry Pi – Alastair Smith, a wireless technology expert at PA Consulting Group, holds up a Raspberry Pi in front of a cell phone tower. The team created a private mobile-phone network by connecting the RPi, a $25 singleboard computer, to a radio interface. Hide Caption 4 of 8
Photos: Different flavors of Raspberry Pi Different flavors of Raspberry Pi – Tom Rees created a remote-controlled car out of Lego, operated using the console from a gaming system. "The project was a fantastic learning experience, though difficult and even disheartening at times. When it was completed, I wanted to share my findings and now I'm really pleased to see several other projects based upon this one which develop the concept even further," he said. Hide Caption 5 of 8
Photos: Different flavors of Raspberry Pi Different flavors of Raspberry Pi – This aerial view of Norfolk, UK, with the North Sea in the distance, was taken at an altitude of about 36 km (22.4 miles) on a 40.5-kilometer (25.2-mile) flight by high-altitude ballooning enthusiast David Akerman. His RPi design is not being exhibited at London's Design Museum, but it clearly shows that the sky is not the limit for inventiveness. Akerman uses RPi to track his balloons and transmit images from near space. "It can take several photographs and then send the best image to transmit," he said. Hide Caption 6 of 8
Photos: Different flavors of Raspberry Pi Different flavors of Raspberry Pi – Raspberry Pi is inspiring home inventors around the world. Ryan Price from Orlando, Florida, re-purposed this Bakelite Admiral television with a 15" LCD screen with an RPi to display video, pictures and other media. "The community that has formed around the Pi is nearly unmatched," he said. Hide Caption 7 of 8Berkshire Hathaway CEO and Hillary Clinton supporter Warren Buffett said Thursday that the country needs to unite under President-elect Donald Trump.
“I support any president of the United States. It’s very important that the American people coalesce behind the president,” Mr. Buffett told CNN’s Poppy Harlow in an interview published Friday.
“That doesn’t mean they can’t criticize him or they can’t disagree with what he’s doing maybe. But we need a country unified,” the 86-year-old added. “He deserves everybody’s respect.”
Mr. Buffett, who said he hadn’t spoken to Mrs. Clinton since her shocking defeat, said he preferred the Democratic nominee over Mr. Trump because of her temperament.
He understands, however, how Americans upset about the growth of the economy got the business mogul elected. Mr. Buffet said he would offer a hand to the president-elect if he asked for it.
“I would do that with any president. I’ve never called a president in my life. So I don’t initiate ‘em,” he told CNN. “But if any president asks me for help in any way, I mean, that’s part of being a citizen.”
Berkshire Hathaway’s stock hit a record high Thursday and added another $2 billion to Mr. Buffett’s net worth, according to Forbes. Mr. Buffett, who also serves as the company’s chairman, said fears that the stock market would tank after Mr. Trump’s win were “silly.”
Asked if he felt optimistic about the future of the United States, Mr. Buffett responded, “absolutely,” and stressed that America is a “fantastic country.”
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.The smartwatch market could become a bit more colorful in the coming months.
Swatch, a Swiss company know for creating timepieces with vibrant hues, plans to launch a smartwatch in the next three months. The Internet-connected device will work with Android and Windows software and allow users to make mobile payments, Swatch CEO Nick Hayek told Bloomberg Business on Thursday.
Hayek didn't offer additional details such as how much it will cost and how the device will interface with Android and Windows software. Swatch didn't immediately reply to a request for comment.
[ Free download: Mobile management vendors compared ]
Swatch's entry into the wearable and mobile payment market comes as Apple prepares to launch its first smartwatch and expands its mobile wallet product. The Apple Watch, which will debut in April, will have fitness-tracking features and offer applications for text messaging, emails and getting directions. Apple entered the mobile payment space in October with Apple Pay.
Swatch's decision to develop a smartwatch indicates that Hayek has done an about-face on wearables. Two years ago, he downplayed the impact smartwatches would have on the watch industry, saying they wouldn't be as revolutionary as predicted. Last year, he said Swatch wouldn't develop such devices because of consumer reluctance. He had questioned how small watch screens could be used for communicating and the amount of charging smartwatches would require.
Hayek told Bloomberg that some of the products Swatch plans to launch this year will reflect the record number of patent applications it filed in 2014. Some of those patents cover batteries that use materials that can boost performance, Hayek said. The Swatch smartwatch will connect to the Internet "without having to be charged," he told Bloomberg.
Switzerland's two largest retailers will let customers make payments with Swatch's smartwatch and the company is talking to other retailers about using the payment system.
Another traditional watchmaker getting into the wearables space is TAG Heuer, which is looking to release a smartwatch this year that features GPS and health monitoring functions. High-end consumer product company Montblanc sells a smart watchband for its timepieces that tracks activities, among other features, and uses Bluetooth to connect to mobile devices running iOS and Android.
Fred O'Connor writes about IT careers and health IT for The IDG News Service. Follow Fred on Twitter at @fredjoconnor. Fred's e-mail address is fred_o'connor@idg.comThe horrific visions that open the final chapter of Alan Moore's Watchmen haunt you long afterwards. But Zack Snyder's movie tones down that imagery, and screenwriter David Hayter says it's because of 9/11. Spoilers below.
As you probably already know, there's no giant squid at the end of Snyder's movie adaptation. But that's not the only thing that's missing. The film leaves out the gut-wrenching images that fill nine pages of the graphic novel, at the start of Chapter 12
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In the book, a doomsday clock dripping with the blood of massacred New Yorkers is followed by in-your-face carnage. There are no words, just page after page of silent faces frozen in despair. Bodies are piled on top of bodies, hunched over street corners and splayed outside of windows. If you're familiar with the book, you know that the world, for New Yorkers, has just ended. The visually arresting images push forward the final issue that the entire novel hinges upon: Is it okay to kill millions to save billions? It's violent and necessary... but it's not in the movie.
Apparently these images were deemed too graphic for Snyder's Watchmen. We asked Hayter why the movie doesn't depict the dead bodies in the aftermath of Ozymandias' scheme, while he was doing press for the film:
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When did the ending change, and who was responsible for that?
I changed it. Because it was just me, and I didn't have Zack Snyder. [When I was working on the script] the pressures were being put on me. "Six main characters. Can you cut it down to one? Can you cut all the flashbacks? We don't like all this history." And I'm like it's...[laughs in disbelief] What I would always say is, "Yeah, I can write that movie, but it's going to be a different movie, and you're going to have to pay me again." And they didn't want to do that.
I did understand the ending of the book, [but] there are a few issues that apply to the pressures of filmmaking. I'm always cognizant of the fact that when you're dealing with the studio and you're asking them to put up 100-plus million dollars, that that's a big thing. You can't just say, "I'm an artist and whatever." You're never going to work, and that's not a smart way to make movies.
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The ending of the book shows just piles of corpses, bloody corpses in the middle of Times Square, people hanging out of windows just slaughtered on a massive scale. To do that in a comic book, and release it in 1985, is different from doing it real life, in a movie, and seeing all of these people brutally massacred in the middle of Times Square post 2001. That's a legitimate concern, and one that I shared.
If you're doing the movie for $40 million, fine - bloody bodies everywhere. And that's fine, and it's a niche film, and only the hardcore fans would go see it. But if you're doing it on this big of a scale, I just don't think that's... I understood their reticence to putting those images on screen.
So the studio had reservations about the ending, because of September 11 and because people wouldn't be ready for it. But weren't you worried about changing the ending, as someone who loved the graphic novel?
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Well no, because what I did, the way I sort of convinced myself - And I don't really know what it looks like, because I've only seen a rough cut of the film, without all the FX in the end - But what I did was say, "What if they were all blown into the Hiroshima shadows, which are already set up in the book?" Then you can see the death on a grand scale, you see all the particles floating in the air, but it's not so ugly. It's almost beautiful in its way. This destruction that is done in an artistic way, and it's also fed by the themes of the book and set up in there.
I would have liked to have seen the squid. I would have loved to have seen it exactly the way it was in the book - but I also felt the same pain everyone else did living here when [September 11] occurred. My primary years working on it were also 2000 to 2005 [and 9/11 was a lot fresher in people's minds right afterwards]. So it wasn't just the studios. That was something I did for the studios with out having to be pushed on it."
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How did artist Dave Gibbons, the gifted artist behind the graphic novel, feel about those images disappearing from the movie? We asked him:
You drew these panels that were full of carnage and bloody streets, and they're not in the movie. How did you feel as an artist, about not being able to see the actual destruction?
It relates to the whole question about violence in the whole thing. I think the consequences of violence should be shown graphically, just to show that violence is unpleasant. It isn't just [that] you get a little spot of blood, and then you put a band aid on it and you're all better. You know I haven't seen the final cut of the end of the movie, the version that I saw the ending wasn't finished so I don't know precisely what we do see but my remembrance of it was, I did get a sense of this wholesale destruction.
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I suppose you also have to say that in a way, post 9/11, it's a very tender area anyway. So I think that might modify how you would treat it, if you were going to do it.
All in all, using 9/11 as an excuse to change the ending of the movie doesn't sit right with me - especially since the film already shows a little girl in a dog's mouth and plenty of gore earlier in the film. Why spend so much time remaining true to the book, only to drop the ball in the final act? I sympathize with film-makers who have to work with the studios, but they could have tried harder to meet them halfway. Perhaps it didn't have to be as graphic as the novel, but there must have been some way the filmmakers could have demonstrated the lives that had been taken. The loss of those images creates more confusion, and dilutes the seriousness of the movie's grand finale.
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AdvertisementMore than 800 so-called asylum seekers have withdrawn their applications in Norway and left the country, apparently deciding that the Scandinavian haven wasn’t as nice as they expected. In total, 31,145 people sought asylum in Norway last year.
One in eight of the 805 people who withdrew their applications last year came from Syria, a place deemed to be so dangerous by near neighbour Germany last year that it issued an open invitation to anyone holding a Syrian passport.
A further 137 were from Iraq, where Islamic State has taken hold, and a further 62 from war-torn Afghanistan, the Local has reported.
The majority returned home, although others headed elsewhere. Syrian applicants in particular moved on rather than return home, mainly to Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.
The figures were obtained from Norway’s Directorate of Immigration (UDI) by Vårt Land. Katinka Hartmann, the head of UDI’s returns unit has told that paper that the migrants’ motivations for withdrawing their applications were not fully understood as the Directorate doesn’t ask for reasons when an application is withdrawn.
However, she assumes that they had simply become disillusioned by life in Norway after experiencing it for themselves.
“We assume that many of them had an unrealistic and erroneous perception of the types of opportunities they would have in Norway. Probably those who do not have a need for protection release that there is little to gain in having their asylum applications processed here,” she said.
There is evidence that migrants are shopping for the best benefits deals to be had in Europe – and Norway has recently altered its policies on migrant benefits, cutting benefits for asylum seekers by 20 percent and increasing the wait for permanent residency from three to five years.
They are also working with the Iraqi and Eritrean governments to strike a deal on returning asylum seekers home, and have been offering grants of €10,000 to migrant families willing to leave the country. 230 families applied for the grant in December, more than twice the figure applying last summer.
However, it is clear that many migrants have unrealistic expectations of what is on offer in the West.
In a recent interview, a German social worker working in a Hamburg asylum centre revealed that the majority of migrants expect to be handed a job, a flashy car and vast apartment upon arrival in the country. When it is explained to them that those things are not on offer, many become abusive and violent.
“One Arab yelled at a colleague of mine ‘We will behead you!’” she said.Red goes with what? Fish? You can't serve what in what glass? Wine can be damn intimidating. We proudly introduce a new series that will give every beer and whiskey drinker out there an excellent primer to the world of wine.
Ever since I came of drinking age started drinking, I’ve been a beer drinker. But for the rest of 2011, I’ve decided to be a wine drinker. Why? Because I’m ready for the experience. I’ve been drinking for about a decade now and I think my tastes have grown up. And it’s possible that the premises upon which I became a beer drinker in the first place are a bit shaky. My first beers were cans of Keystone Ice, smuggled into some friend’s mom’s basement and chugged still hot from their hiding place in my car. We chose Ice because of its higher alcohol content, not for its taste, which it gets primarily from the aluminum it’s housed in. Beer, for much of my drinking life, has been a means to an end.
More recently, I’ve been enjoying my beer, and not just the drunkenness it produces. While my default beer is Yuengling (brewed in my home state of Pennsylvania), I make it a point to order whatever craft, seasonal or local brew is on tap. I’ve been to a few beer tastings and festivals, but overall, I’ve only been moderately adventurous. As a result, I’ve come to learn what I like in a beer (freshness tops the list for me), and can usually predict from a bartender’s description of a beer whether I’ll enjoy a new beer or not.
I don’t have this experience with wine. I do drink wine when the occasion calls for it, e.g. for celebrations, weddings, fine dining. For the most part, I enjoy most glasses of wine that I taste, but I feel like I’m missing out on something. Wine, to me, is an under-appreciated lyrical poem. On the surface, I can delight in its meter and rhyme. But I can sense that I’m failing to pick up on the subtext. And that’s a shame, especially since I’ve very likely had some very nice glasses of wine in my life without even knowing it.
So, for the next few months, I’ll be embarking on a personal adventure to expand my horizons and deepen my appreciation for wine. I’m not saying goodbye to beer completely, and I don’t think you should either. Why abandon something you love? But I think I have some serious catching up to do in terms of enjoying wine, versus simply imbibing it for its alcoholic content.
In later articles, I’ll be sharing with you what I’ve learned about the different types of wine, how to taste wines, how to decipher those arcane wine labels and how to select wine at restaurants or at the store.
But to kick of this series, let’s talk about the transition from being primarily a beer drinker to becoming a wine drinker. In my opinion, it’s pretty smooth.
What You Love About Beer
Beer is your old college buddy. You have a storied past, many fond memories and a few experiences that you maybe can’t remember so clearly. You have a special connection with the beer you buy by the case to this day. And when you take a swig, your subconscious reaction is similar to when a blind taste tester said that Coca-Cola “tastes like my childhood.” But on a pragmatic level, beer has some nice advantages:
Consistency. Walk into any bar in the country and order a pint of Sam Adams and you know what you’re going to get. Do the same and order a glass of chardonnay and it’s a total crap shoot. With beer, at least, you never have to ask to see the bottle before having a glass poured.
Affordability. Drinking whatever’s on tap is almost always the most economical way to go, and since you know what you’re getting with beer, it’s a safe one, too. The chance that you’ll enjoy the house wine is somewhat slimmer, meaning you could end up shelling out for a handpicked bottle.
Portability. I can drink a beer while floating down a river in an inner tube. The same can’t be said for a corked bottle of wine or a Boston Sour.
Chilling out. Nothing beats a cold one on a hot summer day. Nothing.
With all the general things being said about beer, there’s also a rich and diverse universe of craft beers to appreciate—and you don’t even have to travel to Europe to explore it. There’s equal potential to be snobby about craft beer as there is for fine wine. My guess is that you’ve enjoyed a craft beer or two in your day without getting all hipster about it. Which means that you can probably enjoy wine without turning into the Monopoly guy.
What You Will Learn to Love About Wine
Many of the qualities that are lovable about beer overlap with what wine has to offer. It’s a fine social lubricant, it has a depth of local flavor and historical significance to plumb, and it can take the flavors of your food to a whole new dimension. As you know, there have been quite a few studies linking a glass or two of wine each day to lower stress and a healthier heart, though the jury is still out on whether or not the health benefits are shared by beer and other alcoholic drinks. Some scientists believe it has to do with the antioxidants in red wine, but personally, I think the x factor is the daily ritual of unwinding at the end of the day, be it with a frosty brew, a dark red, or a spot of green tea.
Since we talked about some of the pros of beer, I figured it’s worthwhile to talk about some of the pluses of wine:
Rewarding complexity. In a way, each glass of wine you drink is better than the last. That’s because as you learn more about wine and develop a taste for the different types of wine, you’ll learn how to appreciate the complexity that’s been there all along.
It’s a bit like following sports. In your lifetime, you will probably watch hundreds or thousands of football, baseball or basketball games. All the while, the game stays the same, for the most part. But I’d wager that the way you watch a football game is much, much different from the way a non-sports fan does. They only watch the scoreboard, but you pay attention to the nuances of the game: the head games that coaches play with each other, the athleticism of the players, the history of the franchises, etc.
It’s similar with wine, and like I said, if you’ve already been enjoying craft beers or fine whiskeys, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Everyone starts off being able to tell the difference between a red and white. And then, you’ll start to discern between a Syrah and a Merlot. Meanwhile, you’ll start to learn a bit about which foods pair well with your wine. You’ll begin narrowing down which types of wines you enjoy and why until you discover your favorites.
Better for your waistline. A 4 oz. glass of red or white wine will almost always be under 100 calories, depending on the grape variety. Port, for example, can push 195 per glass while white zinfandel can be as little as 80 calories per glass. On the other hand, a 12 oz. bottle of Yuengling Lager is 128 calories. A bottle of Golden Monkey is 274 calories. True, you can go for an ultralight beer like the much ballyhooed MGD 64, but let’s be serious—if we’re talking flavor-to-calories ratio, it’s an absolute landslide in favor of wine.
It’s also important to consider that wine is made out of grapes, while beer is made out of hops and grain. Why does that matter? Carbs. A regular bottle of beer averages about 13 grams of carbs. Ale has less (about 7 grams) and stout has more (20 grams). Dry white and red white wine have about 3 to 5 grams of carbs per glass. Generally, the sweeter the wine, the more carbs. Dessert wines, like sherry and port, will have 12 to 14 grams of carbs.
Also, while we’re comparing, distilled liquors, like whiskey, vodka and gin, have about 100 calories per shot and zero carbs. But the mixers will get you. A can of tonic water can have upwards of 32 grams of carbs in it. And if you’re slamming rum and Cokes all night, then fuggedaboutit.
A different experience. You may or may not be bored with beer, but exploring new territory is always worthwhile. Drinking wine will be an undoubtedly different experience. It may or may not be lifechangingly profound for you, but it certainly will mix things up a bit.
There are some that argue that certain kinds of libations give them a different kind of buzz. There’s light debate over the difference between beer buzz vs. wine buzz vs. liquor buzz, but on a chemical level, it’s all the same active ingredient: ethanol. Drunk is drunk, as far as your neurochemistry is concerned.
However, there is some merit to the wine drunk vs. beer drunk discussion. Some people, for instance, tolerate the impurities and other components of wine/beer differently, which matters when it comes to hangovers and other factors of feeling physically good or not. But I think the real differentiators between the experiences of those who are drinking wine and those who are drinking beer has to do with the mindset.
Wine drinking, generally, carries an air of sophistication. Even if you’re not trying to be snooty about it, if you’re drinking wine in order to enjoy its complexity, you’re going to prime yourself for a bit more concentration, a bit more analysis and a bit more awareness of what you’re experiencing. This is probably different from how you drink your favorite beer, e.g. (a) as a way to chill out in front of the TV and (b) as a way to get crazy at a club or tailgate party. I think this is why some people tend to feel that a wine drunk is more mellow, lowering inhibitions in a way that opens and focuses the mind.
Aside from that theory, wine bars, and places where we consume wine, tend to be more sophisticated and mellow compared to dance clubs, stadium parking lots and frat houses. It’s not necessarily better than those settings, it’s just a change of pace. Wine |
't present on Nvidia cards, attention turns once more to the quality of the AMD driver.
Frame-rates are an average and hide some of Just Cause 3's frame-time latency issues. Check out the frame-time graph - 66ms and 83ms frame-time spikes during intense action are far from ideal bearing in mind the 33ms render-time target.
As we move down the stack, pairing less capable GPUs with less powerful graphics cards to match gaming PC set-ups of various budgets, the stutter issue on AMD cards seems to become more pronounced, the issue always manifesting exactly when you want it to happen least - during intense firefights, and often as we speed from location to location. It's a bit of a shame to be honest, and it seems that once again the software layer is letting down the excellent hardware. AMD's R7 360 provides higher overall frame-rates than the GTX 750 Ti, a situation we also see with the R9 380 up against the GTX 960. But the stutter can be intrusive - and it's simply not there on Nvidia cards. Performance can be improved by tweaking quality settings, but the hitching and stuttering can't.
It may well be a driver-related issue - something we see more often than we should with AMD cards. Right now, we've only tested Core i3, i5 and i7 processors. Unfortunately, our copy of the game managed to deactivate itself when we moved onto testing on an FX-8350 - hopefully we can get that sorted shortly, but we are aware of reports of poor performance when AMD CPUs are matched with the firm's GPUs, something we hope to look into.
When Just Cause 3 behaved as it should we enjoyed a best-in-class experience on PC, but we encountered significant stability issues during our testing. On one system, the game consistently hard-crashes within seconds of starting gameplay. On two i7 PCs running high-end Nvidia cards, we encountered no problems whatsoever and could play for hours without issue. However, on an i5 set-up, we encountered intermittent crashes. The frustrating thing is that it seems to be pot luck as to whether you'll be affected or not - that patch just can't come quickly enough.NEW YORK, Jul 08, 2015 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces it is investigating potential securities claims on behalf of investors of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. AMD, -2.02% resulting from allegations that Advanced Micro Devices may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.
On July 6, 2015, Advanced Micro Devices lowered its revenue estimate for the second quarter ended June 27 due to weaker sales of its chips to personal computer makers, specifically in the consumer PC segment. Advanced Micro Devices estimates its revenue will drop 8% from the first quarter, which is 5% lower than previous expectations. On this adverse news, shares of Advanced Micro Devices fell $0.38 per share or over 15% to close at $2.09 per share on July 7, 2015.
The Rosen Law Firm is preparing a class action lawsuit to recover losses suffered by Advanced Micro Devices investors. If you purchased shares of Advanced Micro Devices on or before July 6, 2015, please visit the firm’s website at http://rosenlegal.com/cases-663.html for more information. You may also contact Phillip Kim, Esq. or Kevin Chan, Esq. of The Rosen Law Firm toll free at 866-767-3653 or via email at pkim@rosenlegal.com or kchan@rosenlegal.com.
The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation.
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150708006180/en/
SOURCE: The Rosen Law Firm
The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
Laurence Rosen, Esq.
Phillip Kim, Esq.
Kevin Chan, Esq.
275 Madison Avenue, 34th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 686-1060
Toll Free: (866) 767-3653
Fax: (212) 202-3827
lrosen@rosenlegal.com
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kchan@rosenlegal.com
www.rosenlegal.com
Copyright Business Wire 2015First time I agree with Russian media => Obama's Soviet Mistake – Pravda.Ru http://t.co/5G4cqy1a — Gabriella Hoffman (@Gabby_Hoffman) November 25, 2012
PRAVDA: Obama're-elected by illiterate society'… http://t.co/MpFhde5p — DRUDGE REPORT (@DRUDGE_REPORT) November 25, 2012
https://twitter.com/Jeffersonranch/status/272824636755030016
#Pravda claims Obama is promoting the #CommunistManifesto – a leader "re-elected by an illiterate society." — Helene Ashukian (@lena116) November 25, 2012
Pravda, the communist Russian mouthpiece of dictators for one hundred years, knows a savvy, exploitative commie when it sees one. A recent op-ed in the propaganda rag mocks America’s “illiterate society” and credits President Obama for exploiting voters’ ignorance to promote the “Commnist Manifesto without calling it so.” Transmit this:
Recently, Obama has been re-elected for a 2nd term by an illiterate society and he is ready to continue his lies of less taxes while he raises them… … …He is a Communist without question promoting the Communist Manifesto without calling it so. How shrewd he is in America. His cult of personality mesmerizes those who cannot go beyond their ignorance. They will continue to follow him like those fools who still praise Lenin and Stalin in Russia. Obama’s fools and Stalin’s fools share the same drink of illusion.
Logical consistency isn’t to be expected from a state propaganda organ, but the fact that Pravda attacked Obama from the right may be a first.
Many American Twitter users responded to the story by … agreeing:
Obama reelected by idiots. Agree 100%. Can't find one rational reason why anyone with a brain stem would support him. http://t.co/eP5VPLsB — JustKoz (@TexasKoz) November 25, 2012
You know you're not dreaming when Pravda says BHO is Marxist! Obama's Soviet Mistake – English pravda.ru http://t.co/eM6H4mKc — Ray Savage (@greymagus) November 25, 2012
https://twitter.com/Just_a_Texan/statuses/272818140730228737
Obama's Soviet Mistake – Pravda.Ru http://t.co/pG5boctI …His cult of personality mesmerizes those who cannot go beyond their ignorance… — Veronica Ashe (@VeronicaAshe) November 25, 2012
You know we’re in trouble when Pravda is more up front & honest than the American Obama-media. http://t.co/eVNFp0dc #tcot #republican #dem — Doug Ray (@RightCandidates) November 25, 2012
Obama's Soviet Mistake – Pravda.Ru http://t.co/Ysss0vQZ finally the party paper gets one right — The People's Cube (@ThePeoplesCube) November 25, 2012
Speaking of illiteracy:
Cheating teachers hire stand-in to take certification tests. http://t.co/lYX9P3HX PRAVDA'S RIGHT: Illiteracy reigns: http://t.co/Or6sp0jm — cbrown (@quintalolita) November 25, 2012
Marybeth Hicks at Human Events had it right a week ago on America’s civic illiteracy:
Going back more than six years, it’s clear our nation’s college students are largely civically illiterate. According to surveys from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, college freshmen typically flunk a 60-question civics test with an average score of just better than 51 percent; college seniors flunk it with a score of around 53 percent. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, our country’s high schools taught less about the constitution in 2010 than they did in 2006, a trend that continues. In fact, in 2010, only 67 percent of high school seniors studied our founding documents, meaning about a third don’t study our government in the year before they are eligible to vote. Based on National Assessment of Education Progress tests, the formal assessment exams given to students across the nation to gauge what they’re learning, American students exhibit an alarming lack of proficiency in government and economics. As of 2006 (the last year for which statistics were available when I researched the book), only 36 percent of high school seniors could name the government’s primary source of income. (That would be taxes, kids.) Only 33 percent could explain the effect of an increase in real interest rates on consumer borrowing, and a scant 11 percent could analyze how a change in unemployment rates affects income, spending and production. And of course, it’s not just young adults who are civically illiterate. In 2008, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute administered a basic 33-question civic literacy test to a random sample of 2,508 American adults. Respondents had a range of educational attainment from high school diplomas to advanced degrees. Questions came from past institute surveys, as well as from nationally recognized exams, such as the U.S. government’s citizenship test and the National Assessment of Education Progress test. Respondents also were asked questions regarding their level of engagement in other activities that may or may not contribute to civic literacy. The average score for all Americans who took this straightforward civic literacy test was 49 percent, or an “F,” proving the apple doesn’t fall far from the civically illiterate tree.
Heh:A pollster thinks it's time for Newfoundland and Labrador to take a hard look at the feasibility of continuing to provide services to its rural communities, and to consider consolidating those services into regional hubs.
Don Mills, CEO of Corporate Research Associates says a lot of the province's recent financial challenges could be mitigated if people in rural communities would be more open to commuting to larger centres, a change in thinking that he says may be inconvenient but is long overdue right across Atlantic Canada.
"We promise Atlantic Canadians they have the right to live anywhere and expect the same amount of public services and economic opportunities. or that to be subsidized in that choice," he told CBC's On The Go.
"You know what? Newfoundland's at the point where they tried that, and what's the debt at now? Is it 11 billion?"
Seasonal workers
Mills told CBC that across Canada about 20 per cent of people live in communities of less than 5,000, but in Newfoundland that number climbs to 41 per cent.
Don Mills is president of Corporate Research Associates. (CBC)
With residents of those areas often only working for part of the year, and often depending on employment income programs for the remaining months, Mills said Newfoundland and Labrador is put at an economic disadvantage.
"If we have a disproportionate percentage of the population relying on seasonal work, it means our ability to grow the economy is limited by the fact that a lot of people are not working year round," he said.
"We cannot even achieve average growth, because we have fewer people working to contribute to that growth."
Service costs
Mills said the other reason having so many people living in rural areas hurts the province is because of the expectation residents of those areas have about service delivery, and the lack of growth sectors in rural regions.
He said in the rest of Canada, the larger urban populations can more easily subsidize the 20 per cent of residents living in in rural communities.
However, in Atlantic Canada, that becomes much harder because the urban tax base is not big enough to pay for the other half that are spread out over the hundreds of square kilometres of land in a province like Newfoundland and Labrador.
"In Canada, the economies that are growing are urban-based, not rural based," he said.
Don Mills says daily commuting to larger hubs needs to become a way of life for those living in communities of less than 5,000 people, if those rural areas are to survive in the current economic climate. (CBC)
Mills says he understand it's not that easy to uproot and move to a larger centre, but he said people should be more willing to drive 30 or 40 minutes every day to access services and go to work.
Just like how the St. John's Metro region serves as the workplace and service hub for many on the entire Avalon Peninsula, Mills said other cities and towns throughout the province can act as what he calls "urban-centred economic zones" — a term which he says has a much lower population threshold than people might think.
"Corner Brook, Gander, Deer Lake, Port aux Basques, Marystown, and so on. "There's probably 10 or 12 urban areas in Newfoundland that all serve a wider rural region," he said. "Our research shows that 90 per cent of the Newfoundland population can be served within a 50 or 60 kilometres."
"We have to get people oriented to the idea that they have to commute a reasonable distance for public sector services like healthcare and for more permanent year-round jobs."ORLANDO, Fla. — The Downey Christian School varsity basketball team bursts from the locker room in single file, led by a boy 14 inches shorter than the next smallest player, four years younger than the next youngest.
His jersey straps are twisted and bound with plastic ties to prevent them from slipping down his bony 4-foot-5, 70-pound frame. Tricolor socks with pastel waves cover his size 4 feet, conveying the notion that he might be a stylish student manager.
At road games, the boy, point guard Julian Newman, is asked, “Are you on the team?” Here, in the Patriots’ gymnasium, there is no doubt.
The grand marshal of the player parade, Julian, an 11-year-old fifth grader, guides his team into warm-ups, bouncing two balls at once. He glides into a pregame routine that shuffles through jab steps, hesitation moves and effortless dribbles — between his pipestem legs, behind his back, rapid crossovers. The scene is incongruous enough to seem computer-animated.Supercars star Tim Slade smashed the time attack lap record to claim the World Time Attack Challenge title at Sydney Motorsport Park.
The Brad Jones Racing driver proved the class of the field behind the wheel of Murray Coote’s MCA Suspension Nissan Silvia time attack weapon.
Slade twice reset the time attack lap record before eventually lowering the target to a 1:22.19s, which proved to be 1.58s quicker than the winning time posted by Tilton Racing’s Garth Walden last year.
Such was the South Australian’s dominance, his nearest rival Barton Mawer was 0.8s adrift in the RP 968 Porsche 968.
The Australian GT racer’s time eclipsed last year’s lap record by 0.7s which highlighted the rate of lap time progression at the event.
“This win is well deserved,” said World Time Attack Challenge CEO Ian Baker.
“Murray (Coote) and his team have worked so hard all those years and much like Under Suzuki, they stood on the second and third podium many times.
“This year they really managed to put it all together and achieve that one perfect lap.”
Scorch Racing’s Under Suzuki surpassed his Sydney Motorsport Park personal best by two seconds to complete the podium in his Nissan Silvia, just 0.1s shy of Mawer.
Tekno Autosports Australian GT driver Nathan Morcom took out the Open Class title with a new lap record.
Morcom posted a 1:29.26s aboard the Team Sparta Mitsubishi Evo 9 but faced strong competition from Matt Longhurst (Nissan GTR R34), who was 0.19s shy.
Michael Sigsworth topped the times in the Pro-Am class, while BYP Racing’s Daniel Meredith headed the Clubsprint category.
Result: Pro Class
1 Tim Slade MCA Suspension Nissan Silvia 1:22.19 2 Barton Mawer RP 968 Porsche 968 1:23.03 0.8460 3 Under Suzuki Scorch Racing Nissan Silvia S15 1:23.13 0.9390 4 Nob Taniguchi Sutton Brothers Racing Nissan Silvia S15 1:28.45 6.2620 5 Paul McKinnon Pulse Racing Mitsubishi Evo 8 1:29.05 6.8610 6 Brad Shiels Insight Motorsports Holden Astra 1:32.03 9.8380
Result: Open Class
1 Nathan Morcom Royal Purple / Spartan EVO Mitsubishi Evo 9 1:29.29 2 Matt Longhurst Integrated Motorsports Nissan GTR R34 1:29.48 00.19 3 Nick Ashwin NA Autosport & Engineering Mitsubishi Evo 6 1:30.26 00.96 4 Steve Glenney Insight Motorsport S2000 Honda S2000 1:30.30 01.01 5 Andy Duffin 3 Rotor Racing Mazda RX7 1:30.48 01.19 6 Adam Casmiri JDM Yard Honda Civic 1:30.65 01.36 7 M.Cole/D.Thomas MC Towing Mazda RX7 1:30.78 01.48 8 Berry Polovic Team Mascot Mitsubishi Evo 8 1:31.56 02.26 9 Josh Hunter Worlds Best Technologies Nissan GTR R33 1:32.17 02.87 10 Tetsuhiro Kurokawa Car Shop Dream Lotas 7 Mazda RX7 1:32.25 02.95 11 D.Resi/E.Yamada Lightining Resi Nissan GTR R32 1:32.30 03.01 12 John Richardson Topstage Composites Nissan 200sx S14 1:32.34 03.05 13 Kim Tai Minidisc Race Division x Rundu Mitsubishi Evo 1:32.76 03.47 14 Robert Gooley Keeley Motorsport Mitsubishi Evo 6 1:33.76 04.46 15 Rick Newman Nuline Racing Ford Falcon 1:34.49 05.20 16 Drew Hall Croydon Racing Developments Nissan GTR R34 1:35.54 06.25 17 D.Morrice/J.Boston Darrin Morrice Subaru BRZ 1:36.52 07.23 18 Mark Bouffier Nova Comm Mitsubishi Evo 1:36.83 07.53 19 Paul Henshaw CCC Racing Datsun 240Z 1:37.22 07.92 20 Brian Bugh Just Car Insurance Chev Corvette C5 Z06 1:38.24 08.94 21 Travis Allen Allens Industrial Products – E Mitsubishi Evo 9 1:39.04 09.74 22 John Ford Encat Pedestrian Fencing Nissan Skyline R32 1:39.65 10.35 23 Katherine Benson Burger Fuel Racing Mitsubishi Evo 7 1:39.75 10.46 24 John Bright BPG Motorsport Nissan GTR 1:41.28 11.98 25 John Wright Wright 1 Motorsport Subaru STI 1:41.74 12.45 26 Josh Coote MCA Suspension Toyota 86 1:43.55 14.26 27 Aidan Miller A MILLER Racing Honda Civic 1:48.89 19.60 28 Jarrod Scott Team Ignite Subaru WRX 1:49.54 20.24 29 Justin Gaujenieks Carbon Plus (CER) Toyota MR-S 2:15.89 46.60 30 Troy Fraser Lambton Park Dental Nissan Silvia S15 *:**.** **.**
Result: Pro-Am Class
1 Michael Sigsworth PMQ Design Mistubishi EVO 9 1:27.45 2 Rob Nguyen 101 Motorsport Honda CRX 1:27.61 00.1670 3 Chris Alexander CJA Motorsport Nissan GTR R32 1:29.42 01.9700 4 Brad Trenwith Rama Racing Mazda RX7 1:33.46 06.0120 5 T.Patterson/T.Meeklan PRO Speed Racing/Invidia Exhaust Subaru WRX STi 1:35.28 07.8390 6 Dale Malone DM Motorsport Nismo Super GT S15 1:44.39 16.9450
Result: Clubsprint classThe very first self-powered road vehicles were powered by steam engines, and by that definition Nicolas Joseph Cugnot of France built the first automobile in 1769 — recognized by the British Royal Automobile Club and the Automobile Club de France as being the first. So why do so many history books say that the automobile was invented by either Gottlieb Daimler or Karl Benz? It is because both Daimler and Benz invented highly successful and practical gasoline-powered vehicles that ushered in the age of modern automobiles. Daimler and Benz invented cars that looked and worked like the cars we use today. However, it is unfair to say that either man invented "the" automobile.
History of the Internal Combustion Engine - The Heart of the Automobile
An internal combustion engine is any engine that uses the explosive combustion of fuel to push a piston within a cylinder — the piston's movement turns a crankshaft that then turns the car wheels via a chain or a drive shaft. The different types of fuel commonly used for car combustion engines are gasoline (or petrol), diesel, and kerosene.
A brief outline of the history of the internal combustion engine includes the following highlights:
1680 - Dutch physicist, Christian Huygens designed (but never built) an internal combustion engine that was to be fueled with gunpowder.
- Dutch physicist, Christian Huygens designed (but never built) an internal combustion engine that was to be fueled with gunpowder. 1807 - Francois Isaac de Rivaz of Switzerland invented an internal combustion engine that used a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen for fuel. Rivaz designed a car for his engine — the first internal combustion powered automobile. However, his was a very unsuccessful design.
- Francois Isaac de Rivaz of Switzerland invented an internal combustion engine that used a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen for fuel. Rivaz designed a car for his engine — the first internal combustion powered automobile. However, his was a very unsuccessful design. 1824 - English engineer, Samuel Brown adapted an old Newcomen steam engine to burn gas, and he used it to briefly power a vehicle up Shooter's Hill in London.
- English engineer, Samuel Brown adapted an old Newcomen steam engine to burn gas, and he used it to briefly power a vehicle up Shooter's Hill in London. 1858 - Belgian-born engineer, Jean Joseph Étienne Lenoir invented and patented (1860) a double-acting, electric spark-ignition internal combustion engine fueled by coal gas. In 1863, Lenoir attached an improved engine (using petroleum and a primitive carburetor) to a three-wheeled wagon that managed to complete a historic fifty-mile road trip.
- Belgian-born engineer, Jean Joseph Étienne Lenoir invented and patented (1860) a double-acting, electric spark-ignition internal combustion engine fueled by coal gas. In 1863, Lenoir attached an improved engine (using petroleum and a primitive carburetor) to a three-wheeled wagon that managed to complete a historic fifty-mile road trip. 1862 - Alphonse Beau de Rochas, a French civil engineer, patented but did not build a four-stroke engine (French patent #52,593, January 16, 1862).
1864 - Austrian engineer, Siegfried Marcus*, built a one-cylinder engine with a crude carburetor, and attached his engine to a cart for a rocky 500-foot drive. Several years later, Marcus designed a vehicle that briefly ran at 10 mph, which a few historians have considered as the forerunner of the modern automobile by being the world's first gasoline-powered vehicle (however, read conflicting notes below).
- Austrian engineer, Siegfried Marcus*, built a one-cylinder engine with a crude carburetor, and attached his engine to a cart for a rocky 500-foot drive. Several years later, Marcus designed a vehicle that briefly ran at 10 mph, which a few historians have considered as the forerunner of the modern automobile by being the world's first gasoline-powered vehicle (however, read conflicting notes below). 1873 - George Brayton, an American engineer, developed an unsuccessful two-stroke kerosene engine (it used two external pumping cylinders). However, it was considered the first safe and practical oil engine.
- George Brayton, an American engineer, developed an unsuccessful two-stroke kerosene engine (it used two external pumping cylinders). However, it was considered the first safe and practical oil engine. 1866 - German engineers, Eugen Langen and Nikolaus August Otto improved on Lenoir's and de Rochas' designs and invented a more efficient gas engine.
- German engineers, Eugen Langen and Nikolaus August Otto improved on Lenoir's and de Rochas' designs and invented a more efficient gas engine. 1876 - Nikolaus August Otto invented and later patented a successful four-stroke engine, known as the "Otto cycle".
- Nikolaus August Otto invented and later patented a successful four-stroke engine, known as the "Otto cycle". 1876 - The first successful two-stroke engine was invented by Sir Dougald Clerk.
- The first successful two-stroke engine was invented by Sir Dougald Clerk. 1883 - French engineer, Edouard Delamare-Debouteville, built a single-cylinder four-stroke engine that ran on stove gas. It is not certain if he did indeed build a car, however, Delamare-Debouteville's designs were very advanced for the time — ahead of both Daimler and Benz in some ways at least on paper.
1885 - Gottlieb Daimler invented what is often recognized as the prototype of the modern gas engine - with a vertical cylinder, and with gasoline injected through a carburetor (patented in 1887). Daimler first built a two-wheeled vehicle the "Reitwagen" (Riding Carriage) with this engine and a year later built the world's first four-wheeled motor vehicle.
- Gottlieb Daimler invented what is often recognized as the prototype of the modern gas engine - with a vertical cylinder, and with gasoline injected through a carburetor (patented in 1887). Daimler first built a two-wheeled vehicle the "Reitwagen" (Riding Carriage) with this engine and a year later built the world's first four-wheeled motor vehicle. 1886 - On January 29, Karl Benz received the first patent (DRP No. 37435) for a gas-fueled car.
- On January 29, Karl Benz received the first patent (DRP No. 37435) for a gas-fueled car. 1889 - Daimler built an improved four-stroke engine with mushroom-shaped valves and two V-slant cylinders.
- Daimler built an improved four-stroke engine with mushroom-shaped valves and two V-slant cylinders. 1890 - Wilhelm Maybach built the first four-cylinder, four-stroke engine.
Engine design and car design were integral activities, almost all of the engine designers mentioned above also designed cars, and a few went on to become major manufacturers of automobiles. All of these inventors and more made notable improvements in the evolution of the internal combustion vehicles.
The Importance of Nicolaus Otto
One of the most important landmarks in engine design comes from Nicolaus August Otto who in 1876 invented an effective gas motor engine. Otto built the first practical four-stroke internal combustion engine called the "Otto Cycle Engine," and as soon as he had completed his engine, he built it into a motorcycle. Otto's contributions were very historically significant, it was his four-stoke engine that was universally adopted for all liquid-fueled automobiles going forward.
Karl Benz
In 1885, German mechanical engineer, Karl Benz designed and built the world's first practical automobile to be powered by an internal-combustion engine. On January 29, 1886, Benz received the first patent (DRP No. 37435) for a gas-fueled car. It was a three-wheeler; Benz built his first four-wheeled car in 1891. Benz & Cie., the company started by the inventor, became the world's largest manufacturer of automobiles by 1900. Benz was the first inventor to integrate an internal combustion engine with a chassis - designing both together.
Gottlieb Daimler
In 1885, Gottlieb Daimler (together with his design partner Wilhelm Maybach) took Otto's internal combustion engine a step further and patented what is generally recognized as the prototype of the modern gas engine. Daimler's connection to Otto was a direct one; Daimler worked as technical director of Deutz Gasmotorenfabrik, which Nikolaus Otto co-owned in 1872. There is some controversy as to who built the first motorcycle Otto or Daimler.
The 1885 Daimler-Maybach engine was small, lightweight, fast, used a gasoline-injected carburetor, and had a vertical cylinder. The size, speed, and efficiency of the engine allowed for a revolution in car design. On March 8, 1886, Daimler took a stagecoach and adapted it to hold his engine, thereby designing the world's first four-wheeled automobile. Daimler is considered the first inventor to have invented a practical internal-combustion engine.
In 1889, Daimler invented a V-slanted two cylinder, four-stroke engine with mushroom-shaped valves. Just like Otto's 1876 engine, Daimler's new engine set the basis for all car engines going forward. Also in 1889, Daimler and Maybach built their first automobile from the ground up, they did not adapt another purpose vehicle as they had always been done previously. The new Daimler automobile had a four-speed transmission and obtained speeds of 10 mph.
Daimler founded the Daimler Motoren-Gesellschaft in 1890 to manufacture his designs. Eleven years later, Wilhelm Maybach designed the Mercedes automobile.
*If Siegfried Marcus built his second car in 1875 and it was as claimed, it would have been the first vehicle powered by a four-cycle engine and the first to use gasoline as a fuel, the first having a carburetor for a gasoline engine and the first having a magneto ignition. However, the only existing evidence indicates that the vehicle was built circa 1888/89 — too late to be first.
By the early 1900s, gasoline cars started to outsell all other types of motor vehicles. The market was growing for economical automobiles and the need for industrial production was pressing.
The first car manufacturers in the world were French: Panhard & Levassor (1889) and Peugeot (1891). By car manufacturer we mean builders of entire motor vehicles for sale and not just engine inventors who experimented with car design to test their engines — Daimler and Benz began as the latter before becoming full car manufacturers and made their early money by licensing their patents and selling their engines to car manufacturers.
Rene Panhard and Emile Levassor
Rene Panhard and Emile Levassor were partners in a woodworking machinery business, when they decided to become car manufacturers. They built their first car in 1890 using a Daimler engine. Edouard Sarazin, who held the license rights to the Daimler patent for France, commissioned the team. (Licensing a patent means that you pay a fee and then you have the right to build and use someone's invention for profit — in this case Sarazin had the right to build and sell Daimler engines in France.) The partners not only manufactured cars, they made improvements to the automotive body design.
Panhard-Levassor made vehicles with a pedal-operated clutch, a chain transmission leading to a change-speed gearbox, and a front radiator. Levassor was the first designer to move the engine to the front of the car and use a rear-wheel drive layout. This design was known as the Systeme Panhard and quickly became the standard for all cars because it gave a better balance and improved steering. Panhard and Levassor are also credited with the invention of the modern transmission - installed in their 1895 Panhard.
Panhard and Levassor also shared the licensing rights to Daimler motors with Armand Peugot. A Peugot car went on to win the first car race held in France, which gained Peugot publicity and boosted car sales. Ironically, the "Paris to Marseille" race of 1897 resulted in a fatal auto accident, killing Emile Levassor.
Early on, French manufacturers did not standardize car models — each car was different from the other. The first standardized car was the 1894, Benz Velo. One hundred and thirty four identical Velos were manufactured in 1895.
Charles and Frank Duryea
America's first gasoline-powered commercial car manufacturers were Charles and Frank Duryea. The brothers were bicycle makers who became interested in gasoline engines and automobiles and built their first motor vehicle in 1893, in Springfield, Massachusetts. By 1896, the Duryea Motor Wagon Company had sold thirteen models of the Duryea, an expensive limousine, which remained in production into the 1920s.
Ransome Eli Olds
The first automobile to be mass produced in the United States was the 1901, Curved Dash Oldsmobile, built by the American car manufacturer Ransome Eli Olds (1864-1950). Olds invented the basic concept of the assembly line and started the Detroit area automobile industry. He first began making steam and gasoline engines with his father, Pliny Fisk Olds, in Lansing, Michigan in 1885. Olds designed his first steam-powered car in 1887. In 1899, with a growing experience of gasoline engines, Olds moved to Detroit to start the Olds Motor Works, and produce low-priced cars. He produced 425 "Curved Dash Olds" in 1901, and was America's leading auto manufacturer from 1901 to 1904.
Henry Ford
American car manufacturer, Henry Ford (1863-1947) invented an improved assembly line and installed the first conveyor belt-based assembly line in his car factory in Ford's Highland Park, Michigan plant, around 1913-14. The assembly line reduced production costs for cars by reducing assembly time. Ford's famous Model T was assembled in ninety-three minutes. Ford made his first car, called the "Quadricycle," in June, 1896. However, success came after he formed the Ford Motor Company in 1903. This was the third car manufacturing company formed to produce the cars he designed. He introduced the Model T in 1908 and it was a success. After installing the moving assembly lines in his factory in 1913, Ford became the world's biggest car manufacturer. By 1927, 15 million Model Ts had been manufactured.Story highlights Report alleges a civilian Defense Intelligence Agency analyst said intelligence was altered to seem better for the U.S.
Central Command said the intelligence community incorporates a variety of viewpoints in its analysis
Washington (CNN) The Defense Department's inspector general is believed to be reviewing an allegation that U.S. intelligence gathered on ISIS was altered, an official told CNN Wednesday, after The New York Times reported that the IG might be looking into whether intelligence reports about the terror group were amended.
A U.S. defense official told CNN it is believed the inspector general is looking into some question on ISIS intelligence, but the Pentagon said it cannot comment on IG matters because that organization operates independently of the Pentagon and the department has no knowledge of what it is doing.
The response came after a Times report late Tuesday that at least one civilian Defense Intelligence Agency analyst said he had evidence that showed that individuals at U.S. Central Command were adjusting intelligence reports for top officials -- including President Barack Obama -- to enhance the amount of progress the United States had made in fighting ISIS.
The Times cited several officials familiar with the matter to say the inspector general's office had opened an investigation into the allegations but more details weren't available.
In a statement, CentCom said it could only describe the intelligence community's process.
Read MoreWhen the Whitecaps didn’t jump at the chance to hire Frank Yallop as coach a month ago, it was because the club wanted to kick the tires on Bob Bradley. That interest is now much farther down the road.
Sources with knowledge of the process have confirmed to the Province that Bradley, the former U.S. and Egypt national team coach, interviewed with the Caps over the weekend.
Vancouver’s been searching for a head coach since parting with Martin Rennie after two years in charge and a 24-25-19 MLS record.
Bradley’s extensive resume includes plenty of MLS experience, which Caps president Bobby Lenarduzzi has stated is a priority.
Bradley, a 55-year-old New Jersey native, was around for the league’s birth in 1996, as Bruce Arena’s assistant with D.C. United. Bradley went on to coach the expansion Chicago Fire, where he won MLS Cup and the U.S. Open Cup in 1998 and earned coach of the year honours.
He also coached the New York Metro Stars and Chivas USA before taking over the U.S. national team in Dec., 2006.
Bradley coached the U.S. to the second round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, where they lost 2-1 to Ghana in extra time. For what it’s worth, the Caps’ out-of-contract captain, Jay DeMerit, was Bradley’s starting centre back in South Africa.
Under Bradley, the U.S. won the 2007 Gold Cup and reached the final of the 2009 Confederations Cup. He lost his U.S. job in the summer of 2011 and soon took on the unique challenge of coaching Egypt.
In spite of economic and political challenges, and the Feb., 2012 Port Said tragedy when more than |
ship more than just the basic sensor range. As well, new carrier classes allow players to build, design, and equip a new range of battlerider ships that can be carried into battle. We also added a weapons test sub-screen on the design screen, so players can test out and admire their newly unlocked weapons and sections without having to worry about a raging battle going on around them.
In battle, players will notice ships now have armor, rather than the abstracted hitpoint system of the first game, and a whole interior life involving power-systems, crew, and supplies, which have to be taken into account when managing a fleet of ships, and can be negatively impacted in battles. All things players will want to keep in mind when designing their ships and composing their fleets.
8. Could you detail a bit more the new Leviathan and Battlerider ship classes?
The Leviathan class is the new massive ship class – these ships are as rare as they are mighty. Acquiring one will take a lot of research, time, and money, and as such, losing one will be devastating. Just as in SotS1, players have to remember that the game isn’t binary obsolescence – armor 3 makes lasers 2 useless – a weapon may become less effective, but it will still have an effect. If you can multiply that effect – more of that weapon, either on a single ship, or by having more ships together – you have multiplied the effect. So, a Leviathan is definitely a monster in battle, but a careless player can still lose one to a fleet of smaller ships if they’re not smart or careful.
Battleriders, and their cousins the System Defense Boats, are the refinement of the destroyer class ships in the first game. Players can design then and outfit them with weapons as they wish, then assign those ships to a carrier, for battleriders, and solar system for SDB. SDBs have small drive systems for moving around a solar system fast, whereas Battleriders only have basic thrust engines – they cannot move between the stars themselves and have to be carried into and out of battle.
9. In lieu of these larger ships, will combat be fought on a larger scale?
SotSII is definitely more of a capital ship class tactical wargame when it comes to the real-time combat side of the game. Bigger, more durable, more complex ships fighting over an entire solar system means a very different type of combat from the first game – there’s a reason we let you name your ships in SotSII!
10. Besides any new technologies, can we expect other improvements to the technology system?
A cool new addition to the research system is the feasibility study. As in the first series, the randomized tech tree is a key feature for keeping the game highly replayable and avoiding the stagnation you get with static tech trees. So as before, players aren’t aware of what they do and don’t have as technologies (not counting the core technologies that everyone has every game) until they research the technologies that come before.
However, players now have the option to spend a couple of turns on a feasibility study, in which their scientists are able to tell them how hard researching a particular technology will be. This is extremely useful if your plans are betting on a certain technology within a certain period of time – if it’s not going to happen, you don’t want to find out the hard way, mid-plan execution. You want to know in advance and cook up another plan.
11. If you had to choose the one improvement you’re most proud of, what would it be?
I think the MARS2 engine cannot be overlooked. As much as we were able to immerse people in the real-time battles in SotS1, using physics and polygon accurate targeting and weapons fire with an actual presence in the game world, I look at pictures for SotS1 and SotSII side by side and I’m blown away by the new look of the game.
Thank you for your time Chris.
Zachary Cryer has been a SpaceSector contributor since May 2011. Besides having assembled the questions for this interview he also did a review of Sword of the Stars Complete collection. Zachary has done many other reviews on his Gamespot page.
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BONUS: KBS2 Orange Marmalade 207.0One of the most complicated and misunderstood things in life would be child actors. With the immense talent that they possess, comes the power of the money they make and their attitude towards it is what decides their life. While there are many inspiring stories showcasing the positive attributes of these actors’ life, one of the most inspirational stories is that of actor Rupert Grint – the red headed boy who played the role of Ron Weasley, Harry Potter’s best friend in the Harry Potter series!
At an interview for their first movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the three lead actors Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint were asked what they planned to do with their money. While both Emma and Daniel replied with their plans of saving it or giving it to their parents, Rupert shared his childish desire of buying an ice cream truck.
A long time after this interview, Grint fulfilled his wish. He bought himself a Mr. Whippy Ice Cream truck with his first big pay check. This is one of the few times, where a dream, no matter how bizarre is turned into a reality.
He’s known to travel around villages giving out sweets and ice creams to kids for free. Grint is finally living his dream of being an ice cream man!A reader named Darren commented on my last post:
I have this feeling that this whole P and NP thing is not only a profound problem that needs solving, but something that can be infinitely curious to try and wrap your mind around… Thing is- there’s a whole world of great minded, genius hackers out here that can’t understand one iota of what anyone is talking about. We’re not your traditional code-savvy hackers; we’re your inventors, life hackers, researchers, scientists… and I think I can speak for most of us when I say: We would love to take the time to really dive into this thread, but we ask that someone (you) write a blog that breaks this whole thing down into a rest-of-the-world-friendly P/NP for dummies… or at least explain it to us like we’re stupid as hell… at this point I’m really okay with even that.
I’m of course the stupid one here, for forgetting the folks like Darren who were enticed by L’Affaire Deolalikar into entering our little P/NP tent, and who now want to know what it is we’re hawking.
The short answer is: the biggest unsolved problem of theoretical computer science, and one of the deepest questions ever asked by human beings! Here are four informal interpretations of the P vs. NP problem that people give, and which I can endorse as capturing the spirit of what’s being asked:
Are there situations where brute-force search—that is, trying an exponential number of possibilities one-by-one, until we find a solution that satisfies all the stated constraints—is essentially the best algorithm possible?
Is there a fast algorithm to solve the NP-complete problems—a huge class of combinatorial problems that includes scheduling airline flights, laying out microchips, optimally folding proteins, coloring maps, packing boxes as densely as possible, finding short proofs of theorems, and thousands of other things that people in fields ranging from AI to chemistry to economics to manufacturing would like to solve? (While it’s not obvious a priori, it’s known that these problems are all “re-encodings” of each other. So in particular, a fast algorithm for any one of the problems would imply fast algorithms for the rest; conversely, if any one of them is hard then then they all are.)
Is it harder to solve a math problem yourself than to check a solution by someone else? [[This is where you insert a comment about the delicious irony, that P vs. NP itself is a perfect example of a monstrously-hard problem for which we could nevertheless recognize a solution if we saw one—and hence, part of the explanation for why it’s so hard to prove P≠NP is that P≠NP…]]
is a perfect example of a monstrously-hard problem for which we could nevertheless recognize a solution if we saw one—and hence, part of the explanation for why it’s so hard to prove P≠NP is that P≠NP…]] In the 1930s, Gödel and Turing taught us that not only are certain mathematical statements undecidable (within the standard axiom systems for set theory and even arithmetic), but there’s not even an algorithm to tell which statements have a proof or disproof and which don’t. Sure, you can try checking every possible proof, one by one—but if you haven’t yet found a proof, then there’s no general way to tell whether that’s because there is no proof, or whether you simply haven’t searched far enough. On the other hand, if you restrict your attention to, say, proofs consisting of 1,000,000 symbols or less, then enumerating every proof does become possible. However, it only becomes “possible” in an extremely Platonic sense: if there are 21,000,000 proofs to check, then the sun will have gone cold and the universe degenerated into black holes and radiation long before your computer’s made a dent. So, the question arises of whether Gödel and Turing’s discoveries have a “finitary” analogue: are there classes of mathematical statements that have short proofs, but for which the proofs can’t be found in any reasonable amount of time?
Basically, P vs. NP is the mathematical problem that you’re inevitably led to if you try to formalize any of the four questions above.
Admittedly, in order to state the problem formally, we need to make a choice: we interpret the phrase “fast algorithm” to mean “deterministic Turing machine that uses a number of steps bounded by a polynomial in the size of the input, and which always outputs the correct answer (yes, there is a solution satisfying the stated constraints, or no, there isn’t one).” There are other natural ways to interpret “fast algorithm” (probabilistic algorithms? quantum algorithms? linear time? linear time with a small constant? subexponential time? algorithms that only work on most inputs?), and many are better depending on the application. A key point, however, is that whichever choices we made, we’d get a problem that’s staggeringly hard, and for essentially the same reasons as P vs. NP is hard! And therefore, out of a combination of mathematical convenience and tradition, computer scientists like to take P vs. NP as our “flagship example” of a huge class of questions about what is and isn’t feasible for computers, none of which we know how to answer.
So, those of you who just wandered into the tent: care to know more? The good news is that lots of excellent resources already exist. I suggest starting with the Wikipedia article on P vs. NP, which is quite good. From there, you can move on to Avi Wigderson’s 2006 survey P, NP and mathematics – a computational complexity perspective, or Mike Sipser’s The History and Status of the P vs. NP Question (1992) for a more historical perspective (and a translation of a now-famous 1956 letter from Gödel to von Neumann, which first asked what we’d recognize today as the P vs. NP question).
After you’ve finished the above … well, the number of P vs. NP resources available to you increases exponentially with the length of the URL. For example, without even leaving the scottaaronson.com domain, you can find the following:
Feel free to use the comments section to suggest other resources, or to ask and answer basic questions about the P vs. NP problem, why it’s hard, why it’s important, how it relates to other problems, why Deolalikar’s attempt apparently failed, etc. Me, I think I’ll be taking a break from this stuff.In an interview with Fortune to be featured in the magazine's upcoming issue, the presumptive Democratic nominee backed off his harshest attacks on the free trade agreement and indicated he didn't want to unilaterally reopen negotiations on NAFTA.
"Sometimes during campaigns the rhetoric gets overheated and amplified," he conceded, after I reminded him that he had called NAFTA "devastating" and "a big mistake"...
Does that mean his rhetoric was overheated and amplified? "Politicians are always guilty of that, and I don't exempt myself," he answered...
If Obama takes the economic issue that white working-class voters best understand off the table, he creates a huge opening for McCain in states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
From this In other words, he was intentionally being misleading about his position on the trade deal. This shouldn't be surprising considering the first round of NAFTAGate, and also considering that BHO supports Bush's SPP.gov, aka "NAFTA on Steroids". He even spoke in code when coming out for that secretive and highly questionable Bush trade scheme. The fact that BHO supports Bush's SPP has, as far as I know, never been mentioned by anyone except me and Obama.Related to BHO's latest admission, The Nation's John Nichols isn't happy (thenation.com/blogs/thebeat/330911), but he also offers this questionable bit:If he'd said "one of the... issues", that would be correct. However, illegal immigration is a related issue that probably resonates more loudly, but it's one that The Nation supports.Eight weeks, eight No. 1 rankings for the Chicago Cubs -- and the voters were again unanimous.
The No. 2 hole? That's a whole other story. Three teams got second-place nods on at least one ballot this week, and while the Boston Red Sox held on to the spot for the second straight week, the San Francisco Giants finished right on their heels.
Still, the biggest story of Week 8 might be the Pittsburgh Pirates. A huge leap -- seven spots -- from No. 11 to No. 4 might not make for a monumental shakeup, but it should give the Cubs pause; are their NL Central rivals ready to make a run? Chicago's lead in the rankings, and the division, remains comfortable... for now.
This week's voters are Jim Bowden of ESPN Insider, Eric Karabell of ESPN Fantasy, Tim Kurkjian of ESPN, David Schoenfield of the SweetSpot Blog Network/ESPN.com and Jayson Stark of ESPN.com. Most of the team comments come courtesy of the SweetSpot Blog Network.
Past rankings: Week 7 | Week 6 | Week 5 | Week 4 | Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1 | Preseason
Record: 34-14
Week 7 ranking: No. 1
Ben Zobrist has six home runs with 25 RBIs in the month of May while hitting.421/.496/.684. Starlin Castro, whom he replaced, has hit.212/.241/.375 in that span for the Yankees. -- Joe Aiello (@VFTB), View from the Bleachers
Record: 30-20
Week 7 ranking: No. 2
Even for a hitter who became an icon for rising to the occasion, what David Ortiz has done thus far in his final, age-40 season is astonishing. He's hit 13 home runs and leads the majors in doubles (23), RBIs (46), SLG (.720) and OPS (1.140). -- Ryan P. Morrison (@ryanpmorrison), Inside the 'Zona
Record: 32-20
Week 7 ranking: No. 4
Since dropping two games at home to the Blue Jays in early May, the Giants are 14-2 entering Sunday, outscoring opponents 61 to 40. In nine of those victories, they won by just one or two runs -- including two walk-off wins last week. -- Jeff Wiser (@OutfieldGrass24), Inside the 'Zona
Record: 28-21
Week 7 ranking: No. 11
Mark Melancon bounced back from his first blown save of 2016 to record two more saves in the last week, tying him for second in MLB. Hitters have had a bit more success against him this year than in the recent past, but, through Saturday, Melancon has 67 saves since the start of the 2015 season -- and just three blown saves. -- Ryan P. Morrison (@ryanpmorrison), Inside the 'Zona
Record: 30-21
Week 7 ranking: No. 3
One reason they're 14-14 in May is the pitch-around-Harper strategy has worked. Bryce Harper has 31 walks in May but is hitting just.205 with five extra-base hits, after hitting.286 with 15 XBH in April. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot
Record: 28-21
Week 7 ranking: No. 8
The Mets are 13-14 in May and have been outscored 101-82. It's not all Matt Harvey's fault. The offense is last in the majors in May in both strikeout rate and average (.209). They have hit 38 home runs, but have struggled to score when they don't hit homers. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot
Record: 28-21
Week 7 ranking: No. 7
In right field this season, Nelson Cruz has slashed just.185/.303/.277 through Saturday; as the DH, he's slashed.346/.434/.645, including nine of his 10 home runs. In batting practice, Cruz became the first player to hit a ball completely out of Safeco Field. -- Jeff Wiser (@OutfieldGrass24), Inside the 'Zona
Record: 29-21
Week 7 ranking: No. 12
Yu Darvish is back, and he looks as good as ever. Pitching in his first major league game since 2014, Darvish threw five innings while allowing only one run and striking out seven Pirates. A healthy Darvish should provide a strong boost to the rest of the Texas pitching staff. -- Brandon Land (@onestrikeaway), One Strike Away
Record: 26-22
Week 7 ranking: No. 9
Like George and Weezie, the Indians are movin' on up. They took 3-of-4 against their division rival White Sox and oh-so-briefly moved into the top spot in the AL Central for the first time since the beginning of the 2014 season. Josh Tomlin continues to impress from the back of the rotation, improving to 7-0 on the season. -- Susan Petrone, It's Pronounced Lajaway
Record: 28-20
Week 7 ranking: No. 5
Do the Orioles strike out too much? O's batters are in the top 10 in strikeout percentage, but they're also 11th in the majors in runs scored per game. The O's could use better production out of Adam Jones and Pedro Alvarez, and if a healthy J.J. Hardy returns in June, he should help. -- Matt Kremnitzer (@mattkremnitzer), Camden Depot
Record: 27-22
Week 7 ranking: No. 13
What a weekend! They won three straight games after trailing by more than one run in the seventh inning or later for the first time in franchise history. Call-up Brett Eibner -- drafted in the second round way back in 2010 -- went 5-for-11 in his debut series with the walk-off hit on Saturday and game-tying walk on Sunday. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot
Record: 27-24
Week 7 ranking: No. 15
Los Angeles is hoping Kenta Maeda's most recent outing (five innings, no runs on two hits) gets him back on track. He had been 0-3 with a 6.08 ERA in his prior five starts. Coming into Sunday, the Dodgers were 9-1 in starts by Clayton Kershaw and 17-23 in starts by anyone else. -- Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit
Record: 27-24
Week 7 ranking: No. 6
Handed a 7-1 lead in the ninth, David Robertson yielded six earned runs for the first time in his career on Saturday. The walk-off loss that followed extended a White Sox losing streak to five games. -- Ryan P. Morrison (@ryanpmorrison), Inside the 'Zona
Record: 26-25
Week 7 ranking: No. 10
Some numbers you didn't expect to see at the end of May: Adam Wainwright 5.71 ERA, Michael Wacha 4.99 ERA, Carlos Martinez 4.25 ERA. Last year's rotation had a historic season with a 2.99 ERA. This year: 4.49, 19th in the majors. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot
Record: 26-26
Week 6 ranking: No. 18
Troy Tulowitzki's depressing 2016 campaign continued Saturday, as he was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right quadriceps strain. He was coming off an 0-for-4 game in which he tied a career high with four strikeouts as well as an error on a routine grounder. Toronto activated left-hander Aaron Loup, and he'll provide manager John Gibbons an additional option against tough left-handed hitters. -- Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit
Record: 24-25
Week 7 ranking: No. 19
The Tigers tucked some wins under their belt this week, but the offense has been a bit feast-or-famine. Facing the Phillies can be an unsavory task, but they didn't chew many runs off the A's either. With their run differential still undercooked, someone should talk to the manager. -- Richard Bergstrom (@rbergstromjr), Rockies Zingers
Record: 26-24
Week 7 ranking: No. 17
Coming into Sunday, the Braves were 5-0 versus Miami and 9-34 against all other teams. In each of the first five games, Miami had taken the early lead, only to watch the games slip away. A seven-game home stand is up next, but the Marlins are only 10-13 there so far this year. -- Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit
Record: 24-25
Week 7 ranking: No. 20
The week started off strong for the Yankees, who beat the Blue Jays 6-0 behind a strong six-inning, no-run performance by Nathan Eovaldi on Tuesday, but after that they dropped three of four to the Jays and Rays, entering Sunday. Right now they have three reliable starters -- Eovaldi, CC Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka -- and the offense isn't good enough to overcome early-inning deficits, so the back-end starters need to step up or the team will be facing a.500 season. -- Stacey Gotsulias (@StaceGots), It's About the Money
Record: 26-24
Week 7 ranking: No. 14
The Phillies faced their toughest opponent so far this year, the Cubs, and were promptly swept. The problem is still the poor offense. In their last 15 games, the Phillies have scored five runs only twice. The schedule is soft enough that they could still finish the first half above.500, so they've got some time left to take batting practice. -- Richard Bergstrom (@rbergstromjr), Rockies Zingers
Record: 22-26
Week 7 ranking: No. 16
The bats have come alive over the past week, but the Rays sorely miss top-notch defenders Kevin Kiermaier and Logan Forsythe. Sloppy play in the field has multiplied the issues in the rotation and bullpen as the team has allowed five or more runs 14 times in 24 May games coming into Sunday. -- Jason Collette (@jasoncollette), The Process Report
Record: 23-26
Week 7 ranking: No. 21
Offseason signing Gerardo Parra's slash line (.272/.284/424) is eerily similar to Wilin Rosario's from the previous two years, but now it's coming from a left fielder instead of a catcher. While he's not nearly as bad as Rosario on defense, you need to squint at the advanced metrics to believe Parra is average. Questionable baserunning decisions haven't earned him any fans in Denver, either. -- Richard Bergstrom (@rbergstromjr), Rockies Zingers
Record: 22-28
Week 7 ranking: No. 22
Here's a positive: Matt Shoemaker has fanned 23 batters in his past two starts while allowing just two runs in 15.2 innings. The last Angels starter with 11 or more K's in consecutive outings: Jered Weaver, back in 2010. Only others to do it: Nolan Ryan (many times), Mark Langston (twice), Frank Tanana, Bill Singer, Dean Chance. Weaver also did it in 2009. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot
Record: 23-29
Week 7 ranking: No. 23
On a team full of current and former infielders, Chris Owings, a sometime shortstop and second baseman and current center fielder, has bounced back from an injury-affected 2015 to lead the D-backs with 1.6 bWAR. -- Jeff Wiser (@OutfieldGrass24), Inside the 'Zona
Record: 22-29
Week 7 ranking: No. 25
They have to take advantage of a pretty soft schedule in June to get back in the AL West race. Only nine games against teams currently above.500 (four against Texas, two against St. Louis, three against Kansas City). Maybe Carlos Correa's pinch-hit home run in the 13th inning on Sunday gets them going. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot
Record: 23-27
Week 7 ranking: No. 26
Milwaukee went on a small hot streak where they won four consecutive games, thanks in large part to their dependable bullpen (2.88 ERA in the last seven days through Saturday). -- Gabe Stoltz (@Stoltzy3), Disciples of Uecker
Record: 22-29
Week 7 ranking: No. 24
Rich Hill left Sunday's start with a mild groin strain and could miss his next start, but he got the win to improve to 8-3 with a 2.25 ERA and 74 K's in 64 innings (and just two home runs). He's looking like one of the best All-Star stories of the season. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot
Record: 20-31
Week 7 ranking: No. 27
James Shields, with a respectable 3.06 ERA despite a 2-6 record, is rumored to be on the trading block, with the White Sox the most likely suitor. San Diego may have to eat part of his large contract to move him. He is making $21 million this season and each of the next two years, plus a $2 million buyout or a $16 million option for 2019. -- Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit
Record: 14-35
Week 7 ranking: No. 30
The third-largest crowd of the season at Turner Field on Saturday watched the Braves beat the Marlins for the fifth time this year, as they enjoyed their Chipper Rescues Freddie bobblehead giveaway. After Opening Day, the next two largest crowds at Turner Field have come on the two bobblehead giveaway days. -- Martin Gandy (@gondeee), Chop County
Record: 15-34
Week 7 ranking: No. 29
It looked like peak Joe Mauer over the weekend as he hit three opposite-field home runs as the Twins swept the Mariners. He and Miguel Sano joined Albert Pujols as the only visiting players since 2004 to homer in all three games of a series at Safeco. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot
Record: 16-34
Week 7 ranking: No. 28
Despite breaking an 11-game losing streak, the Reds were still on pace to lose 109 games entering Sunday. One of the few bright spots: LF Adam Duvall, who has an OPS of.875 to go along with 11 homers and 13 doubles. -- Chad Dotson (@dotsonc), Redleg NationAnonymous asked: thoughts on the whole "lars and sadie are a parallel to rose quartz and greg" thing that's been going around?
(Excellent question! But I’m going to have to assume you’ve seen the SDCC promo, because otherwise it will be hard to discuss this topic in detail. Just so you know, this will contain SPOILERS for unreleased Lars episodes.)
There is definitely a Rose/Greg parallel going on with Lars and Sadie. At this point, there’s no denying it. And it’s been going on for much longer than I think people realize.
Before Sadie Killer aired on the CN app, I had reached the conclusion that Lars was always meant to be Rose Quartz’s teen parallel while Sadie shifted from a Pearl parallel to a Greg parallel as her character and relationship with Lars developed, so seeing more solid evidence for this and seeing fans talk about it is very exciting.
The first thing you need to know is that Lars and Sadie’s personal story progressions flow backwards from their respective analogous character.
Lars goes from feeling dead and paralleling Rose’s ghost/memory, to sacrificing himself so Steven can live and be on Earth, to becoming a lively pink quasi-immortal rebel against Homeworld.
, to sacrificing himself so Steven can live and be on Earth, to becoming a lively pink quasi-immortal rebel against Homeworld. Sadie goes from working at a menial labor job to becoming a singer-songwriter with a focus on horror and the undead, which is connected to her reanimated love interest (much like how Greg’s music was space-themed and he had a thing for human/alien romances before meeting Rose).
Orange Ghost; Rose Rebel
There is a fairly common idea that Lars isn’t just Steven’s foil, but intended to parallel Steven, at least in regards to the Cool Kids’ Crystal Gems. There are two glaring problems with this idea.
Lars fits in poorly with Cool Kids and they only seem to tolerate him at best. They are written and designed to parallel the Crystal Gems who all loved and accepted Steven long before Gem Glow despite his frequent fears of rejection, so why would Steven’s teen parallel never quite succeed in being accepted into their group?
It’s strange that Steven would even need a teen parallel to go with the CG parallels of the Cool Kids as he’s already a (half)-human teenager who happens to be liked and accepted by them. He’s just younger than he looks. It would go against the underlying theme of Steven struggling between his humanity and being also a gem by undermining, if not symbolically removing, his humanity through subtext. Lars being Steven’s parallel would be redundant and counterproductive to the narrative.
Despite this, it’s strongly implied that Lars is supposed to parallel a Crystal Gem. His character arc heavily involves the Cool Kids up until Wanted and he has an association with flowers (the rose moss) and the color pink. He is clearly meant to be Rose Quartz-themed like Steven. In other words, he’s Rose’s parallel.
So, if Lars is supposed to be Rose’s parallel, shouldn’t the Cool Kids look up to Lars and follow him as their leader then? Well, no. The Cool Kids parallel the Crystal Gems from after Rose’s death, remember?
In other words, Lars’ parallel Crystal Gem was dead all along.
This honestly explains so much about Lars’ interactions with the Cool Kids. Of course they find Lars hard to be around at times. Of course they aren’t any closer to him after two years. The living and the dead don’t mix. As much as Lars wants to be in with the Cool Kids, all he can really manage to do is haunt them like a desperate fanboy. Or, you know, a ghost.
There’s the old saying “don’t speak ill of the dead.” Remembering the dead is part of the grieving process. The urge to push forth the best qualities, whether real or imagined, of the deceased thus tends to be strong in society, especially for their friends. The memory of someone who’s dead can sometimes feel like them being there, but also not there (if that makes sense).
Rose kept many secrets from her friends, presenting herself as someone far better than who she truly |
appears to be sound, but expect to do some rework, flash removal, and deburring.
When mine was assembled, they jammed the arrow rotation knob retaining screw into the side of it’s groove (missed the groove). It would only turn about 90 degrees. Had to file off the burr.
Lots of sharp edges that should be removed. For example, the inside of the clamp had a raised burr on each side that made it hard to position the fletching.
After all the rework, it functions well.
Good product with one issue Review by Hunter
Price Value Quality I bought this jig for my first attempts at doing my own fletching and they came out really well. One issue I had was with the highest degree of helical. When you set the jig in position for the hightest degree of helical (I was using right helical), the clamp slides off/away from the arrow shaft and is not held fast by the magnet like it is for a lesser helical position. Thus, I had to hold the clamp down manually, but still could not get a perfectly flush fletching every time. This is only an issue with an outrageous degree of helical, (which I have found to perform only as good as the standard helical for the most part) but it is a minor detail that could be improved. Otherwise, the jig is sturdy and easy to use.
Excellent product! Review by Nick
Quality Price Value I have been using an easton fletching jig (the orange one that fletches all three vanes at the same time) for a while, as these more advanced jigs just looked more complicated. I wish I had started using this way sooner! It is very easy to use, and has a lot of adjustment ability (where the vane sits on the arrow, how much offset, etc). Yes, it does take 3 times as long to fletch an arrow since you are only gluing one vane at a time, but the jig does a way better job of fletching. With the simple jig I often had one vane that was skewed, or didn't sit flush on the arrow, as well as often having glue all over the shaft from the wet glue making contact and then moving as the jig settled in. With this, every arrow has come out perfect. I do wish that it came with both the straight and helical clamp, but I can just buy the helical clamp later. Highly recommended
Great product Review by woof156
Price Value Quality I got an old Bitzenburger from an archery shop going out of business. It had lots of miles on it, fletched who knows how many arrows. Had to clean it up a bit, and made a few minor adjustments for my arrow shaft diameter and it is dead bang on. Fletches perfectly. I came to this jig from the bohning tower which is nice but often feathers are misaligned and you don't know that till you take the thing down-- i.e. feathers are set. With this jig you can see it before you glue it and it cleans up like a dream. Tho old and weathered this bitzi does it job so longevity is in its genes. Yeah a bit slower than the tower but then so what...... this is a great jig you can pass down to your kids and their kids....
Chose the right jig Review by DMike64
Price Value Quality I was going to take a bunch of arrows out to LAS to have them refletched and ended up buying this jig instead. I discussed with Dustin the sales tech and he highly recommended the Bitzenburger. I mentioned some reviews I read that it's not easy to get started using it so he suggested refletching some of my arrows so he could demonstrate. He set me up with everything I needed and I ended up doing over a dozen arrows (FMJ's and Carbon Express Predators) that evening. I did have to redo the 2nd arrow, but from then on I got the hang of it and the rest of the arrows look great and shoot well. I can see how it could be intimidating to use this with no previous experience, but watch the video on the LAS website, or better yet if you can get to the store they will help you. First impression is great product and worth the cost. As always, great customer service at LAS.
Quality Price Value Great tool, easy to learn, it work well for me. Worth money.
First time Fletching Review by David
Quality Price Value Having never fletched an arrow before using this Bitzenburger jig I was a little nervous. And I see that other reviewers were slightly overwhelmed by the jig. However, I found it all pretty simple to setup. I started out with some junk arrows that I wasn't worried about the outcome and even they came out perfectly. This jig is actually pretty darn simple to use. I like that it's made of metal, and will probably be the first and only jig I ever need. Which is why I bought it to begin with. The instructions were thorough, but not extremely extensive, and I'm sure that one search of youtube would help me with any questions anyone would ever have. I'm pleased with this jig to say the least.
Bullet Proof Review by Benjamin DiMaggio
Quality Price Value This thing is bullet proof... the clamp is metal and is easy to clean. Highly recommend this jig. Blazer installation is a breeze.
Works perfectly Review by Jack
Value Quality Price I may have scored this product a little low just because of the manufacturing process and finishes are just rough. I would have gladly paid more for a finer finished or powder coated product. the casting marks have been filed down not to cut anyone but there is room of improvement. does the product work...Heck yes!! I have fletched dozens of arrows and it works great.
It simply works Review by Salter
Quality Price Value Tried a cheaper plastic jig, and lack of clamp heft made it difficult to have an even contact between the vane and the arrow. This was especially important for my Easton X7's aluminum shaft and 3" vanes. I switched to the "Bitz" and immediately understood why this is a de-facto standard for so many years. Heft and magnet strength made the process feel precise. This tank deserves its reputation.
Confusing product Review by Timothy Foley
Quality Price Value I bought Bitzenburger because of its excellent reviews and this particular fletching jig because I wanted to be able to fletch left, right, and straight. When the jig arrived, the two allen wrenches, screws, springs, and metal ball bearings that control the nock receiver were loose both in the jig's own box AND in the box it was shipped in. It wasn't clear until I examined the instructions that nothing had been lost. I was impressed everything was still there because the screws, springs, and ball bearings are tiny.
This is my first fletching jig and the instructions are not helpful. There are pictures but they are not helpful in showing you if you've done everything correctly. There is nothing to show you how the dials are used to adjust the angle. You are just left on your own to adjust them as you think they should be. I guess I did it correctly because my arrows all fly well and fletchings don't come off but, if I change the dials, I have to mark the jig in some way so that I know where the dials were previously. Except for a mark on the dials where extreme right and left are as well as on the jig where center is, the dials lack measurements to indicate how much the dials are turned or if the two are even complimenting each other.
I feel like I should have waited for someone to explain the jig to me before I bought it, or I should have spared myself the questions and ordered 1 jig for helical and another jig for straight instead of an all-in-one product. When I showed it to others who have fletched arrows for years, they said jig is too complex.
But it is metal and sturdy. Aside from how it was shipped to me, it shouldn't fall apart in your hands. It is easy to clean. I keep the jig in the box when it isn't in use. There is no place on the jig to attach/store the allen wrenches but the box has enough available space to keep a small container in it.
sturdy product but too many moveable pieces for a newbie.
for the best, seems to have some faults Review by Seode
Quality Price Value I do like the bitz jig. I dont know why they cant fix the nock receiver to be more precise. I just bought a new one and it will not space the vanes evenly as it should. I have ask many questions and have had numerous answers, none have worked to my satisfaction. If the jig is suppose to apply vanes equally on the shaft with a simple dial, then I should not have push and re-adjust, on every vane, an still comes out wrong. I know everyone will say what I have all ready heard" Its just a little off, wont make that much differance." Maybe not to an average shooter, but for the price you pay, it should be closer than it is..
Don't waste your money on anything else Review by Carli F
Value Quality Price Simply the best jig you can buy. It's no wonder so many professionals use this. It's so easy. Really, if I can do it, anyone can. The instructions that come with it are confusing, so don't get disheartened if it doesn't make sense. Take them with a grain of salt. It's really simple. It has different settings but it arrived already set up for 3x120°, which is what I wanted. I haven't tried to change this, so I can't speak of the ease of that part. The only thing I had to play around with was the alignment so that it would fletch my Easton 1819s perfectly. It didn't take much time. I love being able to make and fix my own arrows at home. Best purchase ever!
Great Flether! Review by dzinn
Value Quality Price I have used a couple of other fletching tools that I have not been happy with. Speaking with a Techspert at Lancaster he suggested this tool. I just finished fletching aaeWAV vanes on Victory VAP arrows and it was amazing!
I set it up for Easton Aluminum arrows and it was quick and easy. The Jig is easy to center on shafts of varying diameters. It it easy to clean and I suggest wiping the tool between each mount with acetone.
The tool seems pricy but you get what you pay for. This is a top notch tool that will last a lifetime, It is accurate and easy to use. It is a very cost effective tool. Your end result will be better mountings.
Excellent Jig! Review by Lee
Quality Price Value This is a fantastic jig. I previously bought a plastic Bohning Blazer jig, but the difference in quality and finished fletching is like night and day. Spend a little more and get this Bitzenburger jig.
If you are fletching arrows with fixed knocks (glued on knocks), and mix both traditional fletching (cock feather left/right) and compound fletching styles (cock feather up/down), you will also need to buy an alternate Blitzenburger Nock Receiver.
Fully recommend this jig, It will last you a lifetime.
Wouldn't Choose Anything Else Review by Tatertot
Quality Price Value My coach suggested I get this fletcher because he has had his for about 20+years and still adores it and puts it to good use. Im so glad he suggested it! I've only tested out a few others but none compare. Most of the experienced archers I know (quite a few who own archery stores) love their Bitzenberger Fletching Jigs! After a year with one of my own and helping refletch many other's arrows, I can definitely see why everyone loves it. With it's easily adjustable settings, It's worth every cent!
best there is Review by andy
Price Value Quality This is the real deal works perfectly can be used on any kind of arrow with vanes or feathers of any size or type. All the other jigs are junk. This is what the pros use and for good reason.
Best of the Best Review by Dale Frazier
Price Value Quality I bought this fletching jig over 20 years ago, with the technology changing so drastically over this same time period, there still is nothing more accurate to fletch a arrow, or crossbow bolt with than this item right here.
I still use it today and have always had true arrow flight weather I used feathers or plastic.
It is adjustable to fit every application I have ever needed for fletching.
If you are looking for an arrow jig, this one will be something you can pass on to the generation following you.
Good luck and happy fletching.
Good Review by JfcThree Arrested in Bloomington Teen's Death 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.
WOODFORD COUNTY - The Woodford County Sheriff’s Department and Illinois State Police have made three arrests in the December 19, 2015 death of a Bloomington teen.
As WMBD has reported, Keionta Williams, 18, was walking on I-39 near Kappa around 2:30 am when a bus hit and killed her.
Her mother said that Keionta was a straight-A student. She was in her first semester at Heartland Community College, studying to be a psychologist. When WMBD talked with her parents in December, they told us Williams rarely went out.
They believed there was more to the investigation and that the teenager may have been drugged. We've learned that toxicology results found LSD in her system.
Authorities arrested Jeffrey Duhaime, 22, of Bloomington, Deric Mool, 20, of Kappa, and Dakota Dunn, 18, of Kappa, for Drug Induced Homicide, a Class X felony. The three appeared and court Wednesday and are all facing three counts of Drug Induced Homicide. The charges carry up to 30 years in prison.
Mool and Dunn are being held on $25,000 bond. Duhaime is being held on $30,000 bond.
The case will be prosecuted by the Woodford County State’s Attorney’s Office.OTTAWA—Canadians are growing more wary about their privacy on the Internet, according to a new survey commissioned by the Centre for International Governance Innovation. The poll, released Monday, found that nearly 70 per cent of Canadians are worried about hackers stealing their banking information or personal messages and photos. The same percentage of Canadians reported they’re concerned about private companies tracking their Internet usage and attempting to monetize their information.
A poll of people in 24 countries found that while 60 per cent had heard of American whistleblower Edward Snowden and revelations about mass Internet spying, only 30 per cent had taken measures to protect their privacy online. ( MANDEL NGAN / AFP/GETTY IMAGES file photo )
More than half (52 per cent) reported that they’re concerned about government and law enforcement authorities monitoring their Internet activity. The poll comes as the governing Conservatives are moving two controversial pieces of legislation on Internet monitoring and information sharing through Parliament. Bill C-13, introduced in the name of cyberbullying victims, gives private companies legal immunity for handing over their users’ personal information to authorities. Bill S-4, the digital privacy act, allows private companies to exchange their users’ information in the context of an investigation into a contract breach.
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The government also intends to table new cybersecurity legislation in the coming months, though very little information about the “Protection of Canada’s Vital Cyber Systems Act” has been released. Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney’s office refused to comment on the upcoming legislation when contacted by the Star last week. The poll asked Internet users’ opinions in 24 countries, including nations that severely restrict their citizens’ use of the Internet such as China. An overwhelming majority of respondents (83 per cent) said they believe affordable access to the Internet should be considered a basic human right. Fen Hampson, director of the security and politics program at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, said that across the board people are starting to become more concerned about their Internet security. “Fears about human security have moved from the physical world to now include the virtual world,” Hampson said in a release. “There is a gaping trust deficit in the Internet as people around the globe increasingly worry that their online identities and communications will be compromised or stolen by those who operate in the dark recesses of the Internet.” The poll also asked about what people are doing about that fear. It found that while 60 per cent of respondents had heard of American whistleblower Edward Snowden and revelations about mass Internet spying, only 30 per cent had taken measures to protect their privacy online.
Of those 30 per cent, almost half said they now avoid certain websites, while 39 per cent say they change their passwords regularly. The global survey was conducted by pollster Ipsos between Oct. 7 and Nov. 12. Approximately 1,000 users in each of the 24 countries were surveyed, the results weighted to their countries’ online population. Ipsos said the polling is considered accurate with 3.5 percentage points.
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May 2008
Road Trip from New Zealand to New York: Interview with Steve Shoppman
Road Trip from New Zealand to New York: Interview with Steve Shoppman
Road trip from New Zealand to New York: the crew. Road trip from New Zealand to New York: the crew.
From New Zealand to New York in two Toyota 4x4s. That’s exactly what Steve Shoppman, his friend Steve Bouey, and a changing crew of extras are attempting, living out their dreams while raising awareness of the world’s diversity.
After setting out from Auckland in February 2007, Steve, Steve and the rest of the crew made their way through Australia, Asia and far north Europe before turning south and driving through Europe into Africa.
TravelBlogs caught up with Steve via email while they were in the Congo.
Who or what inspired you to do this trip?
The original inspiration came from numerous conversations with friends over the years about how the only way to travel is with your own transportation. When using public transport the ability to see the truly untouched and different parts of the world becomes very difficult and the constraints of timetables never help to have a truly organic experience in a place. After proposing the idea of the trip to my friend Steve Bouey, the first idea was to try to drive from Europe to the China through the Middle East.
A few months after we first talked about it, I read a book named “Who Needs a Road” by Harold Stephens and Al Podell. They drove a Toyota Landcruiser around the world in the 1960s and I thought, “Why stop at the Middle East?” I gave Steve Bouey a call as I was in Norway at the time and told him the new idea. I think at first he kind of just brushed it off as me being silly, but when I got home he was convinced and we started planning. The next hurdle was to find a way to pay for a journey like this.
Your goal is to promote awareness of the diversity of people and cultures around the world. How do you hope to achieve this?
In Africa In Africa
This goal is achieved every day with our growing audience on the website and all of the outlets we syndicate our video to. We produce short video segments, write stories and have thousands of photos up online. But this is just the beginning. We will eventually produce a documentary of the journey and write a book. Beyond that we have talked with a couple of guide book companies who are interested in commissioning us to write an overland travel guidebook to help others to know the best ways to get from point A to B. Some of our video segments will soon be syndicated on a television show called Nice Drives on the Altitude Network.
The approach is to intermingle more serious issues with fun and adventurous stuff, with the hope of keeping our audience’s attention while presenting some of the issues that tend to get overlooked by modern media. After returning home a tour is in the works to visit Universities and High Schools in the States trying to educate young people about the importance of understanding other cultures in our increasingly globalized world. We visit Aid organizations, political leaders and hit the ground talking to locals to do our best at understanding the places we visit, instead of just doing the usual tourist activities.
For you personally, what have you learned most on this trip?
It is simple, nothing is what you expect and the only way to truly understand something is to shut your mouth and listen.
It is simple, nothing is what you expect and the only way to truly understand something is to shut your mouth and listen. There are so many people out there that can teach you so much, but in a world where many of us turn to the mainstream media for the answers, we forget that the answer might lie with the person that lives down the street.
What is the hardest thing about doing a journey like this?
The most difficult thing is that we cannot just quit when the going gets tough. Currently we are stuck in the Congo waiting for our Angolan visas. It has already taken us a week and we are still waiting, and still unsure of the outcome. If we did not have the trucks we could just get on a flight and go somewhere else, but with the trucks we must find a way to get our visas and the proper permits to get though.
One simple question that I repeat to myself regularly, “Is there a way?…There is always a way.” We do not have an option to give up, we just have to find out a solution. Most of the countries we are in have very limited means, so truck problems, visa problems, or all the simplest things in first world countries are big problems for us.
How are you able to afford it?
We had a lot of money saved before we left, which is now mostly gone. That paid for less than half of the expedition. Some people donate money to us to help us keep going. They enjoy the content we produce and believe in our mission, so they contribute. Our families have helped as well, but the main thing is sponsors. Toyota gave us the trucks in cooperation with a local dealership in Denver. Over the course of the expedition we have had about 15 different sponsors come on board. About 20-30% of our time is devoted to finding more sponsorship to keep us on the road. Due to the economy, that has been very difficult lately. Right now we are just about to run out of money, so the expedition may have to be put on hold for a couple of months while we look for more sponsors, or get enough donations to keep going. But finding funding is all part of the adventure.
What is the advantage of travelling by car?
I answered that above in why we did this, but the principal advantage is the ability to change your schedule at a moment’s notice, or go to a place that public transport does not. If we meet an interesting person who invites us to stay in their home, we just have to drive there. If we hear about a festival we just have learn the location.
Most recently we made our way from Gabon to Congo off road for over 700 km. Each night we would stop in a village, talk with the locals and camp with them in the jungle. It is experiences like these that make the permits and troubles with the vehicles all worth it. Lately we have not even been using the guidebooks at all, just looking at the map and talking to locals. It is a whole different way to travel.
Check out The World By Road website to keep track of the trip.
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Posted by Eric Daams on May 6th, 2008 in Interviews.Best Buy is offering the 16GB iPhone 6s on Sprint for just $1 this week, a $199 savings on the device’s normal price on the usual two-year carrier contract.
The best 4K & 5K displays for Mac
If you don’t feel like signing up for the Sprint contract, however, you can opt for a Sprint monthly installment plan (which doesn’t require the two-year commitment) and get a $100 Best Buy gift card instead. Sprint’s monthly installments will run you $26.39/mo for the 16GB iPhone 6s until you pay off the $699.99 off-contract retail price of the device.
The deals are only available in Best Buy retail stores and not online, and they are good for all 16GB iPhone 6s models including the Space Gray, Gold, Silver, and Rose Gold color options. The $1 iPhone 6s deal is good for a limited time starting today until Thursday this week.
And some other Best Buy Apple deals courtesy of 9to5Toys: The company is offering a $50 gift card with purchase of the new iPhone SE, a few iPad Pro deals, and Apple Watch Stainless Steel models starting at just $349 shipped.
Check out more deals at 9to5Toys.com.Amazon is dipping its toe into renewable energy, revealing a "long-term commitment" to make its cloud-based Amazon Web Services 100 percent green.
One of the largest cloud providers in the industry, AWS promises customersthe likes of Netflix, Spotify, and Pinterestreduced carbon footprints and less environmental waste.
"Amazon Web Services' new commitment to power its operations with 100 percent renewable energy represents a potential breakthrough toward building a green Internet," Greenpeace senior IT campaigner Gary Cook said in a statement.
"With the world's largest public cloud apparently joining Apple, Google, Facebook, and others in committing to power with 100 percent renewable energy, the race to build a green Internet may be gaining a crucial new competitor," he continued.
The e-retail giant is still in the early stages, however. In the meantime, Cook suggested that Amazon publish details on its current energy and greenhouse gas footprint, as well as regular updates as those numbers change.
Amazon also has the opportunity to lead the effort against dirty utility providers in Virginia, he said, where a number of AWS servers receive only 2 percent of their electricity from renewable sources.
AWS already provides users with three 100 percent carbon-neutral regions: Oregon, Frankfurt, and the U.S. government.
The company actually failed Greenpeace's April 2014 Clicking Clean test, earning three Fs and a D for its lack of renewable sources of energy. And it still has a long way to go to catch up with rivals Apple, Google, and Facebookall of which passed the test.
Google, in fact, this week announced that it inked its eighth renewable energy deal to power a Netherlands-based data center via electricity from a wind farm.Image: Microsoft
'Insider spoofing' or faking the CEO's email address to trick the CFO into transferring millions to criminal bank accounts is big business. Now Microsoft is using big data and reputation filters to try and squish the threat.
According to the FBI, between October 2013 and August 2015, 7,066 US businesses have fallen prey to 'business email compromise', netting criminals an estimated $747m.
Non-US victims lost a further $51m over the period, with the FBI estimating a 270 percent increase in identified victims since January 2015, when it first released figures about the threat category.
As Microsoft notes, when a corporate email domain is spoofed, it makes it hard for existing filters to identify the bogus email as malicious.
However, Microsoft reckons it has achieved a 500 percent improvement in counterfeit detection using a blend of big data, strong authentication checks, and reputation filters in Exchange Online Protection for Office 365.
It's also rolling out new phishing and trust notifications to indicate whether an email is from a known sender or if a message is from an untrusted source, and therefore could be a phishing email.
The company is also promising a faster email experience as it vets attachments for malware and new tools to auto-correct messages that are mis-classified as spam. The aim is to boost defences without impairing end-user productivity.
Malicious email attachments remain a popular way for attackers to gain a foothold in an organization and, as RSA's disastrous SecurID breach in 2011 showed, a little social engineering can go a long way to ensuring someone opens it.
Microsoft's new attachment scanner, called Dynamic Delivery of Safe Attachments, looks to reduce delays as it checks attachments for potential threats.
Currently it captures suspicious looking attachments in a sandbox with a 'detonation chamber' where it analyses it for malware in a process takes five to seven minutes.
Microsoft hasn't figured out a faster way to analyse the attachment, but instead of holding up the email as it conducts the scan, it will send the body of the email with a placeholder attachment. If the attachment is deemed safe, it will replace the placeholder and if not, the admin can filter out the attachment.
The feature is part of Microsoft's Office 365 Exchange Online Protection and Advanced Threat Protection services.
The company is also tackling false-positive spam, or legitimate messages that are mis-identified as spam, and vice versa, with a new feature called Zero-hour Auto Purge, which allows admins to "change that verdict".
"If a message is delivered to your inbox and later found to be spam, Zero-hour Auto Purge moves that message from the inbox to the spam folder; the reverse is true for messages misclassified as spam," Microsoft notes.
Microsoft is testing this approach with 50 customers and says it will be rolled out for all Exchange Online Protection global clients in the first quarter of 2016.
More on MicrosoftGenode OS Framework release 13.11
In addition to evolving the Genode API to better accommodate dynamic workloads, version 13.11 comes with a host of new features such as Qt5 QML, the Linux TCP/IP as user-level library, file systems based on FUSE, and HDMI support for Exynos-5 and Raspberry Pi.
As follow-up to the inclusion of Qt5 in the previous release, the new version principally enables the most distinctive feature of Qt5, namely QML. QML parts ways with the classical QWidget approach and thereby makes the development of visually appealing applications easier than ever.
Most of the development during the release cycle was dedicated to work on protocol stacks. Thanks to the new implementation of the FUSE API for Genode, FUSE-based file systems have become available to the whole range of supported kernels. In addition, when using Genode on top of the Linux kernel, a new file-system service allows the integration of (parts of) the Linux file system with Genode. To improve the performance of gigabit networking, we supplemented the existing lwIP stack with a fresh port of the Linux TCP/IP stack that we call LXIP. Using LXIP, it becomes possible to execute one or many networking applications, each linked to its own Linux TCP/IP stack.
In line with other releases, version 13.11 comes with improved device drivers. This time, the framework gains HDMI and USB 3.0 storage support for Exynos-5 SoCs as well as graphics and USB HID support for the Raspberry Pi. The added drivers were the only missing pieces to run interactive graphical system scenarios on both platforms.
Among the many further improvements are the switch to C++11, new protocols for enabling dynamic resource balancing, new terminal services, and support for ARM TrustZone on i.MX53. For the full story, please refer to the detailed release documentation of version 13.11...The Miso Izakaya ramen burger launches at 9:30 p.m. this Wednesday, September 18. Only 20 burgers will be available, only for patrons at the bar, and only Tuesday through Thursday. "Am I ripping on Holeman & Finch? Yes!" owner Guy Wong tells Atlanta Magazine. "It is a good restaurant and they did something that works."
Like the H&F burger— of which only 24 are offered nightly, starting at 10 p.m.— Miso's ramen burger will be served with fries for $12. It's got a ramen "bun," a patty (though early photos reveal two), lettuce, tomato, special sauce, pickles, seaweed seasoning, and sesame seeds, and Wong recommends trying it with a new beverage, the wasabi-honey egg cream, which is available for solo purchase Tuesday through Thursday.
· The Ramen Burger Is Making Its Way to Miso Izakaya [-EATL-]
· Guy Wong Debuts His Ramen Burger Wednesday [Atlanta Magazine]
· All Miso Izakaya Coverage [-EATL-]
· All Guy Wong Coverage [-EATL-]
· All Ramen Burger Coverage [-EN-]
Ramen Burger at Miso Izakaya. [Photo: Guy Wong/Instagram]Poor Larry Laffer. Few characters have ever been so misunderstood or unfairly looked down on than Al Lowe's perpetual but loveable loser, thanks to a couple of basic misconceptions about the series—that the Leisure Suit Larry games are sex games rather than comedy games about sex, and that Larry himself is some kind of sex monster, rather than a guy who spent at least his first trilogy specifically looking for love. Really. No fewer than three times is he happy to settle down after finding Miss Right. The whole 'ultimate pervert' thing comes far more from marketing than the action in the actual games.
Now, admittedly, by the time of this, the sixth and final game—at least, the final one whose name can be uttered in public without diminishing all who hear it—that had faded somewhat. Love For Sail is very much Larry Laffer on holiday, on a cruise ship full of cartoon babes and casual opportunities for fun in the sun—at least, in the few precious seconds when Al Lowe isn't busy torturing him with a very different kind of slapstick. Thing is though, it's also a damn fine comedy adventure that deserves more attention.
The contents of Larry's wallet. The only thing less impressive than the contents of his pants.
Love For Sail doesn't have much plot, and yes, what little it does have plays straight into the series' reputation. At the end of Larry 6, the health-club set Shape Up Or Slip Out, Larry won over a new-age hippie type called Shamara and the two settled down to watch stock footage together. This is a series happy to lavish lots of attention on goofy fan-service and Larry's pain, but is ultimately so coy about actual sex that its most infamous scene involved a censor bar. Even in this game, which features a nudist character who hangs out at a clothing-optional pool, the only real nudity is saved for Easter eggs. Larry 7 picks up the next morning. Shamara declares that a night with a man like Larry "gives a woman plenty of time to think", and decides that what she really wants out of life is money. She steals his wallet and leaves him handcuffed to his bed with nothing but a cigarette to remember her by. Larry, being Larry, promptly sets the room on fire.
It's a great opening that shows off the series' new-found cartoon chops. The scene has a real sense of pace in spite of the limited animation frames. Larry can't die in this game, but the scene still manages to pump up the danger as the fire spreads. Larry puzzles his way to safety by way of the nearest balcony and a slow-mo cry of "OOOOOOOH SSHHHHHIIIIIIII-" that takes him straight into a cactus. He cheers up, and shrugs off the bruising spikes with the discovery of a free cruise ticket aboard the, sigh, "PMS Bouncy", whose exhibitionist captain, Thygh, runs a regular competition to spend the trip in her cabin. Larry of course enters, in the hope of being able to.
At least they're blind! What's that? Oh.
Your eyes are rolling. Of course they are. But give it a chance. Larry 7 has no shame about being the game version of a naughty postcard, but the way it actually does it is fairly surprising. Unlike most games that play in this water for instance, it's a cheerful, sex-positive, and above all good-natured story free of the usual creepy misogyny and cynicism. A couple of characters are willing to bait Larry into a trap, but most are simply hanging out and having fun. Larry is neither Casanova nor a Witcher-style card collector whose interests begin and end with getting everyone into the sack. Occasionally puzzles do involve a little manipulation, like slipping the ship's tightly-wound librarian an erotic book in the hope of loosening her up a little, but even in those cases it's with characters who don't mind. Far, far more often, the women who Larry chases are entirely in control of the situation from the start to the humiliating end where he almost inevitably ends up sneaking back to his cabin stark naked and unsatisfied.
Before unlocking a librarian's naughty side, be absolutely sure you don't need to borrow 'a jacket'.
Even at his most successful, Larry's adventures never rate more than 'naughty'. The universe is built to frustrate him, and he has a knack for stealing defeat from the jaws of success. This is a comedy game, not a porn one, best summed up by the fact that one of his challenges is to persuade nudist academic Drew Baringmore (on board along with the likes of Dewmi Moore, Annette Boning and—wait for it—Jamie Lee Coitus) to visit his cabin by getting a completely naked woman into her clothes. That cabin incidentally is the engine room, with the kind of smell that needs a Scratch And Sniff card to convey. Coincidentally, the original version of the game came with one. A very smelly one.
Most of the time isn't spent trying to get Larry laid either. Instead you explore a world of lovingly written puns, bad jokes and visual gags. Larry's narrator, Neil Ross, delivers every description and bit of bad news with delicious glee. His cynicism and Larry's relentless optimism make a perfect partnership. Every character has a ton of dialogue, more even than first appears. For Larry 7, Lowe decided to reintroduce a parser interface, making it possible to type in subjects and verbs that might not be on the official options list. They're almost never actually needed, aside from in the intro that shows off how they work, but they're there.
Lowe also played with some other amusing features. You can record lines of out-of-context dialogue so the game can insert them mid-way through to voice one of the characters. You can also set your desktop wallpaper to a particular file and it'll reflect your progress with pin-ups of the most recent character Larry dealt with. It also features a game-long item-hunt puzzle where you repeatedly track down a mysterious figure in red and white—"Where's Dildo?" (though that gag didn't work so well in the UK, where the character is |
Media Matters obtained "access to raw data from Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites" so they can "systemically monitor and analyze this unfiltered data."
"The earlier we can identify a fake news story, the more effectively we can quash it," the memo states. "With this new technology at our fingertips, researchers monitoring news in real time will be able to identify the origins of a lie with mathematical precision, creating an early warning system for fake news and disinformation."
The memo went on to state that Media Matters had a discussion with Facebook on how to crack down on fake news, including Media Matters providing the social media giant with "a detailed map of the constellation of right-wing Facebook pages that had been the biggest purveyors of fake news." The memo also bragged that Media Matters provided Google with "the information necessary to identify 40 of the worst fake new sites" that would be prevented from using Google's advertising network.
"Internet and social media platforms, like Google and Facebook, will no longer uncritically and without consequence host and enrich fake new sites and propagandists," the memo chillingly reads.
2. The memo declared that Media Matters will expose "serial misinformers and right-wing propagandists." The memo stated that people will "weaponize" Media Matters' research against the Right.
"Key right-wing targets will see their influence diminish because of our work," the memo reads.
3. The memo gloated that Media Matters was behind Breitbart being denied a Senate press credential. The memo pledged that Media Matters would fight back against "even the slightest bit of normalization of Trump" by the media. As an example, they highlighted their fight against Breitbart:
When Breitbart applied for Permanent Senate Gallery Press Credentials, Media Matters was quick to act by advising the credentialing committee of the myriad ways that Breitbart violated their requirements. Additionally, Media Matters did something that the committee was unable to do: A deep dive study of Breitbart content, reviewing thousands of their stories to demonstrate that they do not meet the credentialing requirement for original reporting.
Ultimately, Breitbart's credential application was denied because they were reportedly unable to prove they were completely independent from White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.
The memo also stated that Media Matters was alarmed by Breitbart's "international expansion" and they worked with journalists "to educate them on Breitbart's model."
The issue here is that Media Matters seems intent on restricting Breitbart's media access because they don't like Breitbart's point of view.
4. The memo also bragged that Media Matters was able to prevent Rupert Murdoch from expanding his media empire. In 2014, Murdoch's 21st Century Fox attempted to purchase Time Warner, which prompted Media Matters to launch a campaign pressuring Time Warner not to accept Murdoch's bid because it "would have given Murdoch control of 40% of the US cable market and 30% of the movie market." Murdoch eventually rescinded his offer and the media praised Media Matters for their influence on the matter.
Clearly, Media Matters is committed to protecting the Left's monopoly on the media.
5. American Bridge has a whole war room dedicated to fighting Trump. The memo explains that the war room features 20,000 hours of footage they plan to use against the Trump administration and highlighting Trump's purported conflicts of interest.
Ultimately, American Bridge's goal is to "defeat Trump either through impeachment or at the ballot box in 2020."
6. The memo gloated that American Bridge partnered with former Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) to smear the Koch brothers. "Working with Senator Harry Reid and partners airing TV ads, we created a war room that leveled sustained attacks on the Koch brothers, making their negative ratings spike and turning their advocacy into a liability for candidates they supported," the memo stated.
In other words, American Bridge worked with a high-ranking Democratic politician in order to smear private citizens who donated to political causes they didn't like.
7. CREW aims to prevent the Trump administration from getting their agenda implemented by bogging them down with unfavorable media coverage and massive amounts of litigation. Here is an excerpt from the memo:
Trump will be affected by a steady flow of damaging information, new revelations, and an inability to avoid conflicts issues. For as long as Trump maintains the ethically untenable position of keeping his business empire in the family while serving as president, CREW will relentlessly probe his global conflicts of interest and administration ethics problems through aggressive use of research, open records requests, legal action, and FOIA litigation. The Trump administration will be forced to defend illegal conduct in court. CREW will bring about legal accountability for executive branch ethical and legal violations through complaints and litigation. We will bring significant pressure on investigative agencies and Congress to investigate violations of law and the constitution, which appear likely to being on day one of the Trump administration, and we will litigate wrongdoing aggressively, forcing the administration to defend civil lawsuits, FOIA litigation, and whistleblower suits.
8. CREW will also seek to take down "powerful industries and interest groups" and "dark money." More from the memo:
Powerful industries will see their influence wane. CREW will expose and curb the improper influence of powerful industries and interest groups on the administration and both parties of Congress with successful legal complaints and litigation to rein in dark money, reckless campaign finance abuses, and the misuse of nonprofits by Trump and others. Dark money will be a political liability in key states. CREW will make the use of dark money, campaign finance violations, and ethics abuses at the state level a major issue in key states that will be the focus of massive spending and attention in the lead up to 2018 and 2020 elections.
Dark money is what's known as money given to political nonprofits that aren't required to disclose their donors, which protects donors from intimidation and smear campaigns from the Left.
Jeff Reynolds noted at Media Equalizer that "it is ironic that they point to dark money as a target, as all four of these organizations are the epicenter of those very campaigns that are fueling the war against conservatives and others in America."
9. The memo championed pro-Hillary Clinton hashtags ignited by Shareblue, which plans to be the anti-Trump attack dog on social media. The examples cited in the memo were:
#WeWontBeErased
#HereIAmWithHer
#TrumpCouldSay
#JustImagineHillary
#InterrogateTrump
The memo declared these hashtags as "narrative shifting," which is ironic given that Clinton lost the election.
10. The memo also took pride in Shareblue's nauseating pro-Hillary headlines. The memo cited a post titled "Hillary Clinton is one of the most ethical (and most lied about) political leaders in America" — which was apparently their most shared post in 2016 — and highlighted articles that had the following headlines:
"I was one of the most ardent Hillary haters on the planet...until I read her emails."
"I published this photo of Hillary Clinton and the response was overwhelming."
These are the kind of headlines you would expect to see in The Onion or Everyday Feminism.
11. Shareblue hopes their research will be used as a political weapon against Trump. The memo lists the group's goals as pressuring Trump allies "to step down or change course" as well as pressuring Democrats to "take more aggressive stances against Trump."
The full memo can be read here.
Follow Aaron Bandler on Twitter.LinkedIn just introduced a new feature called "Open Candidates" — a way to signal that you're open to being recruited for a new job, without letting your boss know.
Historically, the only way to announce to your LinkedIn network that you were looking for a job was to literally make it the headline of your profile. It's hard for recruiters to miss, but it's also a giant warning sign to your colleagues that you're looking for a change.
Once you flag yourself as an open candidate, you'll show up in recruiters' LinkedIn searches, even if nothing else about your profile shows you're looking for new opportunities.
Just go into your LinkedIn preferences and select the "Let recruiters know you're open" option. You can even choose what kind of opportunities you're looking for. Here's what it looks like:
LinkedIn
Funnily enough, LinkedIn says this feature idea came from an episode of HBO's "Silicon Valley," as the company explains in a blog post:
"There was a great joke made on the HBO series Silicon Valley where one of the main characters signaled on LinkedIn that he wanted to leave the fictional startup. Within seconds, he was hearing from recruiters. This is exactly the experience we want each and every one of our members to have."
Here's the scene in question:
Other new features announced today by LinkedIn include "Apply Starters," which lets you share your LinkedIn profile with recruiters when applying for a job, and "Career Pages," which let companies highlight all the job growth opportunities available to job candidates and encourage them to apply.
Job recruitment features like these play right into LinkedIn's core business. Recently, the professional social network announced LinkedIn Learning, a new set of online educational programs designed to give job-seekers the skills they need to stay competitive.
In the longer term, though, LinkedIn's new corporate overlords at Microsoft have indicated a grander vision for the social network and its vast troves of data. But that will take longer to play out. In the meanwhile, go look for new jobs without worrying about getting found out.After Donald Trump met with Kanye West on Tuesday in Trump Tower, he gave the rapper a parting gift.
West tweeted a photo of a signed copy of Trump's "Person of the Year" TIME magazine cover, signed with a message from the president-elect.
"To Kanye, you are a great friend," Trump wrote on the cover in silver marker, signing it with his name.
After igniting a media firestorm by traveling to Trump Tower, West tweeted that he met with Trump to discuss real issues.
"I wanted to meet with Trump today to discuss multicultural issues," he explained in a string on tweets. "These issues included bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago. I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future president if we truly want change."
He also tweeted "#Kanye2024," a change from his previous claims that he was planning on running for president in 2020, indicating his support for Trump's potential second term.
On Tuesday, the rapper arrived at Trump Tower around 9 a.m. ET with an entourage in tow, re-emerging half an hour later with the president-elect to pose for photos. While West refused to answer questions about his visit, Trump later told the press that he had "discussed life" with West, whom he called a friend and a "good man."
West's visit to NYC was his second public appearance since he was hospitalized for exhaustion and dehydration on Nov. 21.Baseball is the sport that’s responsible for the national anthem being played before sporting events, and it was always going to be the last sport to get sucked into the controversy. It’s responsible because the tradition started at a World Series game 99 years ago, during World War I, when millions of young men were killed for reasons that most adults don’t remember today. It was going to be the last sport because it’s the stodgiest one. It’s the sport that’s the most resistant to change.
Baseball was going to be the last sport to get sucked in because it’s the one that appeals to how great everything used to be. With football, you can measure the height, weight, and 40-yard dash time of the average player in 1956, compare it to the modern player, and laugh. With basketball, you can watch five seconds of video from a different era and appreciate the difference in skill and speed today. With baseball, there’s always someone to call back to, someone who was the best you ever saw, full stop, no context needed. The sport doesn’t have to progress to be enjoyed, even as it unquestionably does.
Baseball was going to be the last sport to get sucked in because it’s the one in which traditions are followed because they’re traditions, and this is important because the traditional traditions are traditionally followed in a traditional manner — look, just respect the traditions. Don’t stare too long at a home run. If they hit our guy, we hit theirs. Rookies don’t get to complain to umpires nearly as much as veterans. There is rarely any introspection when it comes to the unwritten rules. They’re commandments, and they’ve just always been there, man. Don’t ask too many questions. Follow them or get hurt.
Baseball was going to be the last sport to get sucked in because it’s one of the whitest sports, both in terms of participation and viewership. Whitest makes a difference not because patriotism is connected to pigment, but because it makes a huge difference in one’s ability to say, “Hey, knock it off, nothing’s wrong, what’s the big deal?”
Baseball was going to be the last sport to get sucked in, but it was never going to be immune. This conversation was always coming because it’s nearly impossible to pretend like nothing is wrong right now. This makes people so damned uncomfortable. The status quo is incredibly comfortable, just a warm, snuggly blanket, and now it’s being challenged by rude, shivering people. This ruins your whole vibe.
The only surprise, really, is who challenged that status quo and how perfect he was for the job. Bruce Maxwell was born on a military base. He’s on record as saying that the patriotic garb for Memorial Day and Independence Day means more to him because of his family’s military background. He made a calculated effort to draw a clear line between protest and disrespect.
The most important part is that Maxwell is a 26-year-old rookie with absolutely everything to lose. He’s a backup catcher with a.244 batting average and three home runs. He’s someone who’s been worth 0.1 WAR this year, which means he’s a replaceable player, by definition. He looked at Colin Kaepernick, an accomplished veteran without a job, someone too toxic for the billionaires of the NFL to consider, and knew what the worst-case scenario was. Maxwell kneeled anyway because he felt his message and the amplification of it was more important than his job security.
As a reminder, that message is this:
Listen.
That’s it. That’s the controversial message that has everyone so upset. Instead of mindlessly singing along and pretending that the country is beyond criticism, we have to listen now? The people who are upset at anthem protests are upset that they have to listen and engage with the idea that the country isn’t perfect, that there’s still more work to do. The current president was elected on a campaign slogan that roughly translated to “Everything is shitty now, but I can help,” but he’s also the loudest critic of anyone who dares to say, “This one specific thing has always been shitty, and we need you to listen.” The cognitive dissonance is overwhelming.
A man born in Germany because of his dad’s devotion to this country would like you to listen.
If you want politics out of your baseball, I regret to inform you that they’ve always been there. Hollywood got to make a clean, shiny movie about Jackie Robinson, which allowed people to feel good about the progress we’ve made, except Robinson didn’t get to live in that clean, shiny movie. He lived in a bleak reality, where the death threats didn’t stop coming when the two hours were over. If you think baseball has always been about keeping politics out, Hank Aaron has some letters to share with you.
If you want an example that’s less dramatic, consider the story of Andrew McCutchen, who explained why there are fewer and fewer American-born black players in Major League Baseball.
For all the backlash around the Jackie Robinson West team “cheating,” most people are ignoring the truth of how these 12-year-old kids make it out of their towns and onto a national stage. Individuals step in and fill that financial gap. Hopefully those people are trustworthy and have their hearts in the right place. I was fortunate in that respect. Other kids might not be. When you talk to players around Major League Baseball, almost every single one of them has a story about a person who stepped in and took care of their expenses. You hear it all the time: “If it wasn’t for this guy, I wouldn’t be in the league.”
It takes money to play travel ball. It takes money to play at the highest amateur levels. African-Americans have a disproportionately small amount of the country’s wealth, which means they’ll have a disproportionately small chance of climbing the ladder in baseball. And you have two choices: You can believe that African-Americans are poorer because they’re genetically inferior, which would make you a flaming racist, or you can believe that it’s the case because of opportunities that were denied to earlier generations, with a clean, neatly drawn line that goes back to slavery and the guns, germs, and steel that allowed the institution to exist. It’s not a stretch to suggest that the declining number of African-American players in baseball shares a root cause with the systemic violence that Kaepernick was protesting in the first place. It’s all tangled up in the same bloody history, and having everyone wear the number “42” once a year isn’t going to fix that.
And if you have a moment to listen, Bruce Maxwell would like to point all of this out. That’s all he asks.
This isn’t the first time that players have used the national anthem to send a message. This was just a couple years ago:
Scott Van Slyke and Joe Kelly used the national anthem to send a message. That message was this: Tee hee. They weren’t thinking about the sacrifices their fellow Americans made to keep them free. At that moment, the anthem was just a vehicle to break the tension, get a few giggles, and give their teammates an incrementally better chance of winning. And no one minded. Not a single editorial was penned in response, which suggests that the problem isn’t that athletes are using the anthem to send a message, but that they’re using the anthem to send a message that’s more threatening than “tee hee.”
Baseball was always going to be the last sport to get sucked in, but this was always coming. If history is any guide, Maxwell will be remembered fondly. I walked past a statue of John Carlos and Tommie Smith every day for years, which would have been unthinkable to the people who were the angriest at being told to listen back in 1968. It’s why Jackie Robinson went from death threats to a national hero, even though he used his autobiography to point out that the national anthem rang hollow to him, too.
Until history is on his side, though, Maxwell will be dealing with a lot of nonsense. He knew that. He knew that there would be consequences, and he weighed that against the urgency of his message. He decided the message was more important. Maybe you should check out his message, then. It won’t take too long.
Bruce Maxwell would like you to listen. He risked his career because he thinks you should listen. Won’t you take a few minutes to listen?With the release of PowerCLI 6.5 came a updated way of interacting with your Horizon View Infrastructure; the release of a Horizon 7 module! The module provides access to all of the public api, and it can be installed and run anywhere, no longer are you limited to running it from the View Connection Server.
However, if you have not yet moved up to Horizon View 7 and are looking to run the View cmdlets locally from your workstation, give Powershell Implicit Remoting a whirl.
The process involves starting a remote session on a connection server, exporting the View 5 / 6 cmdlets we’re interested in to a local module and then loading that module. When a cmdlet is called, Powershell takes care of setting up a session in the background and you can run the cmdlets from your own workstation!
So, create a remote session and load in the relevant snapin
$session = New-PSSession -ComputerName CONNECTION-SERVER.DOMAIN.LOCAL Invoke-Command -ScriptBlock {Add-PSSnapin VMware.View.Broker} -Session $session 1 2 3 $session = New-PSSession -ComputerName CONNECTION-SERVER. DOMAIN. LOCAL Invoke-Command -ScriptBlock { Add-PSSnapin VMware. View. Broker } -Session $session
Now we’ll create a local module called Exported.VMware.View which contains the exported cmdlets from the module VMware.View.Broker that resides on the remote server
Export-PSSession -Session $session -Module VMware.View.Broker -OutputModule Exported.VMware.View 1 Export-PSSession -Session $session -Module VMware. View. Broker -OutputModule Exported. VMware. View
Now we’ll remove the session we have open and reload the module. Removing the existing session gives us reassurance we’re not just pulling back results from the session we just created
Remove-PSSession -Session $session Import-Module Exported.VMware.View -Force 1 2 3 Remove-PSSession -Session $session Import-Module Exported. VMware. View -Force
If you run a View cmdlet, such as Get-DesktopVM or Get-Pool you get the following error:
This the same error if you were to log on to the Connection Server, start Powershell and try to run a View cmdlet without loading the Snapin. So we need to tweak something to ensure that the snapin is loaded when the exported cmdlets are run.
A little poking around in the module psm1 file (look for it in your powershell module path by typing $PSModulePath or (Get-Module -ListAvailable Exported.VMware.View).path) and I found that the following edit needs to be made and then our cmdlets will run as expected – note the line numbers
Now reload the module and retry a view cmdlet
Import-Module Exported.VMware.View -Force Get-DesktopVM 1 2 3 Import-Module Exported. VMware. View -Force Get-DesktopVM
And there you have it, running a View cmdlet without setting up a remote session first.Wearing five wearables at once is probably decent exercise
The British Medical Journal has staged a debate on the topic “Can healthy people benefit from health apps?”
The debate seems to your correspondent to be a draw.
Iltifat Husain, editor, iMedicalApps.com, and assistant professor of emergency medicine at Wake Forest School of Medicine, North Carolina, USA, argued the “Yes” case and cited studies showing that users of weight loss apps lose more weight than those who don't adopt software-assisted weight loss regimes.
Of devices like Fitbit and Jawbones, he said there is “no current evidence that these fitness devices improve outcomes or exercise compliance; likewise, there is no evidence that they cause harm.”
Hussain also noted that “absence of evidence isn’t necessarily evidence of absence” and said: “We can’t rely on Apple or Google to regulate the apps in their stores and to guide consumers away from those that have no basis in evidence or may be dangerous.”
Nor will US regulators help.
His conclusion is that “... healthy people may well benefit from using some health apps, such as those that encourage more physical activity and better diet, but doctors need to be proactive about telling the public which metrics matter and which apps they should buy.”
Arguing the “No” case was Des Spence, a general practitioner from Glasgow, UK.
Spence reckons apps and wearables will be used by those he calls the “worried well”.
“Health 'bling' is everywhere: all things Lycra, T shirts from exotic charity half marathons, the chatter of personal trainers and training programmes, and bikes that cost more than cars. Even food is no longer to be enjoyed: it has become a pharmacopoeia of blended pulses, green leaves, and nuts.”
Spence reckons owners of this bling will over-diagnose themselves.
“Most medical research and diagnoses are based on isolated readings taken in medical clinics in symptomatic, older, high risk individuals, by doctors who can interpret results—not by young, asymptomatic, middle class neurotics continuously monitoring their vital signs while they sleep,” he wrote, adding:
The truth is that these apps and devices are untested and unscientific, and they will open the door of uncertainty. Make no mistake: diagnostic uncertainty ignites extreme anxiety in people. We must reflect on what we might lose here, rather than what we might gain. Will apps simply empower patients to overdiagnosis and anxiety?
Spence is also suspicious of who benefits from apps and wearables, suggesting the winners are “corporate medicine and the drug industry … whose joint commercial imperative is to make us all health neurotics.”
“War, pestilence, and famine are all out to grass; technology, medicine, and overdiagnosis are the new riders of the Apocalypse,” he concluded. “Humanity is wasting its time on monitoring life rather than getting on and living it.”
The full debate is available here. It may, however, be redundant: Apple today launched its HealthKit medical research service. If anyone ever gets their hands on an Apple Watch, perhaps boffins will be able to provide us with better data with which to inform a future replay of the BMJ's effort. ®Police say an emergency call about a toy gun fight prompted a false report of a shooting at a Cleveland-area school on the first day of classes.
Open Door Christian School and Church, in the city of Elyria, was put on lockdown Wednesday after police received a report about a shooting Wednesday afternoon, only to learn that it was actually a Nerf gun fight, the Associated Press reported.
Police were met with surprise and confusion, Elyria police Capt. Christopher Costantino told the Chronicle-Telegram, and nothing seemed wrong with the school or church when they arrived.
“People were shocked that we were there,” he said.
Classes resumed after a 15-minute lockdown.
Apparently, the confusion was caused by a text sent from a staff member at the church to her daughter, saying that someone shot at her office in a play fight. The daughter misinterpreted the text and called police to report a shooting, the Chronicle-Telegram reported.
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.Losing weight is much more difficult for some than it has to be. One of the main reasons that women have difficulties in shedding those pounds is because they simply do not keep their energy levels up. Raising your metabolism
1. Ginger/Pineapple Smoothie
not only gives you enough energy to get through the day, it helps you to feel better and to naturally (and quickly) burn off fat. If you are looking for some great metabolism boosters, we have a list of recipes for you.
Fresh ginger gives this powerful smoothie great metabolic properties. You can substitute your favorite citrus if you are not partial to pineapple, but if you want your healthy drink to taste like a tropical piña colada, this is what you need:
• 1 medium banana
• 1 ½ cups fresh pineapple, diced
• 1 Tablespoon fresh ginger
• ½ cup Greek yogurt – choose any flavor you like
• ½ cup fresh pineapple juice – you can also use water if you want
Simply blend all of these ingredients together and enjoy. Photo credit Abcoaster.
2. Peanut Butter Smoothie
Peanut butter is filled with protein so it gives you energy that lasts for hours each day. Drinking one of these tasty treats will give you enough energy to get through your workday and that rigid workout. You need:
• 1 large banana
• 2 teaspoons of natural peanut butter
• 1 small handful of baby spinach leaves
• 1 small scoop of natural hemp protein – this should be in a powdered form and can be purchased from any natural health food store
• ½ teaspoon of cinnamon – this is optional but gives the drink a wonderful spicy taste
• Just a bit of water – the amount of water will depend on how thick or thin you want the smoothie
Mix all of the ingredients together in a blender and enjoy. Photo credit threemanycooks.
3. Tropical Treat Smoothie
This one has so many yummy tropical fruits that you may just want to enjoy one every day. While it does help to boost your metabolism, it also has Vitamins A and C and zinc so it helps to boost your immune system as well. You need:
½ cup cantaloupe – cubed
½ cup mango – cubed
¼ cup pumpkin seeds –finely chopped
½ cup pineapple – cubed
Enough water to thin – again, this is dependent on how thin or thick you want your drink.
Just blend all of the ingredients together and enjoy.Photo credit Pinterest.
4. Berry Smoothie
This delicious berry smoothie is rich in antioxidants and will help you to detox your liver and boost your metabolism. You need:
• 1/3 cup fresh raspberries
• 1/3 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/3 cup pomegranate
• 1 medium banana
• ¼ beet juice – this is optional and you can use pineapple or a citrus juice instead but the beets offer antioxidants that help to keep your body clean and free from toxins
• Enough water to thin – again, this depends on your preference and how thick or thin you like your smoothie. Photo credit wellnessdharma.
•
Just blend all of the ingredients together and enjoy.
5. Green Tea
Green tea in general has wonderful metabolic powers. When you add certain other ingredients however, you get a drink that can really boost your energy. For this drink you will need:
• 8 ounces of hot water
• 1 fresh lemon
• Cinnamon – just about ½ teaspoon or so depending on your taste preference
• Cayenne pepper – again, just a ½ teaspoon or so depending on your preferences
Just brew the ingredients together for about 5 minutes and enjoy. Photo credit Pinterest.
6. Apple/Almond Smoothie
This one has enough protein and other vitamins that you can actually drink this instead of eating breakfast and still boost your metabolism and feel great all day. You will need:
• 5 almonds
• 1 medium apple
• 1 medium banana
• ½ milk – choosing nonfat or soy milk keeps it low calorie
• ¾ Greek yogurt – you can choose any flavor you like
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Just put all of the ingredients into the blender and blend until you get it as thick or thin as you like. Photo credit tracieinman.
No, this is not the smoothie that you drink on dates. It has dates and bananas for a delicious taste and a great metabolism boost. You will need:
• 1 pitted date
• 1 medium banana
• 1 cup almond milk
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Just blend the ingredients together and enjoy. Photo credit aidamollenkamp.
8. Apple/Kale Smoothie
This delicious smoothie combines the great taste of apples and ginger along with the nutrients of fresh kale to give you a tasty treat and one that can really help you to feel better and have more energy. You will need:
• 1 medium apple
• 2 small stalks kale – chopped
• Fresh juice from one orange
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger
• Fresh juice from one lemon
Just blend all of the ingredients together until smooth and enjoy. Photo credit livingtodine.
9. Coconut/Raspberry Smoothie
This coconut raspberry smoothie is great. It has cinnamon which is a natural appetite suppressant and is low in calories and fat. You will need:
• ¾ cup fresh raspberries – note that you can also use ½ cup frozen raspberries if you cannot find them fresh
• 1 can coconut milk – this is a 15 ounce can
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup or light honey
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon – this is based on preference
• Water – depending on how thin or thick you like your smoothie
Just place all of the ingredients into the blender and blend until you get the consistency that you want. Photo credit deliciouslyorganic.
10. Dr. Oz Green Tea
So, everyone is buzzing about this great green tea recipe that Dr. Oz has provided that is supposed to be completely natural, help boost your metabolism and help you to naturally lose weight. Naturally, we had to finish up our list with this one. You will need:
• 8 cups brewed green tea
• 1 tangerine
• Mint leaves – just a small handful
Just mix the ingredients together and keep in the refrigerator until use. Photo credit Pinterest.
There you have it – 10 great drinks that are not only delicious but will help you to feel better, lose weight and have a higher metabolism.Al-Qaeda linked Syrian rebels have been accused of seizing 43 UN soldiers in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and trapped another 81 in the region, the UN has said.
The US said on Thursday it believed members of the Nusra Front were among those who captured 43 Fijian soldiers serving in the UN disengagement observer force near Quneitra, a crossing from Syria into Israeli-occupied territory.
A further 81 soldiers from the Philippines are understood to be under siege near Rwihinah. The Philippine government said its troops refused to give up their weapons when confronted.
The capture and standoff come after Syrian rebels, including Nusra Front fighters, stormed the Quneitra crossing on
Wednesday, sparking an exchange of fire with Israeli troops.
In a statement, the US said it condemned the action by rebels groups "including the UN Security Council-designated terrorist group, the Nusra Front", which is al-Qaeda's primary affiliate in Syria.
The UN Security Council said it held responsible "terrorist groups and by members of non-state armed groups".
The Golan Heights is a strategic plateau captured by Israel in a 1967 Middle East war.
Syria and Israel technically remain at war. Syrian troops are not allowed in an "area of separation: under a 1973 ceasefire formalised in 1974.
The UN force monitors the area of separation, a narrow strip of land running about 70km from Mount Hermon on the Lebanese border to the Yarmouk River frontier with Jordan.
It comprises 1,223 soldiers from Fiji, India, Ireland, Nepal, Netherlands and the Philippines.
Austria, Japan and Croatia have all pulled their troops out of the monitoring force due to the deteriorating security situation and spillover from the Syrian war.
UN officials noted that troops monitoring the area have been abducted twice in the last year, but released safely.Melissa Berman, the president and chief executive of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, includes “rescue abused animals” as another of the charitable causes which she appears to believe cannot be objectively compared with other causes. Presumably she has in mind charities that rescue pets, mostly dogs and cats, and attempt to find homes for them, for that is the focus of most animal rescue organizations.
There is, however, a straightforward reason for not giving the highest priority to charities that rescue abused animals. The suffering of abused pets amounts to a tiny fraction of the suffering we inflict on animals. In 2012 there were 164 million owned dogs and cats in the United States. The majority of them probably live reasonably good lives, but even if every single one of them were abused, this number would be dwarfed by the 9.1 billion animals annually raised and slaughtered for food in the United States. Factory-farmed animals have to endure a lifetime of suffering much more severe than the typical dog or cat, and in the United States there are fifty-five times as many factory-farmed animals as there are dogs and cats. Anyone who kept a dog confined in the way that breeding sows are frequently confined in factory farms—in crates so small they cannot even turn around or walk a single step—would be liable to prosecution for cruelty.
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In The Animal Activists’ Handbook Matt Ball and Bruce Friedrich make a startling claim that vividly illustrates the vastly greater suffering of animals raised for food compared to other ways in which we cause animals to suffer: “Every year, hundreds of millions of animals—many times more than the total number killed for fur, housed in shelters, and locked in laboratories combined—don’t even make it to slaughter. They actually suffer to death.”
Think about what Ball and Friedrich are saying. They are not describing the number of animals killed for food. They are talking about animals who don’t even get the “benefit” of supposedly humane slaughter laws because they are so badly treated that they die before they ever get to slaughter. The numbers include caged hens pecked to death because they are unable to get away from their stressed, aggressive fellow prisoners; broiler chickens bred to grow so fast that their immature legs collapse under them, and they then die of thirst or hunger in the broiler shed because they cannot reach the feeders; and pigs, cattle, turkeys, and chickens who were alive when packed into transports but die from the stress that transport imposes on animals who have lived their entire lives indoors. Harish Sethu has done the sums for the United States on his website Counting Animals. The total number of animals killed in shelters each year is around 4 million, for fur 10 million, and in laboratories 11.5 million, making a total of approximately 25.5 million. Using conservative figures based on industry reports and scientific journals, Sethu estimates that 139 million chickens suffer to death annually. Adding turkeys, pigs, and cattle would increase this figure.
Despite this immense disproportion, because our pets are so much more popular than chickens or pigs or cows, there are thousands of organizations in the United States working to help dogs and cats and relatively few working for farmed animals. Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE) acknowledges that by sterilizing dogs and cats, curtailing the spread of disease among them, and finding good homes for some animals in shelters it is possible to reduce the suffering and killing of dogs and cats; but this comes at a high cost because it includes medical care, vaccines, and the provision of food and housing. Hence, ACE says, “it seems unlikely that this is a cost-effective method to alleviate suffering.” Instead, ACE concludes that the most effective way to help animals and prevent the largest amount of suffering is to be an advocate for farm animals. Whereas animal rescue will cost tens or even hundreds of dollars per animal saved, convincing people to reduce or eliminate their consumption of animal products saves animals at a fraction of this cost. At the time of writing, ACE’s recommended charities are both focused on farm animals. This is an instance of altruistic arbitrage: we should follow Robert Wiblin’s advice to focus on the causes that most people don’t care about. This is where altruists will find the low- anging fruit.
The inclusion of animals on Berman’s list of causes does, admittedly, raise a more difficult question: How can we compare the good achieved by helping animals with the good achieved by other charities? Here, two separate questions are often confused. One is a factual question: Do animals suffer as much as humans? The other is ethical: Given that an animal is suffering as much as a human, does the suffering of the animal matter as much as the suffering of the human?
The answer to the ethical question should |
-Tunnel, WinIDS, Foozer, and DownRange droppers. Breaches attributed to APT28 include the 2015 breaches of the German Bundestag and the French TV5 Monde. APT29 targets Western Defense, Energy, Extractive, Financial, Insurance, Legal, Manufacturing Media, Think Tanks, Pharmaceutical, Research and Technology industries, and Universities, with spear phishing campaigns, malicious droppers, and a Remote Access Trojan (RAT), such as AdobeARM, ATI-Agent, and MiniDionis. Both APT28 and APT29 are well-known sophisticated threat actors that have been extensively profiled by cybersecurity firms such as FireEye. As a result, their profiles, operational behavior, tools, and malware could all be easily emulated by even an unsophisticated adversary in a campaign against an insecure target such as the DNC, that did not prioritize cybersecurity, cyber-hygiene, or system cyber resiliency [4]. For instance, the cyber-criminal group Patchwork Elephant, known for adopting malware from other campaigns, could easily have also conducted the DNC/ RNC attacks by emulating APT28 and APT29.
The Weaponization of Social Media for Digital Information Warfare
Espionage and geopolitical manipulation can now be easily achieved through cyber and information warfare from any adversary ranging from script kiddie to nation state APT, with access to social media networks like Twitter, Reddit, Facebook and YouTube. Internet channels have always provided Intelligence to entities in Russia, China, the United States, and every major nation have and use the capability to distribute ideological propaganda. Now, at least China, Iran, Russia, and Venezuela, have funded political propaganda campaigns that digitally weaponized information by spreading disinformation and polarizing content throughout Western nations [6]. For instance, Russia had “The Agency”, in which internet trolls were hired to actively promote disinformation on internet sites relevant to Western interests. The Chinese government has similar capabilities [7]. Digital Information warfare weaponizes social media to proliferate ideological variants and disinformation, in order to manipulate public perception in a manner that coincides with an adversarial desired outcome. Digital perception management is a subset of information warfare that focuses on the spread of misinformation, propaganda, and disruptive ideologies, through seemingly innocuous sources such as social media, online publications, etc. Information leaks, such as the DNC leaks, are dangerous because they provide a context-less release of information to the public that breeds distrust and resentment. While impactful, leaks are just one form of information warfare. Every threat actor ranging from script kiddie to Anonymous, to the Duke APTs has access to Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, 4chan, and other platforms that can be leveraged to impart national ideological variance into the public. Likewise, the Dabiq magazine published by the Cyber Caliphate and used to recruit lone wolf threat actors and militant jihadists demonstrates that even an unsophisticated threat actor can freely distribute propaganda online in order to reach and influence a certain portion of the internet [8].
2016 has demonstrated that America is ill-prepared for any form of information warfare. American workforces deficient in cyber-hygiene are tasked with defending insecure networks lacking cybersecurity and cyber resiliency from potent cyber adversaries who are capable of obfuscating and adapting their activities to avoid detection and attribution. Regardless of attribution, the recent series of leaks, propaganda proliferation, and other information warfare attacks have demonstrated to the global community that the United States is susceptible to manipulation and ideological compromise through even basic tools like email, Twitter hashtags, and other social media. In 2016, digital information warfare attacks from major adversarial nation-states (China, Iran, Russia, etc.) sowed seeds of doubt in the pillars of American government, which include the democratic process, the legitimacy of the elections, and the spreading of rumors to make the intelligence community see dis-unified and ill-informed. Still, the nation got away relatively scot-free if all we experienced was the limited weaponization of social media for information warfare and some breaches with limited kinetic effect. All of these pseudo-anonymous attacks that occurred this year pale in comparison to the cyber and information warfare attacks that hyper-evolving threat actors ranging in sophistication from script kiddie to nation-state APT, will launch in the near future. Imagine the damage an unsophisticated script kiddie could have wrought if instead of simply breaching the DNC or RNC, they conducted a Mirai attack on election systems. Imagine if a sophisticated threat, like a Chinese APT, stole or altered data as Deep Panda may have done in the OPM breach. Even malicious adversaries lacking in cyber-capabilities, such as the cyber caliphate, hail-mary threat actors, or enemy nation-states, can launch cyber and cyber-kinetic attacks against critical infrastructure systems by outsourcing the attack to a cyber-mercenary or mercenary APT, for no purpose other than demonstrating a capability, declaring a geopolitical statement, or spreading discord. In 2016, the United States lacked readiness for digital information warfare from a multitude of so many known threat actors, possessing even modest technical capability and competing to proliferate their variant of reality to the American people. National prioritization of cybersecurity, cyber-hygiene, and cyber resiliency will be needed to deter and to combat adversarial theft and manipulation of data and digital information warfare campaigns.
Sources:
[1] C. Mortimer, “Russian hackers tried to disrupt UK general election, security sources say,” in The Independent – Home News, Independent, 2016. [Online]. Available: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/russian-hackers-tried-to-disrupt-uk-general-election-security-sources-say-a7329406.html. Accessed: Dec. 12, 2016.
[2] BBC, “Russian hackers ‘threaten Germany 2017 election’, MPs warn,” in BBC Europe, BBC News, 2016. [Online]. Available: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38288181. Accessed: Dec. 13, 2016.
[3] M. Mcardle, “Why Attribution of hacks like the DNC breach is so difficult,” in Esentire, 2016. [Online]. Available: https://www.esentire.com/blog/whodunnit-why-attribution-of-hacks-is-so-difficult/. Accessed: Dec. 12, 2016.
[4] D. Alperovitch, “Bears in the midst: Intrusion into the democratic national committee »,” in From The Front Lines, 2016. [Online]. Available: https://www.crowdstrike.com/blog/bears-midst-intrusion-democratic-national-committee/. Accessed: Dec. 13, 2016.
[5] PBS NewsHour, “Russia aimed to help trump through hacking, CIA finds,” in YouTube, YouTube, 2016. [Online]. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XsYKNRPBEY. Accessed: Dec. 12, 2016.
[6] M. Gonzalez, “Are you reading propaganda from China and Russia?,” in Media, The Federalist, 2016. [Online]. Available: http://thefederalist.com/2016/04/19/authoritarian-regimes-send-westerners-agitprop-to-inflame-far-left-far-right/. Accessed: Dec. 12, 2016.
[7] M. Ohlberg and B. Lang, “How to counter china’s global propaganda offensive,” in The Opinion Pages, The New York Times, 2016. [Online]. Available: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/22/opinion/how-to-counter-chinas-global-propaganda-offensive.html. Accessed: Dec. 12, 2016.
[8] Scott. J and Spaniel. D, “The Anatomy of Cyber-Jihad: Cyberspace is the New Great Equalizer,” ICIT. 2016. [Online] Available: https://icitech.org/publications/Obama said he had'serious reservations' about how the bill may curtail US counterterrorism abilities [GALLO/GETTY]
Barack Obama, the US president, has signed a wide-ranging defence bill into law, putting into place new provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation and prosecution of those suspected of terrorism, as well as imposing fresh sanctions on Iran.
In a statement accompanying his signature to the $662bn bill, Obama said that he was signing it despite having "serious reservations" about the provisions relating to terrorism, contending that politicians in the US congress were attempting to restrict the ability of counterterrorism officials to protect the country.
He argued that recent US successes against al-Qaeda had been possible because counterterrorism authorities had benefited from flexibility on dealing with suspects, which he said the bill called into question.
Administration officials said that Obama only signed the measure on Saturday because certain minimally acceptable changes had been made to the controversial bill that allowed the president's office to retain certain overarching powers.
Obama's signature caps months of wrangling over how to handle captured terrorism suspects without violating US constitutional rights. The White House initially threatened to veto the legislation unless certain changes were made.
Among the modifications made at the last minute were the striking of a provision that would have eliminated the executive branch's authority to use civilian courts to try foreign nationals in terrorism cases.
The new law now requires military custody for any suspect who is allegedly a member of al-Qaeda or "associated forces" and involved in planning, or attempting to carry out, an attack against the US or its allies.
The president, or a designed subordinate, has the power to waive the military custody requirement by certifying to congress that such a move would be in the interest of national security.
The White House also pushed politicians to change a provision that would have denied US citizens suspected of terrorism the right to trial and could have subjected them to indefinite detention.
Congress eventually dropped the military custody requirement for US citizens and lawful US residents.
"My administration will not authorise the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens," Obama said in the signing statement.
"Indeed, I believe that doing so would break with our most important traditions and values as a nation."
Despite the changes, officials say serious concerns remain about the implications of the law.
Robert Mueller, the director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, has said that the measure would inhibit his agency's ability to persuade those suspected of involvement in terrorism to co-operate immediately and provide critical intelligence.
New Iran sanctions
The bill also imposed tough new sanctions against Iran's central bank and financial sector, marking the sharpest economic confrontation between Washington and Tehran yet.
Officials said Obama signed the bill despite concerns it could complicate his bid to build an international front against Iran.
The sanctions require foreign firms to make a choice between either doing business with Tehran's oil and financial sectors or central bank, or with the US economy and financial sector.
Foreign central banks which deal with the Iranian central bank on oil transactions could also face similar restrictions under the new law, which has sparked fears of damage to US ties with Russia and China.
Obama said in a statement issued as he signed the bill that he was concerned the measure would interfere with his constitutional authority to conduct foreign relations by tying his hands in dealings with foreign governments.
The bill, which passed with wide majorities in Congress, did reserve some flexibility for Obama, granting him the power to grant 120 day waivers if he judges it to be in the national security interests of the US.
Senior US officials said Washington was engaging with its foreign partners to ensure the sanctions can work without harming global energy markets, and stressed the US strategy for engaging with Iran was unchanged by the bill.
EU-Iran talks
Earlier on Saturday, a European Union foreign policy spokesman said the bloc was open to meaningful talks with Iran provided there are no preconditions on the Iranian side.
The EU statement was in response to remarks by Ali Reza Sheikh Attar, the Iranian ambassador to Germany, who announced that Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, is to send a letter soon to the EU's foreign policy chief to arrange a new round of negotiations over the country's disputed nuclear programme.
EU foreign policy spokesman, Michael Mann, said in an email to the Reuters news agency that Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign policy chief, wrote to Jalili in October and had not yet had a response.
"We continue to pursue our twin-track approach and are open for meaningful discussions on confidence-building measures, without preconditions from the Iranian side," he said.
Attar did not say when the letter would be sent. His comments were reported by the semi-official Mehr news agency on Saturday.
All talks between Iran and major powers, including the latest round in January in Istanbul, have failed so far to achieve any tangible result.
The main reason is that Iran has constantly rejected the key Western demand - suspension of its uranium enrichment plan as a sign of goodwill until the peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear programmes are proven.Speaking to ScreenDaily, the film’s UK screenwriter Jeremy Brock explained that his screenplay was inspired after reading David Grann’s New Yorker article True Crimes - A Post-Modern Murder Mystery, which centres on a Polish murder investigation turning to clues found in a novelist’s book that bear a bizarre resemblance to the case.
Brock, whose screenwriting credits include Mrs Brown, The Last King Of Scotland and Brideshead Revisited, spent a week in Poland in 2008 “just getting my bearings”.
“I spent the intervening time to find my inspiration for what has become an original screenplay,” he recalled, noting that, in his 30 years as a screenwriter from his beginnings as a co-writer of the BBC TV series Casualty in 1985, “I haven’t worked so long and persistently on one project as I have done on this one”.
“Through working with [producers] Brett Ratner and David Gerson along with some short marriages to various directors, the script began to evolve,” he added.
“For me, working with a subject in the public domain means doing a great deal of research and gradually working it into my particular version.
“Once I got to work with [the film’s director] Alexandros Avranas from the end of last year, the script really took off because he and I have a symbiosis.
“It is a perfect marriage of my Anglo-Saxon mentality and his more European approach to filmmaking.”
He pointed out that during the various stages of the project’s development “Brett Ratner has always been a champion of this project and David Gerson the rock - he is one of those rare kinds of beast who never lets go”.
Moreover, the decision by the Polish Film Institute to grant production funding to True Crimes saw the project make the important shift from being “a film with aspirations” to one that “suddenly felt real”.
“Jim Carrey came onboard before the financing was fixed and we worked with him on a vision of the script that fitted his vision of the persona,” Brock added..
True Crimes is the third feature film to be directed by Greek-born Avranas, who studied in Berlin at the University of Arts and won a Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 2013 for his second film Miss Violence
Carrey will be joined by an impressive European acting ensemble including Ida star Agata Kulesza, Nymphomaniac’s Charlotte Gainsbourg, Aki Kaurismäki regular Kati Outinen, Polish actor Zbigniew Zamachowski (Walesa: Man Of Hope), and New Zealand-born Marton Czokas (The Equalizer, Sin City 2).
Produced by Ratner and Berlin-based Gerson, True Crimes has Ida producer Ewa Puszczynska of Opus Film serving as the local Polish co-producer.
Principal photography is scheduled to wrap on December 20 with the production then moving to Berlin for post-production at Post Republic.More than 70 men and women have been executed in the restive eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the UN mission in the country (MONUSCO) has said.
"The reports received by MONUSCO suggest that the summary executions were allegedly committed mainly by armed groups to spread terror among the population. The majority of the victims were killed with machete," MONUSCO said in a statement on Thursday.
The killings happened in late January and early February, a MONUSCO spokesman told the Agence-France Press news agency.
They took place in the Nyamaboko villages I and II in the resource-rich northeastern North Kivu province where armed groups regularly attack civilians over ethnic or commercial disputes.
In December, MONUSCO's intervention force, whose mission is to neutralise all the armed groups active in the troubled country, boosted its presence in the area.
Government troops struck a rare and striking military success when, backed by the UN brigade, they defeated the powerful M23 rebel group in November.
Since then, MONUSCO has been focusing on going after other armed militias operating in the same region.
MONUSCO said it was in the process of verifying the information about the mass executions on the ground.
"MONUSCO shall spare no efforts to neutralize all the armed groups responsible for such acts," it said in the statement.
Meanwhile, Martin Kobler, the head of the mission, expressed "serious concern over the allegations of the gross human rights violations deemed unacceptable".
He said any person involved in such acts should face justice.The day that Steve Jobs died, people around the world flocked to Apple Stores in a sort of spontaneous mass pilgrimage. They left letters and signs, holding up iPhones and iPads in tribute. Director Alex Gibney shows the event early on in his new documentary Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine, and it stirred up a flurry of emotions in me, because I was one of those people.
I couldn’t really tell you why I felt compelled to visit back in 2011, and I doubt any of the others that stopped by could explain it either — at least not in any coherent fashion. It was just a vague feeling: a sense that a page had turned and needed to be marked. It turns out Gibney, the man behind documentaries like Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, was mystified by the phenomenon as well, and it’s ground zero for his film, which premiered here at SXSW.
A photo posted by Bryan Bishop (@bcbishop) on Oct 5, 2011 at 9:45pm PDT
An unflinching look at the emotional shrapnel his collaborators took
Rather than going for a chronological history of Jobs' life, Gibney has created a documentary that is about his own dawning awareness of the many facets of Jobs, starting from Gibney’s initial status as a card-carrying iPhone fetishist (he likens his phone to the One Ring early in the film). Familiar figures from throughout Jobs’ life make appearances — Chrisann Brennan, Daniel Kottke, and iPod mastermind Jon Rubinstein all granted interviews — but largely they’re telling stories we’ve heard before: Jobs’ cruel denials over the paternity of his daughter, the insane working hours Apple employees were subjected to, the a-ha moment when Toshiba hard drives made the iPod a reality. What’s different is the focus. It’s an unflinching look at the emotional shrapnel people took when they were part of Jobs’ life, and how some of them — paradoxically — still feel tremendous love and gratitude towards him.
It’s encapsulated best by early Macintosh director of engineering Bob Belleville. He describes being hired away from Xerox — Jobs told him that everything he’d worked on up until that point had been "shit" — and how working at Apple destroyed his marriage and pushed him away from his children. Then he pivots, describing his fondness for Jobs, and then begins openly sobbing when reading the eulogy he wrote for his former boss.
I had to stop and think, Just what is wrong with these people? Who would put up with this kind of abuse, yet maintain any sort of emotional connection?
That’s when Gibney starts to tighten the screws, methodically running through the most problematic issues that plagued Apple under Jobs’ second tenure. He hits on factory pollution, worker suicides at Foxconn, and the stock options scandal that forced former Apple CFO Fred Anderson out of the company. While there are no grand revelations, it’s a methodical assault, chipping away at the hagiography of Jobs again and again.
A methodical assault that chops away at the hagiography of Jobs
Most damning of all is previously unseen footage of the SEC deposition Jobs gave in 2008. Gibney dips into it throughout the film, and it’s one of the most undermining bits of video that’s made it out into the public. Thin and uncomfortable, Jobs squirms, grimaces, and glowers, clearly furious that he’s being forced to open himself up to any sort of questioning. When asked why he wanted Apple’s board to offer him backdated options, he seems to reduce himself to a child: they weren’t rewarding him enough, he explains, and it hurt his feelings.
That’s when my confusion shifted from individuals like Belleville and turned inward. Why did those of us at the Apple Stores feel that emotional connection the night Jobs died? What horrible miscalculation allowed someone that acted like this to become the object of such good will?
Not the revelatory answer one hopes for, but that's also the point
It’s a question Gibney’s film can’t answer — and frankly, doesn’t even try to. The closest the filmmaker gets is to suggest that the conflict is indicative of the man himself. Failed, yet insanely successful. Inspiring, yet incendiary. Transformative, yet terrible. A man seemingly incapable of establishing normal human connections, who focused his life on creating products that would connect the world. It’s not the revelatory answer one hopes for, but that’s also the point.
When we think of Jobs now, our sentiments usually land in one of two buckets. He was either a mad genius, so driven in his noble pursuit for perfection that he alienated some of those around him, or an egomaniacal asshole with few redeeming personal qualities. Those are lazy reads, custom-built to spur on any number of fanboy wars without attempting to provide any real insight. But they’re also comforting, letting people build their own version of history as they see fit. The truth is that he was capable of being all of those things, as uncomfortable and contradictory as that may seem.Take a tour of the treehouse that Shawnee Chasser, 65, has been living in for ten years. It has WiFi, a kitchen, a television and more. (TINY HOUSE giant journey)
Shawnee Chasser, 65, sports long locks of purple hair. She refers herself as a “tree hugger” and a “hippie.” She makes and sells organic popcorn for a living. In her home are two cats, two dogs and two raccoons. Oh, and that home? It’s a treehouse.
For the past 25 years, Chasser has lived in two different treehouses. She’s spent the past 10 years in her current treetop villa in Biscayne Gardens, a neighborhood in North Miami, Fla. And this structure is no pied-à-terre, it’s her sole residence. In fact, she raised her adopted daughter there.
For years, the treehouse — and the colorful land it looks out upon — have been something of a local landmark. Its official Facebook page is titled “Shawnee’s Paradise.” On the grounds, near a handmade waterfall carved out of oolitic limestone, is a chickee house, which, until recently, Chasser rented on Airbnb.
There’s one issue, though, which originally came to light about a year ago and has left her completely broke — she doesn’t have permission from Miami-Dade County for any of it.
Now, Chasser finds herself on the verge of losing the treehouse and the land it’s on.
The county has fined her $3,000 thus far, and she faces a possible additional $7,000 in additional liens, according to the Miami Herald. She can’t rent out the chickee house any longer. Finally, the county ordered a series of renovations to bring her home up to code.
“They’ve given me four months to bring it up to code or demolish it,” she told The Washington Post in a phone interview. (The Miami Herald reported that, at the end of August, she was given three months to bring it to code.)
Added Chasser: “I would need $150,000 to make all the changes they want.”
She doesn’t have $150,000, though. In fact, the county’s fines thus far have left her “totally broke.”
A purple-haired grandma lives in a tree house. Now she’s told it has to come down https://t.co/YB7nmX57zr pic.twitter.com/MIaRXPB6oC — Miami Herald (@MiamiHerald) September 4, 2016
Ricardo Roig, Miami-Dade’s code enforcement division director, said the code is in place for residents’ safety.
“This has got to be my first time ever of somebody living in a treehouse,” Roig told the Miami Herald.
Roig told the newspaper that the county doesn’t take issue with her living in one, but it needs to be up to code. As an example, he pointed out that the installation of running water and electricity requires permits, which Chasser has not been given.
All of this, he said, is about her safety. It’s especially important in south Florida, which has often been pounded by fierce hurricanes. And, as the Herald reported, “inspectors looked at the cottage and found it constructed in a way that it can’t be brought up to county standards.”
Tere Estorino Florin, the communications manager for Miami-Dade County’s Department of Regulatory & Economic Resources offered the following statement to The Washington Post:
Miami-Dade County’s priority is the safety of all its residents and visitors. The treehouse under discussion and other structures on the property were not properly permitted or built to the standards of the Florida Building Code. Substandard construction and improperly running electricity and plumbing on a property present a hazard not just to those on the property, but also to neighbors. These structures were found to be unsafe by the Unsafe Structures Panel. It’s an unfortunate situation that must be corrected for the safety of the residents and neighbors. The property owner may choose to hire a professional engineer and present new evidence to Unsafe Structures Panel (within the time limit of the current order) showing that the treehouse may be rebuilt with permits and to the standards of the Building Code and all other applicable local codes.
Chasser’s not buying it.
“They’re pretending it’s because they care about my safety, [but] I’m 65 years old. I can keep myself safe,” Chasser said. “They’re not here for my protection. They’re here for my money.”
For her, it’s more than just a treehouse. For one, the trees and the land — which she calls her “paradise” — on which the treehouse rests once belonged to her son Joshua Braden Levy, who died in 2009 of a heart attack. Living on the property, particularly in the trees, connects her with his memory.
“Every one of these trees was the love of his life,” she said. “So, I know he’s with me all of the time.”
Shawnee Chasser’s treehouse. (Courtesy of Shawnee Chasser)
And living in a treehouse in particular is a necessity for her lifestyle. She’s done it for 25 years, because she’s too claustrophobic to live indoors.
After she gave birth to her first daughter, her ex-husband surprised her by having an air conditioning unit installed in their house, one that sat on the ground and included walls and a roof.
That night, she woke in a panic, heart pounding in her chest and walls closing in around her. From then on, she knew she couldn’t live with AC (the treehouse doesn’t have it) or in a traditional house.
At first, she moved into a teepee but found mosquitoes to be a problem.
“The mosquitoes could find their way in but couldn’t find their way out,” Chasser said. “It was basically a mosquito catcher.”
Then it hit her.
“I’ve always been a tree hugger, so it was kind of a no-brainer that I was one day going to live in a tree,” she said.
Her brother helped her build her first treehouse in 1992. It was completed the week Hurricane Andrew hit.
“Everything came down but that treehouse,” she said. “I moved in after that, and I have been in heaven since.”
Then, 10 years ago, she moved into her current home.
To be clear, it isn’t an ordinary treehouse. What likely comes to mind are images of shoddy wooden structures with messily scribbled “No Girls Allowed” signs and smelly, prepubescent boys meeting inside (a la “The Little Rascals”). But Chasser’s estate is as far from that image as a tent is from a mansion.
Hers comprises an office, a bedroom and a kitchen. To the chagrin of Miami-Dade County, it’s fully wired — which Chasser told The Post is one of the code violations. Her television works, as does her kitchen.
When asked about the treehouse’s amenities, Chasser assures The Post that it’s as comfortable as any other home.
“It has everything I need,” she said. “I have my carrot juicer.”
She also has a small camper oven, a three-burner stove and a small refrigerator. It’s small, but the same can be said for many of the kitchens in Manhattan or Washington’s unique apartments. And Chasser finds hers fully functional.
“I’ve cooked meals for 40 people in the little kitchen,” she said.
The mosquitoes remain her only problem, but it’s one she’s learned to live with.
“Sometimes, the mosquitoes are so thick in Miami, I think about going to sleep on the couch,” Chasser said. “But I can’t. I pull the sheets over my head.”
She was first slapped with a code violation a year ago, when an inspector appeared on her property after receiving a complaint about her home.
As Chasser tells it, she met a young, single mother who was struggling to make ends meet. The mom couldn’t afford a place to live, so Chasser — following her personal code — decided to house the two until they were back on their feet. But one day, Chasser came home to find the 3-year-old on her roof, alone. She told the two to leave. Angry, the mother allegedly called code enforcement.
Whatever the case is, the inspector (and several subsequent ones, Chasser said) found a number of code violations.
“I’ve literally been crying for a year, and I haven’t slept nights. It’s been really horrible,” Chasser said.
But, following the county’s recent ultimatum, she said she’s ready for a skirmish.
“I’m ready to fight for my home,” she said. “All I know is I’m not taking my treehouse down.”
She has experience protesting the government, after all — in 1986, she walked from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., with two children in tow as part of the Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament, according to the Biscayne Times. She fed hundreds along the way with her popcorn, which she now sells (with a slightly altered recipe) at Whole Foods as Shawnee’s Greenthumb Popcorn.
She hasn’t yet decided how to proceed. She’s looking for a lawyer but can’t afford one. She said she may start a GoFundMe campaign.
Whatever route she ends up taking, she’s confident that she’ll succeed.
“I helped stop the Vietnam War, and I lived through my son’s death, and I adopted an African American girl, who was the hardest thing in my life,” Chasser said. “If I can do all that, I can do this.”
This post has been updated.Prime Minister Modi may be a no-show +
Scorpene snafu +
Pakistan continues to host terror groups +
WASHINGTON: Any residual doubts about the intensity of the strategic engagement between India and the United States should dissipate with the meeting next week in Washington DC between the American Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and his Indian counterpart Manohar Parikkar, their third pow-wow in nine months.The meeting will be book-ended by the US-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue in Delhi involving Secretary of State John Kerry and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker (and their Indian counterparts Sushma Swaraj and Nirmala Sitharaman), and the visit to the US of Home Minister Rajnath Singh for the homeland security dialogue later in September.Prime Minister Modi is also expected to meet President Obama at the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China on September 4-5, for what will possibly be their last meeting as heads of government.All these exchanges are happening around the time of the NAM summit in Venezuela on September 17-18, whereThe flurry of bilateral visits and exchanges will conclude the Modi government’s engagement with the Obama administration as the US Presidential election campaign enters the final stretch in America’s winter of discontent.One of the few bright spots in an otherwise bleak world outlook is what both Washington and New Delhi agree has been a constructive and productive engagement between the two countries, and inasmuch as it is expected to continue into the next U.S administration regardless of who heads it, the two sides want to conclude as much business as possible before the impending changes in Washington DC.Officials familiar with the engagement said the defense minister’s visit to the US Capital was advanced in part to conclude unfinished business before the makeover in Washington, which will also see personnel changes at the Indian Embassy.The long-awaited and intensely-negotiated agreement pertaining to bilateral military logistics cooperation is just one item that is expected to be ticked off in a US-India defense agenda that has gotten more extensive with each passing year.Customized to India’s specific needs, the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) is the centerpiece of three foundational agreements that the US sees as the basis of long-term military cooperation – the expression ''alliance'' being anathema to India.Thewill likely be the opening that Washington will use to persuade India to move the on two remaining agreements -- Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum Agreement (CISMOA) and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) although New Delhi has been leery of such arrangements precisely because of the risk of such leaks.But given the intense military engagement -- the US is now India’s #1 defense partner in terms of hardware supplies and operational exercises -- such agreements are inevitable although New Delhi has sought customized versions specific to its unique status as a ''major defense partner,'' albeit as a ''non-ally.''It is in this spirit that India is testing the frontiers of the American word that just about anything it has is on the table for India -- from the most advanced jet fighters to aircraft carrier technology to drones.Indeed, the General Atomics-manu,factured Predator Drones are the next item on India’s military shopping list in the U.S. that has already ticked off heavy strategic lift aircrafts, anti-submarine warfare aircraft, and Harpoon Missiles, among other items.Parikkar was initially scheduled to head out to the west coast to visit some of US manufacturing facilities but it now appears he will stay in the Washington DC area and perhaps visit local affiliates.The US-India engagement comes even as there is a sharp decline in Washington’s patronage of Pakistan, now seen as a terrorist state in all but formal designation.Pakistan’s attempt to impute an Indian hand in its domestic turmoil, including in Balochistan and Karachi, has had no perceptible impact in Washington (or at the UN in New York), aside from the standard salutary advise to both sides that they should keep talking, with the pace, scope, and character of the dialogue to be decided by them.The fact thatand has not given up its policy of using them as proxies in the neighborhood, despite protestations to the contrary, has not gone unnoticed in Washington, particularly after the latest attack on the American University in Kabul, which the Afghan government has blamed squarely on Pakistan.The e-mails come thick and fast every time NASA scientist Gavin Schmidt appears in the press.
Rude and crass e-mails. E-mails calling him a fraud, a cheat, a scumbag and much worse.
To Schmidt and other researchers purging their inboxes daily of such correspondence, the barrage is simply part of the job of being a climate scientist. But others see the messages as threats and intimidation—cyber-bullying meant to shut down debate and cow scientists into limiting their participation in the public discourse.
"I get a lot of hate mail," said Schmidt, a climate modeler at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies who also runs RealClimate.org, a website devoted to debunking myths and errors about climate change. "I get a lot of praise mail, but pretty much every time I have a quote in a mainstream publication I'll get a string of emails from various people accusing me of various misdemeanors and fantasizing about my life in prison."
Kevin Trenberth, head of the Climate Analysis Section of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, has a 19-page document of "extremely foul, nasty, abusive" e-mails he's received just since November.
Australian author and academic Clive Hamilton noted that many of the country's most distinguished climate scientists are increasingly the target of e-mail attacks aimed at driving them from the public debate.
"The purpose of this new form of cyber-bullying seems clear; it is to upset and intimidate the targets, making them reluctant to participate further in the climate change debate," Hamilton wrote in a column published last week by Sydney's ABC News. "While the internet is often held up as the instrument of free speech, it is often used for the opposite purpose, to drive people out of the public debate."
The bullying has long been part of life for many climate scientists. Retired NCAR climate scientist Tom Wigley said he's been fighting it for the last 20 years or more. Most of the e-mails appear to be the work of frustrated individuals, ranting into the ether, scientists say. But some appear to be the work of coordinated campaigns, and many, scientists say, appear to be taking their cue from influential anti-climate change advocates like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and ClimateDepot.com.
Scientists say the bullying, if anything, emboldens them. But it does have a cost.
Organized, "McCarthyite" tactics aimed at specific scientists by various groups can be stressful, Schmidt said. "Frivolous" Freedom of Information Act requests can tie up considerable quantities of researchers' time.
But worst of all, he said, are "intimidating letters" from congressional members threatening dire consequences to scientists working on climate change.
"That is chilling the work of science in the agencies," Schmidt said. "It's certainly very off-putting for scientists who want to talk about their stuff in public but fear the political consequences."
"Nobody wants to create an enemy on the Hill."
For the most part, the rants have remained just that - rants. Threats of physical harm remain rare and are usually discounted, scientists say. "These people don't really know you |
He has played 107 matches for Italy and became the fifth most capped for the National team. Pirlo placed 4th in 2012 Best Player in Europe award, 7th in the FIFA World Player, 5th in the 2007 Ballon d’Or. In 2006 Italy’s world cup victory he was the main assist-provider for the team. Andrea Pirlo will be the principle weapon for Italy in their FIFA world cup 2014 campaign.
5. Steven Gerrard ( Age:33, Country: England)
Steven Gerrard is playing the role of Captain both for Liverpool and England National team. For England in 109 caps, Gerrard scored 21 goals. He made his international debut in 2000 and became his team’s top goalscorer with 2 goals in 2006 world cup. In the next world cup he was playing as Captain in absence of regular Captain Rio Ferdinand. Gerrard has been described as one of the greatest English Midfielders in the history. Even French great Zinedine Zidane considered him the best footballer of the world in 2009. In the 2014 world cup, England will face Italy on 14 June as a Group D match.The responses by the Jewish establishment are nothing short of meaningless intolerance. And paranoia. Increasingly the reality of Israeli crimes are entering the mainstream and all they can do is bleat about propaganda and Israeli morality. Fewer and fewer people believe this in 2012. The Breaking the Silence comments are interesting and strong though personally I’d rather the defence of Zionism wasn’t in there. Regardless, it’s an important organisation and challenges the concept, still laughably used by Israel defenders, that the IDF is the “most moral army in the world.” I thought this would be the end of the story but then this week I received an email (I’ve published it all below, removing any relevant names) that reveals attempts by the supposedly more liberal wing of the Jewish community to encourage people not to attend Israel/Palestine related talks in Australia because their minds must be corrupted. Or something. It reeks of bigotry and fear. It’s no wonder many people, including me in a new book After Zionism, now campaign for a wholesome challenge to the Zionist and Jewish communities. If even listening to different points of view from Israel is too much for supposedly sensitive Jewish ears, believing that reform of Israel and the Diaspora is possible, and the occupation ended, is dangerously delusional thinking. Zionism itself is the problem here: ———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Daniel Crook
Date: Sat, Aug 25, 2012 at 2:20 PM
Subject: [melbogs] Please Read {01} Tomorrow night Hashy are hosting an event where the audience will hear from two speakers, one of the speakers is Micha Kurz, who is the co-founder of a NGO in Israel called ‘Breaking the Silence’. Hearing this came at quite a shock to me and I want to highly encourage anyone thinking of going to read this email before you go and show your support. ‘Breaking the Silence’ are highly criticised for being an anti-Zionist and anti-Israel organisation, and are also criticised for being left wing extremists. Taken from their website we can see that their mission statement is to “expose the Israeli public to the reality of everyday life in the Occupied Territories”, which is not necessarily the issue at hand, but rather the issue lies in their approach, way that they attempt to do this, and what it creates in peoples understanding and beliefs about Israel, Zionism and the IDF.
The responses by the Jewish establishment are nothing short of meaningless intolerance. And paranoia. Increasingly the reality of Israeli crimes are entering the mainstream and all they can do is bleat about propaganda and Israeli morality. Fewer and fewer people believe this in 2012. The Breaking the Silence comments are interesting and strong though personally I’d rather the defence of Zionism wasn’t in there. Regardless, it’s an important organisation and challenges the concept, still laughably used by Israel defenders, that the IDF is the “most moral army in the world.” I thought this would be the end of the story but then this week I received an email (I’ve published it all below, removing any relevant names) that reveals attempts by the supposedly more liberal wing of the Jewish community to encourage people not to attend Israel/Palestine related talks in Australia because their minds must be corrupted. Or something. It reeks of bigotry and fear. It’s no wonder many people, including me in a new book After Zionism, now campaign for a wholesome challenge to the Zionist and Jewish communities. If even listening to different points of view from Israel is too much for supposedly sensitive Jewish ears, believing that reform of Israel and the Diaspora is possible, and the occupation ended, is dangerously delusional thinking. Zionism itself is the problem here: ———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Daniel Crook
Date: Sat, Aug 25, 2012 at 2:20 PM
Subject: [melbogs] Please Read {01} Tomorrow night Hashy are hosting an event where the audience will hear from two speakers, one of the speakers is Micha Kurz, who is the co-founder of a NGO in Israel called ‘Breaking the Silence’. Hearing this came at quite a shock to me and I want to highly encourage anyone thinking of going to read this email before you go and show your support. ‘Breaking the Silence’ are highly criticised for being an anti-Zionist and anti-Israel organisation, and are also criticised for being left wing extremists. Taken from their website we can see that their mission statement is to “expose the Israeli public to the reality of everyday life in the Occupied Territories”, which is not necessarily the issue at hand, but rather the issue lies in their approach, way that they attempt to do this, and what it creates in peoples understanding and beliefs about Israel, Zionism and the IDF.
The responses by the Jewish establishment are nothing short of meaningless intolerance. And paranoia. Increasingly the reality of Israeli crimes are entering the mainstream and all they can do is bleat about propaganda and Israeli morality. Fewer and fewer people believe this in 2012. The Breaking the Silence comments are interesting and strong though personally I’d rather the defence of Zionism wasn’t in there. Regardless, it’s an important organisation and challenges the concept, still laughably used by Israel defenders, that the IDF is the “most moral army in the world.” I thought this would be the end of the story but then this week I received an email (I’ve published it all below, removing any relevant names) that reveals attempts by the supposedly more liberal wing of the Jewish community to encourage people not to attend Israel/Palestine related talks in Australia because their minds must be corrupted. Or something. It reeks of bigotry and fear. It’s no wonder many people, including me in a new book After Zionism, now campaign for a wholesome challenge to the Zionist and Jewish communities. If even listening to different points of view from Israel is too much for supposedly sensitive Jewish ears, believing that reform of Israel and the Diaspora is possible, and the occupation ended, is dangerously delusional thinking. Zionism itself is the problem here: ———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Daniel Crook
Date: Sat, Aug 25, 2012 at 2:20 PM
Subject: [melbogs] Please Read {01} Tomorrow night Hashy are hosting an event where the audience will hear from two speakers, one of the speakers is Micha Kurz, who is the co-founder of a NGO in Israel called ‘Breaking the Silence’. Hearing this came at quite a shock to me and I want to highly encourage anyone thinking of going to read this email before you go and show your support. ‘Breaking the Silence’ are highly criticised for being an anti-Zionist and anti-Israel organisation, and are also criticised for being left wing extremists. Taken from their website we can see that their mission statement is to “expose the Israeli public to the reality of everyday life in the Occupied Territories”, which is not necessarily the issue at hand, but rather the issue lies in their approach, way that they attempt to do this, and what it creates in peoples understanding and beliefs about Israel, Zionism and the IDF.
The responses by the Jewish establishment are nothing short of meaningless intolerance. And paranoia. Increasingly the reality of Israeli crimes are entering the mainstream and all they can do is bleat about propaganda and Israeli morality. Fewer and fewer people believe this in 2012. The Breaking the Silence comments are interesting and strong though personally I’d rather the defence of Zionism wasn’t in there. Regardless, it’s an important organisation and challenges the concept, still laughably used by Israel defenders, that the IDF is the “most moral army in the world.” I thought this would be the end of the story but then this week I received an email (I’ve published it all below, removing any relevant names) that reveals attempts by the supposedly more liberal wing of the Jewish community to encourage people not to attend Israel/Palestine related talks in Australia because their minds must be corrupted. Or something. It reeks of bigotry and fear. It’s no wonder many people, including me in a new book After Zionism, now campaign for a wholesome challenge to the Zionist and Jewish communities. If even listening to different points of view from Israel is too much for supposedly sensitive Jewish ears, believing that reform of Israel and the Diaspora is possible, and the occupation ended, is dangerously delusional thinking. Zionism itself is the problem here: ———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Daniel Crook
Date: Sat, Aug 25, 2012 at 2:20 PM
Subject: [melbogs] Please Read {01} Tomorrow night Hashy are hosting an event where the audience will hear from two speakers, one of the speakers is Micha Kurz, who is the co-founder of a NGO in Israel called ‘Breaking the Silence’. Hearing this came at quite a shock to me and I want to highly encourage anyone thinking of going to read this email before you go and show your support. ‘Breaking the Silence’ are highly criticised for being an anti-Zionist and anti-Israel organisation, and are also criticised for being left wing extremists. Taken from their website we can see that their mission statement is to “expose the Israeli public to the reality of everyday life in the Occupied Territories”, which is not necessarily the issue at hand, but rather the issue lies in their approach, way that they attempt to do this, and what it creates in peoples understanding and beliefs about Israel, Zionism and the IDF.
The responses by the Jewish establishment are nothing short of meaningless intolerance. And paranoia. Increasingly the reality of Israeli crimes are entering the mainstream and all they can do is bleat about propaganda and Israeli morality. Fewer and fewer people believe this in 2012. The Breaking the Silence comments are interesting and strong though personally I’d rather the defence of Zionism wasn’t in there. Regardless, it’s an important organisation and challenges the concept, still laughably used by Israel defenders, that the IDF is the “most moral army in the world.” I thought this would be the end of the story but then this week I received an email (I’ve published it all below, removing any relevant names) that reveals attempts by the supposedly more liberal wing of the Jewish community to encourage people not to attend Israel/Palestine related talks in Australia because their minds must be corrupted. Or something. It reeks of bigotry and fear. It’s no wonder many people, including me in a new book After Zionism, now campaign for a wholesome challenge to the Zionist and Jewish communities. If even listening to different points of view from Israel is too much for supposedly sensitive Jewish ears, believing that reform of Israel and the Diaspora is possible, and the occupation ended, is dangerously delusional thinking. Zionism itself is the problem here: ———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Daniel Crook
Date: Sat, Aug 25, 2012 at 2:20 PM
Subject: [melbogs] Please Read {01} Tomorrow night Hashy are hosting an event where the audience will hear from two speakers, one of the speakers is Micha Kurz, who is the co-founder of a NGO in Israel called ‘Breaking the Silence’. Hearing this came at quite a shock to me and I want to highly encourage anyone thinking of going to read this email before you go and show your support. ‘Breaking the Silence’ are highly criticised for being an anti-Zionist and anti-Israel organisation, and are also criticised for being left wing extremists. Taken from their website we can see that their mission statement is to “expose the Israeli public to the reality of everyday life in the Occupied Territories”, which is not necessarily the issue at hand, but rather the issue lies in their approach, way that they attempt to do this, and what it creates in peoples understanding and beliefs about Israel, Zionism and the IDF.
Fresh news about the Diaspora Jewish community’s refusal to hear about atrocities committed by Israel, let alone act on them, even as the wider community seems to be opening its eyes.
Last week the Israeli soldiers’ group Breaking the Silence released a staggering report on the abuse, dehumanization, and shootings of Palestinian children by the Israeli army. The report demonstrates that Israeli soldiers cross moral red lines without concern because they know they will never be punished for destroying Palestinians’ human rights.
Sadly, the report has gotten scarcely any attention in the US media. But it has been covered in Europe and Australia. Two leading Australian papers published a big story on the report: The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald.
Antony Loewenstein has a post up on the matter, chronicling the angry response by Jewish groups to the news:
The Australian Jewish News was outraged, providing a space for Zionist spokespeople to damn all the allegations: “Another Israel-bashing headline”, “a flagrantly one-sided piece” and “threadbare and unsubstantiated allegations”… A statement was released by Danny Lamm, President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry: “How sad it is that once-great broadsheets like the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age have been reduced to featuring crude propaganda on their front page.
Loewenstein notes that the bash was then joined by the head of the Israel lobby in Australia, Colin Rubenstein, and a Jewish Labor MP named Michael Danby, who sought to leverage financial pressure on the newspapers:
Michael Danby told J-Wire: “I felt The Age coverage was worse than the Sydney Morning Herald’s as their headline was more biased and the graphics used were larger and more emotive.” Speaking at the opening in Melbourne of the Israeli Film Festival, Danby said: “I was not surprised to see the Fairfax share price plummeting. On days when hundreds of civilians were being killed in Syria, The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald were rehashing unverified rehashed propaganda against Israel.” He appealed to Greg Haywood, the chairman of Fairfax to explain why his chain gave such prominence to this story.
A feature appeared in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald last week by Ruth Pollard which detailed shocking new allegations by IDF personnel and their behaviour against Palestinian children. Murdoch’s Australian also covered the revelations. The Australian Jewish News was outraged, providing a space for Zionist spokespeople to damn all the allegations: “Another Israel-bashing headline”, “a flagrantly one-sided piece” and “threadbare and unsubstantiated allegations”. Just a handful of comments from community leaders and the Israeli embassy this week following the extensive coverage in the Australian media of a report issued by Israeli veterans group Breaking The Silence (BTS) about the treatment of Palestinian children at the hands of the IDF. A statement was released by Danny Lamm, President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry: “How sad it is that once-great broadsheets like the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age have been reduced to featuring crude propaganda on their front page.
A feature appeared in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald last week by Ruth Pollard which detailed shocking new allegations by IDF personnel and their behaviour against Palestinian children. Murdoch’s Australian also covered the revelations. The Australian Jewish News was outraged, providing a space for Zionist spokespeople to damn all the allegations: “Another Israel-bashing headline”, “a flagrantly one-sided piece” and “threadbare and unsubstantiated allegations”. Just a handful of comments from community leaders and the Israeli embassy this week following the extensive coverage in the Australian media of a report issued by Israeli veterans group Breaking The Silence (BTS) about the treatment of Palestinian children at the hands of the IDF. A statement was released by Danny Lamm, President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry: “How sad it is that once-great broadsheets like the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age have been reduced to featuring crude propaganda on their front page.
Breaking the Silence responded to the Australian critics with a defiant statement ot its own. The soldiers group asserted that its witnesses are telling the truth and it took jabs at armchair Diaspora Jews:
While the question of whether and to what degree Diaspora Jews should advocate their views on internal Israeli affairs is an open one, beating on Israelis of other political convictions is not. Lamm’s armchair Zionism pontificating from afar, while true Israelis put their lives on the line, imposes certain restraints on his engagement.
Loewenstein– who is the editor of a new volume of essays, After Zionism, to which I am also a contributor– explains the larger context of the controversy:
The responses by the Jewish establishment are nothing short of meaningless intolerance. And paranoia. Increasingly the reality of Israeli crimes are entering the mainstream and all they can do is bleat about propaganda and Israeli morality. Fewer and fewer people believe this in 2012…. I thought this would be the end of the story but then this week I received an email (I’ve published it all below, removing any relevant names) that reveals attempts by the supposedly more liberal wing of the Jewish community to encourage people not to attend Israel/Palestine related talks in Australia because their minds must be corrupted. Or something. It reeks of bigotry and fear…. Zionism itself is the problem here.
Here’s the beginning of the email Loewenstein published, from the liberal Zionist group Habonim Dror. It characterizes Breaking the Silence as “simplistic and narrow.” Staggering denial– though note that, yes, another Jewish group was sponsoring Breaking the Silence in Australia:2015 was, if nothing else, yet another year in which music was released. There were some very good albums and some very, not so good albums. With the excellent Currents, Tame Impala ditched guitars for synthesisers and ensured that the not at all hyperbolic, slow death of rock music’ has now entered what must its fourth decade. Kendrick Lamar realised that, considering it’s been a whole five years since the release of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, it’s about time we got another hip hop album of equal parts ludicrous ambition and quality. Justin Bieber even proved via two rather decent singles, that his antics and general dickheadery of recent years must have all just been a front to raise awareness for the importance of the separation of artists and their artistry. Amidst all this music that was going on, there was evidently other music that whether critically or commercially, wasn’t getting the attention it deserved. This is a list of that said ‘other music’.
Torres
Sprinter
[Partisan Records]
The year also turned out to be quite a good one for offbeat, female solo artists. Joanna Newsom, Empress Of and Julia Holter all released some wonderfully idiosyncratic works. I suppose, in this welcomingly congested environment of womanly talent, there’s only so much room because Georgia native singer/songwriter Torres was relatively marginalised. It’s a shame really; because her sophomoric effort Sprinter is sultry and strange one that should have announced her to much wider audience (it doesn’t even have its own wiki page). At only 24 years young, she displays those bizarrely ambiguous yet still somehow affecting lyrical capabilities of a Stephen Malkmus and sings like a more fiery and raw Joni Mitchell. Aiming for an electro-rock vibe, it’s a more mature and atmospheric work than its predecessor. Songs like the title track and standout “Cowboy gulit” are showcases for her wistful croon while the lengthy closer “The exchange” is a heart-render that documents the emotional scars than can be left by adoption. Perhaps the issue is that google her moniker and you end up looking at results of a once talented Spanish striker which is extra unfair considering the songstress could probably score more than he did if she ever stinted with Chelsea.
Dan Deacon
Gliss Riffer
[Domino Records]
So it’s not going to win any awards for name of the year (Earl Sweatshirt’s most recent would get my vote) but Dan Deacon’s Gliss Riffer has aged well in its nine months of existence. Upon release, critics responded with an apathetic consensus of “well it certainly is an album, he’s not wrong there” and yet with the benefit of minor hindsight, it’s hard to think of a better art-pop record to have come out in 2015. Deacon’s own surreal brand of electronic music is at its tightest and most controlled yet still remains maniacally enjoyable. “Feel the lightning” is a, fuzzy hypnotic earworm that will leave your head only when it decides the time is right and “When I was done dying” is a tense, high energy number with lyrics that detail some sort of existential fever dream. If you’re like me, and in desperate need of your fix of wonderfully weird, Baltimore based, experimental pop while you wait for that new Animal Collective album, this should more than tide you over nicely.
Weskust
Last Forever
[Run For Cover Records]
Although it’s a genre that was originally, brutally side-lined by the arrival of grunge and brit-pop, It’s no secret that shoegaze has gone through a bit of a renaissance in the recent past. Almost every prominent band that looked at their feet instead of the crowd (Ride, MBV, Slowdive) has remerged in one form or another in the 2010s and it seems everyone has mate in a band who thinks they’re the next Kevin shields because they can make their guitar sound like a wet, distorted fart. As pleasingly auditory as many of these groups are, they can all take themselves a bit too seriously so it’s refreshing to see a band like Westkust, who take the staples of the genre and have so much fun with them. Their debut, Last Forever, takes it ques from both the 90s wall of sound and the skinny jean, indie rock bands of the mid-2000s. This results in blissfully entertainingly, noise rock tracks like “Swirl”, “Weekend” and “Jonna”. So why have they hardly got a look-in this year? Perhaps they’re just too cheery for the pedal junkies but also show too much warped guitar work for those who want to naively believe Alex Turner is the kind of normal lad who can have a pint with anybody.
Tamaryn
Cranekiss
[Mexican Summer]
Speaking of those more ‘earnest’ shoegazers, they too have found themselves a little unnoticed in 2015. Case in point: Tamaryn. This is someone who doesn’t just wear her influence on her sleeve, but rather smears it on it to the extent that they probably shouldn’t go out in that shirt. Hell, even the cover of the album looks like some dreamy lovechild of the covers of Loveless and [insert name of Cocteau twins album here]. Still though, even If she’s not really doing anything wholly original, she still does much it better than most. Her latest, Cranekiss, will wash over you like a nostalgic wave from the brief hazy period of the late 80s and early 90s. On the likes of “Hands all over me” or “Last”, Tamaryn Brown displays typical lush atmospherics of her sound as well as the airy, ethereal vocals that evoke Elizabeth Fraser at her incoherent best.
Young Thug
Barter VI
[300 Entertainment]
This may seem like a strange addition, considering that Lamar Williams has realistically had his best year to date (attempted terrorism charges notwithstanding). No longer just a Lill Wayne protégé, he’s featured on number of high profile tracks including what should have been the best one on Jamie XX’s In Colour had the rest of that album not been to the same standard. But even if his name recognition has got a huge boost this year via involvement with everyone and their mums, not many people are aware how good his solo work can be. He’s also insanely prolific, having released two fairly hefty mixtapes as well as his proper debut Barter VI, which is the most accomplished of the three. His squall of a delivery may be off-putting to some, but Young Thug wears the mantle of “Rap’s Weirdo” quite well. So even if he lacks lyrical complexity, his beguiling bravado lights up tracks with surprisingly modest, subdued productions like “Check” and “Constantly hating”. It’s his peculiarities that not only set him apart, but also make Barter VI a work that’s somehow both conventionally old school and oddly contemporary at the same time.
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genius.comBrian Cushing is likely out for the rest of the season. (Photo11: Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports) Story Highlights Texans may have lost linebacker to another season-ending injury
Plus team drops fifth game in row
Owner defends coach Gary Kubiak
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Brian Cushing slowly hoisted himself across the locker room on crutches, the outline of a bulky brace protruding from his warm-up pants as Houston Texans teammates offered solemn hugs and pats on the head.
Down the hall in the bowels of Arrowhead Stadium, coach Gary Kubiak said only that Cushing's injury "doesn't look good," which also could be said for the prospects of the Texans' season after Sunday's 17-16 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs — their fifth in a row.
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"We found a little heartbeat today," Kubiak said. "I thought we came here and played the type of game we had to play if we were going to come in here and win. We had ourselves in that position."
Instead, they're 2-5, three games below.500 for the first time in nearly three years, and on their longest skid since the 2005 season that got their last coach fired. And now they must go forward without Cushing, the heartbeat of their defense who almost surely is lost for the season.
An initial examination showed Cushing may have a torn lateral collateral ligament in his left knee — the same one surgically reconstructed last fall — and will have to undergo surgery, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports.
UNBEATEN: Chiefs improve to 7-0
Pending an MRI exam today, Cushing's reconstructed ACL is believed to be intact, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the Texans hadn't released details. But Cushing is looking at another lengthy recovery after an injury suffered on a low block — this one from Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles, who appeared to be within the rules.
"He's going to come back stronger next year," said running back Arian Foster, who also left Sunday's game early because of a hamstring injury. "He's a tough player."
But what about the Texans, whose preseason Super Bowl hopes have disintegrated into a sea of turnovers and calls for Kubiak's job?
Those calls don't figure to cease during the Texans' upcoming bye week, even with owner Bob McNair issuing a passionate defense of his coach outside the locker room.
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"How could anybody get a team playing harder than this team was playing?" McNair said. "How could anybody criticize him? You tell me. How are you going to get him to play harder than that, when you've got two of your best players out and your starting quarterback is out and you're still out there playing right down to the wire?"
With Matt Schaub sidelined, the game plan behind first-time starting quarterback Case Keenum was obvious: control the clock with Foster, put Keenum in high-percentage situations and let one of the NFL's best defenses test a Chiefs offense that has been less than dominant in its 7-0 start.
The Texans continued to run even after Foster left. And Keenum made his share of plays, with six completions of 26 yards or more. But the Texans didn't score a point with their four possessions in the fourth quarter, punting three times and allowing a strip-sack of Keenum to end it.
"I got confused," Keenum said. "Our guys were working to get open. I just couldn't get the ball out."
Texans quarterback Case Keenum is sacked by Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali in Kansas City's 17-16 victory. (Photo11: Denny Medley, USA TODAY Sports)
Do the Texans go back to Schaub when they return to action Nov. 3 against the Indianapolis Colts? Or do they stick with Keenum, who at least avoided throwing an interception and gave them some semblance of a downfield passing game?
The latter seems like the obvious choice, though Keenum, like the rest of the Texans, have a lot of work to do before they can even think about reviving their playoff hopes — which now might require them to run the table at less than fully strength.
"He's got some things he's got to understand better when they come after him that he will learn from and he'll learn quick," Kubiak said. "But boy, he made some great football plays to get his team in position to win.
"He had his team in position all day long. We just couldn't make the one play to make the difference."
PHOTOS: BEST OF WEEK 7 AROUND THE NFLA grandmother's bones were broken. A pregnant woman was violently thrown to the ground. Millions of dollars were paid out to numerous victims of police brutality.
And almost none of us noticed!
So I join all who say that protests in Baltimore should remain peaceful, and I will continue to withhold judgment about Gray's death until more facts are known.
But I also insist that Baltimore protests are appropriate regardless of what happened to Freddie Gray, as is more federal scrutiny and intervention. Although much was rightly made of Ferguson's racially unrepresentative local leadership, the presence of a black mayor and a diverse city council has not solved Baltimore's police problem, partly because the DOJ responded to revelations of epidemic brutality with less than the full-scale civil rights probe that some residents requested and because Maryland pols have thwarted reform bills urged by city leaders.
There are so many good reasons for locals to be outraged.
The Baltimore Sun's article shows why in detail. And a few choice excerpts are the best beginning in this attempt to contextualize the ongoing protests within recent history.
Let's start with the money.
$5.7 million is the amount the city paid to victims of brutality between 2011 and 2014. And as huge as that figure is, the more staggering number in the article is this one: "Over the past four years, more than 100 people have won court judgments or settlements related to allegations of brutality and civil-rights violations." What tiny percentage of the unjustly beaten win formal legal judgments?
If you're imagining that they were all men in their twenties, think again:
Victims include a 15-year-old boy riding a dirt bike, a 26-year-old pregnant accountant who had witnessed a beating, a 50-year-old woman selling church raffle tickets, a 65-year-old church deacon rolling a cigarette and an 87-year-old grandmother aiding her wounded grandson. Those cases detail a frightful human toll. Officers have battered dozens of residents who suffered broken bones — jaws, noses, arms, legs, ankles — head trauma, organ failure, and even death, coming during questionable arrests. Some residents were beaten while handcuffed; others were thrown to the pavement.
The 87-year-old grandmother was named Venus Green. A former teacher with two college degrees, she spent her retirement years as a foster parent for needy children. She was on her porch one day when her grandson ran up crying for an ambulance.
He'd been shot.
The article goes on to tell her story from a legal document in her successful lawsuit:
Paramedics and police responded to the emergency call, but the white officer became hostile. “What happened? Who shot you?” Green recalled the officer saying to her grandson, according to an 11-page letter in which she detailed the incident for her lawyer. Excerpts from the letter were included in her lawsuit. “You’re lying. You know you were shot inside that house. We ain’t going to help you because you are lying.” “Mister, he isn’t lying,” replied Green, who had no criminal record. “He came from down that way running, calling me to call the ambulance.” The officer, who is not identified in the lawsuit, wanted to go into the basement, but Green demanded a warrant. Her grandson kept two dogs downstairs and she feared they would attack. The officer unhooked the lock, but Green latched it. He shoved Green against the wall. She hit the wooden floor. “Bitch, you ain’t no better than any of the other old black bitches I have locked up,” Green recalled the officer saying as he stood over her. “He pulled me up, pushed me in the dining room over the couch, put his knees in my back, twisted my arms and wrist and put handcuffs on my hands and threw me face down on the couch.” After pulling Green to her feet, the officer told her she was under arrest. Green complained of pain. “My neck and shoulder are hurting,” Green told him. “Please take these handcuffs off.” An African-American officer then walked in the house, saw her sobbing and asked that the handcuffs be removed since Green wasn’t violent. The cuffs came off, and Green didn’t face any charges. But a broken shoulder tormented her for months.
When pondering the fact that Baltimore paid out $5.7 million in brutality settlements over four years, consider that the payout in this case was just $95,000. (For the story of the pregnant woman and many others, the full article is here.)Stepped up penalties already imposed on Deloitte over a long-running case involving its work for troubled Saudi contractor Mohammed Al Mojil Group.
Saudi Arabia’s market regulator said it had barred the local unit of New York accountancy firm Deloitte & Touche from providing accounting services in the kingdom for two years for breaching rules on accumulated losses.
The move by the Capital Market Authority’s (CMA) Committee for the Resolution of Securities Disputes stepped up penalties already imposed on Deloitte over a long-running case involving its work for troubled Saudi contractor Mohammed Al Mojil Group (MMG).
The CMA previously suspended Deloitte from doing auditing work for listed firms in the kingdom for two years while the case was pending, beginning June 1, 2015.
The judicial committee did not yet specify the date when the new and more extensive suspension would begin.
Deloitte did not respond to requests for comment.
The committee had on Thursday also sentenced three MMG executives to prison terms, including founder Mohammad Al Mojil and his son Adel Al Mojil, the firm’s chairman, for misrepresenting the company’s value.
Both men are to serve five years in prison, it said. A third executive received a three-year sentence, but was not named.
The committee had further ordered MMG to pay 1.6 billion Saudi riyals (Dh1.56bn) for “illegal profits” and imposed a separate fine of 2.7 million riyals, according to the statement.
MMG has not traded on the Saudi bourse since July 2012, when the CMA suspended it shares over the losses after it over-extended itself trying to take advantage of a construction boom in the kingdom.
In an emailed statement on Friday, the Mojil family denied wrongdoing and said they would appeal the committee’s decision, calling the investigative process “defective from the start.”
They allege the men were not given an opportunity to respond to certain of the evidence used against them and question the CMA’s methodology for determining the company’s real share value.
business@thenational.ae
Follow The National’s Business section on TwitterHas there ever been a Super Bowl so eagerly anticipated?
Will President Donald Trump drop a bombshell in his pre-game interview with Bill O’Reilly?
And what glitzy blitz will Lady Gaga launch during her halftime show? Will the “Born This Way” diva go high or low as she tries to blow away the game-changing president?
And by the way, Fox says it’s going to wedge an NFL football game into the Sunday spectacle.
San Diego may have been jilted by the League, but on this national TV day we can sit back with friends, savor eccentrically flavored chips, and throw these North County-raised roses at the screen.
A rose — the Off the Beach award — to Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, for his rock-jawed opposition to storing spent nuclear fuel at San Onofre for, well, forever.
If Issa can’t put the beachfront storage plan on ice, North County will be on the radioactive bubble from here to eternity.
Maybe I haven’t paid enough attention, but it seems |
. Because our scientific efforts, both techno and bio, are becoming more enforced and complicated, Cartography has no limits.
So, My question begins to focus on experience. When we move forward, we begin to abandon. This isn’t to say we cannot or do not go back to old technology, but we loose the feeling of what it was like to have nothing else. Right now the most advanced technology is our limit but we use those tools to set a higher bar. The opportunities seem endless. My concern is that we are programming our bodies to be too comfortable through the use of our technologies. It is important for us to experience the physical world, which is full of good and bad. We have the ability to easily escape the bad and uncomfortable. Technology answers so many questions that should not be naturally possible, but are. So my question is, at what point does the ability to escape reality begin to harm and cripple us? Is there a possibility that we incorporate technology so much into the way that we function that we become a new species of cyborg?Small nonprofits have a notoriously hard time financing solar power projects. Now CollectiveSun, a San Diego-based startup, has a plan for making it easier to find funding.
Why the problem? Basically, churches, schools and other such places may have a heap of assets. But they can't take advantage of most of the federal and state tax incentives for solar power, thanks to their tax exempt status and lack of tax liability.
What's more, because they're small, the projects they need to finance are similarly modest in size. Plus they're riskier bets than large nonprofits, like universities. So banks and other financial institutions tend to avoid giving loans to these organizations. (Think about it: a church defaults on a loan and the bank has to foreclose on the property. Can you spell public relations nightmare)?
About two years ago, Lee Barken, an accountant and LEED-certified professional, came up with a solution. He would create a company offering a platform and marketplace for nonprofits, investors and solar installers, aggregating investments to help fund small solar projects in the $50,000 to $1 million range. Then, the business could use the money to install solar systems and sell power at a discount through a power purchase agreement (PPA).
In case you don't know, a solar power PPA is a contract through which a developer takes care of everything from financing to installation and more on a customer's property at a discount or at no cost. The developer then sells the power to the customer and receives not only money from the arrangement, but also, since it's not a nonprofit, any tax credits that exist. "It's like buying the milk instead of the cow," says Barken.
(Small businesses also have trouble getting financing, because they're not lucrative enough for banks to go through all the labor-intensive due diligence and paperwork, a problem that BlocPower, another solar-power social enterprise that I recently wrote about, seeks to address).
Investors, who are paid back in annual payments over ten years, are meant to come from the nonprofit's community--not big honchos, but people who care about the organization and are willing to make small investments of as little as $25. "This is only possible if the community steps forward to back the project," says Barken. To make sure that happens, CollectiveSun also does a lot of behind the scenes work, helping with marketing campaigns and the like.
By doing so, Barken figures the nonprofits will be able to save on energy expenses and, ultimately, have more money to spend on their mission. What's more, they also can boost community involvement--a lot more than by, say, sending out a letter asking for donations. Still, this isn't risk-free. If the nonprofit were to default, then investors would lose their money.
Barken got the idea when he was working on industrial renewable energy projects. It just didn't make sense that the only way small nonprofits could convert to solar power was to spend more money on their electricity than before. "I got more and more frustrated that nonprofits were being left out," he says. "The tax benefits--that's the ball game, the difference between a cost-effective and non cost-effective project."
For the first 10 years, CollectiveSun or a designated third party own the solar equipment. About half of the investment is paid back after the first year, since Barken expects many investors won't be the usual suspects, but rather will include a mix of income levels. After ten years, the nonprofit can buy it through a four-year arrangement with a fixed rate.
Money from such a sale is where CollectiveSun will make the most in revenues, according to Barken. It also charges installers a 3% origination fee and investors a.2% servicing fee.
It took Barken a good two years struggling with legal and accounting complexities before he could officially get the social enterprise approved. Last December, CollectiveSun launched its first pilot for TERI, an Oceanside, Cal., nonprofit that, among other services, operates residential housing for developmentally disabled adults. They raised about $44,500 from about 27 investments from $25 to $10,000 and are in the process of a second pilot.
Now, Barken has about 30 proposals from other nonprofits in the pipeline. "There are a lot of nonprofits out there," he says.DIYARBAKIR/ISTANBUL, Turkey (Reuters) - Eight Turkish soldiers and 22 Kurdish militants have been killed in clashes over the last two days, authorities said on Friday, as violence widened in the largely Kurdish southeast following two bombings.
People look at a damaged car at the site of last night's explosion near the Kurdish-dominated southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey May 13, 2016. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar
After the collapse of a ceasefire between the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the government last July, Turkey’s southeast has seen some of its worst fighting since the height of the Kurdish insurgency in the 1990s.
President Tayyip Erdogan has said the violence, and a concurrent threat from Islamic State militants, justifies Turkey’s broad anti-terror laws, which have become a sticking point with the EU in talks about a landmark deal to stem the flow of illegal migrants to Europe.
“The fight by our security forces in coordination and in harmony with soldiers, police, village guards and all units against terror will continue with determination,” Erdogan said in a statement.
Erdogan, who had spearheaded the peace process between the state and the PKK, has ruled out any return to negotiations and has vowed to crush the militant group. Thousands of people, including hundreds of civilians, have been killed in the renewed violence.
More than 40,000 people, most of them militants, have been killed since the PKK took up arms in 1984. The group wants autonomy for Turkey’s Kurdish minority.
IRAQ BORDER
Six soldiers were killed and eight were wounded in clashes with militants in the southeastern Hakkari province near the border with Iraq on Friday, the military said.
Two more were killed in a separate incident when a helicopter crashed in Hakkari due to a technical fault, the military said. Six PKK militants were also killed in an operation in that region.
In the nearby Siirt province, one militant was killed when security forces pursued vehicles attempting to flee a security check, the local governor’s office said. They found 200 kilograms of explosives in one of the vehicles.
On Thursday, 15 militants were killed in clashes in Sirnak province, the military said.
The military has also carried out regular air strikes against PKK camps in mountainous northern Iraq. A total of 140 militants have been killed in such attacks between April 29 and May 10, broadcaster NTV said, citing the military.
The widening violence follows two bombings on Thursday.
Four suspected bomb makers were killed and 23 people were wounded when an explosion ripped through a village in the southeast as PKK militants loaded explosives onto a small truck, the government said.As Christmas gift exchanges approach, the gift of Jesus is easily obscured. But gifted prophets predicted the birth of the Messiah, and these prophesies, like other Old Testament prophecies, testify to the Divine nature of the Bible. The New Testament contains two different types of prophetic declarations: the prophecies uttered by Jesus and the prophecies fulfilled by Jesus. Old Testament prophets declared the coming of a Savior (a Messiah who would save the Jewish people and the entire world from their sin). Here is a brief summary of the prophecies predicting the gift of Jesus:
The Messiah Would Come from the Tribe of Judah
Jacob made this prophetic prediction around 1400 BC.
Genesis 49:10
The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.
Christians believe Jesus will establish an everlasting kingdom in the future. His ancestry is traced back to Jacob’s son, Judah, in Luke 3:23-34 and in Matthew 1:1-16.
The Messiah Will Appear After the Jews Return to Israel
Jeremiah uttered this prophecy between 626 BC and 586 BC. It was first fulfilled in Jesus’ earthly ministry and will be fulfilled again in the end times.
Jeremiah 23:3-6
‘I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,’ declares the LORD. ‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.”
The Messiah Would Be Born in Bethlehem
The prophet Micah predicted this between 750 BC and 686 BC.
Micah 5:2
‘But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.’
To be fair, there is disagreement regarding the translation of Micah 5:2. Some say the reference to ‘Bethlehem’ is simply a reference to the bloodline of King David. Other people say it is a reference to the town of Bethlehem. Jesus meets both criteria; He is a descendant of King David and He was born in Bethlehem.
The Messiah Would Be Preceded By a Messenger
Isaiah predicted there would be a messenger who would precede the Messiah and proclaim His coming. Isaiah made the prophecy between 701 BC and 681 BC.
Isaiah 40:3
A voice of one calling: ‘In the desert prepare the way for the LORD ; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.”
Christians believe this passage foreshadowed the life of John the Baptist who played an important role in preparing the groundwork for the ministry of Jesus Christ.
The Messiah Would Enter Jerusalem While Riding on a Donkey
Zechariah made this unusual prediction between 520 BC and 518 BC.
Zechariah 9:9
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
As recorded in Luke 19:35-37, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and presented Himself as the Messiah, the King.
The Messiah Would Suffer and Be Rejected
Isaiah made this prediction as well, between 701 BC and 681 BC.
Isaiah 53:3
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Some scholars claim Isaiah was referring to Israel as a nation in this passage rather than the Messiah. But, many important, historic Rabbis believed this passage was indeed about the Messiah. Rabbi Moshe Alshekh, one of the great seventeenth-century expositors from Safed, Israel, said ‘Our Rabbis with one voice accept and affirm the opinion that the prophet is speaking of the King Messiah, and we shall ourselves also adhere to the same view.”
The Messiah Would Be Betrayed for 30 Pieces of Silver
Zechariah predicted the betrayal of Jesus when he wrote this prophecy between 520 BC and 518 BC.
Zechariah 11:12-13
I told them, ‘If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.’ So they paid me thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said to me, ‘Throw it to the potter’–the handsome price at which they priced me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD to the potter.
As recorded in Matthew 26:15, Judas was paid 30 silver coins for his betrayal of Jesus. Judas later tossed the money into the Temple (the house of the Lord) and the money was used to buy a potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners.
The Messiah Would Be Silent Before His Accusers
Isaiah predicted this between 701 BC and 681 BC.
Isaiah 53:7
He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
In the book of Isaiah, chapter 53, Isaiah wrote about a “servant of God”. As recorded in Matthew 27:12-14, Jesus was falsely accused but remained silent and did not protest the accusations. Jesus was crucified by the Romans a short time later.
The Messiah Would Be Wounded, Whipped and Crucified
This sad truth about the Messiah was prophesied by Isaiah between 701 BC and 681 BC.
Isaiah 53:5
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
Jesus was crucified for our sins, even though He was sinless. This ultimate sacrifice redeemed us all from sin in the same way lambs were once sacrificed as a symbol. As a result, all of us can be accepted into the Kingdom of God as though we were sinless, if we accept Jesus as our Savior.
The Messiah Would Suffer at the Crucifixion
The Psalmist, King David wrote Psalm 22 and repeatedly predicted the events on the cross that would happen centuries later. Here are a few examples:
Psalm 22:1
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?
Psalm 22:7
All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads:
Psalm 22:8
‘He trusts in the LORD ; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.’
Psalm 22:16
Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.
Psalm 22:17
I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me.
Psalm 22:18
They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.
Why did Jesus, while dying on the cross, say ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ Those words are actually the first line of Psalm 22, which according to Jewish tradition was written by King David about 1,000 years before Jesus was crucified. There are many parallels between the details in Psalm 22 and the manner in which Jesus died.
The Messiah Would Be Crucified With Criminals
Isaiah also proclaimed this prophecy between 701 BC and 681 BC regarding the specific circumstances of the crucifixion of the Messiah.
Isaiah 53:12
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
As recorded in the book of Matthew, Jesus, though sinless, was “numbered with the transgressors” and crucified beside two criminals.
The Messiah Would Be Buried in a Rich Man’s Tomb
In yet another prophecy of Isaiah, made between 701 BC and 681 BC, the prophet predicted the burial of the Messiah.
Isaiah 53:9
He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Seven hundred years after this was written, Jesus was killed with two criminals and buried in a tomb owned by a wealthy man. Jesus was resurrected three days later and eventually ascended into Heaven.
As we approach Christmas Day, the impact of Jesus’ gift is sometimes lost in the clutter of the cultural holiday. It’s a great time to revisit the manner in which Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecy. The gift of His birth, life, and death were predicted by the Old Testament prophets and documented by the New Testament authors. This fulfilled prophecy is further evidence of the Divine nature of the New Testament.
J. Warner Wallace is a Dateline featured Cold-Case Detective, Senior Fellow at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, Adj. Professor of Apologetics at Biola University, author of Cold-Case Christianity, God’s Crime Scene, and Forensic Faith, and creator of the Case Makers Academy for kids.
Subscribe to J. Warner’s Daily EmailSaveAs President Obama travels the country speaking about immigration, student loans, taxes, and the like, increasingly Democratic leaders are lobbying him to tell voters how his agenda strengthens the middle class.
Otherwise Republicans, they fear, will use the IRS and other scandals to distract public attention and stall most of his legislative proposals.
Unfortunately, most of Obama's initiatives may appease liberal elites but don't do much to bolster opportunities for middle class and working families.
His immigration policy comes down to spending record sums to deport undocumented immigrants with criminal records, but letting just about anyone else who manages to get across the border stay and have babies—presumably, who will one day vote Democratic.
If he gets his way in proposed legislation, many undocumented workers will eventually become citizens, and businesses like GE and Apple will be permitted more visas in skill-short areas like engineering, but the border won't be secured. The ranks of semiskilled immigrant workers, who drive down wages in hospitality, construction, manufacturing and other sectors, will continue to swell, frustrating the middle-class aspirations of the working poor born in this country.
His massive expansion of student loans permits universities to jack up tuition, bloat administrative staffs and indulge faculty to teach even less and less effectively. Students are graduating encumbered by massive debt and too few marketable skills. Broke and unemployed, they are not marrying and starting families—that shrinks the middle class.OCTOBER 19, 2017
Jenna Payesko
While international recommendations suggest 3–5 minutes of rest needed before blood pressure (BP) measurement, a cross-sectional bicentric study determined 25 minutes is the minimal resting time to obtain a stable systolic blood pressure (SBP), according to a study published in Scientific Reports.About one third of American adults are diagnosed with hypertension, reading 140/90 mmHg or higher, which costs the nation $48.6 billion each year. The American Heart Association (AHA), the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the European Society of Hypertension (ESH), among others, proposed recommendations for blood pressure measurement suggesting a resting time varying from 3–5 minutes before BP measurement."We think that the resting time before office or ambulatory blood pressure measurement should be considered especially in older people in order to avoid adverse events (fall...) of the hypertensive drug," Guillaume Mahe, professor of vascular medicine, Centre Hospitalier Univeritaire de Rennes, told Md Magazine. "This questions whether the diagnosis of hypertension can be reliably made during routine visits in general practitioners’ offices."A cross-sectional, observational study, performed in France, studied 199 outpatients 18 years of age addressed to a vascular examination — either a carotid ultrasound exam, suspected peripheral artery disease, suspected venous disease or a cardiovascular prevention visit. Only those patients whose arm pressure could be measured in both arms were included.101 subjects (51%) SBP and diastolic BPs (DBP) were studied in the reclining position, while 98 subjects (49%) were studied in a seated position. BP was followed on the left arm in 106 subjects (53%), and 93 subjects (47%) on the right arm. It was measured using 2 automatic monitors every minute during 11 consecutive minutes.Stimulations showed that only 50% of the population was stabilized within 5 mmHg of systolic pressure after 5 minutes of resting time and that measurements of SBP at 3 or 5 minutes tend to over predict the proportion of hypertensive subjects.The predicted proportion of subjects diagnosed as hypertensive dropped from 50% when averaging measurements at 3 and 5 minutes to 44%, while resting for 25–27 minutes would bring the rate down to 33%."We show that following AHA or ESC recommendations in subjects adressed in a vascular unit increases the prevalence of hypertension as compared to the use of our minimal resting time of 25 minutes," Mahe noted.The study showed that among outpatients addressed for a vascular examination, the minimal resting time before blood pressure measurement to obtain a stable SBP in 90% of the population, is 25. The results suggest that 5 minutes are not enough to achieve a stabilized SBP in most patients and at least 25 minutes are required.The resting time found is far longer than the resting time proposed by all previous scientific statements. According to the study results, the leading guidelines about the office measurement of blood pressure may contribute to increase the prevalence of hypertension, subsequently growing the number of patients receiving antihypertensive drugs.“In our opinion, hypertension diagnosis should be performed in a dedicated place during a specific consultation,” Mahe, said. “At the very least, a suspicion of hypertension in a patient should warrant a second measurement after a longer rest period than the current recommended 5 minutes."Researchers believe that nearly 700,000 of patients in France may be misdiagnosed for hypertension, and that number could be 5 times higher in the US. Replication of the current study with more subjects from diverse populations is needed.The study, “A minimal resting time of 25 min is needed before measuring stabilized blood pressure in subjects addressed for vascular investigations,” can be found in Scientific Reports.The Global Brain can be defined as the distributed intelligence emerging from all human and technological agents as interacting via the Internet. It plays the role of a nervous system for the social superorganism. A brief history of this idea is sketched, with a focus on the developments leading to the creation of the Global Brain Group, and the Global Brain Institute (GBI) that emerged out of it. As directors of the GBI, the authors of this paper took the initiative of editing a special issue on the topic of “the Global Brain as a model of the future information society”. We briefly sketch the contributions from the different papers in this issue. We conclude by reviewing some common dystopian misconceptions associated with the Global Brain paradigm, and by offering an optimistic outlook on how the “offer network” protocol inspired by this paradigm may lay the foundation for a much more synergetic and sustainable society.About This Game Neon Arena is a stylish shooter where you should stay alive on the arena as long as possible! Gameplay Shoot them all! Pick Up bonuses and use neon bombs to make maximum damage to the enemies! The Story The year 2243. World War 3 has divided the world onto factions run by corporations.
From now on, every conflict between the factions is resolved on the Arena.
People fight there, for their faction and for their own life. Those people are the Gladiators of their own time. You are one of them.
Neon Arena is a dynamic stylish top-down shooter in which you should face the horde of enemies who want to steal your energy spheres.
Fight on the dynamically changing Arena for the ultimate prize.
Unleash the power of different weapons onto your enemies.
Cooperate with your allies to leave the Arena victorious and alive!Attorneys for convicted hacker Andrew "Weev" Auernheimer will appear in court this week in a last-ditch attempt to win his freedom and overturn a verdict that could have a chilling effect on the work of researchers who help keep the Internet safe.
Prosecutors have said Auernheimer, 28, is a publicity-hungry hacker who broke the law when he found a security flaw in an AT&T website three years ago that allowed him to collect 114,000 email addresses belonging to iPad 3G users.
Auernheimer turned over that information to the gossip site Gawker, which posted some partially redacted addresses, prompting an FBI investigation.
In 2012, a jury found Auernheimer guilty of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the same controversial law used to prosecute the late Internet activist Aaron Swartz. Auernheimer has now served about 12 months of his 41-month prison sentence.
On Wednesday, Auernheimer's attorneys will argue that he did not commit a crime because AT&T's security was so lax that those email addresses were publicly available.
"The behavior in question here is no different than typing a URL in a Web browser," Auernheimer’s attorney, Tor Ekeland, said in an interview. "If what Weev did is illegal, then what millions of normal computer users do every day is a felony as well."
In court documents, prosecutors acknowledge that AT&T's security "was not as good as it should have been, but it was not non-existent." They say Auernheimer should have first disclosed his findings to the company instead of a journalist.
The federal appeals court decision will be watched closely by researchers who say Auernheimer's conviction has made them more reluctant to report the security and privacy flaws they find for fear of being prosecuted.
Partly for that reason, Auernheimer's case has gained the support of some of the country’s most respected cyber law experts. His legal team includes attorneys for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group, and Orin Kerr, a cyber law professor at George Washington University Law School.
In addition, a group of prominent computer scientists, academics and researchers have called on the appeals court to reverse Auernheimer's conviction. They include the Mozilla Foundation, which makes the popular Web browser Firefox, and Edward Felten, a former technologist for the Federal Trade Commission.
These advocates "are convinced that overturning [Auernheimer's] conviction will help security and privacy, not harm it," according to their court brief, which was filed by Stanford Law professor Jennifer Granick. "The alternative empowers private entities to force the public to turn a blind eye to their security and privacy missteps."
Auernheimer is not the most sympathetic figure. As a notorious Internet troll, he frequently says outrageous things to evoke emotional responses from people. The name of his security company Goatse Security refers to an obscene Internet shock site, and is linked to an Internet trolling group whose name includes a racial slur.
On Wednesday, prosecutors and Auernheimer's lawyers will each argue for 15 minutes in a Philadelphia courtroom before the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals begins deliberating.
Auernheimer is currently serving his sentence at Allenwood Federal Correctional Complex in White Deer, Penn., about 170 miles west of New York City. His legal team was unable to get permission to let him attend Wednesday's hearing.
Since his sentencing last March, prison officials have cut off Auernheimer's email access and forced him to spend time in a "special housing unit" as punishment for posting messages to Soundcloud, an audio distribution platform, Ekeland said.
Auernheimer now spends his time "reading voraciously," playing Dungeons & Dragons, and bench-pressing up to 200 pounds, said Ekeland.NAIROBI, Kenya, April 29 (UPI) -- Rich Arab states such as Saudi Arabia have bought huge tracts of land across Africa in recent years in a bid to combat global food shortages, water scarcity and desertification and feed their burgeoning populations.
But now the scramble for Africa is intensifying, with investment banks, hedge funds, commodity traders, sovereign wealth funds, corporations and business tycoons out to grab some of the world's cheapest land -- for profit.
China has leased 6.91 million acres in the Democratic Republic of Congo for the world's largest oil palm plantation.
South Korea's Daewoo conglomerate planned to buy 2.9 million acres of Madagascar until the deal collapsed when rioters toppled the Indian Ocean island's government.
"Philippe Heilberg, CEO of the New York-based investment fund Jarch Capital... has leased between 998,000 and 2.47 million acres in southern Sudan from the warlord Paulino Matip," Le Monde Diplomatique reported.
"Foreign direct investment in agriculture is the boardroom euphemism for the new land grab and those promoting the grab spin it as a win-win situation."
It quoted Heilberg as saying, "When food becomes scarce, the investor needs a weak state that does not force him to abide by any rules."
According to various assessments, up to 123.5 million acres of African land -- double the size of Britain -- has been snapped up or is being negotiated by governments or wealthy investors.
Ethiopia alone has approved 815 foreign-financed agricultural projects since 2007.
As African leaders, many out to line their own pockets, sign away their people's land to foreigners, the continent's people, among the poorest on the planet, face having to join the estimated 1 billion people in the world who don't have enough food.
In some cases, human rights groups say many of these deals are done in secret without consulting the people on the land being sold, often dispossessing them.
In the end, critics say, with African farmland in foreign hands, the continent faces widespread conflict over resources in the not-too-distant future.
"Food production in Arab countries is limited by scarce land and water resources," the World Bank said in recent report. "Arab countries are highly exposed to international food commodity price shocks … because they are heavily dependent on imported food."
Climate change is accelerating the decline in food production through water shortages, desertification, coastal flooding and changing weather patterns.
As populations expand while the amount of farmland and water supply shrinks, resource wars are expected to erupt across the Middle East and Africa in the years ahead.
"Unchecked land-grabbing carries with it the seeds of conflict, environmental disaster, political and social change, and hunger on an unprecedented scale," Le Monde Diplomatique warned.
As the foreign purchases of African land multiply unchecked, the United Nations and the World Bank are seeking to bring the land-grabbing under some sort of control.
In November, they started drawing up a code of conduct to regulate overseas investment in farmland, the first effort to put the brakes on the runaway land acquisitions by wealthy states such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and South Korea.
But critics view this as too little, too late.
The regulations aren't expected to be ready until late this year. Officials acknowledge the delay gives land-grabbers time to snap up more farmland before the code comes into force.
But even then, it will lack teeth because the regulations will be non-binding: the United Nations doesn't want to inhibit direct foreign investment in agriculture, which it believes can offer development opportunities.
The land-buying spree by the Arab states is likely to continue as desertification worsens.
Wadid Erian, a soil expert with the Arab Center for the Study of Arid Zones and Dry Land in Cairo, said that desertification is advancing swiftly "and our response needs to match the pace …
"The question we need to be asking is whether using (African) land is a sustainable, long-term solution … We expect that if climate change and desertification continue at this pace, in the next five years we won't have enough food to supply demand."
Continuing to amass Africa's arable land without ensuring that local populations in the world's hungriest continent reap any benefit, is not the sole long-term answer," Erian said.Hardcore fans of Egypt’s Ahly football club will return to the stands for the first time since the bloody violence that took place in Port Said in February last year, Al-Ahram Online reported Saturday.
The hardcore fans, Ultras Ahlawy, will support their team against Kenya’s Tusker in an African Champions League round of 32 on Sunday at Alexandria’s Borg El-Arab Stadium, ending a year-long boycott after Port Said’s football violence, which saw the deaths of 72 Ahly fans.
After the Port Said disaster, football matches were suspended
Egypt’s Premier League began early February behind closed doors.
Early 2013, Ahly and its ultra-hardcore fans praised the country’s judiciary final verdict on the Port Said football match violence.
Twenty one defendants, who were supporters of the Port Said-based al-Masry football club, were given death sentences for killing Ahly fans.
Last Update: Sunday, 7 April 2013 KSA 00:30 - GMT 21:30Fraying at the Edges
Chatham looked the same as ever, but residents were nervous. The recession seemed to be deepening that spring, and local businesses were hanging on for life. Ken Blow, who runs Bull’s Eye Barber Shop on East 79th, said that his revenues were down almost 40 percent in the first years of the downturn. He rented out his office to a tattoo artist to help pay expenses. “For a while there, we would keep the lights off until our first customer walked in, to save money,” Mr. Blow said.
Captain’s Hard Times Dining, across the street from the barbershop, also saw business dwindle. The owner, known as Mother Wade, said she has had to branch out and do catering to stay open. “Some of what’s going on here is that people are not supporting their own, not sitting down to a meal like we used to do,” Ms. Wade said. “They’d rather go eat fast food.”
Older residents, perpetually anxious that the younger generation is losing their values of tidiness and mutual respect, now had visible evidence of social erosion. They saw it in the habits of their new neighbors, many of them moving from the Robert Taylor Homes, which were torn down in the mid-2000s.
“The big change going on is that the grandparents are moving out, and some of the younger kids coming in here are picking up behaviors that you would never have seen in Chatham before,” said Worlee Glover, a salesman who runs a blog called Concerned Citizens of Chatham. “Loitering out on 79th. Walking up and down the street, eating out of a bag. Eating out on the porch. Those kinds of things.”
The numbers tell part of the story. Chatham historically had a waiting list of would-be buyers, but during the recession its foreclosure rate was 14th highest among some 80 Chicago neighborhoods, according to data gathered from all of the city’s neighborhoods to determine which local factors shape behavior.
“Chatham and neighboring Avalon Park are both working class communities, not core ghetto areas, and both were hit hard by recession, particularly Chatham, which got hit economically and with incidents of violence,” said Robert J. Sampson, a sociologist at Harvard who led the Chicago study and wrote a recently released book based on it, “Great American City: Chicago and the Enduring Neighborhood Effect” (University of Chicago, 2012).
Twice in previous weeks, young men from outside the area had fired shots into the scrum around the basketball courts at Cole Park, just across the street from the Worthams’ house. Cole Park, all picnics and playgrounds when Thomas IV was growing up, now resembled a street party on most evenings, with teenagers coming just to hang out, Mrs. Wortham said. Seniors and parents of young children stayed away.You probably have a $1 bill in your wallet right now, but have you looked close enough to see the symbolism hidden right in plain sight? Check out this list and get ready to have your mind blown!
1. George Washington’s Eyes Appear To Be Marijuana Leaves
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Look closely at our first president’s eyes and you might notice this interesting detail. The official stance is that they’re stars, but many have argued that the pointed ornaments on George Washington’s eyes are actually marijuana leaves. The drug is still illegal in most states, but the symbolism on the dollar makes you wonder if the Founding Fathers ever wanted it to be outlawed in the first place.
2. The Faded Croz
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If you don’t look hard enough you just might miss it, but the faded picture of musician David Crosby, commonly known as The Faded Croz, is mysteriously nestled to the left of Washington’s portrait. Many have debated its meaning, but most agree that it portends some sort of tragic event in the nation’s future.
3. Long-Running Comic Strip “Batter Up!”
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If you examine the back of the bill, you might notice what appears to be a three-panel comic strip taking up the entirety of its surface. That’s not a trick of the light! It’s the long-running comic strip Batter Up!, which has appeared on $1 bills since the late ’60s. The comic is about a chatty catcher and umpire who always inadvertently distract the batter, often resulting in him striking out in the third panel. Cartoonist Duke Hamlin passed away in 2009, but reprints of his beloved strip continue to run on the backs of U.S. dollar bills to this day. Keep an eye out for this beloved American funny next time you look at a dollar!
4. Two Towers With Clarifying Label That Says “Don’t Worry, These Aren’t The Twin Towers, These Are Different Towers”
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Bet you never noticed this before. In the bottom-right corner of the bill are two figures that appear to be the Twin Towers. But here’s where it gets really weird: Next to the towers is a label that reads, “Don’t worry, these aren’t the Twin Towers, these are different towers.” Crazy, right?
5. Instructions For How To Use This Dollar Bill
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The designers of the $1 bill had a unique vision for the smallest unit of paper money, and part of it included printing a set of instructions for how to use the dollar bill |
in the United States.[1][2] Ray graduated from Howard University School of Law in 1872. She was also the first female admitted to the District of Columbia Bar, and the first woman admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia.[3] Her admission was used as a precedent by women in other states who sought admission to the bar.[4]
Ray opened her own law office, advertising in a newspaper run by Frederick Douglass.[5] However, she practiced law for only a few years because prejudice against African Americans and women made her business unsustainable.[6] Ray eventually moved to New York, where she became a teacher in Brooklyn. She was involved in the women's suffrage movement[7] and joined the National Association of Colored Women.[8]
Early life [ edit ]
Charlotte Ray was born in New York City to Charlotte Augusta Burroughs and Reverend Charles Bennett Ray. Reverend Ray was an important figure in the abolitionist movement and edited a newspaper called The Colored American. Charlotte had six siblings, including two sisters, Henrietta Cordelia and Florence. Education was important to her father, who made sure each of his girls went to college. Charlotte attended a school called the Institution for the Education of Colored Youth in Washington, D.C., graduating in 1869.[9] It was one of a few places where a black woman could gain proper education.
After this Ray became a teacher at Howard University in the Normal and Preparatory Department, which was the University's Prep School. While teaching at Howard, she registered in the Law Department, as C. E. Ray.[9] Charlotte Ray graduated on February 27, 1872, completing a three-year program, as the first woman to graduate from the Howard University School of Law. Sources claim she graduated Phi Beta Kappa,[10] but Howard University did not receive its Phi Beta Kappa chapter until 1953.[11]
While in law school she is believed to have specialized in corporate law. She has been identified as the woman referred to by General O. O. Howard, the founder and first president of Howard University, as having "read us a thesis on corporations, not copied from the books but from her brain, a clear incisive analysis of one of the most delicate legal questions."[7] Others suggest that Mary Ann Shadd Cary was the person in question.[12]
Admission controversy [ edit ]
She was admitted to the Howard School of Law in the District of Columbia in 1872 because she applied under the name "C. E. Ray" and that Ray used an alternate name to disguise her gender so that her admission would not be instantly revoked.[13] According to others, her use of initials is not proven, and it would not have been needed, because Howard University at this time had a clearly articulated policy of acceptance of blacks and of women.[9]
Independent practice [ edit ]
Ray was admitted to the District of Columbia Bar on March 2, 1872, and admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia on April 23, 1872.[7][14] Her appointment was noted in the Woman's Journal and gained her inclusion as one of the Women of the Century.[15] Ray began her independent practice of commercial law in 1872, advertising in newspapers such as the New National Era and Citizen, owned by Frederick Douglass.[4][5] Some sources suggest that she hoped to specialize in real estate law, which would involve less appearances in court.[7]
Nonetheless, there is evidence that she was active in court. She was the first woman to practice and argue in the District of Columbia Supreme Court,[3] where she pleaded the case of Gadley v. Gadley (vt. Godling v. Godling), No. 4278, filed June 3, 1875. In this case, she defended an uneducated woman petitioning for divorce from an abusive husband. The arguments were based on the grounds of "habitual drunkenness" and "cruelty of treatment, endangering the life or health of the party complaining". Ray's petition vividly evokes the violence of the marriage, describing an incident in which the husband first broke the bedstead, so that the wife lay down on the floor, and then "went down stairs, got an ax and returning, ripped up the planks in the floor", with the intention of causing his wife to fall through and break her neck.[9][16]
Charlotte Ray was said to be eloquent, authoritative, and "one of the best lawyers on corporations in the country."[4][17][18] Yet despite her Howard connections and advertisements, she was unable to maintain a steady client flow, sufficient to support herself. Regardless of her legal knowledge and corporate law expertise, not enough people were willing to trust a black woman with their cases.[6][7] Wisconsin lawyer Kate Kane Rossi, in 1897, recalled that "Miss Ray … although a lawyer of decided ability, on account of prejudice was not able to obtain sufficient legal business and had to give up … active practice."[7][19] Instead she returned to teaching, working in the Brooklyn school system.[7]
Personal life [ edit ]
Poet Henrietta Cordelia Ray was her sister. At one point all three sisters were teachers. Charlotte gave up teaching for a period to practice law, and Henrietta Cordelia gave up teaching to obtain her masters and write poetry.[20]
Ray attended the National Woman Suffrage Association's New York convention in 1876.[21] After 1895 Ray seems to have been active in the National Association of Colored Women.[9]
She married in the late 1880s and became Charlotte E. Fraim.[9]
In 1897 she moved to Woodside, Long Island, where she died of a severe case of bronchitis at the age of 60 on January 4, 1911.[9][20][21]
Posthumous honors [ edit ]
In March 2006, the Northeastern University School of Law (Boston, MA) chapter of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity International chose to honor Ray by naming their newly chartered chapter after her, in recognition of her place as the first female African-American attorney.[22]
See also [ edit ]
Macon Bolling Allen is believed to be both the first black man licensed to practice law and to hold a judicial position in the United States.
Jane Bolin was both the first black woman to graduate from Yale Law School and serve as a judge in the United States.
Thurgood Marshall was the first black Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
George Lewis Ruffin was both the first black man to earn a degree from Harvard Law School and become Massachusetts first African American judge.Three-time Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti on what Alonso can expect, and what can be expected of Alonso
Fernando Alonso doing the Indianapolis 500 this year is brilliant.
He’s got a lot of work ahead of him and that will probably start with some simulator time. Honda has got one at Indianapolis and he’ll do some time there. They’re going to give him a private test day and that will help. Any time you can go there, run and go away and think about it will definitely help. I think getting up to speed won’t be such a problem because he’s got good team-mates [Takuma Sato, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Marco Andretti and Alexander Rossi] and Andretti Autosport will provide him with a good car.
They will say: 'This is the car Ryan drives, this is the car that Marco will drive so you go out in this'. They will probably tone it down for him a bit so that he can get up to speed, maybe give him a fraction of understeer in the car, a bit more downforce and say 'OK, off you go'.
The harder bit will be when conditions change and he has to adapt to them. At the Speedway it can be from the wind changing direction, a small rise in temperature or even humidity. You have to adapt to those changes in set-up and driving style. That’s where the experience comes in. Certainly his talent is not in question, it’s just about experience. In the race you can make adjustments in pitstops, but you can’t really make big adjustments so you constantly have to compromise in what you do and how you drive. I think that will be a learning process.
All this with a backdrop of having no second chances: there’s no run off, if you make a mistake it tends to hurt. It will damage the car and if you can get away without hurting yourself it’s a good day. That wall is sitting there waiting for you. Trust me, he’ll be aware of that as soon as he leaves the pits! He’ll just have to adapt to that.
What it does is temper your rate of getting up to speed. If there are no consequences to making a mistake you just get on it, don’t you? The consequences there are pretty big and, as I said, if you do make a mistake you tend to destroy the car and you’ll be making a trip to the medical centre. Whether you can get back in the car after that is the question.
Like most of the big teams in IndyCar Andretti is pretty good at organising race simulation runs during practice and that will help him get up to speed in terms of driving in traffic. They did it with Kurt Busch a few years ago and that will be a big help. He'll get used to the feeling of the car in traffic that way, nothing he's done before can help him there. Basically no non-oval running is going to prepare you for what you experience in terms of intensity and speed, but also the feeling of the car, what you need from the car and what adjustments you can make to get the car to do what you want in traffic. I guess one of his big enemies could be the weather: if you get a particularly wet week leading up to qualifying it will put him behind a bit.
It’s brilliant for IndyCar, absolutely brilliant. To see him going head-to-head with the likes of Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Will Power, Helio Castroneves, these types of drivers, is just fantastic and it will make a massive splash around the world.
With the cast of characters involved to make it happen, it’s not such a big surprise that it did. You have Fernando having the passion for racing in general and wanting to try something different. You’ve got Zak there as boss and he’s such a passionate IndyCar fan. I can imagine him saying, “Oh, you want to do Indycar? That’s a great idea, let’s do it!”
Stefan Wilson has given up his seat to make this happen and I am sure there was a lot of pressure put on him because I know how much he wanted to race at Indianapolis again. But there were only so many engine leases that Honda could supply with production and lead times. I am sure they’ve put a lot of pressure on, but it says a lot about Stefan because he did say yes. It’s great for the series and he saw the big picture. I really hope, though, that IndyCar, McLaren, Honda and everyone else involved take into account what he’s done and make sure he’s in the 500 in 2018 if he can’t be in it this year. Hopefully they can give him a helping hand with making things happen because he’s been working very, very hard to be on the grid.
So, what can Fernando realistically expect? I think to expect him to compete with the absolute front-running guys is a big ask. Over one lap I don’t think that will be a problem, but to expect him to compete with these guys up front in the race, lap after lap is going to be a massive ask. As we saw with Rossi last year anything is possible with strategy, but on pure pace it will be difficult to compete. That’s just from experience. He’s certainly got the talent, but the front-runners have got that talent too alongside years and even decades of experience of Indycars and the Speedway.
The excitement level is massive, but come the start of the month every other driver out there is going to want to beat him.It was one of the great newspaper takedowns in presidential politics.
In unloading on the lower 47 percent of American taxpayers at a fundraiser, Mitt Romney was indulging a “country-club fantasy,” revealing “what self-satisfied millionaires say to each other” and “running a depressingly inept presidential campaign.”
The added sting came from the author’s identity. As a moderately conservative columnist for The New York Times, David Brooks favors smaller government. But hours after his piece appeared, he seemed even more revolted by the Republican nominee’s words.
“If you spend any time at a community college,” Brooks tells me, “people have probably been on welfare at some point, on food stamps at one point. Do you really think they want to be dependent? It’s just morally offensive to call people like that freeloaders.”
How big a blunder were the Romney remarks, which surfaced in a videotape on Monday? “It’s always a mistake to be hating on America,” Brooks says, and leaving “half of American culture discarded.”
Brooks hardly speaks for all conservatives; indeed, many regard him as a squish who has dared to write nice things about President Obama.
The furor over Romney and those he called government-addicted “victims” reveals a deep split on the right, where some prominent voices say the candidate has stumbled onto a winning issue. And Romney himself has broadened his indictment, telling Fox’s Neil Cavuto on Tuesday that “we believe in free people and free enterprise, not redistribution.” Moments later, he hit Obama for cutting $716 billion from Medicare, which redistributes money to the elderly—as does the progressive income tax. But the key point is that Romney isn’t backing away from his secretly videotaped critique.
Romney’s evisceration of the 47 percent drew applause from such unabashed conservatives as Erick Erickson.
“For once,” he wrote on Red State, “we see Mitt Romney undercover and off the record and he sounds like a real person not pulled by the gravitational forces of the DC GOP Elite who have capitulated to $16 trillion in national debt. And suddenly, those Beltway Republicans are beating up Romney for saying something off the cuff, maybe not as polished as he should have, but that is agreed with by a majority of Americans.”
In an interview, Erickson says he was shocked that Romney “doubled down” on his comments and that the media are blowing the controversy out of proportion.
“I don’t think it’s a gaffe, but it could be a problem,” Erickson says. “Now he’s being crucified for remarks even he admits are inarticulate…For this to come out publicly, surreptitiously, illegally, whatever, he’s going to need to own the remarks.”
The CNN commentator points to the latest Gallup poll, in which 54 percent of those surveyed say government is doing too much. (There was no mention of an entitlement culture.) “I’m not exactly a Romney sympathizer, but a lot of people talk about this at the dinner table,” he tells me.
Many journalists view the fundraiser remarks as confirmation that the onetime venture capitalist can’t relate to ordinary folks. But some in the Romney camp believe it’s members of the media who are out of touch, that most national reporters never spend time with those in the dependency class and have all but abandoned talking to voters.
In short, they believe Romney’s message, however inartfully delivered, is right.
Needless to say, many conservative commentators believe he badly botched the argument.
“Obviously it hurts,” National Review editor Rich Lowry tells me. “But it’s probably not as catastrophic as people are portraying it as. The Romney campaign has been declared over three or four different times, and he’s almost tied in Gallup.” (Obama leads Romney 50 to 45 percent among likely voters in an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll out Tuesday.)
On his website, Lowry writes that Romney “shouldn’t back off at all on the point that too many people are dependent on government…But he should make it clear that he doesn’t think they are half the country…The overall impression of Romney at this event is of someone who overheard some conservative cocktail chatter and maybe read a conservative blog or two, and is thoughtlessly repeating back what he heard and read.”
That was restrained compared to David Frum’s verdict in The Daily Beast:
“Mitt Romney has just committed the worst presidential-candidate gaffe since Gerald Ford announced in 1976 that ‘there is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe.’”
Peggy Noonan was no less biting in her Wall Street Journal column: “This is not how big leaders talk, it’s how shallow campaign operatives talk…It’s time to admit the Romney campaign is an incompetent one.” What’s more, she insists, “it’s time for an intervention.”
And Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol pulled no punches in pronouncing Romney’s remarks “stupid” and “arrogant.”
Why aren’t the conservative cognoscenti circling the wagons in an effort to oust Obama? Keep in mind that Kristol, Lowry, Erickson, and many others on the right ripped Romney during the primaries and have never fully trusted him. But the divisions run deeper than that, as Lowry described them to me:
“There’s often a split between conservatives and David Brooks; a split on how strong the reflex should be to defend Romney no matter what he’s saying, when he’s getting attacked by Democrats and the media; and a split on the merits of the question.”
No wonder Romney can’t count on a conservative chorus, especially when he keeps saying things that deepen their doubts.Maybe the Los Angeles Kings have the rest of the NHL right where they want it.
Hanging on to a wild-card spot by the slimmest of margins, the defending NHL champions look like the sluggish, Cup hungover sorts that they dearly hoped not to be.
Oh, there are spurts of great hockey for sure, but not consistently enough.
They arrived at camp in September in an impressive frame of mind, intent on not adhering to the script that so many Cup champions followed the past two decades.
There's a reason no team has repeated since the 1997 and 1998 Red Wings. It's a merciless grind, mentally and physically, to play until June then turn around and do it all over again.
These Kings have played a lot of hockey over the past three-plus years, as Cup champions in 2012 and 2014 with a trip to the Western Conference finals sandwiched in between.
Over the opening three months of the season, some of L.A.'s top guys are having a tough time ramping up the emotional level due to these long runs over the past three springs.
"It's like they know it's there and they can't bring themselves to get it there all the time," said TSN color commentator and former NHL center Ray Ferraro. "I don't think there's any way to play as many games as they've played over the last three years and not have this catch up to you. I don't think there's anything they could do. Look at their team. It's not like they're a bunch of floaters; there's a lot of character guys."
They care. They do. The look on Anze Kopitar's face as he exited the visitors' dressing room after Sunday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs said it all.
These guys are proud champions, and the frustration is building.
"We need to start playing desperate. We're losing points, and we're slowly getting out of a playoff spot."
"Of course it's frustrating not winning games," star blueliner Drew Doughty said after Sunday's loss. "We're used to winning games. We've had a lot of winners as players on this team and as an organization. It's definitely frustrating. But we need to get through it. As the players together, we need to get through this and get to where we know we can be. It's just going to have to turn around quickly, and it's going to take our top guys playing the best that they can and showing the rest of the guys how to play."
Doughty has been terrific, but other top players on the champs have not been up to par.
Kopitar has just 13 points (6 goals, 7 assists) in 28 games, although word is he has played through some ailments that may still be affecting him.
Winger Marian Gaborik, who this summer signed a seven-year, $34.125 million deal to stay on board after his excellent playoffs, has just five goals on the season, although he has missed a bunch of games with injury.
"Best thing you maybe take out of tonight is that Gabby scores," Kings coach Darryl Sutter said after Sunday's game. "We're 30-something games into the year and he's finding his way. Hopefully this is good for him tonight."
As a team, Los Angeles is just not scoring enough goals from night to night.
The puck possession numbers remain strong -- not league-leading like they were a year ago but still very good in the advanced stats department -- so that should bode well for turning things around.
In fact, the Kings have outshot their opponents in all seven games they have played in December but have three wins to show for it.
Issues on the back end have also complicated matters. Slava Voynov's suspension not only deprives the Kings of one of their top blueliners, but it also has a domino effect as the rest of the blue line has been doled out increased minutes. A youngster like Brayden McNabb is playing more minutes than what the team would have envisioned before the season because it has no choice.
"You can't discount the fact they're missing one of their top four D who plays a lot for them," said Ferraro.
And what the Kings are finding is that there are no easy nights. It's a grind every single game. Not just because of their own issues, but also because the opposition treats a game versus the Kings as a Cup-clinching evening.
"Everyone is gunning for you," said Doughty. "We come in to every team's arena and we're the defending Stanley Cup champs. Yeah, that was last year and it's in the past, and for us, we've reset and we've forgotten about that. But for the other teams, they're thinking: 'We've got to beat the champs. We got to show them we could have won that Stanley Cup too.' Teams are doing a good job with that.
"We've just got to rise up to the occasion. We haven't lately, but I know we will."
How the rest of this season plays out for the Kings will determine just how many roster spots open up for some of those youngsters in AHL Manchester. Aaron Poole/NHLI/Getty Images
Ferraro, who worked the Los Angeles game between the benches at Ottawa on Thursday for TSN, said the Kings look exhausted.
"And maybe mentally not quite there," he said. "I think the only thing that helps them is the calendar. And when it goes to 2015, they're going to wake up. That's what I think."
There is indeed that sense about the Kings -- well-earned, by the way -- that no matter how things go in the regular season, they will figure it out when it matters. They started the playoffs on the road in 2012 and 2014 and won championships.
"These guys police themselves pretty well," Kings executive Mike Futa told ESPN.com. "I've learned not to get too down and not to get too judgmental of the group. They find a way."
The notion that the Kings have some secret on/off switch that can be flipped when the time is right is not what the players on this team want to be known for.
"I wouldn't like to think that, no," said Doughty. "We want to go out there every night and play our best hockey. When we're playing desperately, our team is very good. When we're kind of just going through the motions and playing games that way, we're not very good. We need to start playing desperate. We're losing points, and we're slowly getting out of a playoff spot. We definitely need to start paying attention to the standings and win more games."
The rope-a-dope gets old after a while. Because one of these times it might burn them. One doesn't imagine that general manager Dean Lombardi is overly pleased. The veteran GM has done a lot of research over the past few years, talking to executives and former players from championship teams in other sports, trying to give his Kings every edge in maintaining their top-level ways. This is a franchise that wants to be a dynasty.
This wasn't the opening three months the GM had in mind. Lombardi hasn't been with the Kings on this road trip; instead he's been with his AHL club Manchester over the past two weeks getting a close eye on his prospects. No doubt he has liked what he's seen down there, as the Monarchs have the second-best record in the AHL, led by a number of prospects who are going to be good NHL players, like center Nick Shore, 22, who might get a look up top before the season is out.
How the rest of this season plays out for the Kings will determine just how many roster spots open up for some of those youngsters in Manchester.
Does Lombardi start retooling with youth just a bit this summer, or does his veteran, championship core once again give him proof not to tinker too much?
Those are questions that will be answered on the ice over the next few months.For the first time in the United States, a species of bumblebee is endangered.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Tuesday on its website that the rusty patched bumblebee (Bombus affinis), once a common sight, is “now balancing precariously on the brink of extinction.” Over the past two decades, the bumblebee’s population has declined 87 percent, according to the announcement.
Saving Bumblebees Became This Photographer's Mission
The threats facing those seven species are similar to the ones that have depleted rusty patched bumblebee populations: loss of habitat, diseases and parasites, pesticides, and climate change. This is a big deal not only for bees but for humans, too—after all, bees pollinate a lot of our food.
“Bumblebees are among the most important pollinators of crops such as blueberries, cranberries, and clover and almost the only insect pollinators of tomatoes,” according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s rusty patched bumblebee profile. “The economic value of pollination services provided by native insects (mostly bees) is estimated at $3 billion per year in the United States.” (See seven intimate pictures that reveal the beauty of bees.)
View Images Once spread across half the U.S., rusty patched bumblebees are now found in only 13 states. Photograph by Alamy
In its announcement about the rusty patched bumblebees’ endangered status, the department listed ways that individuals can help stop the bees’ decline. These include planting native flowers, limiting or avoiding pesticides, and fostering “natural landscapes and leave grass and garden plants uncut after summer to provide habitat for overwintering bees.”When it first launched, DuckDuckGo seemed like it couldn’t possibly be serious. A tiny, Philadelphia-based search engine going up against Google? Indeed, its early growth was glacial, despite offering itself as a less invasive search engine that doesn’t track your online behavior. But then history intervened: Two years ago, Edward Snowden blew the whistle on NSA spying and American attitudes about privacy shifted. DuckDuckGo been exploding ever since.
Over the last two years, DuckDuckGo’s daily search queries have grown 600%, CEO Gabriel Weinberg told CNBC recently. The privacy-focused search engine is now on track to hit 10 million daily queries for the first time, a milestone that it could hit as early as next week. This follows two solid years of dramatic, upward growth on DuckDuckGo’s traffic charts. And not coincidentally, it comes at a time when public concerns about digital privacy are high.
Last month, a survey from the Pew Research Center revealed that 40% of U.S. adults don’t want their search engine provider to retain any information about them at all. Fortunately for Weinberg, that’s precisely the concept he was going for when he launched DuckDuckGo back in 2008.
“People are finally becoming aware of all the downsides of online tracking, including surveillance, ads following you around the Internet, and being charged different prices based on your profile,” Weinberg told Fast Company. “If you can get both a great experience and privacy at the same time, then it’s really a no-brainer to switch to a private alternative and prevent yourself from being tracked.”
The premise of DuckDuckGo is simple: It doesn’t track your searches or any other online activity. Whereas Google has built a $66 billion dollar-a-year business around knowing more and more about its users’ every click, tap, and scroll, DuckDuckGo prefers ignorance. It doesn’t have user logins, it doesn’t log your search history or IP address. Even if they wanted to hand over data about your search history, they couldn’t. That data just doesn’t exist.
Instead of profiting from heaps of user data, DuckDuckGo has opted for a simpler business model: Old-school search ads that pair the keywords in people’s queries with relevant ads placed by the highest bidder. Weinberg says the company also makes money from affiliate links to sites like Amazon and eBay.
For DuckDuckGo, this huge increase in search volume has led to a corresponding jump in revenue, which has enabled the company to hire new people. Since the beginning of 2014, DuckDuckGo’s head count has doubled, today totaling 28 full-time equivalent employees, most of whom work remotely outside of the company’s headquarters in suburban Philadelphia. All of DuckDuckGo’s employees are hired from the existing community of the search engine’s developers and contributors, a factor Weinberg attributes to a very low turnover rate.A sale on hair extensions at an Orlando beauty supply store got out of hand Friday and forced cops to use pepper spray to control shoppers, Orlando police said.
Beauty Exchange, which opened about three months ago on Pine Hills Circle, was having one in a series of grand opening sales, manager Zaid Muhsen said.
The first 50 customers of the day could get a bundle of hair for extensions or a weave worth $50 to $100 for one penny, he said.
The store has had similar one-penny deals before, Muhsen said, and while they usually draw a crowd, customers usually stay orderly. When Muhsen arrived at his store five minutes before the 9 a.m. opening, there were already shoppers waiting at the door, he said.
"Hundreds of people," he said. "Hundreds. I'm not sure – 400, 500."
The store's two security guards tried to keep the customers in line, and allow only 10 people in at a time, Muhsen said.
But shoppers did not listen to them, and eight police officers arrived to help with crowd control, Muhsen said.
"The police tried to hold them up, they pushed the police, the police got mad. It started getting outta control, and then they [police] pepper sprayed," Muhsen said.
Two of the officers aimed pepper spray over the heads of customers, who immediately scattered, Muhsen said.
Sgt. Lovetta Quinn-Henry, an Orlando police spokeswoman, said the officers' conduct is being reviewed "to make sure everything was within OPD policy."
"What is most important is peace was restored, no one was injured or arrested," she said.
Muhsen said he wished police did not use pepper spray on his customers.
"When the police were saying everybody leave, everybody leave, I got a little upset. Because I'm doing this for the community, I'm doing this for my customers, and I don't want my customers to leave," Muhsen said.
Still, Muhsen said he is not angry at officers.
"They were doing their job, the police."
glotan@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5774I och med att massinvandringen tog fart i somras, skedde en förändring i media. ”Flyktingkrisen”, ett av alla dessa vilseledande begrepp som bitit sig fast, är nu ständigt första nyhet i alla medier. Det är bra för oss som vill veta vad som händer. Samtidigt är det plågsamt, därför att den propaganda och den sekteristiska tankeverksamhet som politiker och journalister ägnar sig åt, har eskalerat. Klyftan mellan verklighetens realiteter och makthavarnas regndanser är nu större än jag minns att den någonsin varit.
Politikerna fortsätter att hantera massinvandringen som om den snart tar slut. Det finns ingenting som tyder på det. Moderaterna säger att gränskontroller måste upprättas tillfälligt. En migrationspolitik som byggs upp som en tillfällig insats är vilse i pannkakan. Dessutom, moderaterna bedriver oppositionspolitik. Den verkliga frågan är vad regerande socialdemokrater och miljöpartister kommer överens om. Tänker de fortsätta med pseudoåtgärder som att söka hjälp hos EU, som att kräva att ansvaret fördelas rättvist bland EU:s medlemsstater? Och de gränskontroller de tänker införa, till att börja med under tio dagar. Betyder det att det blir färre som kommer?
Allting tyder på att asyltrycket på Europa eskalerar och om ingenting drastiskt görs så är det bara en tidsfråga innan EU brakar ihop. Nationerna är ”på riktigt” och tvingas upprätta gränskontroller för att överleva. De som inte gör det, kanske gäller det Sverige, kollapsar. Det finns nämligen inget val. EU har inget geopolitiskt alternativ att erbjuda. Nationen är det som gäller.
Plågsamt är det också att ta del av politikernas hyllningar av sig själva. Det svenska sammanbrottet beskrivs som att ”Sverige är bäst i klassen”, ”Sverige har gjort en fantastisk insats” och ”Sverige har tagit sitt ansvar som inget annat land”. Ansvar är ett skitord i sammanhanget, därför att aldrig någonsin talar svenska politiker om sitt ansvar gentemot väljarna, skattebetalarna och Sveriges medborgare. Det som i verkligheten skett är ju att politikerna totalt tappat bort att deras jobb är att skapa ett bra land för Sveriges medborgare. Det är inte FN och andra överstatliga instanser som finansierar asylindustrin. Det är heller inte EU:s överbetalda funktionärer som får ta smällen, när konsekvenserna av massinvandringen infinner sig.
Fundera lite på de tält som ska smackas upp för asylanter i detta vinterland, därför att bostäderna helt enkelt tagit slut. Under hela efterkrigstiden har bostadsbristen varit en av de största politiska frågorna. Vilka möjligheter har svenska ungdomar att flytta hemifrån, få en egen bostad och bilda familj? Bostaden ingår som en nödvändig komponent i det som är ett av de absolut tyngsta politiska uppdragen. Utan bostad, ingen familj. Ingen familj, inga barn, i varje fall inte så många. Det var bakgrunden till det miljonprogram som förfulade Sverige, men som för några decennier inte bara löste bostadskrisen utan också gav medborgarna bra bostäder med rimliga hyror. Unga människor utan välmatade plånböcker kan i dag titta i månen efter egna bostäder. Gissa varför. Kan det bero på att svenska politiker tagit sitt ansvar?
Obegripligt är också hur svenska politiker hyllar ett migrationsmottagande, där hälften av dem som kommer avviker utan att ens registreras. Det betyder att de hamnar utanför alla bidragssystem. Vad ska de leva på? I bästa fall svartjobb, i sämsta kriminalitet. Vad sägs om bostadsinbrott? Kort sagt, sammanbrottet bankar på Sveriges port och svenska politiker applåderar sig själva. Det är mycket osmakligt.
Den här inledningen blev lite längre än jag tänkt. Huvudinnehållet är nämligen det som följer nedan, några bra texter från skribenter som föredrar att förbli anonyma. Det första är en av flera invändningar mot den defaitistiska bild av den postmoderne svensken, som tecknades i föregående inlägg.
Det var en mycket intressant analys som din bloggläsande filosofidoktorand lade fram. Nu tror jag ändå att etnicitet räknas, också för svenskarna, och jag skulle tro att det kommer att te sig annorlunda den dag, inte allt för avlägsen, när svenskheten, också för medelklassen, verkligen är hotad. /…/ Ännu har inte mångkulturen nått de svenska medelklassområdena, utan i dessa lever man fortfarande i sin trygga, svenska tillvaro. Men man kan enkelt se hur reaktionerna blir när man på ett påtagligt sätt konfronteras med invandringens alla baksidor. Valmyndigheten erbjuder därvidlag intressant studiematerial: I Almgården, ett i huvudsak svenskt arbetarklassbostadsområde, |
with her that he let his flesh be woven from hers, so that the Virgin became the Mother of God, as an ancient hymn, sung for centuries, proclaims. To you who uninterruptedly come to her, converging upon this, the spiritual capital of the country, may she continue to point the way. May she help you to weave in your own lives the humble and simple thread of the Gospel.
At Cana, as here in Jasna Góra, Mary offers us her nearness and helps us to discover what we need to live life to the full. Now as then, she does this with a mother’s love, by her presence and counsel, teaching us to avoid hasty decisions and grumbling in our communities. As the Mother of a family, she wants to keep us together. Through unity, the journey of your people has surmounted any number of harsh experiences. May the Mother, who stood steadfast at the foot of the Cross and persevered in prayer with the disciples in awaiting the Holy Spirit, obtain for you the desire to leave behind all past wrongs and wounds, and to build fellowship with all, without ever yielding to the temptation to withdraw or to domineer.
At Cana, Our Lady showed great realism. She is a Mother who takes people’s problems to heart and acts. She recognizes moments of difficulty and handles them discreetly, efficiently and decisively. She is neither imperious nor intrusive, but a Mother and a handmaid. Let us ask for the grace to imitate her sensitivity and her creativity in serving those in need, and to know how beautiful it is to spend our lives in the service of others, without favourites or distinctions. May Mary, Cause of our Joy, who brings peace amid the profusion of sin and the turmoil of history, obtain for us the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and enable us to be good and faithful servants
Through her intercession, may the fullness of time come about also for us. The transition from before to after Christ means little if it remains a date in the annals of history. May each one of us be able to make an interior passage, a Passover of the heart, towards the divine “style” incarnated by Mary. May we do everything in littleness, and accompany others at close hand, with a simple and open heart.
[Original text: Italian] [Vatican-provided text]The influential US senate has approved the use of military force in Syria, in response to reports of a chemical weapons attack there.
The group of politicians approved a plan that allows the US to use military force in Syria for 60 days, as long as it doesn't involve sending US troops in on the ground.
President Obama says he'll continue to press Russia to support military action against its ally, Syria, when world leaders meet at the G20 summit in Russia later today.
All week world leaders have debated whether or not to take military action in Syria after the government there was accused of using chemical weapons against its own people.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned the US and its allies against taking action without UN approval, saying it would be "an aggression".
What is the US senate? A body of important people elected from each US state that decide which laws the US should adopt.
Senators suggest laws and then come together to vote on whether the legislation is good for the country.
Two million Syrians have already fled their homes to seek safety in neighbouring countries.
In a statement at the White House on Saturday, President Obama said he felt it was important to have a debate about intervention in Syria.
"I've long believed that our power is rooted not just in our military might, but in our example as a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
"And that's why... I will seek authorisation for the use of force from the American people's representatives in Congress," he said.
Last week we asked BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardner to answer Newsround viewers' questions about Syria - what's going on and what may happen in the future.Google Prepares Default Chrome Search Engine “Choice Window” to Comply with Russian Lawsuit
In the past few months, Google has suffered a series of setbacks due to litigation. Most recently, the company was hit with a whopping €2.42 billion fine after the European Commission ruled that Google was violating EU anti-trust regulations by inflating their own shopping service results in Google search pages. Back in mid-April, Google suffered another blow when the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) ruled that the company was violating its market dominance by essentially forcing OEMs to pre-install Google services on their devices. Part of the company’s settlement with the FAS involved creating a new Google Chrome search widget that can replace the default Google search widget.
In doing so, users can then change their default search provider in Chrome’s settings so that this new widget can quickly access any third-party search engine provider. Users first started to notice this new search widget in early May as it rolled out to the Chrome Dev and Canary channels, but per the settlement with FAS this widget only fulfills part of the agreement with the Russian government.
According to the FAS:
For the devices that are currently circulating on the Russian market, Google will develop an active “choice window” for the Chrome browser which at the time of the next update will provide the user with the opportunity to choose their default search engine. Within a few months, Google will develop for new devices a new Chrome widget that will replace the standard Google search widget on the home screen. This will allow end users of the devices based on the Android OS with the GMS package to see the new “choice screen” at the first launch of the new Chrome widget. This choice screen enables users to choose Yandex search or Google search or any other search engine of those developers who will sign a commercial agreement on their inclusion to the choice screen.
Changing the device’s locale to Russian, wiping Chrome Canary’s data, and adding the search widget has not yet yielded the promised search engine “choice screen” that Russia requires from Google. But according to a recent commit to the Chromium open source project, that may soon change.
The commit enables the “search engine promo” by default – a flag which will show a promotion dialog about enabling other search engines depending on your locale. Chrome’s LocaleManager details what Chrome will do when the device is determined to be in a “special locale” (though interestingly enough, I haven’t been able to find exactly which locales are deemed to be “special”).
There are 4 different states that Chrome determines the user to be in – “don’t show”, “new”, “existing”, and “sogou.” “Don’t show” clearly means that the user should not be shown a search engine promotion dialog as they are not located within a special locale. The “new” state means that user is setting up Chrome for the first time, so the browser will show the DefaultSearchEngineFirstRunFragment that provides a layout of available search engines to choose from on first launch. “Existing” refers to users already using Chrome, which will call the DefaultSearchEnginePromoDialog method to force users to choose a default search engine from a provided list. The dialog is not cancellable and cannot be bypassed. Finally, and what I believe to be the most interesting, is the “sogou” state. Presumably if installed in China, Google Chrome will set the default search engine provider to be Sogou – China’s second largest search provider.
The SpecialLocaleHandler determines whether or not to set Google search as the default search provider based on Locale. The DefaultSearchEngineDialogHelper method handles listing which search providers will be listed once called. Interestingly, there’s a routine within this method that quite literally shuffles the search engine list in random order, presumably so that which provider is listed at the top of the list is totally random.
Although this search engine promotion dialog will currently only be shown in China and Russia, we wouldn’t be surprised if users in the European Union will start to see this in the future. Especially since the EU and Google are embroiled in ongoing litigation about Google applications being pre-installed on Android devices – a practice which the Russian FAS already ruled to be anti-competitive. If Google were to lose the Android case in the EU, then this search engine promotion dialog may become the rule rather than the exception.Three pints of India pale ale can deliver you half a day’s worth of calories. And a typical glass of California cabernet sauvignon today may have more alcohol and more calories than it would have a decade ago.
But you'd never know it.
Unlike companies that make food, brewers, distillers, and winemakers aren’t required to disclose calories and ingredients on their cans and bottles. (They've lobbied against it for years.) And survey data has shown that very few people have any idea what’s in their boozy beverages of choice.
The public health community has pushed hard to change that. The Center for Science in the Public Interest has been advocating for more transparency around alcohol labeling for more than a decade. Researchers in the BMJ argued in 2015 that alcoholic drinks contribute to obesity and also called for mandatory nutrition labels.
Recently there have been small gains. Some of the nation’s biggest brewers — including Anheuser-Busch, MillerCoors, HeinekenUSA, Constellation Brands Beer Division, North American Breweries, and Craft Brew Alliance — vowed to begin publishing nutrition information on new labels by 2020.
The measure, however, is voluntary. And it will only include calories, not ingredients. Wines, spirits, and mixed drinks, meanwhile, will still be a black box for calories and fat, as well as for added sugar, added flavors, and preservatives.
"The calories in alcohol are a concern because people may forget about them," said Lindsay Moyer, senior nutritionist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "We’re used to seeing calories on nutrition facts labels for almost any food package, but when you pick up an alcoholic drink, that information just isn’t there."
To fill in some of the information gaps, Moyer has been tracking the calories in popular alcoholic drinks. Her findings, published on CSPI’s Nutrition Action website, reveal a big range of calories in your favorite drinks — and even among different kinds of beer.
Beers can vary wildly in their calorie content
Some beers really are light as advertised: Most 12-ounce cans of light beer have about 4 percent alcohol and 100 calories. A beer, like Budweiser of the same size, is fairly light, too, with 5 percent alcohol and 150 calories.
But the calories start to creep up quite a bit when you get to Belgian brews, IPAs, and stouts, which often contain 7 to 10 percent alcohol. "When you see numbers like that, you’re getting into the 200- to 300-calorie range," said Moyer. That’s about the same amount of calories as a medium McDonald’s fries or a cup of vanilla ice cream.
Mixed drinks can pack in both calories and sugar
If you’re really watching your calorie intake, most beers are still going to be a better bet than most mixed drinks. The latter are usually loaded with sugar because of the juice, tonic water, or mixer — often sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup — that make them so drinkable.
Mixed drinks to be wary of, according to CSPI, include Olive Garden’s frozen margarita, at 340 calories — about the same as two and a half Budweisers or Coca-Colas.
The biggest health offender Moyer came across was the Irish beer shake from the gourmet burger chain Red Robin. Made with Guinness, chocolate, and whipped cream, the drink contains more than 700 calories — about the same as the calories in a McDonald’s Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese.
The trouble with drinks this sugary and calorific is similar to the problem with soda: They're loaded with as much energy as many solid foods, but they don't fill you up the same way. So people end up taking in a lot of calories without the same satiety.
The calories in some popular wines are creeping up
There’s a little less calorie variation between wines than between beers: Most 6-ounce glasses of red or white have about 150 calories.
But there has been a general drift in wine production to sweeter types of grapes, said Gavin Lavi Sacks, a viticulture researcher at Cornell University. "It appears that average alcohol content of wine has gone up by about 1 percent volume by volume since the early 1990s, from about 12.5 percent to about 13.5 percent alcohol." And, again, more alcohol means more calories in every glass.
Part of this has to do with climate change, Sacks said, "since the warmer temperatures would hypothetically increase sugar accumulation at a faster rate than development of other desirable flavors." But there’s also anecdotal evidence "of winemakers seeking riper flavors, to keep pace with consumer or critic expectations."
For example, there’s been a growing interest in moscato, a sweeter wine that happens to contain more sugar and calories than average.
Nowhere is this trend toward ripe flavors more apparent than in California, which has become synonymous with wines produced using more sugary grapes. "Grape sugar content increases during the growing season, and later harvest dates result in more sugar," said Lavi Sacks. "Higher sugar content at the start of fermentation will result in more alcohol in the finished wine." The result: bottles that are a little sweeter, more alcoholic — and higher in calories. Or, as one New York Times article put it, wine with "a dense, opaque fruitiness well suited to a nation of Pepsi drinkers."
How to drink without gaining weight
According to the latest US dietary guidelines, alcohol can be part of a healthy diet when consumed in moderation. For women, that means no more than one serving a day, and for men, no more than two.
That limit is good for your liver and your risk of cancer and chronic disease. It also works for your waistline. One serving of any type of wine or beer probably won't derail a healthy diet, but three or four certainly can.
If you aren’t sure how many calories are in your favorite drink, check out the National Institutes of Health's alcohol calories calculator for broad estimates and the searchable table below for information about specific brands.
As a general rule, drinks with more alcohol will carry more calories. Alcohol contains about 7 calories per gram, which is almost as much as the most calorie-dense nutrient of all: fat, which has 9 calories per gram. More alcohol in a drink means more calories. So that alcohol by volume, or ABV, metric listed on the side of your can or bottle is a good shorthand for how calorific your beverage is relative to others. (Low-alcohol wines and session or light beers are good options here.)
Drinks that are sweeter will also generally pack more calories. If you have a hankering for a mixed drink, avoid sugar- and cream-filled options and stick to those that use club soda instead of syrupy mixers.
"Alternate [alcoholic drinks] with water or tonic water, and order drinks after ordering [the rest of your] meal, as alcohol may stimulate appetite and dissolve resolve," obesity doctor Yoni Freedhoff said.
Want to dive deeper? Search the database below, compiled by Nutrition Action.Hollywood studios may be scared to show their summer report cards to their corporate bosses. After all, ticket sales were down 12% year-over-year as flops like “The Mummy” and “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” failed to attract crowds.
That’s not to say the Universals, Warners, and Disneys of the world didn’t have successes they could crow about. Despite the rough box office headwinds, there were still some big hits. Sequels to “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Despicable Me” scored, “Wonder Woman” and its feminist heroine tapped into the zeitgeist, while “Dunkirk,” a brainy historical drama, sailed into the heart of summer and emerged triumphant.
To help the six major studios learn from their mistakes (and to give them gold stars when they excelled), Variety is taking a hard look at the summer that was. Here are the hits and misses, winners and losers of popcorn season.
UNIVERSAL
Summer Offerings: “The Mummy,” “Despicable Me 3,” “Girls Trip”
Grade: B
Takeaways: “Girls Trip” must have come as a huge sigh of relief for Universal. After a number of R-rated comedies from competitors failed to connect, the bawdy farce quenched the market’s parched, mirthless throat. But the studio needed it as much as anyone after “The Mummy” majorly whiffed, putting its ambitions to create a cinematic universe of monster movies on ice. (“Girls Trip” has out-earned the Tom Cruise-starring reboot in North America.) Meanwhile, “Despicable Me 3” has made a killing overseas, but stateside, it’s still trying to catch up with the original.
Related Bob Iger on Hostless Oscars: 'It's Been a Rollercoaster' Gavin O'Connor in Talks to Direct 'Fast' at Warner Bros. (EXCLUSIVE)
WARNER BROS.
Summer Offerings: “Dunkirk,” “Wonder Woman,” “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword,” “The House,” “Annabelle: Creation,” “Everything, Everything”
Grade: B+
Takeaways: If only Warner Bros. hadn’t decided to revisit the Knights of the Round Table. If it left “King Arthur” well enough alone, it might have graduated from summer with honors. Instead, it will have to settle for just missing the A grade.
Still, there’s a lot for Warner Bros. to be happy about. The studio scored an unlikely summer hit with Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk,” a World War II epic that should also factor into the awards race. It’s also closing out August on a high note with the latest “Annabelle” packing in crowds looking for a scare. Most importantly, it proved that the DC Comics logo doesn’t have to be a warning to moviegoers. By adding humor and optimism into its comic book landscape, “Wonder Woman” was not only financially successful, it was beloved. “Justice League” take note.
DISNEY
Summer Offerings: “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” “Cars 3”
Grade: A-
Takeaways: Disney had the first smash hit of the summer with the second “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Little did we know at that point that it would be one of the few blockbusters. While Bob Iger’s Magic Kingdom remains the gold standard in Hollywood film, there are signs that some of the studio’s beloved franchises are reaching their expiration point. The latest entries in the “Pirates” and “Cars” universes slipped below their predecessors (OK, but still, they’re the fifth and seventh-highest-grossing movies of the summer on the domestic charts). A record-setting season it was not, but hey, that’s what “Star Wars” is for, right?
SONY
Summer Offerings: “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” “Rough Night,” “The Dark Tower,” “The Emoji Movie,” “Baby Driver”
Grade: B
Takeaways: Sony is showing signs of life after years in the box office graveyard. The studio successfully rebooted the Spider-Man franchise, giving the superhero series a more youthful, zippier makeover with help from Marvel. Edgar Wright’s “Baby Driver,” a poppy heist film, also proved that summer hits don’t have to be dumb. But despite the raves for “Baby Driver,” quality control was a problem for Sony. Both “The Emoji Movie” and “The Dark Tower” suffered some of the worst reviews of the year.
FOX
Summer Offerings: “Snatched,” “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul,” “Alien: Covenant,” “Captain Underpants,” “War for the Planet of the Apes”
Grade: B-
Takeaways: Fox’s summer box office has been satisfactory at best. The studio should be happy with the reviews for “War for the Planet of the Apes,” but even though it’s a solid double, the sci-fi adventure film will fall short of blockbuster status. The rest of Fox’s lineup was more miss than hit. Audiences didn’t want to join Ridley Scott’s latest ill-fated space expedition, with “Alien: Covenant” a franchise killer, and “Snatched” was an Amy Schumer comedy that, well, people never quite cared enough about to find.
PARAMOUNT
Summer Offerings: “Baywatch,” “Transformers: The Last Knight”
Grade: C-
Takeaways: It would have been a failing grade for the beleaguered studio, but foreign audiences rescued the latest Transformers sequel from being a complete financial disaster. It’s hard to know where to begin with Paramount. Its major franchises are running out of steam and have yet to be replaced, and it hasn’t had a true hit since “Fences” opened in December. Newly appointed studio chief Jim Gianopulos has his work cut out for him if he wants to restore Paramount’s luster. A summer like this only puts the studio deeper in the hole.Google Pixel is priced at a point where people expect a premium experience — and in many ways, Google has delivered. The aluminum body looks and feels nice, the software is incredibly smooth and capable, the camera is out of this world excellent almost every time, and the battery life is on the higher end of functional. This is a great phone, and when you factor in security updates this is going to be the phone I recommend to people for a long time. That said, over the last few days I found myself missing the kitchen sink of features that comes with owning a Galaxy Note 7. Before it was the laughing stock of the world for occasionally turning into a heap of molten slag, the Note 7 had some lessons to teach every other phone. "Pro" camera mode
Google's camera app for the Pixel couldn't be easier to use, and the shots you get from this phone are incredible, but I want more. Specifically, when I took a trip out to the middle of nowhere to play with light painting I was reminded that there's no way to do that in Google's stock camera. You can install other apps to accomplish long exposure shots, but you'd think a phone trying to offer a premium experience would bake something like that in right? Samsung's camera app isn't the easiest to use, but the ability access Pro mode and gain remarkable control over your photography is one of the things that makes the S7, S7 edge, and Note 7 so great. It's a fairly small thing overall, but useful when you need it. Expandable storage
Especially now that Google has made it possible to add storage to your phone in a permanent fashion, WHY hasn't Google seen fit to add removable storage to their big flagship phones? Why bother with the feature if you're not going to use it? Samsung doesn't offer Adoptable Storage by default on their phones, but there's so much you can use the SD card for now that cameras are recording in 4K and taking enormous photos with RAW support baked in. It's there if you need it, which is what you expect from a premium phone! Wireless charging
I don't fault Google for not including wireless charging in a phone with a metal body, because no one has fully implemented that feature yet and I personally prefer the metal body on the Pixel to the slippery glass on Samsung's lineup, but it's still a great feature. Google's lack of wireless charging in the last few phones has been a bummer, and something a lot of people were hoping would come back with the Pixel phones. Samsung, on the other hand, has been crushing it with wireless charging. Not just regular wireless charging, but fast wireless charging that really makes a difference. There's a big part of the wireless charging experience that is greatly improved with the newer rapid chargers, making it much easier for people to consider adopting with new phones. Waterproof body
Welcome to 2016, where IP53 is not acceptable in a phone with a premium price tag unless the Google logo is on the back? That seems odd, right? HTC was slammed for this same water and dust rating on their most recent phone, and despite being a great piece of hardware no one bought it because it was so expensive. The mental gymnastics require to praise the Pixel without talking about water resistance but slam the 10 for being too expensive for what you get are impressive. Meanwhile, on Samsung's phones you can watch Alec Baldwin in what is probably the best performance of his career on SNL while sitting in a hot tub. While not something you should do every day, it's the kind of thing you should expect on a phone with one of the highest price tags on the market. Is this a premium phone?Image by TunnelBug via Flickr
For those politicians who are serious about bringing about heath care reform and are not merely pandering on a popular issue to win votes, your message must do the following:
Demonstrate that the status quo is untenable (i.e., convince us that doing nothing is not an option). Convince us that your plan will improve the quality of the health care to which many of us now have access. Convince us that your plan will permit more Americans to have access to health care than is now the case. Convince us that your plan will be more cost-effective over the long-term than the current system.
What we need to hear more of with regard to #1 is that the U.S. has the most expensive and one of the least effective health care systems that can be found in the industrialized world. But as we hit people over the head with this fact, we must follow with a cogent plan for improving the quality of health care.
What about #3? This is one of those that sounds very appealing until one realizes that lots of middle-class voters already have health insurance (or
It also seems that #4 is getting too much attention this early in the game. It is important, but it has to be clearly tied to #1 and #2. Many people will be willing to pay a little more if they will see a clear benefit for themselves and their families. Of course, there are some
Perhaps health care reform will fail because too many politicians of both parties are bought and paid for by the insurance and pharmaceutical companies. At least our goal would then be clear (i.e., divorcing politics from money). But if it fails due to ineffective PR, I'm not sure anyone will know where to go from there. So far, I feel like I have seen largely ineffective attempts to accomplish #1 and #4 with very little attention devoted to #2 and #3. This is concerning because #1 and #2 should be closely tied together if any plan is going to win widespread acceptance. Focusing on #1 and #4 while ignoring #2 is merely going to scare people and turn them off to the whole thing.What we need to hear more of with regard to #1 is that the U.S. has the most expensive and one of the least effective health care systems that can be found in the industrialized world. But as we hit people over the head with this fact, we must follow with a cogent plan for improving the quality of health care.What about #3? This is one of those that sounds very appealing until one realizes that lots of middle-class voters already have health insurance (or do not want health insurance ) and are not really as concerned about the poor as they might want us to believe. This is a big part of why #2 must receive much more attention than it has so far. Americans will get behind #3 but only as more of a secondary benefit of #2. Without #2, I fear that #3 is going to have next to no real traction.It also seems that #4 is getting too much attention this early in the game. It is important, but it has to be clearly tied to #1 and #2. Many people will be willing to pay a little more if they will see a clear benefit for themselves and their families. Of course, there are some other considerations which could be implemented in a health care plan that would result in improved care and significant savings.Perhaps health care reform will fail because too many politicians of both parties are bought and paid for by the insurance and pharmaceutical companies. At least our goal would then be clear (i.e., divorcing politics from money). But if it fails due to ineffective PR, I'm not sure anyone will know where to go from there.
The political debate over health care reform in the U.S. is heating up and will only become more intense in the near future. It seems to me that the Democratic Party, including President Obama, has done a terrible job explaining the need for meaningful reform and the importance of the so-called "public option" to the American people. I suspect that some do not understand it themselves, and others are clearly in the pocket of the insurance companies. This is more than a PR failure, but it is most certainly that too. And on the PR front, it seems to me that many Democrats are making this far more complicated than need be the case.Life this week for Ahmed Mohamed exploded like the bomb he never built.
Ahmed Mohamed, 14, thanks supporters during a news conference at his home on Wednesday after his arrest and suspension for bringing a handmade clock to school made him a social media sensation. ( Brandon Wade / AP ) A photo provided by the Irving, Texas, police shows the homemade clock Ahmed Mohamed brought to school this week. An English teacher at MacArthur High School decided it looked like a bomb. ( AP )
Arrested at school on Monday amid paranoia over a homemade clock he brought to class, the 14-year-old Texas boy has rocketed to international fame, fuelled by a mob of social media supporters earnestly defending him as a gifted, science-inclined teen who likes to tinker with gadgets. By Thursday he was doing the media rounds at the Four Seasons hotel in Dallas and fielding an invitations, including one from Canada’s most famous astronaut, Chris Hadfield, who invited Ahmed to attend his science show at Massey Hall next month. “There’s a ticket waiting for you,” Hadfield tweeted.
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“There have been so many invitations,” Mohamed Elhassan, Ahmed’s father, told the Star, practically shouting through his cellphone from Irving, Tex., a suburban city outside Dallas. He wasn’t aware of Hadfield’s invitation — Elhassan only recognized the name when told about “the guy who sang David Bowie in space”—but said Ahmed would surely be interested in coming to Toronto. “That is great. That is nice. That gives my son hope, teach him not to be down,” said Elhassan, 54. The fourth of seven children, Ahmed has always been inclined to take apart computers and machines and build things himself, Elhassan said. He had been working on his own electronic clock and decided to bring it to MacArthur High School on Monday. At a news conference Wednesday in Irving, Ahmed told reporters that he showed the clock to an engineering teacher, and then later it beeped in English class and school officials called police. “She thought it was a threat to her,” Ahmed told reporters, referring to his English teacher. “It was really sad that she took a wrong impression of it.” The incident has provoked accusations of racial and religious prejudice — Ahmed is Muslim and his family emigrated from Sudan. The chair of the Dallas County Democratic Party accused the city’s mayor of inciting Islamophobia in the area and said the arrest was the “logical conclusion.”
Elhassan said the family wants to place Ahmed in another school; he will not go back to MacArthur High. “That is really terrible. It’s disgusting. It’s not right,” he said. “He needs to discover, he needs to invent — that is his hobby.”
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Chris Hadfield’s son, Evan, is organizing the Generator event at Massey Hall on Oct. 28, to which Ahmed has an open invitation. Hadfield described it as a loose lecture-meets-performance that will feature his father discussing his space travel and a host of other scientists who will talk about their work. The younger Hadfield said what happened to Ahmed goes beyond discrimination. “It’s a pretty clear example of ignorance reigning over common logic or intelligence,” said Hadfield, 30. “We want people to know that we do support him being curious, him investigating, him doing science and him showing that off to people and letting them know that he’s proud of it. I think he should be proud of it. Regardless of if he can come up for the event — and I hope he can — we would like him to know that we think that way.” Elhassan said he’s grateful for the invitation, but there’s too much going on to make a solid RSVP just yet. On Thursday Ahmed needed to rest, he said. The teenager napped most of the afternoon. “It’s exciting,” Elhassan said. “He didn’t sleep all this time... I hope this media doesn’t make him crazy!”
Read more about:A Saudi Arabian man has been ordered to leave the country after he attacked his daughter at a Ches's Fish & Chips restaurant in St. John's last week.
Khalaf Alshaek, 56, threatened to kill his daughter while at the Freshwater Road restaurant after she asked permission to marry a Newfoundlander who converted to Islam.
Alshaek and his daughter then went back to the family home, where he choked her several times.
His daughter, 30, went into the washroom to text her boyfriend, who happened to be at the police station laying charges against Alshaek for the earlier incident at the restaurant.
Officers with the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary went to the home and arrested him.
The court was told on Monday that Alshaek felt that his daughter brought shame on his family by not asking permission to have the relationship.
In court on Tuesday, Alshaek pleaded guilty to assaulting and threatening his daughter.
He was sentenced to six days time served, and ordered to leave Canada.
Judge James Walsh also put him on 12-months probation, which would prevent him from having contact with his daughter.
Alshaek was emotional in court and said he, his wife and son wanted to return to Saudi Arabia.
He was in the province to chaperone his daughter while she attended Memorial University,
It turns out, his daughter had already married. Alshaek said through an interpreter that if he'd known that, it would have changed everything.
Alshaek said he would not longer have been responsible for disciplining his daughter — that would fall to the husband.
He was put on a plane today, bound for the mainland. Alshaek should be back in Saudi Arabia by Friday.
The daughter will stay in the province with her new husband.John Carpenter's Halloween was so influential that it essentially kickstarted the entire slasher genre, and the horror classic has become not only a must-watch for any horror fan but also practically required viewing when the spooky holiday rolls around every October. This year, fans will have the special opportunity to see the movie in theaters for one night only, as Fathom Events and SpectiCast are teaming to bring the film to audiences on the big screen. A new press release says that they'll be playing the movie at 7:30pm local time on October 29th in select theaters across the country. (Click here to buy tickets and see which theaters near you will be playing the film.)
The coolest part, though, will likely be the introduction of the movie by Carpenter himself, in which he'll be "providing insights on Halloween and how it has forever changed the horror genre in Hollywood." Sounds like a pretty cool way to celebrate the holiday, don't you think? And by playing the film on the 29th instead of the 31st, it'll still allow everyone to go hang out and go to parties and stuff on the actual day itself. Prepare your crappy William Shatner masks — this should be fun.IPB The first Parliamentary report into the UK's draft Investigatory Powers Bill, commonly referred to as the "Snoopers' Charter", says it has great potential to damage the nation's technology sector and the public should therefore pick up the tab for the £2bn (US$2.85bn) or so it will require to implement the data-harvesting legislation.
That's the gist of the report into the Bill, issued today by the UK's Science and Technology Select Committee.
The report argues that complying with the Bill will cost business so much that they'll be disadvantaged when competing with foreign rivals. The report also worries about reputational costs associated with the Bill's provisions for state hacking and mandatory decryption.
Focusing on the technological aspects of the Snoopers' Charter, the inquiry assessed it only in terms of its feasibility and cost, rather than whether its legal powers were proportionate to the threats they were intended to address. That second assessment is being made by the Joint Committee on the Draft Investigatory Powers Bill which is likely to publish its report within the next fortnight.
Nicola Blackwood MP, the committee's chair, stressed the bill's poor definitions of matters like decryption-on-demand (the removal of electronic protection) and the state's legalised hacking abilities (equipment interference). The committee's greatest worry, however, regarded "the feasibility of collecting and storing Internet Connection Records (ICRs), including concerns about ensuring security for the records from hackers."
"The Bill was intended to provide clarity to the industry, but the current draft contains very broad and ambiguous definitions of ICRs," wrote Blackwood, echoing the sentiments of the submissions her committee had received from almost every party except from the Home Office itself.
Does anyone here know what an 'Internet Connection Record' might be?
A consensus among those providing witness statements to the Science and Technology Committee's inquiry, as well as to the Joint Committee providing pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft legislation as a whole, criticised ICRs.
Some ISPs simply confessed ignorance as to what the Home Office could possible mean by the term, while other witnesses gave more robust denials regarding whether ICRs even existed. No witnesses believed they current possessed the capacity to collect ICRs, and there was much echo of The Register's analysis that £2bn was a far closer assessment of its implementation costs than £250m.
The report declared that “the Government must work with industry to improve estimates of all of the compliance costs associated with the measures in the draft Bill.”
Blackwood noted that there are "widespread doubts over the definition, not to mention the definability, of a number of the terms used in the draft Bill”, and the report specifically highlighted that there are "questions as to how collecting and storing ICRs is technically possible, and whether Data Retention Notices to retain all user ICRs are 'necessary and proportionate'."
When such concerns were first raised, UK home secretary Theresa May dismissed them before Parliament by claiming that: “If someone has visited a social media website, an internet connection record will only show that they accessed that site, not the particular pages they looked at, who they communicated with, or what they |
acceptance of what happens, and an emphasis that no matter what—rabies, dead child, adultery, bankruptcy, lottery—life goes on.
In Cujo, one boy dies, but another boy gets a chance to have a life. Victories are qualified, there are no guarantees of a happy ending, and a good dog dies turning on the people it loved. Deeply immersed in the minutae of rural life in Maine, and with ambitions that sprawl far beyond the scope of genre requirements, Cujo takes its place next to novels like Thomas Harris’s Red Dragon as a thriller that’s written at a level you don’t often find. And considering that its main character gets the least amount of page time, it’s only appropriate to let Cujo himself have the last word:
It would perhaps not be amiss to point out that he had always tried to be a good dog. He had tried to do all the things his MAN and his WOMAN, and most of all his BOY, had asked or expected of him. He would have died for them, if that had been required. He had never wanted to kill anybody. He had been struck by something, possibly destiny, or fate, or only a degenerative nerve disease called rabies. Free will was not a factor.
A small (for King), strange, melancholy book, Cujo makes it plain that King’s ambitions at this point went far beyond merely scaring his audience.
Grady Hendrix has written about pop culture for magazines ranging from Playboy to World Literature Today. He also writes books! You can follow every little move he makes over at his blog.Are US military leaders being honest about how the war in Afghanistan is going? No – and to a troubling extent, argues an Army lieutenant colonel who served there last year.
In an article that is creating buzz in the halls of the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill, Lt. Col. Daniel Davis argues that not only is the war in Afghanistan not going well, but also that his fellow US military officers – whether due to a misguided “can do” spirit or a fear of repercussions within their chains of command – are misleading the American people.
This apparent lack of candor, in turn, is creating what Davis calls a “credibility gap,” making it impossible to allow US citizens and lawmakers to “decide if the risk to blood and treasure” inherent in America’s wars is “worth it.”
Published Sunday in Armed Forces Journal, produced by Gannett, “Truth, lies and Afghanistan: How military leaders have let us down” begins with Davis emphasizing that, upon his arrival in Afghanistan in late 2010, he was “sincerely hoping" to learn that Pentagon officials' consistent claims – "that conditions in Afghanistan were improving, that the local government and the military were progressing towards self-sufficiency" – were true.
“I did not need to witness dramatic improvements to be reassured,” he writes, “but merely hoped to see evidence of positive trends, to see companies or battalions produce even minimal but sustainable progress.”
Instead, “I witnessed the absence of success on virtually every level.” He cites the inability of Afghan soldiers and police to handle security in many parts of the country, and the continued widespread influence of the Taliban.
“I’m hardly the only one who has noted the discrepancy between official statements and the truth on the ground,” he says, citing a 2011 report by an Afghan organization which noted that US military assessments routinely differ from those of other international military forces in the country and are “solely intended to influence American and European public opinion ahead of the withdrawal.”
Defense analysts outside the Pentagon, for their part, have long grappled with disparities between official intelligence assessments and what they hear behind closed doors, but some argue that the tendency to “spin” is getting worse as US forces prepare to leave. “Since June 2010, the unclassified reporting the US does provide has steadily shrunk in content, effectively ‘spinning’ the road to victory by eliminating content that illustrates the full scale of the challenges ahead,” writes Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, in a piece cited by Davis.
Last week, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) of California, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, noted just such a gap, saying during a hearing that she was “concerned by what appears to be a disparity” in public testimony among Pentagon leaders about progress in Afghanistan and “the bleaker description” in classified intelligence reports.
Rather than deliberately mislead, military officers tend to emphasize the can-do spirit expected of career soldiers rather than problems that could be jeopardizing the war effort, when they are asked to speak publicly, some analysts note. Others may worry of the career-curbing impact of delivering news that those in power may not want to hear.
In many cases, US military leaders of the current wars have internalized a troubling lesson from Vietnam, argues Army Col. Paul Yingling: “If you can’t speak the truth, speak in truisms.”
Yingling, who wrote “A Failure in Generalship,” a widely regarded and widely discussed 2007 Armed Forces Journal article, cites his picks for the top truisms of the Afghanistan war:
We’re making progress, though it’s uneven and uncertain.
There will be setbacks and hard fighting ahead.
Our hard-won progress is fragile and reversible.
The next six months are critical.
These oft-repeated phrases tend to produce eye-rolling among many who follow the war, because they have come to mean so little. “There are almost no conceivable circumstances in which they would not be true,” notes Yingling, in an e-mail. “No matter what happens, a senior leader can point to one of these truisms and claim, ‘I warned you.’ "
More troubling is that such truisms “justify continued fighting while minimizing the likelihood of anyone being held accountable for the results of such fighting,” Yingling adds.
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For his part, Davis concludes in his article that a lack of candor is not patriotic, but rather ultimately does a disservice to the United States. When it comes time to decide whether to go to war – or whether to continue one – “our senior leaders have an obligation to tell Congress and American people the unvarnished truth,” he writes. “That is the very essence of civilian control of the military. The American people deserve better than what they’ve gotten from their senior uniformed leaders over the last number of years.”
The Pentagon has declined to comment on Davis's article.George Stroumboulopoulos won’t return as host of Hockey Night in Canada next season, sources tell the Star. His replacement will be the man he replaced. Industry insiders say Ron MacLean is expected to return to the show’s No. 1 seat just two seasons after Stroumboulopoulos was hired with much fanfare in the wake of Rogers’ $5.2-billion acquisition of NHL broadcasting rights. Prior to that, MacLean occupied the job from 1986 until 2014. Since then, he has hosted Sunday night Hometown Hockey broadcasts and worked Saturdays alongside Don Cherry on Coach’s Corner. It’s expected he will continue those roles in addition to resuming the main HNIC hosting gig — the highest-profile position in Canadian sports broadcasting.
George Stroumboulopoulos, centre, poses with Ron MacLean (left) and Don Cherry (right) at a Rogers press conference on Monday, March 10, 2014. ( Darren Goldstein )
The ouster of Stroumboulopoulos marks a strategic about-face for Rogers, which sublicenses Hockey Night in Canada to CBC. In 2014, executives remade the iconic Saturday night show while speaking of the need to bring it to a younger demographic. “We want to get a new breed of Canadian fans that get passionate about the games,” Scott Moore, president of Sportsnet and NHL properties, told reporters after Stroumboulopoulos’s hiring was announced in 2014. “I think George does that.”
What do you think of the change?
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Whether or not Stroumboulopoulos succeeded in luring in younger viewers, his presence didn’t do much for the show’s overall ratings, which have been lagging since he arrived. The reasons for that trend, of course, can hardly be laid at the feet of one on-air personality. It hasn’t helped that the ratings-driving Maple Leafs have struggled through a couple of seasons in which they finished 27th and 30th in the 30-team league, nor that this spring marked just the second time in the century-plus history of the NHL a Canadian team didn’t make the playoffs. “If the Leafs won the Cup this year, would the focus be on George?” wondered one insider. With his penchant for skinny suits and a resume that included time as a MuchMusic veejay and 10 years as host of a CBC TV talk show, Stroumboulopoulos was different by design. Moore embraced the new host’s uniqueness at his 2014 unveiling: “He’ll sort of be like that Sesame Street thing — one of these things is not like the others — but he’ll bring something different and his own unique take on hockey broadcasting,” Moore said. But with ratings down, insiders say executives suggested to Stroumboulopoulos that he tweak his appearance to be less jarring to some mainstream eyes. A trip to the tailor for a more conventional wardrobe was on the list of polite requests. “In George, they bought a well-established brand, and suddenly they wanted to change the brand,” said one insider. Stroumboulopoulos, who maintains a foothold at CBC with his acclaimed Sunday-night rock radio show and busies himself with a varity of passions that include motorcycling, is admired by supporters for his fiercely independent streak. Sources say he didn’t appear to see the need for a makeover.
George Stroumboulopoulos (right) is pictured with Ron MacLean as Rogers TV unveil their team for the station's NHL coverage in Toronto on Monday March 10, 2014. ( Chris Young )
The imminent re-emergence of MacLean, an avowed hockey junkie with a seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of NHLers and their various family members, is hardly the broadcaster’s first recommitment to older ways. Earlier this month it was announced that Cherry, the 82-year-old star of Coach’s Corner, had signed a new multi-year contract. In the early days of the Rogers deal, Cherry wasn’t shy about complaining that his show had been marginalized. “You gotta pay attention to me, because I don’t get much time,” he complained on his show in November 2014. The Rogers takeover brought with it an influx of new talent that also led to a reduction in the prominence of iconic play-by-play man Bob Cole, 82. This past season, though, saw Cole’s role increased to include assignments that continued into the conference finals.
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Stroumboulopoulos, 43, did not respond to repeated messages seeking comment. In an email, MacLean, 56, said he remains committed to his roles on Coach’s Corner and Hometown Hockey, but said he could not comment on the upcoming season until his superiors “finalize their 2016-17 plans.” One insider cautioned that, at a time of transition for the broadcaster — in April, Hockey Night in Canada production head Gord Cutler was let go and Rob Corte was put in charge — plans could change. In an email message on Sunday, Moore dismissed talk of next season’s lineup as “simply speculation.” “(We) have not finalized our plans for next season as the current one is not over,” Moore wrote. “Once we have solidified our plans, I will be happy to comment.” Star sports columnist Dave Feschuk is a regular contributor to TSN and TSN Radio
Fan reaction to HNIC change
Read more about:(NaturalNews) University of Michigan (U-M) Comprehensive Cancer Center scientists say they've found a compound that could help prevent and potentially treat breast cancer. It's not a drug or a new radiation treatment but a natural component of broccoli and broccoli sprouts. And it has the remarkable ability to target cancer stem cells -- the specific cells responsible for fueling the growth of cancerous breast tumors.The researchers tested the broccoli compound, known as sulforaphane, in animal studies as well as in breast cancer cell cultures in the lab. Their findings, which were recently published in the journal, showed sulforaphane not only targeted and killed cancer stem cells, but it also prevented any new malignancies from growing.What makes this such an extraordinary breakthrough? Current chemotherapies don't do anything to stop cancer stem cells. That's why cancer can recur and spread after chemotherapy. So many researchers have long believed that to control cancer, you have to find a way to eliminate cancer stem cells -- and now it appears sulforaphane does exactly that.study author Duxin Sun, Ph.D., associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the U-M College of Pharmacy and a researcher with the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center, said in a statement to the media.For their study, the U-M researchers first worked with mice with breast cancer. They used several well-documented methods to assess the number of cancer stem cells in the animals' breast tumors. Then the research team injected varying concentrations of sulforaphane extracted from broccoli into the mice.The results? There was a dramatic decrease in the number of cancer stem cells after treatment with sulforaphane, but there was little effect on the normal cells.Next, the scientists tested sulforaphane on human breast cancer cell cultures in the lab. Once again, they found the numbers of cancer stem cells plummeted after exposure to the broccoli compound."This research suggests a potential new treatment that could be combined with other compounds to target breast cancer stem cells. Developing treatments that effectively target the cancer stem cell population is essential for improving outcomes," study co-author Max S. Wicha, M.D., Distinguished Professor of Oncology and director of the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center, said in the press statement.The scientists pointed out that concentrations of sulforaphane used in the study were higher than what can be normally achieved by eating broccoli or broccoli sprouts. However, previous research suggests the body can absorb high enough concentrations of sulforaphane from broccoli extract to impact cancer. Currently, the U-M research team is working to develop a method to extract and preserve sulforaphane. They are also planning a future clinical trial to test sulforaphane both as a prevention and treatment for breast cancer.NaturalNews has previously reported on additional health benefits of broccoli. For example, broccoli sprouts have been found to potentially play a protective role in the prevention of gastric cancer by reducing colonization of the cancer and ulcer-linked bacteria Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) in the body ( https://www.naturalnews.com/026018_sprouts_br... ).Research by University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) scientists also found that sulforaphane in broccoli appears to protect against respiratory inflammation that causes asthma, allergic rhinitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other conditions that make it hard to breathe ( https://www.naturalnews.com/025771_broccoli_a... ).NaturalNews is opposed to the use of animals in medical experiments that expose them to harm. We present these findings in protest of the way in which they were acquired.Review by SentaiSeiya
This review is brought to you by the fusion of SentaiSeiya and Jmann, which produces another Great SeiyaMann Review!
Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger is the unofficial part-parody, part-homage Sentai show that was produced by Toei. There are three members of this Sentai team. Mitsuki Aoyagi is the blue member of the Akibarangers.
Mitsuki originally joins the team in order to improve her martial arts, but is completely clueless as to what Super Sentai is all about.
She starts getting into the swing of things, however, after she spends a whole day watching Gou Gou Sentai Boukenger. Later in the show she even gets a once-in-a-lifetime chance of learning from Kazuo Niibori, the legendary suit actor who played many of the pre-Zyuranger Reds, including Red Hawk from Jetto Jetto Jettoman! At this point Mitsuki not only comes up with THE most elaborate role call in Super Sentai history, but she also starts kicking extra butt. Although she is the youngest member of the team, she is the most serious and mature of the group.
Akiba Blue comes packaged in a brightly colored window box, which is standard fare for the S.H. Figuarts line.
S.S. Once again, Bandai faithfully recreates another of the Akibarangers in tiny, plastic form.
S.S. Akiba Blue looks sleek, slender and ready to go martial arts on some fools (which sometimes includes Akiba Red).
As with Akiba Red, I really like the clear parts on the chest, showing off what is underneath the suit. No, not boobs, but the technology of the suit.
S.S. For those who have watched the show and are wondering if Bandai has recreated the costume in its entirety, let’s just get this over with. Yes, this figure does have undies with a bear face on them.
JM: Just to reiterate, yes, this figure has bear panties. I think that pretty much sums up the looks of this toy.
JM: Every single detail is recreated in plastic here. I mean, seriously, everything is SPOT ON. The colors are immaculate, and I can't find a single splatter of overspray anywhere. The QC on this thing is insane!
S.S. Akiba Blue has almost all of the great articulation as Akiba Red S.H. Figuarts.
S.S. It is, however, missing the bicep swivels, as her biceps are a single piece of molded plastic. While I liked the figure, I was expecting a little bit more from this figure, since Akiba Blue is one of the most limber heroines to join a Sentai team. I guess part of my slight dissapointment with this figure comes from the fact that I was expecing a figure that was as flexible as the female Saints that Bandai recently introduced to the Saint Cloth Myth line.
S.S. My nitpicking aside, you can still get a lot of great poses out of this figure which are really brought to life by the addition of some very expressive hands. Although the hand count for this figure is fairly high, each hand feels like it was a necessary inclusion in the package.
JM: Exactly. The poseability is great, except for the exclusion of a bicep swivel. I think that the inclusion of that piece of articulation would have made this figure PERFECT. I was still able to pose her in just about every pose from the show, so it is kind of a minor complaint. Plus, the rest of the figure more than makes up for the lack of a bicep swivel.
As for extras, Akiba Blue comes with three scarves and, more importantly, her trusty Moe Moe Z-Cune in gun form.
If you picked up the first release of Akiba Red, you will have also gotten the stand that corresponds to Akiba Blue.
S.S. My experience with this figure was less than flawless. While it is a good figure, I had issues with the head popping off at the neck many of the times that I tried to move the head.
... Then due to the large number of times that I had to handle the head, the ponytails on the back of the hair-met broke off!...Time to look for my Krazy glue.
JM: Akiba Blue is an excellent addition to the Figuarts line, and I highly recommend her for fans of Akibaranger. Plus, it's super rare that we get a female Sentai hero as a mass release figure. Normally they are dreaded Tamashii Web Exclusives (which are disgusting to the wallet). Her small shortcomings in the area of arm articulation don't outweigh the fact that this is a great toy, and fans of her character DESERVE to have this in their collections.
SS: I could not agree more about how great is is to have Akiba Blue be a regular entry in the S.H. Figuarts lines. As a matter of fact, I believe she is THE first female Sentai that you can get without having to pay Tamashii Web prices.
JM: Up next, SentaiSeiya and I tackle someone a little “rotten”.
Gratitude to miracles, like a blind turtle finding driftwood!
View the full image albumBY: Follow @DavidRutz
Democratic National Committee vice chair Keith Ellison would not say Wednesday whether the DNC would return all of its contributions from Harvey Weinstein, the movie mogul facing decades of sexual harassment and assault allegations.
Weinstein is a longtime Democratic donor who has bundled and donated millions of dollars to prominent Democratic candidates, and he's given $300,000 to the DNC. However, the DNC announced last week it was only donating $30,000 of that money. Furthermore, the groups getting the money were pro-Democratic organizations Higher Heights, Emily's List, and Emerge America.
Ellison was asked about the contributions after a press conference on Wednesday.
"Will the DNC return all its contributions from Harvey Weinstein?" he was asked.
"I don't have any comments for you right now. I don't know you, and I don't take questions like this," Ellison said sharply.
Under new chair Tom Perez, the DNC has struggled in fundraising and was more than $4 million in debt as of an August fundraising report.
Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, both of whom were beneficiaries of Weinstein's prolific fundraising, were criticized for staying silent on the controversy until Tuesday, when they both released statements condemning his behavior.
Unlike the DNC, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee donated all of his $23,225 worth of contributions to a San Francisco-based women's charity.
Other Democrats have stated they are donating Weinstein's contributions. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.) said anyone who received donations from Weinstein should give it to groups helping victims of sexual assault.Stefaan Engels (born 7 April 1961, Ghent, Belgium), also known as "marathon man", is a Belgian marathoner and triathlete, the first man to run the marathon distance 365 consecutive times in a single year.[1] He also holds the record for the most Ironman Triathlons in a year with 20 over 2007 and 2008.
Engels averaged around four hours to complete each marathon with the best time of 2 hours and 56 minutes. He ran 15,401 kilometres (9,570 mi) during his marathons over 2010. Engels said that a slow pace was the key.[2] Before him, the record was held by Ricardo Abad Martínez of Spain with 150 marathons in a row in 2009. Abad is the current world record holder.[3]
Of his feats, Engels described: "I don't regard my marathon year as torture. It's more like a regular job...I am running just as Joe Average goes to work on Monday morning, whether or not he feels like it. I don't always feel like running, but when I am done, I take a shower, have some physiotherapy for an hour, and that wraps up my day." [4]
Growing up Engels had asthma and was instructed to avoid activity.
See also [ edit ]
Serge Girard, holder of the world record distance traveled on foot in one year (27,011 kilometres (16,784 mi))
References [ edit ]Flashbulbs went off as each model hit the runway in one-of-a-kind green chic at the seventh annual Recycled Fashion Show at Young At Art Museum in Davie.
The 23 teen designers and 15 models that participated were from the museum and the PACE Center for Girls. The sold-out show raised almost $23,000 for the museum's teen and at-risk youth programs.
"With this fashion show, we have always talked about the importance of recycling and how our teens are able to inspire our audience to take a closer look at what's going on around them," said Marie Segre, the museum's Art Institute manager and a show organizer.
The show features fashions created from recycled items. This year's theme was "Architecture Restyled."
"They were able to look at older buildings and how these buildings have been affected by the environment," Segre said. "Then there were dresses inspired by concept buildings that show how these buildings can affect the environment in a positive way. We even have our [new] Young At Art Museum as one of the design inspirations. It's exciting. "
The collaboration of Cypress Bay High School students Romina Rabines and Rosario Chinchilla took first place for their interpretation of the Sydney Opera House in Australia. The two used coffee and air conditioning filters, mosquito netting, soda can tabs and plastic wire in their design.
Runner-up went to Western High School's Sierra Slack, who utilized wrapping paper, fabric, lace remnants, tea and packaging foam for her dress representing the Baha'i Temple in Santiago, Chile.
Stephanie Metz brought the Casa Batllo in Barcelona, Spain, to life in dress form and took third place. The American Heritage School student used paper towels, burlap, thread and broken pieces of coffee cups to make the mosaic-like top. This was the third time she participated in the show.
"I think this is the most exciting year because I have been able to pull off a dress that is 100 percent recyclable material," she said. "My favorite thing about the building is it had an organic quality to it. A lot of the structure of the building is very bone-like, which gave me the idea to do the rib cage. I chose mosaic because a lot of the exterior of the building has mosaic. The bottom is supposed to represent the staircases and how there are no straight lines."
Another returning designer was Nadine Franklin, a Western High junior. She chose to pattern her dress after Gare du Nord, a railway station in Paris. In order to achieve an industrial look, she used more than 50 drink cans with the tabs, recycled fabric and wire.
"I feel like the fashion show this year is a lot more professional in not only the way we are making the dresses, but the way it's being handled in the new facility," she said. "There is a lot more space for the runway, stage and everything else. It gets better every year."
Rebecca Burns, museum volunteer and Teen Center coordinator, agreed.
"It's incredible to see it come together," she said. "I'm incredibly proud of the work that they've done. They've been here for hundreds of hours. I've had teens here for eight-hour days, both weekend days, for the past two months."
Scott Fishman can be reached at smfishman@tribune.com.Oculus Rift signs on Team Fortress 2 as first game
The Oculus Rift virtual reality headset made a huge splash at CES back in January, and the team behind the extraordinary toy has been hard at work to bring it to the mainstream and make it available to the public. The first step in that process is to get games for it, and the company has announced that Valve’s Team Fortress 2 will be the Oculus Rift’s first game.
Of course, we knew for a couple of months that Valve would be working on a virtual reality port of Team Fortress 2, and the developer is planning to detail the port at GDC 2013 at the end of this month. The game will come with “VR Mode” and will be playable on the PC using the Oculus Rift, according to Engadget.
Valve programmer Joe Ludwig says that Team Fortress 2 gamers who have an Oculus Rift will be able to play the game in a whole new way, and Rift gamers will be able to play with their friends in the same servers has regular players, which is pretty neat. The game’s VR Mode will be available to anyone with an Oculus Rift dev kit and a copy of Team Fortress 2.
Unfortunately, while the game is compatible on Mac and Linux, the Oculus Rift will not support either of those platforms at launch. The company will only have an SDK available for Windows at launch, but it seems the team is dedicated to bringing an SDK over to Mac and Linux at some point in the future.
[via Engadget]This weekend was the Franconian Beerfestival in Nuremberg Germany, which I blame for the Nick Burdi lapse on the pitching prospect list, but I’ve double checked all these players and we are good to go. We have some new additions after my two week absence, Spain was awesome and I have enough Instagram photos for the next year. Well in the two weeks since my last post, two players were added to their respective big league clubs, Lewis Brinson, and Derek Fisher. Brinson is off to a slow start with a.422 OPS in 18 at bats, but hold fast. He is a streaky guy, which is why I had him ranked lower than some players, but when he is on, he is a beast.
Anyways, let us begin. Every weekend, I will be posting about the minor leaguers you should be stashing on your team. This list will be arranged by impact for this year only. Players that will be called up sooner will be ahead of players with more talent who might only be called up late in the year.
1) Yoan Moncada, 2B, Chicago White Sox AAA, ETA: July
The wait is almost over. We have about one more month before he is called up to the majors so if he is available at this moment, then add him. I am putting my money where my mouth is and just added him in the pitcher list writer’s league. Yoan Moncada can contribute in every category and will likely be a dual position player with 3B and eventually 2B eligibility.
2) Franklin Barreto, Oakland Athletics AAA, ETA: June
I expect Franklin Barreto to be called up and off this list in the next two weeks. The Super Two Deadline is here, but Franklin is in the middle of a slump. Maybe he is just getting bored in AAA, but he has a.521 OPS in June and the Athletics might wait for him to bust out before they promote him. This is what you can expect from Franklin though. He is going to be a streaky bat that will strikeout 20 times in a week and then the next week hit four home runs.
3) Jesse Winker, Cincinnati Reds AAA, ETA: June
Jesse Winker will be one of the more consistent players on this list. He had very good plate discipline and when he is not hitting, he can work a walk. Winker is 6’3 and weighs 215 pounds but has not shown the power you would think someone of his size would display. He has two homeruns this year, and only five last year. I think he will do much better in the hitter friendly confines of the Great American Ball Park. He should be up soon and if you need an OF, then add him.
4) Rhys Hoskins, Philadelphia Phillies AAA, ETA: August
After destroying the cover off the ball in April and May, Rhys Hoskins has had some struggles this month. He is hitting.214 but has 7 XBH in the 16 games this month. I am adamant when I say that he is the future first base man of the Phillies and Tommy Joseph is just a placeholder. Joseph is one of the worst defensive first basemen in MLB right now, 3rd to last in UZR, but he does have a.796 career OPS. We might approach a Jim Thome/Ryan Howard situation with no room for two first basemen on the MLB Roster the Phillies will eventually have to make a move with one of these guys.
5) Amed Rosario, SS, New York Mets AAA, ETA: July
Asdrubal Cabrera went down, and Amed Rosario remained in AAA. The Mets do not seem to be in a hurry to call Amed up but the Media in New York are all calling for the move. He is hitting.332 with 7 HR and 12 SB in AAA. He does not have anything else to prove in AAA and should be on the big league roster but the cost conscious Mets are trying to be conservative with their 21-year-old prospect. I prefer Torres to Rosario, but I think Rosario is up sooner.
6) Gleyer Torres, SS, New York Yankees AAA, ETA: July
Torres has been placed on the DL with a hyper extended elbow. He will get re-evaluated tomorrow but it does not seem to be worrisome. Chase Headley’s days are numbered in New York and with Torres hitting.350 in the last 10 games, he is in line for a promotion. The Yankees are already grooming him for the hot corner as they are working him at 3B in Scranton. I like Torres a lot and think he is worth an add if the diagnosis is not serious.
7) Clint Frazier, OF, New York Yankees AAA, ETA: July
The Yankees are getting a career year from Aaron Hicks, Aaron Jude is a Triple Crown candidate and Brett Gardner is hitting pretty well with a.822 OPS. There is not room for Frazier but injuries happen and he is doing everything he needs to do to be next up. He leads Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in Homeruns, RBIs, Doubles, and walks. He does not have a great avg,.260, but he is not a high average guy to begin with. He will contribute across the other categories, including stolen bases where he has nine with only one caught stealing.
8) Dominic Smith, 1B, New York Mets AAA, ETA: August
The Mets have a top prospect in Amed Rosario that is doing everything he needs to do to be promoted and they even need a guy at the position but refuse to call him up. Dominic Smith is doing everything he needs to do as well but Lucas Duda and his.878 OPS actually block him. Duda is in the last year of his contract and could be shipped out for controllable relief pitchers as they are ranked 25th in bullpen ERA. Smith is hitting.315 in AAA with seven Homeruns, 18 doubles and 41 RBIs.
9) Rafeal Devers, 3B, Boston Red Sox AA, ETA: July/August
Devers is making his debut on the list. He is the only AA player on this list and earns the recognition he is garnering. He only has 59 game in Double A but he is destroying the ball with a.306/.365/.568 slash line with 13 Homeruns, 42 RBIs and 21 walks to 46 strikeouts. The Red Sox need a 3B as Pablo Sandoval has a.621 OPS. Dave Dombrowski is a guy that will move a player from AA to the bigs, he did it with Avisail Garcia and Jacob Turner when he was the Tigers GM. Dave wants to win now and has a major league ready third baseman in AA that can help him.
10) Austin Meadows, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates AAA, ETA: August
I am not going to sugar coat my man crush on Austin Meadows. I have owned Meadows in a dynasty league since he was a senior in High School and have watch him develop into a future first or second round player in fantasy. He is off to a terrible start in AAA, and with Adam Frazier hitting well for Pittsburgh, his ETA is likely going to be effected. I believe he is a future.300/30 HR/ 20 SB guy that will hit in the middle of the Pirates line up. I would not dismiss him entirely from your watch list, he can defiantly contribute when he does get the call but it is looking more like September than July right now.This post has been updated
Six devastating earthquakes greater than magnitude 8 have occurred since 2004, causing
that earth has entered a period of increased seismic activity that could trigger megaquakes in vulnerable regions including the Pacific Northwest.
But a somewhat reassuring new study suggests otherwise. University of California researchers examined the timing of earthquakes worldwide from 1900 to the present. They found no evidence that any of the great earthquakes since 2004 triggered other great earthquakes. Furthermore, the recent run of megaquakes greater than magnitute 8 isn't unprecedented,
in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences:
...rates have been almost as high before, and the rate of smaller earthquakes is close to its historical average. Some features of the global catalog are improbable in retrospect, but so are some features of most random sequences–if the features are selected after looking at the data... Moreover, no plausible physical mechanism predicts real changes in the underlying global rate of large events. Together these facts suggest that the global risk of large earthquakes is no higher today than it has been in the past.
To be sure, earthquakes still pose a significant hazard for people in the Pacific Northwest. The region sits atop a fault zone that's nearly a mirror image of the deep fault that ruptured the sea floor off Japan in March, killing thousands. From Northern California to British Columbia, an ocean-spanning slab called the Juan de Fuca Plate is plunging beneath the North American plate. In a complete rupture across this Cascadia Subduction Zone, geologists expect magnitude-9 ground-shaking to persist for several minutes across much of Oregon and Washington.
Geologists have found evidence of 19 massive Cascadia earthquakes in the past 10,000 years. The most recent struck in 1700. The chances a magnitude-9 earthquake will hit the Northwest within 50 years is about 10 to 15 percent, according to the most widely cited estimate. But Oregon State University geologist Chris Goldfinger says the picture is more complicated than that. "I don't think a single number does the job anymore," he
in a 2010 news story:
Goldfinger and others have reconstructed a 10,000-year history of major quakes along the Cascadia subduction zone by examining the remnants of undersea landslides. That history suggests that Cascadia has at least four segments that sometimes rupture independently of one another. Magnitude-9 ruptures affecting the entire subduction zone have occurred 19 times in the past 10,000 years. Over that time, shorter segments have ruptured farther south in Oregon and Northern California, producing magnitude-8 quakes.
The risks of a subduction zone quake differ from north to south. In the northern segment, Goldfinger's group also puts the odds at 10 to 15 percent during the next 50 years. Quakes originating there tend to rupture the full length of the subduction zone, he says. In southern Oregon and Northern California, quakes along the subduction zone appear to strike more frequently. Goldfinger and colleagues calculate a probability of 37 percent that another will strike within 50 years. By that time 360 years will have passed since the last major event |
race) here on campus, I’d like to share a perspective with those curiously inclined to learn what’s really going on!”
To fully understand the nature of any article in La Voz, the reader must first understand a concept called Aztlan. Aztlan is a mythical place and/or idea that geographically represents the Southwest portion of the United States. Members of radical Latino hate groups believe Aztlan is stolen land from Mexico, and that it is their duty to eradicate Americans from the land. A group coincidentally on our campus known as MEChA is one such group. It is made up of misguided Latino-American students, illegal aliens and their sympathizers. The acronym MEChA translates, and literally means, The Aztlan Chicano Student Movement. Our current Associated Students, Inc. President Pedro Ramirez is an admitted MEChistA and/or MEChA member. By boasting about his Aztlan beliefs on his social networking site, Ramirez revealed how he truly feels about Americans.
La Voz de Aztlan literally translates to The Voice of Aztlan. It’s not an original name exactly. It was stolen, like their perceived land, from www.Aztlan.net, an online publication of the same name that originated in the 1990s.
The website was and is still operated by members of a defunct organization called The Nation Of Aztlan. It is important to note that the Anti-Defamation League has investigated and labeled this online publication and its organization as a hate group for publishing articles similar to those found in The Collegian’s “cultural supplement.”
Ana Mendoza is a Fresno State student, La Voz De Aztlan columnist and the lead reporter permitted by The Collegian to cover the Ramirez controversy during the fall.
I question the level of biased journalism produced by Mendoza during her tenure with The Collegian. Her alignment with the Brown Berets, another Aztlan-based hate group in support for Ramirez, is very well documented.
On March 9, 2010, Mendoza and the Brown Berets participated in a sit-in at the office of Dr. Paul Oliaro, vice president of student affairs.
On Dec. 1, 2010, Brown Beret Juan “Ralphy” Avitia interrupted an ASI meeting. Avitia cut in line, seized the microphone out of turn during the public comment session and shouted Aztlan hate speech against all Americans in general and against Charlie Waters, a judge advocate for the American Legion and well-respected Central Valley war veteran, specifically. Mendoza published biased articles describing this incident as “Chicano activists questioning history.”
On Nov. 19, 2010, I attended a DREAM Act rally to counter protest Ramirez’s presidency. After reading my positions loud to the media and providing the media, including Mendoza, a copy of my statements in writing, she still unapologetically and intentionally misquoted all my positions in her article published on Nov. 22, 2010.
After a two-hour long recorded meeting with Mendoza, she agreed to publish concerns I had over Ramirez’s presidency.
Instead, Mendoza’s Aztlan bais caused her to ignore the questions I posed regarding Pedro’s unlawful behavior and failed presidency. Her deceptive journalistic practices utilizing La Voz De Aztlan and The Collegian were reasons why I then decided to launch www.TheRealPedro.com, a website dedicated to uncovering the hidden truth behind the DREAM Act controversy at Frenso State.
Having investigated many controversial developments this past year, it is greatly disappointing to see Aztlan-inspired journalism allowed to manifest unopposed using our own student resources. There is no place on any university for hateful and racially-charged rhetoric such as the poem published in May 2, 2011, issue of La Voz de Aztlan by Luiz Sanchez titled “America.” For those who missed his belligerent attack, I’d like to remind Sanchez that as an American of Argentinian heritage, I do not agree with any of his claims, particularly that Americans are white savages, intolerant and stupid. There is no excuse for this kind of propaganda to be used as a weapon of deception and division against students of all colors. There is also no justification to wave a banner of “anti-oppression” preaching cultural diversity on the surface, while at the same time masking the true intent of a radicalized group of a misguided Latino supremacists. As an American I will not celebrate Aztlan awareness and Latino supremacy week. It has no place on our campus.
Neil O’Brien is a senior recreation major.One hundred billion dollars — for a company that, eight years ago, didn’t even exist.
No one has more riding on this than Mark Elliot Zuckerberg, hero-villain of “The Social Network,” destroyer of worlds, devourer of time and, for better and worse, the latest in a line of revolutionaries stretching back to Gutenberg who have upended the way we communicate and think.
The outlines of the Zuckerberg story thus far — the boyhood in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., the Harvard wars over “thefacebook,” the relentless rise in Silicon Valley — are by now well known. But Facebook’s I.P.O. will begin a new chapter — indeed, a new volume — in one of the great business narratives of our time. It will also make Mr. Zuckerberg almost impossibly rich. In an instant, his stake could be worth upward of $18.7 billion.
Mind-boggling figures aside, the question on many minds is this: Is Mr. Zuckerberg really ready for this? Is he — there’s no sugarcoating it — grown up enough to lead a public corporation that is more valuable than McDonald’s or Goldman Sachs? The answer to those questions will determine the future of Facebook, as well as the fortunes of its new, public shareholders. For the first time, Mr. Zuckerberg will be judged, in real time, by a relentless stock market. And that market, as C.E.O.’s everywhere know, is merciless.
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“You’re making a bet, and the bet is always on ‘Can the founder go somewhere?’ ” Reid Hoffman, a co-founder of LinkedIn, an adviser to Mr. Zuckerberg and an early financial backer of Facebook, said in an earlier interview. “And Zuck’s done great.”
It’s hard to argue. The question, however, is where Mr. Zuckerberg goes from here as a chief executive. He declined to be interviewed for this article, but interviews with dozens of venture capitalists and entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, as well as with Facebook colleagues and outsiders who have mentored him along his climb, paint a promising picture. Beneath that hoodie, these people say, is an increasingly assured leader, one tempered by failures — and there have been some big ones — as well as astonishing successes.
Friends and colleagues agree that Mr. Zuckerberg’s goal is be a C.E.O. for the long haul. Like a software engineer writing a program, he has tried to fill in the gaps in his personal code, and to ensure, as a programmer might put it, that his code doesn’t break.
Even now, with a multibillion-dollar brass ring at hand, Mr. Zuckerberg remains intensely aware of his limitations, these people say. Where he is strong — in product design and strategy — he tends to micromanage. Where he is weak — day-to-day management, operations — he hires people with a defter touch. He has enlisted top engineers and managers, including the formidable Ms. Sandberg, 42. Friends and colleagues say she has coached the often-awkward Mr. Zuckerberg on how to interact with employees and to build Facebook’s business.
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But Mr. Zuckerberg has also invested in a personal brain trust beyond Facebook’s headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. He cultivated as advisers such tech giants as Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, as well as others as varied as Marc Andreessen, the co-founder of Netscape, and Donald E. Graham, the chairman and chief executive of the Washington Post Company.
One venture capitalist tells how, when he met Mr. Zuckerberg in 2005, the young man wanted more than the V.C.’s money. He wanted an introduction to Mr. Gates. (He eventually got one, on his own. Today, Mr. Gates regularly advises him on philanthropy and management issues.)
“What’s most interesting about Mark is how he developed himself as a leader,” says Marc Benioff, the chief executive of Salesforce, who has known Mr. Zuckerberg for years. “Not only did he have an incredible vision for the industry, but he had an incredible vision for himself.”
Granted, Mr. Zuckerberg can still come across as a bit of a social misfit, particularly on buttoned-down Wall Street. Last Monday at the Sheraton, for instance, some took issue with his dorm-room wear, considering it a snub to the financial industry.
“Mark and his signature hoodie: He’s actually showing investors he doesn’t care that much,” Michael Pachter, an analyst for Wedbush Securities, told Bloomberg TV. “He’s going to be him and he’s going to do what he’s always done.” Mr. Pachter added: “I think that’s a mark of immaturity. I think that he has to realize he’s bringing investors in as a new constituency right now, and I think he’s got to show them the respect that they deserve because he’s asking them for their money.”
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Yet there’s no denying that those on Wall Street, as well as Facebook’s 901 million monthly users worldwide, have grown accustomed to Mr. Zuckerberg, quirks and all. Sure, techno-gods like Mr. Jobs and Mr. Gates long ago challenged the old stereotypes of how C.E.O.’s should look, sound and act. But when Mr. Zuckerberg burst onto the scene, Facebook’s success pushed the boundaries even further.
“He is a sponge in terms of learning. He has a higher ask-to-talk ratio than anyone I know,” says one of Mr. Zuckerberg’s friends, who, like many people interviewed for this article, spoke on the condition of anonymity, given the imminent I.P.O. “He is constantly asking ‘Why? Why? Why?’ and he has a very clear sense of what he is good at and somewhere between average and mediocre at.”
MUCH has been written in recent years about the death of the “imperial C.E.O.,” the executive who leads from a glorious distance, screaming orders at underlings.
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To look at him, Mark Zuckerberg might seem just the opposite. But most people who know him say he harbors more than a hint of C.E.O. imperialism. Joe Green, his roommate at Harvard, says that, particularly in the early days, Mr. Zuckerberg was so confident that he often came across as aloof. He wasn’t the best communicator, Mr. Green says.
“You can see that as a bad thing, but you have to have an irrational level of self-confidence to start something like Facebook,” says Mr. Green, now a co-founder of Causes, a popular Facebook application.
Perhaps it is no surprise, then, that Mr. Zuckerberg is fascinated by ancient Greece and Rome. As a boy, a favorite video game was Civilization, the object of which is to “build an empire to stand the test of time.”
Civilization, one friend says, was “training wheels for starting Facebook.”
But, in 2006, Mr. Zuckerberg almost lost his grip on the company, in an episode he has since come to view one of his biggest failures as a C.E.O.
At the time, the Yahoo executive Daniel L. Rosensweig was doggedly courting Facebook, hoping for Yahoo to buy it. Mr. Zuckerberg’s price, $1 billion, was roughly 1/100 of what Facebook is expected to be valued at in its I.P.O. this week.
Mr. Zuckerberg and Mr. Rosensweig, who is now C.E.O. of Chegg, informally sealed the deal with a handshake. Then Yahoo’s share price tumbled abruptly on the stock market, and Yahoo reduced its offer to $850 million.
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Relieved, Mr. Zuckerberg walked away — and vowed that he would never make the same mistake again. “If you don’t want to sell your company, don’t get into a process where you’re talking to people about selling your company,” Mr. Zuckerberg said at a start-up conference at Stanford University last October. He resolved to retain control of Facebook. And he then pushed out colleagues who had supported the Yahoo deal.
His conviction has been on display — often controversially — as Facebook has confronted the thorny issues of online privacy. When Facebook introduced its News Feed feature in 2006, for instance, Mr. Zuckerberg was convinced that it would be a hit. Instead, many users were outraged that their home pages would automatically broadcast every profile change and activity.
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At one point, Facebook got a call from the Palo Alto, Calif., police department, asking if the company could turn off the News Feed. People were threatening to stage a protest march downtown.
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Mr. Zuckerberg eventually apologized — but he left News Feed largely intact. Indeed, even now, he is pressing users to share more information, often without their full understanding, and dials back only when the complaints grow loud. Beacon, an advertising program that automatically publicized consumers’ purchases on sites like Amazon to Facebook, turned out to be a flop. Mr. Zuckerberg abandoned it and later settled a related class action by paying $9.5 million to set up a privacy foundation.
Then he simply moved on.
“The dude is relentless,” one former Facebook employee says. “If it doesn’t work one way, he keeps coming back.”
THE humdrum offices of The Washington Post, in northwest Washington, are a world away from Silicon Valley. But the Facebook story took a crucial turn there in early 2005, when, through a Harvard classmate, Mark Zuckerberg met Donald Graham of the Washington Post Company.
Mr. Zuckerberg and Sean Parker — a co-founder of Napster, an early confidant and the company’s first president — traveled to Washington to see if the company would invest in Facebook.
As David Kirkpatrick later recounted in “The Facebook Effect,” Mr. Zuckerberg was struck by the differences between the Post Company and technology companies in Silicon Valley.
“I was just blown away by the difference in culture, that it’s just a long-term focus there, and that they’re so focused on the brand,” Mr. Zuckerberg recalled in the book.
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Mr. Zuckerberg would later shadow Mr. Graham for four days, sitting in on meetings and analyst presentations, trying to learn what it was like to run a large company. In 2009, Mr. Zuckerberg invited him to join his board.
The Post never did invest in Facebook.
Mr. Zuckerberg was impressed not only with Mr. Graham’s long-term view, but also with the Post Company’s shareholder structure. Like many media companies, it has two classes of stock. This setup gives the Graham family significant voting power.
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Mr. Zuckerberg emulated that structure. When Facebook goes public, he will own a minority stake in the company — but will control more than half of the voting power.
Mr. Parker’s story, too, provided valuable lessons. Mr. Parker, now 32, taught Mr. Zuckerberg the importance of maintaining power over his company. For Mr. Parker, the matter was personal. As a founder of Plaxo, the online address book, he had fought bitterly with his venture capital backers and eventually left the company poorer than he’d hoped.
Eager to protect Mr. Zuckerberg, he helped come up with legal documents that guaranteed Mr. Zuckerberg two Facebook board seats. (Mr. Parker got one.) As long as Mr. Zuckerberg held a seat, his shares couldn’t be taken from him. When Mr. Parker left Facebook, he gave his seat to Mr. Zuckerberg.
SEAN PARKER played another crucial role at Facebook: he helped recruit many of its early employees. Among them were Matt Cohler, then a rising star at LinkedIn; Kevin Colleran, one of Facebook’s first sales executives; and Aaron Sittig, who worked with Mr. Parker at Napster and became Facebook’s lead designer. Mr. Parker also ran Facebook’s early financing rounds, acting as a go-between to influential investors like Mr. Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal.
But Mr. Jobs, too, taught Mr. Zuckerberg about hiring. In his early days at Apple, Mr. Jobs often sounded out potential hires during long walks around Palo Alto.
Mr. Zuckerberg sought out Mr. Jobs early on at Facebook. The two were known to take afternoon walks in Palo Alto, and they nurtured what many describe as a meaningful personal relationship despite their eventual business rivalries. (Mr. Zuckerberg was also inspired by Apple designs, and modeled Facebook’s F8 conferences on annual Macworld conferences.) Mr. Zuckerberg later adopted Mr. Job’s walkabout approach to hiring. When Facebook was headquartered in Palo Alto, he often took high-level new recruits on hikes along the wooded trails near his offices.
Several people who were hired this way say the strolls usually meandered along the trail — with Mr. Zuckerberg asking questions of the new recruit along the way — and ended atop a lookout. There, Mr. Zuckerberg would explain the terrain in front of them and his vision for the future.
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“He pointed out Apple’s headquarters, then Hewlett-Packard and a number of other big tech companies,” one person who was recruited by Mr. Zuckerberg told The New York Times last year. “Then he pointed to Facebook and said that it would eventually be bigger than all of the companies he had just mentioned, and that if I joined the company, I could be a part of it all.”
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“WE don’t need to get any lawyers involved. Let’s just talk alone.”
Those are the words Mr. Zuckerberg often uses, over the phone or by Facebook Instant Messenger, in an initial overture to a company he wants to buy. Over the past eight years, Facebook has bought a string of start-ups, such as FriendFeed, Snaptu and Gowalla, and announced in April it would buy Instagram for $1 billion.
As chief executive, Mr. Zuckerberg has proved himself a savvy negotiator of deals.
“Mark will convince companies he is going to acquire that they should accept a deal on a projected valuation,” says one C.E.O. who held talks with Mr. Zuckerberg. “Then, he’ll go back to investors who want to put money into Facebook and say, look, this start-up was going to join us at this valuation, so you should invest at that number.”
For example, during the closing hours of the Instagram talks, Mr. Zuckerberg and Kevin Systrom, the Instagram chief executive, reached a deal in private, at Mr. Zuckerberg’s $7 million, five-bedroom home in Palo Alto, while their lawyers and advisers watched from afar.
“As the deal came to a close, Mark and Kevin sat outside and ate steaks and ice cream, while the lawyers all sat inside watching ‘Game of Thrones,’ ” said a person who was present. It wasn’t lost on those there, this person said, that “two 20-somethings were alone hammering out the terms of the deal.”
The Instagram deal underscored how Mr. Zuckerberg has cemented his power over the last eight years. Facebook’s board, which got a brief e-mail about the deal a few days before it was announced, according to those close to the company, never pushed back.
And so now, as C.E.O., Mark Zuckerberg has never been more secure — or, given the coming I.P.O., more exposed. By most accounts, he has few close friends outside the company. He has a girlfriend, Priscilla Chan, and a dog, Beast. Like his master, Beast, a Puli with thick dreadlocks, has a page on Facebook. (It has 541,786 “likes.”)
On some evenings, as dusk falls in Menlo Park, Mr. Zuckerberg and a small circle of his lieutenants play roller hockey, and maybe knock back a beer or two, outside Facebook’s headquarters. The game is a relatively recent arrival there, although Mr. Zuckerberg has played it since his boyhood in Dobbs Ferry.
Out in the courtyard, the crew — almost all of them men, almost all in their 20s — hoot and skate until it is almost too dark to see much of anything. Across the courtyard floor, giant black tiles spell out the word “hack.” They’ve nicknamed their rink “Hack Stadium.”
The Facebook boys and their captain, Mark Zuckerberg, skate hard. They line up shots with care. And they play to win.A couple months ago, Ballantine‘s approached me with the most amazing assignment ever:
“We love what you do and want to support you as part of our Stay True campaign. Is there anything you’d like to do that you’ve never done before?”
To receive such complete freedom from a client is almost unheard of – add onto that a budget for both the production and creative teams?
Now that was a dream job come true.
MAKING OF: BALLANTINE’S PRESENTS VON WONG’S UNDERWATER RIVER
Ever since my last underwater photoshoot, I had dreamt of kicking things up a notch but simply didn’t have the resources to make it happen.
I had this grand idea: To recreate the iconic scene of a young Chinese cormorant fisherman hard at work on a bamboo raft – shot 30 meters underwater in a cenote just above a toxic layer of hydrogen sulfide.
Traditional culture as a whole, is something that is inexorably fading with time. I wanted to create a piece that would immortalize a piece of my own culture – the iconic cormorant fisherman. By placing him directly above an underwater river, within this portal that was believed to lead to the mayan underworld, seemed like the perfect way to bid farewell to a proud tradition.
Transforming that idea into a reality was not going to be easy.
Scouting + Concept Doodle ft. Rich Schmittner my safety diver
As a general rule, taking underwater portraits is extremely complicated. Simple tasks like breathing, communicating. posing and moving become a lot more complex whilst standard lighting rules and equipment requirements change completely.
Transport that shoot 30m underwater and suddenly things become exponentially more complex. Ambient light levels and visibility plummet, dive time is reduced significantly while the safety risks from potential malfunction increase.
Add onto that a toxic layer of opaque hydrogen sulfide and only five days in Mexico meant we were really setting ourselves up for a challenge.
Underwater cameras, lights, rigging, props, scuba safety, freedive model, not to mention a stuffed cormorant – were just a few of the items on the list of things to prepare.
To tackle the numerous challenges we would be facing, Ballentine’s Scotch & Whisky helped assemble top notch talent critical to the project – from award winning commercial diver and DOP Rob Franklin, to model and free-diver Lance Lee Davis, along with an amazing dive support crew provided by Xibalba, local production house Yucatan Productions, as well as an elite film crew from Archer’s Mark to direct and capture the entire creative process.
Designing the underwater light setup was our first challenge. The goal was to have an ethereal moon-like glow over the entire set, combined with an underwater lantern and some cinematic side lighting.
To make that possible, Rob and his team had to first figure out where the lights had to be underwater, and how that translated relative to the surface so that they could align the lights, cables and generator properly. This meant diving down, securing a rope where we imagined the set would be and floating a buoy straight up to the surface.
Using that as a guide, 6x Orca Lights attached to a cheap plexiglass frame were then deployed straight from the surface – to approximately a 70 foot depth – just out of frame of my theoretical shot.
Since underwater gas lanterns don’t exist, we made our own by putting an orange gel inside a vintage lantern which we then duct-taped to a battery powered dive torch.
Last but not least, 2x additional Orca Lights were kept on batteries and handled by Kat, who would act as a mobile light source that could then be directed.
Placing the props into the right position was our next big challenge.
A 50 lb, 3m long negatively buoyant home-made fiberglass boat had to be anchored at 30m depth. To control its buoyancy, four BCD’s were strapped onto the bottom of the boat. Holes were drilled along the fiberglass body to allow air to escape when the boat was lowered into the water.
Ideally, the boat would be bolted down to prevent it from moving regardless of air leakage. Unfortunately, since the shot would look best hovering over the underwater river, bolting it down wasn’t an option and instead had to be strapped down carefully to the debris beneath the toxic layer of hydrogen sulfide.
From there it was back to basics.
Lance would dive down, escorted by two safety divers ensuring that oxygen was only a couple seconds away when he would need it.
Simple hand gestures and an underwater dive slate were used to communicate with lighting and crew whilst Rich, my safety diver hovered an arms reach away, keeping a close eye on me and helping me manage my buoyancy so that I could focus on directing and shooting.
With only 20 minutes of shooting time underwater and 2 minute breathing-cycles for Lance, the shoot was frenetic and fast paced with little room for waiting around.
As I frantically clicked the shutter on my Nauticam housing, Lance went through a sequence of pre-practiced poses.
Staff Up. Staff Down. Crouch Down. Stand up. Look Down. Look Right. Fix Hat. Repeat.
With each breathing cycle, we refined the poses, tweaked the position of the props and just like that. It was over.
Epilogue
I believe that projects like these are important. They prove that nothing is impossible if you set your heart and mind to it.
Achieving amazing results is not simply a result of being lucky but of constant problem solving, amazing teamwork and believing in your ability to complete the vision you have in your mind.
If you can break down an impossible concept into bite-sized problems and relentlessly solve them one at a time, success can only follow.
Three years ago, I was just another mining engineer. Today, I’m a creative getting paid to make dreams come to life.
Dream the Impossible
BALLANTINE’S PRESENTS VON WONG’S UNDERWATER RIVER
Media Requests
Feel free to quote and publish the photos on your web publication (please credit Source: ” Von Wong Blog –Ballantine’s Scotch Whisky – Von Wong – Epic Photography ” without nofollow). High-rez press images, BTS and more can be found in this dropbox link
Credits:
Photographer: VonWong
Partner: Ballantine’s Scotch Whisky
Agency: M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment
Model: Lance Lee Davis
Production: Paz Parasmand and Adam Booth, Archer’s Mark, Yucatan Productions
Video Director: William Williamson
Surface Camera: Will Hanke
Underwater DOP: Rob Franklin
Rigging/Support/Safety Divers: Kat Brown, Jack Stevenson, Xibalba Dive Center
Photo Assist: Geena M. Grim
Von Wong holding his Nauticam housing - Photo by Archer's Mark
Announcements:The crowd at Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear" on the Mall in Washington. AirPhotosLive.Com
An estimated 215,000 people attended a rally organized by Comedy Central talk show hosts Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert Saturday in Washington, according to a crowd estimate commissioned by CBS News.
The company AirPhotosLive.com based the attendance at the "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear" on aerial pictures it took over the rally, which took place on the Mall in Washington. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 10 percent. (See some of the pictures used to create the estimate here.)
CBS News also commissioned AirPhotosLive.com to do a crowd estimate of Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally in August. That rally was estimated to have attracted 87,000 people. Amid criticism from conservatives that the estimate was low, CBS News detailed the methodology behind it here.
TBD reported that because of the high turnout many would-be rally attendees retreated to bars to watch the event.
The crowd at Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear on the Mall in Washington. AirPhotosLive.Com
The National Park Service does not estimate crowds. The New York Times' Brian Stelter wrote on Twitter during the event that the Park Service privately told Viacom there were "well over 200,000" people at the rally, according to an executive.
Stewart joked during the rally that there were ten million people present and, in reference to the difficulty of making crowd estimates, solemnly promised to "count them all."
Comedy Central's permit for the event said it was expecting 60,000 people, though, as the Wall Street Journal notes, it ordered enough port-a-potties for 150,000.
Jon Stewart Rallies for Sanity -- and Against Cable News
Jon Stewart Rally: The Signs
Jon Stewart Rally Attracts Moderates Who Want a to be HeardAfter a disappointing result for Labour in the Sleaford by-election on Friday, over the weekend it fell on Diane Abbott and Ken Livingstone to take to the airwaves to try and generate some good PR for the beleaguered party.
However, things didn’t go quite to plan as Abbott — the shadow home secretary — attempted to attack the Conservatives for in-fighting over Europe while not being able to say what Labour’s position was. Nick Robinson — standing in for Andrew Marr — went on to read quotes from different Labour politicians raising concerns about Jeremy Corbyn’s position on freedom of movement:
NR: This is why people talk about confusion. The man who is running for mayor in greater Manchester — Andy Burnham — says freedom of movement has been defeated at the ballot box it is clearly no longer an option. You’re saying it is an option? DA: We believe in regional autonomy, but the truth is you cannot have access to the single market without a measure of freedom of movement. NR: What about Carwyn Jones, he accuses you of having a very London-centric position… DA: Wales and the West Country and the North East are some of the parts of the country that have the most to lose by coming out of the EU.
However, aside from ongoing mystery about Labour’s take on Brexit and immigration, the most telling moment concerned Labour’s dismal showing in the polls. With a YouGov voting intention poll putting the party on a seven-year low at 25 per cent, Abbott was asked when Corbyn’s leadership could be judged ineffective. While she refused to use such terms, she did give him a deadline to fix things — predicting that Labour will close the gap in the polls with the Tories within the next 12 months. Over on the Sunday Politics, Ken Livingstone, too, offered this time frame. The former Mayor of London said that ‘if it’s as bad as this in a year’s time, we would all be worried’.
Whether Abbott meant to or not, Corbyn is now on notice. If the Labour leader can’t turn his party’s fortunes around in the next twelve months there will be a case for another leadership challenge — and this time it might not come from the right of the party.LANSING, MI - Chick-fil-A plans to announce a full "Michigan expansion" at the April 19 groundbreaking of its first free-standing restaurant in the state.
By 2021, there could be 20 locations in Michigan.
Crews will begin working on the Lansing location at 5617 West Saginaw Highway on Tuesday, a Chick-fil-A spokesperson said.
Michigan currently has two food-court Chick-fil-A locations on the Oakland University campus and at Detroit Metro Airport.
The chain plans to open 15 to 20 locations in Michigan over the next five years.
News has leaked through planning meetings across the state. In January 2016, MLive reported Chick-fil-A was eyeing a Gaines Township, Mich. location.
The site plan for that location was approved in late March.
A proposal for a second Grand Rapids-area location will go before the Wyoming planning commission next week.
Where Chick-fil-A will open second Grand Rapids-area restaurant The location will need approval by the Wyoming planning commission.
The 4,971-square-foot Lansing location will seat 132, with additional patio seating. There will be a drive-thru as well. The company aims to employ around 90 people at the new restaurant.
Chick-fil-A also said they plan to open a location inside the Somerset Collection in Troy by the end of 2016.
The Atlanta-based company says they want to open three or four new restaurants a year for the next five years. They're looking at locations in Kalamazoo, Metro Detroit, Grand Rapids and Lansing.
Word of a Michigan expansion began spreading back in 2013, soon after the company's CEO generated controversy by speaking out against gay marriage based on "biblical principles."
Chick-fil-A is famous for ads featuring cows urging passersby to "eat more chicken" with a slipshod sign.
The company did over $6 billion in sales in 2015. It has 2,015 restaurants in 43 states and Washington, D.C.
It's best-known for their original chicken sandwich.
Ian Thibodeau is the business and development reporter for MLive Media Group in Detroit. He can be reached at ithibode@mlive.com, or follow him on Twitter.DAKAR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Mauritanian anti-slavery activists jailed last month have been tortured in detention and transferred to a remote desert location in an “intensification of repression” by the state, a leading campaigner said.
The West African nation in August jailed 13 members of the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement (IRA) for up to 15 years for their role in June protests by residents of a slum in the capital Nouakchott, many of whom are former slaves.
Slavery is a historical practice in Mauritania, which became the last country worldwide to legally abolish it in 1981.
Today some 43,000 people or at least one percent of the population live as slaves, according to the 2016 Global Slavery Index. Yet other estimates put the number as high as 20 percent in a country that is a focus of activism by the modern anti-slavery movement.
The 13 activists have been tortured and were this week moved to the desert north where they are cut off from their families, doctors, and lawyers, according to members of the IRA in the northern town of Zouerate who were informed of the relocation.
Mauritanian government officials did not respond for requests to comment.
“This intensification of repression is equal to the intensification of the fight (against slavery),” Biram Dah Abeid, head of the IRA and an opposition politician, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in Dakar, Senegal.
“Our colleagues suffered physical and psychological harm,” he said, adding that people cannot even visit the prisoners’ families for fear of being watched by the government.
The activists said they were not present at the protests and that the trial was an attempt by the state to discredit the IRA.
Anti-Slavery International called the sentences a “devastating blow” to the Mauritanian anti-slavery movement.
A European Union delegation said last month it was concerned by “credible allegations” of torture and violations of legal procedures in the case against the activists, and urged the Mauritanian authorities to investigate.
The Haratin, who make up Mauritania’s main “slave caste”, are descended from black African ethnic groups along the Senegal river. They often work as cattle herders and domestic servants.
The West African nation criminalized slavery in 2007 and a new law passed last year makes the offence a crime against humanity and doubles the prison term for offenders to 20 years.
The jailing of two slave-owners in May and the release of Abeid and activist Brahim Bilal, who had been in prison for 18 months after taking part in an anti-slavery march, were hailed as a turning point in the fight to end the practice.
But Abeid, who has been jailed several times and came a distant second in a 2014 presidential election, said the moves were merely “an illusion” of progress.Breakpoints are one of the most basic elements of debugging a program.
You may already be familiar with using them in Xcode or may have accidentally set one after trying to select an error or warning in the gutter. In their most basic form, they halt the flow of a program. In this article we will explore some of their more advanced uses.
One of the easiest ways to get started with breakpoint options is right-clicking a breakpoint and selecting the Edit Breakpoint… option. From here you will see a screen similar to this:
This dialog gives you several different customization options for your breakpoint. Conditional breakpoints will only break when the condition is true, and any valid code that evaluates to a boolean can be used here. You can use any variable that is available in the scope of the breakpoint. The condition will only be evaluated at the breakpoint — even if the condition as true, the program will not break if the breakpoint is not reached. You can set the breakpoint to ignore the first couple of passes too. This can be useful if you know you are calling a function multiple times, but only want to break on the last call. Another useful instance is dealing with a UIViewController and you want to see what happens when a view appears, but only when it reappears and not on the first view.
In this example, I make the breakpoint a conditional breakpoint that will only stop when the variable fahrenheit is greater than or equal to 100. It is also possible to access the celsius and celsiusString variables since they are also in scope when the breakpoint is reached; the condition could be set to break if the celsius variable is greater than 38 instead.
Within this dialog you can also set up one or more actions to be performed each time the breakpoint is hit. I have decided I want a to print a log message:
Within the log message you also have access to variables from the scope with the expression syntax (@fahrenheit@), the name of the breakpoint (%B) and how many times the breakpoint has been hit during the current execution (%H). Any valid code can be put in an expression statement. I decided to print out the temperature in Fahrenheit. I also had the breakpoint immediately resume after executing the action since I am only interested in the log message.
Having a breakpoint resume after performing an action has several useful applications. |
rain, three adults and a dog made the van feel cramped. Smith and King seemed to have developed an unspoken system for sharing space, but everywhere I stationed myself I was in the way. Scrolling through King and Smith’s Instagram feed in chronological order, you can see the couple become better at tailoring the images to what their followers want. “They want to see Emily in a bikini, they want to see a sunflare, they want to see the van,” Smith said. Photography by Jeff Minton for The New Yorker Smith made vegetarian chili that night. After dinner, King lit a stick of incense to cover up the mingled smells of cumin, damp dog, and unwashed human. Smith set up the Syncro’s pop-top and strapped on a rainfly. I clambered up to the loft and lay awake in the small wedge of space under the ceiling, listening to the rain pelt the van.
Ken Ilgunas spent most of two years living in a van when he was a graduate student at Duke University in order to avoid racking up debt, an experience he chronicled in a book called “Walden on Wheels,” published in 2013. Living in a van makes you thriftier and more self-reliant, Ilgunas told me. You learn to live with discomfort, a quality that he doesn’t see in the Instagram version of vanlife. “My van never looked like anything out of a Wes Anderson film,” he said. “It was difficult for me to wash my cooking pots. For a couple of weeks, I had mice living in my ceiling upholstery. There were times the van got so hot I thought I would die if I took a nap. And it was lonely. Just knowing that I would have to tell women where I lived deterred even the thought of dating.” In contrast, the vans on Instagram look like “aesthetically pleasing jewelry boxes,” Ilgunas said. “Usually with one or two good-looking people sprawled out in bed in front of a California beach.” It’s true that the same vanlife pictures get taken over and over: the van’s back doors opening onto an ocean vista; a long-exposure nighttime shot of the van, cozy and lit from within, against a backdrop of stars; a woman on the van’s roof, in the middle of a sun salutation. (There are so many images of vans parked in improbably beautiful places—the middle of a lake, the edge of a cliff—that there’s an Instagram account called You Did Not Sleep There, devoted to collecting the least believable ones.) One vanlife trope, a middle-distance shot of a van on an empty, winding road, seems more self-consciously artificial than most: someone clearly had to hop out and run back to get the shot. The ideal vanlife image has something of the hazy impersonality of a photograph in an upscale catalogue, depicting a scene that’s both attractive and unspecific enough that viewers can imagine themselves into it. There is an undeniable aesthetic and demographic conformity in the vanlife world. Nearly all of the most popular accounts belong to young, attractive, white, heterosexual couples. “There’s the pretty van girl and the woodsy van guy,” Smith said. “That’s what people want to see.” At times, the vanlife community seems full of millennials living out a leftover baby-boomer fantasy: the Volkswagens, the neo-hippie fashions, the retro gender dynamics. But, for all its twee escapism, vanlife is a trend born out of the recent recession. “We heard all these promises about what will happen after you go to college and get a degree,” Smith said. “We graduated at a time when all that turned out to be a bunch of bullshit.” The generation that’s fuelling the trend has significantly more student debt and lower rates of homeownership than previous cohorts. The rise of contract and temporary labor has further eroded young people’s financial stability. “I think there’s a sense of hopelessness in my generation, in terms of jobs,” Foster Huntington said. “And it’s cheap to live in a van.” And so, like staycations and minimalism, vanlife is an attempt to aestheticize and romanticize the precariousness of contemporary life. “It looks like they’re having fun,” Huntington said, of King and Smith. “But they’re working a lot.”
During the couple’s four years on the road, hundreds of people have contacted Smith for advice. Last year, he began providing donation-based vanlife consulting, offering to help people “live [their] vanlife vision.” So far, he has had meetings on the phone with around a dozen people. “They never want to know what the most beautiful place is,” he told me. “They want to know: Where do you pee? How do you and Emily not kill each other?” The answer to the first question is relatively simple: outside, or in campground bathrooms, or—on particularly cold nights or stretches of road with little privacy—in a plastic yogurt container. The second is more complicated. “Everything is magnified, because it’s such a small space,” King told me. “The trash is in our face, the dishes are in our face, Corey is in my face, I’m in his face. Any personality conflicts, ego conflicts, it’s all right there.” Most of the couple’s fights revolve around organization: when and how often to sweep out the van; whether they can wait until the morning to do the dishes; if they’re posting frequently enough. Smith is neat, and a self-described “planner”; when stressed, he can edge toward control-freak territory. (One afternoon, he watched me tear into a bag of corn chips and shook his head in disappointment. “You open bags wrong, too,” he said.) This regularly brings him into conflict with King, who is more flexible and fanciful, and occasionally prone to sloppiness. In Smith’s consulting sessions, he encourages couples to develop separate habits and to find small ways to spend time apart. While Smith cooks breakfast, King walks the dog; in the afternoons, he’ll go for a long bike ride while she practices yoga and writes in her journal. “Having good weather helps a lot,” King told me.
On another rainy morning in Ventura, the air smelled like salt and R.V. exhaust. King checked Instagram on her phone; her most recent post, a shot of a storm building over the Pacific, had been something of an aesthetic departure—most Where’s My Office Now images include King, the van, or Penny; the most popular tend to include all three—and it was underperforming. “I don’t think people are even reading this post, because it’s a picture of the ocean and apparently people don’t want to look at that,” she said testily. King and Smith have posted more than thirteen hundred photographs to their account. Scrolling through the feed in chronological order, you can see King, who shoots most of the photos, become better at composing and editing images, and at tailoring them to what the audience wants to see. In the early days, she took pictures of flowers and sunsets. “I’d never post something like that now,” she said, looking at a closeup of ripening blackberries, from four years ago. As I thumbed toward the top of the screen, I had the disconcerting sense of watching a life become a life-style brand. King clicked on the account’s most successful post, which has more than eight thousand likes. In the image, the back seat of the van is folded down into a bed; King faces away from the camera, holding a sheet to her chest, her hair cascading down her naked back. The second most popular post was of King wearing a bikini, standing on the van’s front bumper. In the next most popular, King is in a bikini, slicing lemons. “People really want to see beautiful locations,” King said. “They want to see Emily in a bikini, they want to see a sun flare, they want to see the van,” Smith said. “Ones of Emily in the van waking up with Penny, they crush it.” “It’s real and it’s kind of moody—” “It’s a naked female,” Smith said. “If I’m in that picture, it gets three thousand likes.” “Sorry. I have no interest in being your gay best friend. Try human resources.” Later that afternoon, a rust-brown 1984 Vanagon Westfalia with a vanlife decal on its rear window pulled in to the parking lot. The driver introduced himself as Mike Hagy, a forty-two-year-old ad-agency art director from Santa Monica, and a fan of Where’s My Office Now. He had seen on Instagram that Smith and King were in Ventura and decided to come say hello. “In a vanlife-geek kind of way, they are kind of celebrities,” he said. “I live in L.A., so seeing celebrities is no big thing—I almost hit Leonardo DiCaprio surfing once. But I was all excited to come down here. My friend was, like, ‘You’re such a dork.’ ”
The collapsing distance between brand and life has led to social-media influencing, in which advertisers pay for endorsements from people with strong online followings. Celebrity endorsements aren’t new, of course, but influencer marketing expands the category of “celebrity” to include teen-age fashionistas, drone racers, and particularly photogenic dogs. Advertisers work with people like Smith and King precisely because they’re not famous in the traditional sense. They’re appealing to brands because they have such a strong emotional connection with their followers. Krishna Subramanian, the co-founder of captiv8, a company that has helped Where’s My Office Now connect with advertisers, said, “Their followers know what they’re doing day in and day out.” Accounts with between fifty thousand and two hundred thousand followers are considered “microinfluencers,” and tend to have higher engagement rates—that is, a larger share of their followers like, favorite, or comment on their posts—than those with millions of followers. “It’s very niche-focussed,” Subramanian said. “That’s really interesting to an advertiser who wants to promote something very specific to that audience.” One study estimated that the social-media-influencer market was worth five hundred million dollars in 2015; the market is expected to increase to at least five billion dollars by 2020. Though King and Smith have worked out some of their branding partnerships directly, a growing number of companies serve as intermediaries between influencers and brands. Talent agencies develop entire social-media campaigns; tech startups, including captiv8, have built businesses around analytics platforms that identify potential influencers and evaluate the reach of digital campaigns. Top social-media influencers receive tens of thousands of dollars for endorsing a product, but King and Smith aren’t there yet; they make between five hundred and fifteen hundred dollars for each sponsored post. Last year, their first year attempting to earn a living primarily through social media, they made eighteen thousand dollars. In the first two months of 2017, they had already lined up ten thousand dollars’ worth of endorsements. Smith and King told me that they work only with brands they feel connected to. “We try to leverage the power we have as influencers in the social-media world to bring light to companies that are doing good in the world, that are creating products we believe in,” King explained. “We see every dollar as a vote.” They are sponsored by several companies whose products they use every day, including TruthPaste, which makes clay-based toothpaste, and Four Sigmatic, a “superfood company” that sells instant coffee enhanced with mushroom elixirs.demolition
Kaveri Layout
Koramangala
BBMP
owner
Now, in a first-of-its-kind battle the injunction order that has been issued to stop thepits Pujari against his boss, the municipal commissioner himselfThe four-storey building came up right in full public view atinand even a kid could make out that it has violated building bye-laws. So local residents went about sleuthing and then complaining to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (), specifically speaking, Koramangala sub-division assistant executive engineer S H Pujari. Still no action.They suspected the usual builder-owner-BBMP nexus. They did not a clue to who theof the building was. Not until a complaint went to the Upa Lokayukta’s office, leading to a demolition order, and a subsequent injunction sought by the owner against the order perforce revealed his name. It was none other than Pujari himself.Now, in a first-of-its-kind battle the injunction order that has been issued to stop the demolition pits Pujari against his boss himself: the municipal commissioner.It all started with the neighbourhood witnessing the construction from the scratch; they had noticed that it had no setbacks, that it had jetted into the storm water drain and that it was beyond the permissible Floor Area Ratio (FAR) limits.After knocking on the doors of Upa lokayukta Justice Subhash B Adi. Following a spot inspection which proved that the structure was being built in contravention of rules, Justice Adi issued a building demolition order and the building owner obtained a court injunction. This court order proved to be a clincher and the cat was out of the bag – the applicant/plaintiff name mentioned in the order read: S H Pujari. Simply put, the custodian of the area who ideally should be responsible for regulated development, Pujari was busy constructing his house with scant regard to the law.This did not come as a huge surprise to some of the smart residents who have campaigned for a host of public issues. A well-known architect who lives in the neighbourhood was the first one to notice the violations when the building construction began and informed others. Pujari’s property is on plot number 20, (PID 68-311) measuring 2,255 sqft, according to the documents accessed by BM. Says Muralidhar Rao, a civic activist and an area resident: “The construction began about 18 months ago and I can see the building from my apartment. We noticed that the column footing was on the edge of the drain and the first floor jets into the drain. It will be difficult to clean the drain as the cleaning machine is huge and will not be able to maneuver. As the construction progressed without any correction, we approached the area AEE Pujari, but he did not show any interest. We then met Upalokayukta and filed a complaint.’’Everytime the residents complained to Pujari, he told them the he will take a look at the property. The residents also tried to find who the owner of the property was but it was in vain. The building almost touched the residence next door without the required setback space. The columns are on the edge of the drain – this nullah runs all along the border of the army land and carries the run-off water from this vast terrain, meandering through Temple Tree Row, Kaveri Layout and joins Bellandur Lake.The case is now between S H Pujari (plaintiff) versus BBMP commissioner (defendant). Justice Adi told Bangalore Mirror: “There was a building violation case that was brought to my notice. Just because he (the AEE) is an authority, it does not mean that the rules can be violated. The engineer has approached the court and got an injunction against the building demolition orders issued by me.” Interestingly, Pujari also appeared before the Upalokayukta for a few hearings in the case representing the BBMP.Pujari initially refused to acknowledge that the said property belonged to him. When BM gave him all the information and told him about the documentary evidence showing him as the building owner, Pujari’s reply was evasive: “Which property? I have not received any order from Lokayukta. I will check the details of the Koramangala property and get back to you.” Pujari remained incommunicado subsequently. The injunction order issued by the City Civil and Sessions on April 23, says: “Pleased to grant an order of ad-interim injunction against the defendant from demolishing any portion of the suit building or in any way interfering with the plaintiff’s lawful possession of the suit property.”Screenshot of a post on the Facebook page of the Illini White Student Union that referenced the film “American History X,” about a violent white supremacist.
A Facebook page ostensibly created for an audience at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign called “Illini White Students Union” has drawn fire after it characterized the national Black Lives Matter movement as “terrorism.”
Created Wednesday after a protest sympathetic to Black Lives Matter, the page declared itself “for white students of University of Illinois to be able to form a community and discuss our own issues as well as be able to organize against the terrorism we have been facing from Black Lives Matter activists on campus,” as the Daily Illini reported.
The page did not last long in its original incarnation, but was taken down after three hours. It has since been revived here.
“We recognize the right to free speech, and we encourage you to exercise that right when you see examples of racism, discrimination or intimidation on our campus,” Interim Chancellor Barbara Wilson, who called the page “extremely disturbing,” wrote in a message Thursday to the student body.
In an anonymous message to the News-Gazette, the page’s administrator discussed Black Lives Matter.
“We feel they disrupt student daily life and activity far too much,” the message read, saying that movement “marginalizes” white students. “… We are in the United States and not Africa and we don’t desire to have an African flag on campus.”
[Harvard Law has ‘serious’ racism problem, dean says after black professors’ portraits defaced]
The current page is bare bones — just a few links to news stories about the controversy with an image of a statue on campus. The “about” section dedicated the page to “White Pride and a safe place for White students,” according to the News-Gazette, though that page appeared to have changed.
A recent post was a clip from the 1998 film “American History X,” in which Edward Norton plays a white supremacist. In the clip, billed as “revelant to all Ferguson news,” Norton’s character denounces the 1992 riots in Los Angeles.
“It’s a bunch of people grabbing any excuse they can find to go and loot a store, nothing more,” Norton says. “… Lincoln freed the slaves what, like, 130 years ago. How long does it take you to get your act together?”
[Why some students say Harvard Law School’s crest is ‘a source of shame’]
While this was certainly eyebrow-raising, the original page was even more provocative.
“Feel free to send in pictures you take of any black protestors on the quad so we know who anti-whites are,” one message read, as FOX 55 reported.
A student protest at the University of Illinois. (Charlotte Collins/The Daily Illini)
According to a student reporter, protesters were particularly concerned that they were being targeted.
“One of the parts on the page particularly concerning to students is that they were taking pictures from the rally of the main quad and identifying students in attendance to identify the ‘anti-whites,'” Marijo Enderle, a 20-year-old senior at the university, said in a telephone interview. Enderle also pointed out that “there hasn’t been any indication that it has been a university student” who created the page.
Student or not, university administrators strongly denounced the effort. Not only was the page offensive — it used the university’s trademark without permission.
[White Americans long for the 1950s, when they didn’t face so much discrimination]
“It is disturbing and cowardly that someone would create an anonymous and senseless social media page specifically designed to intimidate others, including and especially our students. When we became aware of the page, we immediately contacted Facebook and requested that it be removed,” campus spokesman Robin Kaler wrote in an e-mail to the Daily Illini. “Facebook has been responsive to our requests, but the page continues to be reposted. We are continuing to work with Facebook to address this matter. We recognize that passions run deep on all sides of many issues, but actions like this are senseless and hurtful and do nothing to foster meaningful dialogue.”
Commenters’ views of the page differed.
“It is so sad to see that such ignorance still exists in 2015,” one commenter wrote. “The creator and supporters of this page are pathetic. These people are cowards that hide behind an anonymous account. Grow up.”
“As a Mexican American I do not find this page racist or in poor taste,” another wrote. “It’s only fair that you are allowed to have your own page and the same rights to freedom of speech as black Illini students have.”
In a Facebook message to The Washington Post, one man who posted a message in support of the white students union explained his thinking.
“What I do like about it is they are fighting for the rights of the white man which are dwindling faster than a rabbit on meth!” Alan Scroggins, a 37-year-old stay-at-home dad from Rantoul, Ill., wrote. “I’m not racist, but I’m proud of my heritage! You know!”
Asked whether he was concerned the page might be considered racist, Scroggins said “not really.”
“The second a white guy says anything about being proud he’s labelled anyway!” he wrote. “Trust me I don’t hide my pride!”
This is not the first time a white student union has been proposed at a U.S. university. A white student union, for example, cropped up at Towson University in Maryland in 2012.
“Every ethnic group has its own advocacy group but white students don’t,” senior Matthew Heimbach said at the time. He added: “Any time there’s a group with conservative principles and white students standing up for themselves, it’s a battle cry for radical leftists on campus. … There’s nothing I could do or say … to try and get these people on the same page as us.”
And in 1991, the New York Times discussed a similar group at the University of Minnesota.
“I have no desire to harm the non-white races,” senior Thomas A. David, who founded the group, said at the time. “I simply think it would help everyone to separate.” He added: “I don’t want to be a mud race in this country, and I will fight to the death against that.”matched a career best 29 kills as UTSA battled through and knocked off unbeaten Oklahoma in a five-set thriller (19-25, 25-20, 20-25, 26-24, 20-18) Thursday night at McCasland Field House.UTSA (4-3) picked up its first-ever win over Oklahoma and becomes the 17th win over a Power 5 team for the Roadrunners.Oklahoma, the top hitting team in the nation, was held to a.183 team attack percentage, the lowest this season. The loss snaps the Sooners' seven-match win streak and drops OU to 7-1.The duo ofand Boskovic combined for 41 of the team's 68 total kills. Jularic recorded just her second career double-double with 12 kills and 14 digs. Boskovic padded her stat line with 29 winners, 17 digs and four blocks.Meanwhile,recorded her first 50-plus assist match of the season with 51 helpers and added 10 digs, a block and an ace. Liberoposted a career best 29 digs and was one of four Roadrunners to record double-digit digs.The Roadrunners saw themselves behind 2-1 in the match after Oklahoma won the third set 25-20.The fourth set ignited a fire in the Roadrunners that saw 17 ties and nine lead changes and had UTSA win 26-24. The Sooners drew a tie midway through the set at the 16-all mark but was followed by a 6-2 run by the Roadrunners to make it 22-18. Oklahoma eventually rallied back to take a 24-23 lead but a serving error drew the final tie at 24. An ace byfollowed with a block byandsecured the win.Intensity grew in McCasland Field House in the deciding set as no team lead by more than two points the entire way. The set featured 13 ties and three lead changes but fell in the favor of the Roadrunners after a kill by Boskovic and an attack error by the Sooners gave UTSA the 20-18 win.UTSA will return for the second day of the Nike Invitational on Friday, Sept. 9, whne the Roadrunners face former Southland Conference foe Lamar at 4 p.m.Podcast Summary
The guys welcome on Boston Capper (@cliffoct83) to help preview the NHL Stanley Cup Final. First order of business though is to get Capper’s completely biased take on Deflategate. Capper helps break down the series and makes an impassioned argument as to why the NHL is better than the NBA. Kramer and Capper somehow crowbar in Yankees vs Redsox talk and the podcast wraps with Capper explaining the lengths he went to watch a Red Sox World Series game.
NHL Stanley Cup Final Odds
Chicago Blackhawks (-150)
TB Lightning (+130)
Conn Smythe Trophy Odds
Jonathan Toews (CHI)
57/20
Tyler Johnson (TB)
9/2
Patrick Kane (CHI)
11/2
Duncan Keith (CHI)
3/1
Ben Bishop (TB)
13/2
Steven Stamkos (TB)
8/1
Corey Crawford (CHI)
12/1
Nikita Kucherov (TB)
25/1
Marian Hossa (CHI)
25/1
Patrick Sharp (CHI)
25/1
Victor Hedman (TB)
40/1
Brent Seabrook (CHI)
50/1
Alex Killorn (TB)
50/1
Ondrej Palat (TB)
40/1
Valtteri Filppula (TB)
50/1
Brad Richards (CHI)
50/1
Ryan Kramer and Sean Green are writers and co-hosts for the Sports Gambling Podcast. Follow the show on twitter @GamblingPodcast. Rate and Review the Sports Gambling Podcast on iTunes & StitcherA huge fireworks display capped off Canada Day festivities in Ottawa on Parliament Hill, after acts from pop sensation Kiesza and other musicians entertained the crowd.
Earlier Wednesday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Canadians will continue to overcome all threats they face from outside forces, as he praised members of the Armed Forces during the day's celebrations.
"In the Baltic and in Eastern Europe, they are supporting our friends and allies who face Russian aggression. And, in Iraq and in Kuwait, they are fighting the terrorists there, to keep us safe here," Harper said Wednesday at Canada's 148th birthday bash on Parliament Hill.
"Now friends, as we saw right here in our Parliament, this threat is everywhere today," he said, referring to the shooting last October outside the National War Memorial that claimed the life of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo while he was on honorary guard. "But we have faced great threats before, many times, and we have overcome them and we shall overcome them once more."
Harper said Canada "stands unique among the nations," and that in times of economic and political turmoil, the country is "an island of stability."
"At this moment in our history, there is no better place in the world to live, to work, and to raise a family. No better place in the world than this country Canada," Harper said.
Thousands of Canadians decked out in their finest red and white attire flocked to Ottawa for the Canada Day celebrations in the capital for the day-long event.
CBC's cross-country coverage kicked off with CBC News chief correspondent Peter Mansbridge hosting a special from Ottawa until 2 p.m. on CBC-TV, CBC News Network and CBCNews.ca.
He was joined by CBC's Heather Hiscox from Newfoundland and Paul Hunter in Vancouver, and for the first time ever, CBC had Canada Day celebrations from the Arctic Circle in Inuvik.
Rosemary Barton and Jelena Adzic followed the ceremonial and concert events on Parliament Hill.
Gov. Gen. David Johnston also joined Harper in the festivities.
Earlier, in his Canada Day statement, Harper said Canadians are "blessed to live in the best country in the world." He called on Canadians to "celebrate the people who make Canada great" and to "re-dedicate themselves to the service of the country."
NDP Leader Tom Mulcair's issued a Canada Day statement that hinted at the election on the horizon. He was expected to attend events Wednesday across the Greater Toronto Area, a critical campaign battleground.
"We have many reasons to be proud to be Canadian, but much work remains to be done," Mulcair said.
"The NDP has a clear vision to build a more sustainable society. Canadians can count on the NDP to bring concrete proposals to Ottawa to make life more affordable for families and make Canada a fairer country."
Fireworks explode behind the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill during Canada Day celebrations on Wednesday, July 1, 2015 in Ottawa. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau was also spending the day in the GTA and southwestern Ontario. He issued a holiday statement that lauded Canada as "a place of fairness and of opportunity; a place where people from every imaginable country and culture, who speak every language, live and work, and build and thrive together."
Trudeau added: "We are stronger not in spite of our differences, but precisely because of them. For much of the world, Canada represents the most hopeful vision of what the future can look like."
Kiesza headlines Canada Day concert
Some of the country's top musical talents will be taking to the stage throughout the day.
Calgary pop sensation Kiesza, featuring the 26-year-old Hideaway, will headline the special evening concert broadcast. The show included performances by Toronto's reggae pop outfit Magic! and Alberta-raised country singer Gord Bamford.
The lineup also featured performances from:
Quebec's Marc Dupré.
Montreal's Jonas and the Massive Attraction.
Toronto's Francesco Yates.
Dakar-born, Quebec City-raised singer Karim Ouellet.
Quebec singer-songwriter Andee.
Winnipeg singer-songwriter Cassidy Mann.
Mann was also slated to sing the national and royal anthems earlier in the day.
Related coverage and programming
Mark Cripps, of the St. Andrew's Pipe and Drum Corps plays during the Canada Day Parade in Mississauga, Ont. (Peter Power/Canadian Press) CBC also hosted Canada Day-related programming across the public broadcaster's network.MARTIN O'NEILL has revealed how it took his new assistant Roy Keane less than five seconds to agree to join his Republic of Ireland management team.
MARTIN O'NEILL has revealed how it took his new assistant Roy Keane less than five seconds to agree to join his Republic of Ireland management team.
Martin O’Neill: It took Roy four and a half seconds to say yes
O'Neill addressed a packed press conference at Dublin's Gibson Hotel with Keane in England preparing to watch Aston Villa's Premier League meeting with Cardiff City this afternoon.
The 61-year-old Derry native spoke in straightforward terms about what is expected from the new team. “John [Delaney] has told me that it's my remit to get to France [Euro 2016],” he said.
He expanded on his reasons for bringing Keane in as his number two, stressing that he had no intention of trying to change the personality of his high profile assistant.
"I did mention to him about the possibility of working with me here, and it took him about four and a half seconds. He was absolutely delighted with it," O'Neill said.
"I said to him the roles that we would have, and he told me that he would reverse those in about 10 minutes.
“I'm absolutely delighted he's on board.
“He's an iconic figure, a great, great player, one of the best players that has played in the Premiership since its inception.
“I see Alex Ferguson has said that Roy might have gone into management too soon. I don't really know that. All I do know from working with him over the last number of years, doing TV work, I've found him very engaging, his thirst for knowledge is amazing, I see him at football matches where there's no need for him to be at games. He loves football. And, like all of us, he's got points to prove.
“I know how brilliant he was and sometimes how polarised opinions can be with Roy but I don't have a problem with that. He'll be great for me, I'll like that, but more importantly for me he'll be brilliant for the Republic of Ireland. I'm not there to change Roy Keane. I want Roy Keane essentially the way he is.”
Both men, of course, played at different stages under the late Brian Clough at Nottingham Forest, and O'Neill had little doubt as to what he would have thought of their partnership.
He said: "He would have had some palpitations, I am quite sure, the same man. I think he would have worried for both of us."
O'Neill admitted he had thought long and hard about making the move from club management on to the international stage and the differences between the two before committing himself to a two-year deal.
In announcing the former Wycombe, Norwich, Leicester, Celtic, Aston Villa and Sunderland manager's appointment on Tuesday, Football Association of Ireland chief executive John Delaney revealed that he had turned down offers from Barclays Premier League clubs to take over the Ireland team.
O'Neill had been out of work since being shown the door by the Black Cats at the end of March, heralding the disastrous, if brief, Paolo Di Canio era at the Stadium of Light.
He remains hugely disappointed by the nature of his exit from the Wearside club, and was less than complimentary about the roles played by both owner Ellis Short and his successor.
Asked if he was re-energised by the challenge ahead of him, he said: "I never lost the energy or the enthusiasm.
"That was someone else's prerogative to do so. I was very disappointed, obviously.
"I felt that my record in the game might suggest that we would have accrued the last five points from seven matches to keep us in the league.
"But the owner chose otherwise and then appointed a manager for about 11 games, who just about criticised everything that went on beforehand. He is not actually in work at the moment.
"It's gone. I never lost the energy, I never lost the enthusiasm. It was always there. That's what keeps me going."
O'Neill was in good form during the broadcast media section of his press duties, cracking jokes at regular intervals and deferring questions to FAI chief executive John Delaney when it suited – including a query about whether Keane could potentially be his successor. “I hope we're not appointing (another) manager for a long, long time, it's as simple as that,” responded Delaney.
O'Neill spoke highly of his predecessor, Giovanni Trapattoni, and refused to get drawn into discussion about what mistakes the Italian might have made. However, he acknowledged that one of his tasks is to attract lapsed fans to the Aviva Stadium.
“I'm hoping, obviously, that they will come back. And the only way for us to bring them back is to win some games and try and win them with a lttle bit of style and panache, if that's at all possible,” he continued.
“ We would obviously want to try and qualify, that's the aim, it's why I'm here, it's why I want to be here. On the way there will be ups and downs, of course, but it's a bit of journey. I'm not here to tell fans what to do. I'm hoping that at some stage they will come back and actually enjoy it.”
O'Neill said that he had an 'open mind' about welcoming absent players back into the fold when asked about Shay Given and Damien Duff – who retired from international football after Euro 2012 – and more pertinently Stoke's Stephen Ireland who has hinted at a comeback.
He suggested that he would assess the possibilities after the upcoming double header of friendlies with Latvia and Poland.
“I would like to get these two games out of the way, start to assess it, and have a look at it,” he said. “If anyone is going to be of value to the set-up here I would certainly have a very open mind, a genuinely open mind.”
One of the criticisms of Giovanni Trapattoni was that he had little regard for the Airtricity League but O'Neill is looking forward to keeping a close eye on the domestic league.
"I'm looking forward to that part of it, genuinely, because you never know because there may be some 18 or 19 year old that has been missed," he added.
Online EditorsWhile Starbucks remains one of the main pushers of America's favourite psychoactive drug, they have just won a decisive battle against the creators of a copycat bong used to smoke America's other favourite psychoactive drug.
In what probably started off as a great conversation while baked out of their gourds, Oregon designer James Landgraf and bong makers Hitman Glass teamed up to make a Frappuccino-inspired pipe called the "Dabuccino." The clear bong features a green straw (cough, pipe), a dome top, and a siren on the cover, all signatures of the Starbucks brand—except that the siren has weed in her hair instead of her usual crown.
This was enough for the coffee giant to lawyer up, and in June, Landgraf and Hitman Glass were each hit with a trademark dilution, trademark infringement, and copyright infringement lawsuit. (A closer look at the design might also temps legal team at Diva Cup, as the "lid" of the Dabuccino is almost identical to the reusable menstrual cup.)
According to Eater, Starbucks alleged that the creators of the Dabuccino "willfully intended to create an association with the Starbucks Marks and to capitalise upon the success and popularity of the Starbucks Marks to sell [their] products," resulting in trademark dilution that "has caused and will continue to cause irreparable injury and damage to Starbucks Corp.'s business, reputation, and goodwill."
READ MORE: This Dude Successfully Paid for His Fast Food with Bong Rips
Obviously, a publicly traded coffee company does not want to be associated with bong water, especially when it isn't making any money off of the use of its intellectual property.
"We are pleased with the court's decision," Starbucks said in a statement. "Starbucks has made significant investments to develop our brand and intellectual property over the past 45 years. We have an obligation to protect our intellectual property from infringement in order to retain our exclusive rights to it."
It's worth noting that the decision against Landgraf was a default judgement. In other words, he did not respond to a summons or appear in court when he was supposed to, and, as a result |
plane
As with similar building games, user content generation is extremely important. Sebastiano Mandalà, cofounder and chief technology officer at Freejam, explains: “When we started, we knew the game was going to be creative, and we ended up having 300 different cubes players can use to create a unique robot that can both look beautiful and be deadly in battle.” Figures 1 and 2 show examples of unique robots.
Figure 2: Example of unique robot - ship
To ensure this level of user content generation, the original Robocraft team of five had to decide which technology would affordably enable them to do the programming. The team selected Unity*. Mandalà notes, “We don’t have an in-house engine, which means we haven’t developed platform-specific code. We just used what comes out of the box from Unity [Technologies], which is compatible with many platforms.”
Unity fit the criteria; however, the team faced challenges in implementing programming specifics. “For example,” says Mandalà, “all those cubes rendered on the screen were very difficult for most graphics cards, because thousands of cubes were specifically enabled. Eventually, we had to work out some tricks to batch the graphics and collider for the physics to make it run smoothly, especially on low-end machines.”
In addition to user generation, this consideration for low-end player technology has been important. Mandalà comments, “With Robocraft, we were targeting kids between 10 and 14 years of age as well as older teens and adults. But kids don’t usually have very powerful computers, so we were forced to design the game to work with older technology.”
Inclusive Programming
To develop a loyal base, Freejam wanted to make Robocraft accessible to a wide range of players on a variety of computing systems. Initial programming involved targeting older graphics cards as well as newer ones, including both integrated and nonintegrated cards. The team currently uses Unity 4 and Microsoft DirectX* 9 to program the game.
Mandalà notes, “We know that programming for more recent machines is ‘cooler,’ and we might target them later, once we have the lower-end aspects fully under control. For example, we’ll be able to define in more detail things like shading and soft shadows, so the game looks better. That would involve switching to Unity 5 and creating a special version for DirectX 11 or 12. We would be improving an already good game for faster machines. It’s an ongoing process, and that’s part of our plan for the future.” Currently, Robocraft adapts to each player’s computing resources, detecting system specifications such as CPU and GPU fill rate and running accordingly.
Graphic Design
Additional challenges came with the graphic design. Mandalà explains: “Because players build the robots, each robot has a unique shape and form. Initially, with Unity 4, we rendered each cube separately and assigned it its own collider, but both the rendering and the physics engines didn’t perform well on many machines. With thousands of primitives, Unity 4 performance was just not enough, so we had to re-design the code in order to be able to handle our scenario. Being able to modify the shape of the robots during combat was another challenge. With our new algorithms, the draw call count was drastically reduced, while the colliders were clustered and simplified. Finally, we incorporated those optimizations in the design process before the game went live.” Figure 3 shows the changing shape of a robot being destroyed during combat.
Figure 3: Robot being destroyed
To optimize the game for PCs that have embedded GPUs using DirectX, the team minimized the number of draw calls, batching all the cubes that form one robot into one draw call where possible. Fill-rate optimization is crucial for integrated cards, and, to optimize it, the team implemented an algorithm to dynamically skip the rendering of the faces of the cubes occluded by other cubes. Finally, the game takes advantage of the Unity LoD system to reduce the number of draw calls and polygons of the dynamic parts of a robot that are far from the camera.
Screen resolution posed a few problems. Mandalà says, “Screen resolution is linked to fill rate. Recent powerful graphics cards can handle high resolutions without problems, while legacy cards are heavily affected. To solve this problem, we implemented multiple graphic resolution settings, from ‘fastest’ to ‘fantastic’ and a few in between. Special optimizations are in place in the lightest modes, while more graphic details are enabled in the heaviest modes for more recent graphics cards.” Figure 4 shows the game in fast mode. Forward rendering and shadows are enabled. Deferred shading and relative post process effects are available in the highest settings.
Figure 4: Optimized screen resolution
Mandalà notes: “Thanks to Unity 5 and the awesome optimizations implemented in the new engine, we are already planning to add more features that could make the game more realistic, with respect to both physics and graphics.”
Intel’s Involvement
To ensure that the game runs smoothly on Intel® architecture, the Freejam team runs Robocraft on Unity middleware, which, observes Mandalà, is a great engine for Intel® platforms. “However,” he adds, “we introduced a number of custom optimizations in the game to improve performance on Intel platforms and we’ve been optimizing for 32-bit and 64-bit systems as well. In the near future, we’ll be focusing more on exploiting Intel® multicore technology for our players who have higher-end PCs.”
The team also uses many Intel tools, especially for analysis and quality assurance (QA). “Intel® Graphics Performance Analyzers [Intel® GPA] in particular,” says Mandalà, “have been essential in helping us optimize performance. Performance is crucial for us, as we have discovered that there is a strong correlation between frame rate and player retention. We have used Intel GPA to diagnose bottlenecks and optimize the game to increase the frame rate and, therefore, retention.”
Tools like Intel GPA inform the team how best to optimize the rendering code, but Robocraft is CPU bound instead of GPU bound. Mandalà notes, “We optimize on the CPU while respecting what’s going on with the GPU.” He adds, “Intel support has always been first class! The tools are great, especially Intel GPA, although my ultimate wish would be to use VTune with Unity.”
Testing and Post-Development
The team tests the game through an internal QA process that consists of many iterations before an expansion goes live. The process includes an extensive test bed of Intel PCs, from those with Intel® Core™ Duo processors to those with Intel® Core™ i7 processors.
The Games as a Service nature of Robocraft allows the team to test some features in a closed user environment, gathering feedback from the community. Community feedback is monitored at all times, as it is an essential part of the development processes.
Freejam is an indie developer that self-publishes Robocraft. Mandalà says, “We’re making good progress growing the community as we evolve the game. Our market success is surely also due to our partnerships with Intel, the Steam* entertainment platform, and others we’ve worked with to reach millions of players worldwide.”
The team has plans to improve the game, including adding new game modes, creativity options, community and social facilities, and other elements. Virtual reality is also on the radar for exploration. Mandalà notes, “We’ll continue to rely on Intel’s platforms, support, and tools for the ongoing development, testing, and optimization and to keep the game in line with advances in CPU and GPU technology. The more processing power we have, the better the game performs and the better our ‘fantastic’ setting is. In the future, for example, we will make the game less CPU bound to improve the speed and graphics even further by using the Intel multicore architecture with multithreaded code.”
Freejam has also been discussing with Intel how to work together to raise awareness for both brands and products within their respective communities.
Future Plans
The Robocraft user community has always been a key driver for Freejam. Mandalà remarks, “We always believed in the game, and our gut feeling was that it was going to be good. It’s been rewarding to get confirmation from our passionate community that they love the game. We communicate directly with them a lot—daily, in fact. Sometimes they hate us, and sometimes they love us. It can be exhausting to try and keep up with them, but also euphoric.”
Mandalà says the user community interaction is what drives the pace of game updates. “We have all these great ideas, and we share and discuss our theories with the community. That’s why we’re growing so fast.” The pace of technology plays a part in update speed, as well. Mandalà states, “The quicker higher-performance hardware goes down in price, the faster we can enable our community to play Robocraft with better graphics, because the new architecture supports higher quality settings for the game.”
The growth of the game has meant growth for Freejam. Starting with a team of five, the company has expanded to about 50 staff members in just two years. Mandalà says the scale-up has been necessary because of the number of features the team wants to implement, but the transition has been challenging. “It’s a good challenge. We’ve been forced to impose more structure on ourselves, which has been positive. We’ve also needed to ramp up our marketing efforts and invest more resources in that.”
All that growth has resulted in a solid game with a loyal following. The Freejam team has noticed that since Freejam released Robocraft, several games have come out with a similar concept. Mandalà notes that the game will continue to improve and hopefully add to its following: “As Robocraft is an online service, development is ongoing. We’ve been developing for more than two years now, but we’ve still got plenty to do. We’re not done yet!”
Mandalà advises developers looking to create similar online Games as a Service projects to expect a long, challenging journey. He says, “Expect to continue developing new content on an ongoing basis, improving features, encouraging a healthy community feedback loop, and engaging in partnerships with key platforms and technology. Keep analyzing the game and player behaviors, test ideas, and enhance or improve the service with minimal viable product iterations. Boost winning ideas, and rethink or remove the ones that don’t work as well. Finally, expect the unexpected, get as much data as you can, and fuse those data with creativity and intuition to drive the vision of the game you and your community are building.”
The Freejam team welcomes contact from other developers and is happy to discuss projects over coffee or Skype*. Mandalà can be reached via his Twitter account @sebify.
Summary
Using Unity and DirectX, and working in conjunction with Intel, Freejam created an online game—Robocraft—that appeals to players of all ages and works well across a wide range of computing technology. A focus on usability prompted the development team to make different decisions than they might have made if the focus were on appearance. For example, the game was designed to work with older technology and adapt to each player’s computing resources. Optimizations were performed to ensure that these older systems could handle the graphics. Robocraft is a work in progress, and Freejam anticipates many exciting future updates.
About Freejam
Freejam was founded in Portsmouth, United Kingdom, by five guys who had a solid belief in one simple game idea, Robocraft. They pooled their combined 52 years of traditional development experience and threw it out the window. With a great idea and new lean start-up philosophy, they’re free to innovate.
The development team was assembled to prove that truly amazing games can be created through experimentation and evolution. The five team members are skilled and organized professional game developers who have embraced the indie way. The company is small, so it can react fast, listen to its players, make quick decisions, try new stuff, and sculpt the game efficiently. In the same unrestrained way that musicians write songs, from a simple jam session with a few chords, the Freejam team has created a game that has grown into a masterpiece.
The developers’ approach relies on open and transparent interaction with their gamers, with the understanding that they can’t improve their game without input from everyone. They don’t know where Robocraft will end up, but that’s all part of the fun.An illegal immigrant MS-13 gang member has been deported to El Salvador following multiple assault convictions and a murder charge.
Ingmar Guandique-Blanco, 35-years-old, is a documented member of the violent El Salvadorian MS-13 gang which has now taken root across the U.S., according to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.
Guandique was arrested in Washington D.C. in May 2001, and again in February 2002 for assault charges with intent to commit robbery. After his conviction, the gang member was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the crimes.
Back in February 2011, Guandique was convicted of first-degree murder, but had the case dropped after requesting a new trial. Last year, Guandique was handed over to ICE officials after having the murder charges dismissed.
From there, he was subsequently ordered for deportation by an immigration judge. Now, the illegal immigrant is finally back in El Salvador after more than a decade in the U.S.
“Mr. Guandique unlawfully entered the United States, and once here, continued to violate U.S. laws by assaulting innocent victims,” ICE Washington D.C. Field Director Matthew Munroe said in a statement. “As a result of his actions, he has been removed to his home country of El Salvador.”
Guandique was transported from Virginia to Pennsylvania and then flown to Alexandria, Louisiana were ICE’s Air Operations unit traveled with the illegal immigrant to the San Salvador International Airport in El Salvador.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart Texas. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.Four years ago today, this country suffered a terrible atrocity at the hands of terrorists: 52 people were killed and many more horribly injured. I stood at the dispatch box that day and spoke of the need to face down this barbarism. In the subsequent weeks and months, I was proud of the calm and just way that the ordinary British citizen dealt with this assault and of the comparative absence of people trying to make scapegoats of the ordinary, decent Muslim community. I was proud of the courage, sense of honour, tolerance and justice of our citizens at home.
I am afraid that I cannot be so complimentary about the actions of our government abroad. In the last year, there have been at least 15 cases of British citizens or British residents claiming to be tortured by foreign intelligence agencies with the knowledge, complicity and, in some cases, presence of British intelligence officers. One case – that of Binyam Mohammed – has been referred to the police by the attorney general, which implies that there is at least a prima facie case to answer. The most salient others include Moazzam Begg, Tariq Mahmoud, Salahuddin Amin and Rashid Rauf, all in Pakistan, Jamil Rahman in Bangladesh, Alam Ghafoor in United Arab Emirates, and Azhar Khan and others in Egypt.
For each case, the government have denied complicity, but at the same time fiercely defended the secrecy of their actions, making it impossible to put the full facts in the public domain, despite the clear public interest in doing so. Although the combined circumstantial evidence of complicity in all these cases is overwhelming, it has not so far been possible – because of the government's improper use of state secrecy to cover up the evidence – to establish absolutely clear sequences of cause and effect.
In the case I am about to describe, we can follow the entire chain of events from original suspicion, through active encouragement of the Pakistani authorities to arrest and through the subsequent collaboration between UK and Pakistani agencies. This is the case of Rangzieb Ahmed, a convicted terrorist, whose treatment I can describe in some detail.
As the house will realise, the account I am about to relay comes from several sources. I cannot properly give my sources, given the vindictive attitude of this government, particularly the Foreign Office, to whistleblowers. Indeed, in this case of Rangzieb Ahmed, the authorities were so paranoid that they threatened to arrest a journalist for reporting facts stated in open court. Nevertheless, although I am prevented from naming my sources, I can say that I am confident of these facts beyond reasonable doubt. I will not, of course, disclose any names, or anything that discloses intelligence agency techniques – other than torture – or other issues that threaten national security.
I should say that the individual whose case I am going to describe is not someone for whom I have any natural sympathy. He is a convicted – indeed, self-confessed – terrorist. So what I am talking about today is just as much about defending our own civilised standards as it is about deploring what was done to this man in the name of defending our country.
In 2005-06, Rangzieb Ahmed was a suspected terrorist who was kept under surveillance for about a year before leaving the country to go first to Dubai and on a subsequent trip to Pakistan. During that time, evidence was collected against him, on the basis of which he was later convicted. Let me repeat that point, as it is very important to my subsequent argument – during that time, evidence was collected, on the basis of which he was subsequently convicted.
Despite the authorities having that evidence, he was – astonishingly – not arrested but instead allowed to leave the country. To understand how odd this decision was, we should remember that this was only a year after the tragedy of 7/7, after which agencies were criticised for allowing terrorist suspects to leave the country to go to Pakistan. Since they knew he was leaving, since they knew where he was going, and since they had more than enough evidence to arrest him, allowing him to leave was clearly deliberate. That the authorities knew his itinerary is demonstrated by the fact that he was kept under surveillance when he was in Dubai. He later went on to Pakistan, where the Pakistani authorities were warned of his arrival by the British government. The British intelligence agencies wrote to their opposite numbers in Pakistan – the members of the directorate for inter-services intelligence – suggesting that they arrest him. I use the word "suggest" rather than "request" or "recommend" because of the peculiar language of the ISI's communication. No doubt the minister can confirm that for himself by asking to see the record.
We also know that the intelligence officer who wrote to the Pakistanis did so in full knowledge of the normal methods used by the ISI against terrorist suspects that it holds. That is unsurprising, as it is common public knowledge in Pakistan. The officer would therefore be aware that "suggesting" arrest was equivalent to "suggesting" torture.
Rangzieb Ahmed was arrested by the ISI on 20 August 2006. Once he was taken into custody in Pakistan by the ISI, the Manchester police and MI5 together created a list of questions to be put to him. MI5 arranged for those questions to be given to the ISI.
Rangzieb Ahmed was viciously tortured by the ISI. He says, among other things, that he was beaten with wooden staves the size of cricket stumps and whipped with a 3ft length of tyre rubber nailed to a wooden handle, and that three fingernails were removed from his left hand. There is a dispute between Ahmed and British intelligence officers about exactly when his fingernails were removed, but an independent pathologist employed by the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed that it happened during the period when he was in Pakistani custody.
Rangzieb was asked questions, under torture, about the UK by ISI officers. He claims that he saw "UK/Pakistan Secret" on the question list used by the ISI. That was presumably the list put together by the Manchester police and MI5. After about 13 days, he was visited by an officer from MI5 and another from MI6. He claims to have told them, during questioning, that he had been tortured. They deny that, but it is significant that they did not return for further interviews. By that stage, MI5 policy was not to return after any interview in which the subject claimed that he had been tortured. The British agents did not return, but Rangzieb was subsequently questioned by Americans.
Is it also an extraordinary, if sinister, coincidence that the Manchester police accessed Rangzieb Ahmed's medical records within days of the MI5/MI6 interview? Why would they do that if he was in perfect health?
Rangzieb Ahmed was kept in detention by the Pakistani authorities for a total of 13 months – first at the ISI centre, then at Rawalpindi and then at Adiyala jail – before being deported to the United Kingdom in September 2007. He was tried and convicted of terrorist offences in late 2008 – according to the prosecution, entirely on the basis of evidence obtained while he was under surveillance in the UK and Dubai in 2005-06. I cannot imagine a more obvious case of the outsourcing of torture, a more obvious case of "passive rendition".
Let me recap. Rangzieb Ahmed should have been arrested by the UK in 2006, but he was not. The authorities knew that he intended to travel to Pakistan, so they should have prevented that; instead, they suggested that the ISI arrest him. They knew that he would be tortured, and they arranged to construct a list of questions and supply it to the ISI.
The authorities know full well that this story is an evidential showcase for the policy of complicity in torture, should that evidence ever come out. One way in which the in camera veil of secrecy might be lifted would be a civil case by Mr Ahmed against the government for their complicity in torture. Part of that process would involve challenging the in-camera rulings and revealing the details of agency involvement. Just such a case was being considered by Mr Ahmed, and on 20 April this year he was visited in prison by his solicitor and a specialist legal adviser to discuss it.
Mr Ahmed tells us that a week later he was visited by an officer from MI5 and a policeman. That is the story told today on the front pages of the Daily Mail and the Guardian. During the course of their visit they said that they would like him to help in the fight against terror with information about extremism. This is perfectly proper.
However, the sinister part of this visit was an alleged request to drop his allegations of torture: if he did that, they could get his sentence cut and possibly give him some money. If this request to drop the torture case is true, it is frankly monstrous. It would at the very least be a criminal misuse of the powers and funds under the government's Contest strategy, and at worst a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
I would normally be disinclined to believe the word of a convicted terrorist. However, when he initially told his lawyer about it, he did not want to pursue the matter. Also, in common with many other criminals, after the scandal of the taping of the current minister of state, Department for Transport, the right honourable member for Tooting [Sadiq Khan], on a prison visit, he believes all these meetings are taped and he says this will back him up.
Given that belief, he is unlikely to have made an allegation that would be so easily proven wrong. I do not believe the conversation was taped, but it would have been videoed and this could be used to check his story. For reasons of policy and natural justice, it is imperative that the Crown Prosecution service investigates this allegation immediately, but that is not my principal concern today.
My questions to the minister are as follows. First, will he undertake to look at the in-camera court records and the records of the police and intelligence agencies so that he can confirm for his own satisfaction that my account of the handling of Rangzieb Ahmed pre-trial is correct? That process should take only a few days. Secondly, will he publish the current guidelines governing the agencies handling the suspected torture so that we can see whether the UK authorities broke those guidelines or whether it was the policy that was at fault? The prime minister has undertaken to publish the new guidelines, so if the minister cannot publish the current ones, can he explain why his approach is different to the prime minister's?
Thirdly, I believe, but cannot be certain to an evidential level, that the judge in the court case intimated that disciplinary action should be considered within the intelligence agencies. Was this done? If not, why not?
Finally, can the minister now announce a proper judicial inquiry into the allegations of UK complicity in torture, since it is now clear that there is not just circumstantial evidence but hard evidence in government records for ministers to read, if they had but eyes to see?
Let me conclude by saying that our handling of the subject of torture has, in my view, been completely wrong. The Americans have made a clean breast of their complicity, while explicitly not prosecuting the junior officers who were acting under instruction at a time of enormous duress and perceived threat after 9/11. We have done the opposite. As things stand, we are awaiting a police investigation that will presumably end in the prosecution of the frontline officers involved. At the same time, the government are fighting tooth and nail to use state secrecy to cover up crimes and political embarrassments to protect those who are probably the real villains in the piece – those who approved these policies in the first place.
The battle against terrorism is not just a fight for life; it is a battle of ideas and ideals. It is a battle between good and evil, between civilisation and barbarism. In that fight, we should never allow our standards to drop to those of our enemies. We cannot defend our civilisation by giving up the values of that civilisation. I hope the minister will today help me in ensuring that we find out what has gone wrong so we can return to defending those values once again.An extraordinary, frank attack on Theresa May by a senior police officer, live on television, needs to be seen by every person in this country:
Former Metropolitan Police Senior Investigating Officer Peter Kirkham states categorically that Theresa May’s claims that there are more police and more armed police on the streets than ever before is a lie, amid an excoriating assault on her credibility, honesty and on her fitness to keep this country secure.
And he’s right – as this chart of police numbers in England shows:
Mrs May has been called out by someone who knows the truth. Make sure everyone knows it.
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Like this: Like Loading...Beliebers, like any online fan army, are a very passionate bunch. But late Saturday night, many of these acolytes of Justin Bieber, the chiseled and oft-naked Canadian pop icon, appeared to renounce their deity.
It began innocently enough. You see, The Biebs has been on a bit of a summer tear of late, as he was first rumored to be dating Hailey Baldwin (daughter of Stephen, niece of Alec), then was pictured nude on a Hawaiian vacation with the Instagram model Sahara Ray, and then confirmed his predilection for celebrity offspring when, for the last week or so, he’s spent time hangin’ with Sofia Richie—the 17-year-old (Bieber is 22, so this is technically illegal in their home state of California) daughter of crooner Lionel Richie and sister of Nicole (RIP The Simple Life). Hey, it’s summer after all.
All of this conscious coupling and uncoupling has apparently given his fan army whiplash, causing their heads to spin around like the little girl in The Exorcist, and when Bieber posted a series of photos to his Instagram page of him and Richie, they e-vomited all over them, posting a series of snake emojis and harassing, hateful comments directed at his new squeeze.
Bieber addressed the fan hullabaloo in the early hours of Sunday morning, posting an Instagram photo of the newly-minted couple along with the caption, “I’m gonna make my Instagram private if you guys don’t stop the hate this is getting out of hand, if you guys are really fans you wouldn’t be so mean to people I like.”
The Beliebers, who’ve stood by their Pop God through arrests, eggings, and monkey abandonment, took this warning as a message that he was choosing his girlfriend of one week over them, and the hashtag #RIPBeliebers began trending worldwide, with fans of Bieber posting images of themselves unfollowing him on Instagram and proudly touting their abandonment of their precious.
The Beyhive would never do this to Queen B, that’s for sure.NEW DELHI: Shah Rukh Khan received his graduation degree on Tuesday, 28 years after passing out from Hansraj College.
Walking down the memory lane, the Bollywood star said, "This is a very special moment for me. I am back in my college which I left in 1988. I am missing only one thing- my children are not with me today, as I wanted to show them every corner of my college."
ABVP activists were detained outside the North Campus college when they tried to block Shah Rukh's car while he was entering the premises. The activists called him anti-national for his intolerance comments at an earlier programme. Police said they had to use mild force to remove the protesters.
Police claimed they were removed before Khan reached the college. "They were first removed from the spot for security reasons and later detained when they tried to use force to get back there," said a senior officer.
Students attending the event said the protesters carrying placards saying "Go Back Shah Rukh" had even tried to stop some of them from entering the college.
Shah Rukh Khan @iamsrk on stage at Hansraj College, Rt FAN ANTHEM TODAY pic.twitter.com/CvX9Ps46hS — ♡♔SRKBIHARFC♔♡™ (@SRKBiharFC_CFC) February 16, 2016
Recently, VHP members had protested against the shooting of SRK's movie Raees in Gujarat.
Around 20-30 VHP activists had handed over a memorandum to district officers demanding withdrawal of permission for shooting the film. They shouted slogans against Khan and also burnt and tore his posters.ENGLAND coach Wayne Bennett says he’s got the talent in his team to upset Australia in the Rugby League World Cup opener provided his players handle the pressure.
The old foes meet at Melbourne’s AAMI Park on Friday night with the defending champion Kangaroos the raging favourites after winning their past 10 Tests against England or a Great Britain side.
But Bennett says he’s seen plenty of growth in his team since last year’s Tri- Nations campaign, which was his first big tournament at the helm. “We’re much further ahead than that,” Bennett said. “We’ve had 12 months together so we all know each other.
RLWC: Week one teams named
Sam Burgess and coach Wayne Bennett talk during a training session. Source: AAP
“There’s a much better acceptance and understanding of what we need to do.” England boast some form players including St George Illawarra playmaker Gareth Widdop, Super League’s Man of Steel award winner halfback Luke Gale, as well giant Leeds winger Ryan Hall, who is the most prolific international tryscorer in the tournament.
Bennett believed his team matched up well but in the past had let themselves down with unforced errors which cancelled out their good work. “The thing for us will be whether we make unforced errors under pressure, which we did last time we played them — there’s nothing else we have to fear. “We match them in a lot of areas and if we can match them in the areas of discipline and unforced errors, that will be our best chance of doing anything.” While satisfied with their preparation, Bennett didn’t expect his team to be at their best on Friday night but also didn’t think Australia would be. “It’s about where we are in six weeks time, we want to be in that final and they do too,” he said.People line up to visit the Supreme Court on March 29. (Gary Cameron/Reuters)
President Obama will travel to his home town of Chicago on Thursday to deliver an address on the vacancy on the Supreme Court.
Obama will give the speech at the University of Chicago Law School, where he was a professor before entering elected office.
The trip was announced Friday by presidential counselor Brian Deese, the White House point man on the Supreme Court vacancy, at a Politico-sponsored breakfast event in Washington.
Also adding to the significance of the venue is that Judge Merrick Garland, Obama’s nominee to replace Justice Antonin Scalia after his death in February, was raised in a Chicago suburb.
[For Merrick Garland, a methodical life of ambition]
Asked by Politico’s Mike Allen whether Obama will “put on his law professor hat a little bit,” Deese said, “As a general rule, unless the president is going to a sporting event or a baseball game, we tend to keep hats off of his head.”
“His roots are as a professor, and his home base was the University of Chicago, so I think that he will really enjoy getting to interact with students. But this is part of his desire to continue speaking to the American people about this issue,” Deese said. “The stakes are so high, and he’s very committed to trying to make the case in a straightforward way that the Supreme Court needs to stay above politics, and whatever challenges and whatever tensions we have in our politics, we as a country need to commit to keeping the Supreme Court above it.”
A White House official later emphasized the ties that Garland and Obama have to Chicago. Garland grew up in Lincolnwood, Ill., where his father ran a business and his mother was an active volunteer. Obama moved to the South Side of Chicago after college in 1985 to work as a community organizer. After attending Harvard Law School, he returned and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago from 1992 until 2004, when he was elected to the U.S. Senate.
Last week, Vice President Biden gave a law-school address of his own on the topic at Georgetown Law Center, calling on his experience as a former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee to urge Republican senators to hold hearings and a vote on Garland’s nomination action.
[Vice President Biden confronts words of an old foe: Sen. Joe Biden]
The White House official said Obama would address similar themes, saying he “will continue to make the case for why Judge Garland — and the American people — deserve for the Senate to fulfill its constitutional responsibility and give this eminently qualified nominee a fair hearing and an up-or-down vote.”
The Obama aides who also participated in the Politico event Friday said they were confident Garland would overcome the Republican opposition to his confirmation. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) have insisted that Scalia’s seat should be filled by Obama’s successor.
While only three Republican senators say they support hearings on Garland’s confirmation, let alone votes, Democrats have pointed to the decisions of more than a dozen who have agreed to a courtesy meeting with Garland, who is chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
“It will become increasingly difficult for them not to meet with him,” said White House counsel W. Neil Eggleston. “Let’s have a hearing. Let the people take a look at him. Let the senators ask any questions they want to ask.... Let the American people see him and make a decision about whether they support him. I think if they see him, they’ll support him and he will be confirmed.”
Following his Chicago speech, Obama will travel to Los Angeles and San Francisco for fundraising events.
Juliet Eilperin contributed to this report.
Correction: An earlier version of this report misspelled Justice Antonin Scalia’s name.Midfielder Joins On Loan
The 20-year-old midfielder progressed through the ranks at Goodison Park and is now set for his fourth loan spell away.Last season the Liverpudlian spent time with Yeovil Town, and scored against The Seasiders in December, before joining Leyton Orient.While playing for the England youth sides Lundstram worked with Noel Blake, and is now set to make his Blackpool debut at Nottingham Forest on Saturday.On the move, Lundstram said: “It’s a good challenge to come into. It’s a Championship club, which is where I want to be playing, so I’m really excited to get started.“We’ve got the whole season to try and build the team up, and get good relationships with everyone. It obviously won’t come straight away, but with a full season we’ll build relationships and hopefully build towards having a good finish.”(American Legislative Exchange Council)
The economic outlook for Utah is stronger than for any other state, according to an annual ranking compiled by a free-market legislative group.
The rankings, produced by the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council, seek to identify which states have the strongest economic climates. Utah tops the list, followed by South Dakota, Indiana, North Dakota and Idaho. The state with the worst outlook is New York, followed by Vermont, Illinois, California and Minnesota.
The annual ALEC-Laffer rankings are part of the group’s Rich States, Poor States report. ALEC has been widely criticized and targeted by liberals for connecting state legislators with corporate interests in policymaking workshops. Conservatives and ALEC members argue that the relationship makes sense: “What better way to create business-friendly policies than communicating closely with business?” they argue.
The rankings were compiled by Arthur B. Laffer, Stephen Moore and Jonathan Williams. Laffer is a conservative economist who gained prominence as an adviser to President Ronald Reagan. Moore is a noted conservative economist who has served on the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board and is currently the chief economist of the Heritage Foundation. And Williams is a senior ALEC staffer
The rankings are calculated by averaging how each state ranks along 15 variables, such as tax burdens, top marginal rates and minimum wage levels. (The full list of variables is at the end of the post.) The map below represents the change in rankings between 2013 and 2014.
(American Legislative Exchange Council)
* The complete list of the 15 variables that comprise the economic outlook ranking follows: top marginal personal income tax rate, top marginal corporate income tax rate, personal income tax progressivity, property tax burden, sales tax burden, remaining tax burden, estate/inheritance tax levied, recently legislated tax changes, debt service as a share of tax revenue, public employees per 10,000 residents, state liability system survey, state minimum wage, average workers’ compensation costs, right-to-work state, number of tax expenditure limits.MONTREAL – Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin announced Wednesday a one-year contract extension for defenseman Francis Bouillon (2013-14). As per club policy, financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
The 37-year old Bouillon played in each of the Canadiens 28 games since the start of the 2012- |
their theological commitments, but change their political strategies — after all, just because one believes homosexuality is a sin doesn’t mean one has to campaign against gay marriage — is another good question…but a different one, nonetheless.)
I have written before that I believe that the LDS church’s own theology puts gay and lesbian members in an impossible spot. I have refrained from concluding that the theological issues will cause the church’s position to change, because I didn’t know what would happen. However, recent conversations push me to think that Mormonism may be more likely to shift toward accepting gay relationships in some way, shape, or fashion, than non-LDS Christianity. Let me tell the story of this “evolution” of my thoughts…
On Facebook, my dear blogging-friend-who-is-on-blogging-sabbatical Jon Adams shared a link to another friend’s Facebook note. (Hopefully, this note will be public enough that you can read it.)
I found a lot of the argument to be a non-starter, quite frankly. Especially with lines like this:
What is urgently needed is for God’s voice to speak into the chaos, and to calm the storm that threatens to sink us. Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. If a hungry man eats bread but does not listen to the words of God, he is not better off. It does not matter if one side wins through political muscling and gets their own way; if we are not listening to God it profits nothing. “Unless the Lord builds the house, they that build labor in vain. Unless the Lord guard the city, they that guard watch in vain. ” (Psalm 127:1) Are both sides willing to humble themselves before God and before each other so they can listen to the voice that matters? If not, how can mere political victory be real victory? The objective for both sides needs to be to hear from God and obey His voice, rather than merely to get their own way. Truth, not preference, must be our desire.
It just felt like so much question-begging (and his later post on biblical exegesis to determine that yes, the Bible is against homosexuality, seemed to be much the same.) I guess agnostic atheists or those yet unconvinced of the Bible are chopped meat.
But anyway, the part that struck me most was his final paragraph, which read most like the sales pitch:
A word to homosexuals: Even though, to God, the pro-homosexual cause is sinful and should not be fought, there is hope and salvation for you in Jesus Christ. You do not need to find your identity in homosexuality; indeed you will not find it there. Discover your true identity as one who is created in God’s image, who, though fallen by sin, is loved and redeemed by your Father in heaven. You do not need to throw your life away because you are a homosexual: you have a glorious hope and a future in Jesus Christ! God loves you so much! We can rejoice together in the truth that the Lord God Almighty loves us sinners and has done an amazing work of reconciliation through His Son at the cross. We can have peace knowing our sins are forgiven. We can have joy knowing that we have eternal life forever. And there is abundant life to be lived with God right now, lived in His amazing grace, as well as eternal life in the hereafter! All this is the free gift of the Father to you through Christ. This is definitely good news! Good news for all men, including homosexuals. You can receive this new life today. If you are still uncertain, ask questions and investigate the things I have written about. Read the words of Jesus and find out about this amazing salvation through God’s grace. You will be surprised at what you find.
Even though I feel that it is pretty easy to point out the conundrum for Mormons, I didn’t know how to address Eli’s points. In Mormonism, you (Same-Sex-Attracted Peter Priesthood or Molly Mormon) take this paragraph from Eli and then you realize you will live without companionship in a religion that emphasizes companionship and marriage. You will live celibate in a religion that has no institutionalized role for celibacy. You have failed in a pretty big way, and the hope you have is that things will be better in the next life. This puts a big damper on the “abundant life to be lived with God right now, lived in His amazing grace” that Eli speaks of.
…But does the Mormon response work for Eli’s framework too?
Companionship isn’t the ideal!
In several conversations between Mormons and Evangelicals, I have heard — but not fully understood the implications of — the difference in beliefs on families and marriage in the afterlife. For Mormons, it’s a huge theological plus that families can be together forever, and that marriages are eternal. It’s like, Mormons think to themselves, “We have solved this long-standing gap in Christian theology!”
But the Evangelical response isn’t to say, “Oh rats, you got us.” It’s to downplay marriage and companionship, or at least, to downplay it with respect to the relationship with God. What Mormons decry as a boring afterlife of being angels singing praises to God’s name forever…evangelicals praise and idealize. Eli’s talk of the glorious hope and future in Jesus Christ, of the new and abundant life, sounds similar to what I’ve heard before in these conversations.
As I mentioned, I never fully understood why there is such a difference. Coming from the Mormon perspective, I don’t find what the Evangelicals are “selling” as attractive.
…Reading Eli’s posts has given me the epiphany, though. It goes back to what Paul had written in 1 Corinthians 7:
7 Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” 2 But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. 3 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. 5 Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7 I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.
and
32 I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs —how he can please the Lord. 33 But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— 34 and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. 35 I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord. 36 If anyone is worried that he might not be acting honorably toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if his passions are too strong[b] and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married.37 But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin—this man also does the right thing. 38 So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does better.[c]
This. Is. Big. It’s just an incredibly DIFFERENT foundation: it is better for people NOT to marry, not to have sex, BUT marriage is a better alternative than “burning with passion.”
Contrast with what I had concluded from my article about what every faithful SSA Mormon must know:
When we speak of chastity, the end goal of chastity is not celibacy. It is always a faithful, chaste marriage with children. (And without going too far in the mechanics, I hope that the “children” part implies that sex is going on there.) So, the lifelong expectancy of celibacy cannot be taken lightly in the Mormon tradition. Celibacy may be more desirable in the Mormon tradition than sexual sin, but celibacy is not ideal.
Completely flipped. Let’s take the latter scriptures that I quoted: why is being unmarried preferable? Because an unmarried man or woman can focus on pleasing the Lord. (This reminded me of Eli’s comments on “the abundant life to be lived with God right now.”) A married man or woman will focus on pleasing his/her wife/husband, and thus his interests are divided. Marriage is good (to avoid sexual immorality and burning with passion), but you know what’s even better? Celibacy.
What does it mean for non-LDS Christianity?
As I mentioned before, I believe that Mormonism has more room to shift on homosexuality than does non-LDS Christianity (and stay tuned for my piece in the future on Orthodox Christianity’s position here, because Things Get Real[er] there…). That doesn’t mean that I think Mormonism will change tomorrow, or that everything will be sunshine in one simple revelation. However, in comparing the two, I see that Mormonism has the theological pressures to make people go ‘hmm’ on homosexuality. At some point, as people soberly consider the importance of companionship within Mormonism, suggestions to stay single and celibate for people who could otherwise find companions will seem grossly unfair.
In contrast, Non-LDS Christianity still can bunker down with beliefs that celibacy and singleness might not be a bad thing, and in fact, might be a preferable state.
Advertisements(CNN) Hillary Clinton cast President Donald Trump as hypocritical Friday, arguing that while he uses pictures of children killed in gas attacks to justify airstrikes in Syria, he at the same time shuts the door on refugees from the country.
The remarks, at a political event in Texas, come as Clinton reemerges on the political scene months after losing the 2016 presidential election to Trump, who authorized airstrikes in Syria on Thursday after blaming Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for a chemical attack in a rebel-controlled town in the war-torn country.
"It is essential that the world does more to deter Assad from committing future murderous atrocities," Clinton said. "But the action taken last night needs to be followed by a broader strategy to end Syria's civil war."
Referring to Trump's administration, she added, "I also hope that they will recognize that we cannot in one breath speak of protecting Syrian babies and in the next close American doors to them."
Trump and his top aides said before and after the air strikes that the President was deeply moved by photos and video of children being gassed by the Assad government.
"When you kill innocent children, innocent babies -- babies, little babies -- with a chemical gas that is so lethal, people were shocked to hear what gas it was, that crosses many, many lines," Trump said before the airstrikes.
At the same time, however, Trump's administration has advocated for a ban on Syrian refugees coming to the United States, citing concerns about terrorism.
"I am establishing new vetting measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America," Trump said in January after he signed his first attempt to ban refugees from certain countries. "We don't want them here."
Courts blocked that ban as well as a second attempt, but Trump's policy has been clear since he began running for president: No Syrian refugees.
Clinton has been outspoken about the ban.
"I stand with the people gathered across the country tonight defending our values & our Constitution," she tweeted. "This is not who we are."
Clinton herself also suggested hitting Assad's air force just hours before the strikes took place.
"I really believe that we should have and still should take out his airfields and prevent him from being able to use them to bomb innocent people and drop sarin gas on them," she said Thursday during an event in New York.
As secretary of state, Clinton a proponent of more direct action in Syria despite Obama's apprehension about military action in the country.NBA free agency begins at midnight on the East Coast. If history is any guide, deals will start flying around early in the morning. It'll begin not with a top free agent, but an Arron Afflalo or a Kosta Koufos or a Corey Brewer. To prime the pump and get you thinking about what magic might come, we took the top 50 free agents according to our comprehensive rankings and predicted what contracts they would sign with whom.
Be warned: this is almost certainly completely wrong, the math almost assuredly does not add up and half of these contracts may not even be legal under salary cap rules. If you can ignore all of that, enjoy!
1. LeBron James: He will sign a two-year deal with a player option in Year 2 with the Cavaliers.
2. Kawhi Leonard: Max contract with the Spurs. (Update: Leonard signed a five-year, $90 million deal with San Antonio)
3. Marc Gasol: Max contract with the Grizzlies.
4. LaMarcus Aldridge: 4-year near-max with the Spurs.
5. Kevin Love: 5-year max with the Cavaliers.
6. Draymond Green: 5-year just under the max with the Warriors.
7. Jimmy Butler: 3-year max offer sheet with the Lakers, matched by the Bulls.
8. DeAndre Jordan: 4-year max with the Mavericks. Your time to shine, Ekpe Udoh!
9. Brook Lopez: 5-year max with the Nets. (Gulp.) (Update: Lopez signed a three-year, $60 million deal with the Nets)
10. Tim Duncan: Like $3.50 or so with the Spurs.
11. Dwyane Wade: 5 years, $82 million with the Heat.
12. Brandon Knight: 5 years, $70 million with the Suns. (Thanks, early media reports!)
13. Goran Dragic: 5 years, $80 million with the Heat. (Update: Dragic has agreed to a five-year, $90 million with the Heat)
14. Danny Green: 4 years, $48 million with Your Sacramento Kings! (Wishful thinking.) (4 years, $48 million with the Blazers.)
15. Roy Hibbert: He opted in.
16. Greg Monroe: 2 years, $30 million with the Knicks.
17. Tristan Thompson: 5 years, $55 million with the Cavaliers.
18. Timofey Mozgov: The team picked up his option.
19. Paul Millsap: 2 years, $38 million with the Rockets.
20. Khris Middleton: 4 years, $40 million with the Bucks. (Update: Middleton is nearing a five-year, $70 million deal with the Bucks)
21. Robin Lopez: 2 years, $18 million with the Lakers.
22. DeMarre Carroll: 4 years, $40 million with the Hawks.
23. Thaddeus Young: 4 years, $44 million with the Nets.
24. Wesley Matthews: 4 years, $52 million with the Mavericks, last year only $2 million guaranteed.
25. Eric Gordon: He opted in.
26. Al Jefferson: He opted in.
27. Tobias Harris: 4 years, $40 million with the Celtics.
28. Reggie Jackson: 4 years, $42 million with the Pistons.
29. Monta Ellis: 3 years, $33 million with the Kings. Yeah, I know. (Update: Ellis is nearly a four-year, $32 million deal the Pacers)
30. Jae Crowder: 4 years, $28 million with the Celtics.
31. Lou Williams: 3 years, $30 million with the Mavericks. No, I don't know how they are affording all of these players. I'm bad at math, OK?
32. Tyson Chandler: 2-year mini mid-level with the Clippers.
33. Rodney Stuckey: 3-year mid-level with Hawks, team option after Year 2.
34. Ed Davis: 2 years, $18 million with Celtics.
35. Iman Shumpert: 4 years, $36 million with Cavaliers.
36. Luol Deng: He opted in.
37. Jared Dudley: 3-year mid-level with Raptors.
38. Kosta Koufos: 2 years, $15 million with Grizzlies.
39. Arron Afflalo: 4 years, $44 million with Knicks.
40. Patrick Beverley: 4-year mid-level with Bulls.
41. David West: 2 years, $12 million with Knicks.
42. Paul Pierce: 2 years, $10 million with Lakers (!) with player option for Year 2.
43. Brandan Wright: 1 year, $5 million or something with Mavericks.
44. Jeff Green: He opted in.
45. Corey Brewer: 4-year full mid-level with Kings. Ugh.
46. Al-Farouq Aminu: 2-year mid-level with Pelicans.
47. Omer Asik: 4 years, $40 million with Pelicans.
48. Josh Smith: 2 years, $15 million with Rockets.
49. Amir Johnson: 3 years, $30 million with Pacers.
50. Enes Kanter: 4 years, $40 million with Thunder.
★★★
SB Nation presents: The time Kobe asked a 10-year-old girl for adviceTrump's 6 a.m. tweetstorm lashes out at intel, Clinton
CLOSE Friday President-elect Donald Trump sent an early morning tweet denouncing the claims made by his political opponents, followed by a series of other tweets. USA TODAY NETWORK
Donald Trump is again denying allegations contained in a once-secret dossier prepared by a retired intelligence officer — and throwing in an attack on 2016 opponent Hillary Clinton for good measure.
Apparently referring to reports that political opponents hired an ex-spy to do research on him, Trump tweeted early Friday:
"It now turns out that the phony allegations against me were put together by my political opponents and a failed spy afraid of being sued... Totally made up facts by sleazebag political operatives, both Democrats and Republicans - FAKE NEWS! Russia says nothing exists."
Documents that surfaced this week accused Trump of sexual and financial impropriety stemming from various projects in Russia.
Meanwhile, U.S. intelligence agencies have accused the Russians of trying to influence the election by hacking Democrats close to presidential nominee Hillary Clinton — another topic of Trump's morning tweetstorm.
Referring to the email investigation of Clinton, Trump tweeted: "What are Hillary Clinton's people complaining about with respect to the F.B.I. Based on the information they had she should never have been allowed to run - guilty as hell."
He added that Clinton "lost because she campaigned in the wrong states - no enthusiasm!"
Read more:
Reports show that the dossier compiled on Trump was done by a retired British intelligence operative working as a private investigator. It was presented to Trump by intelligence officials last Friday, a practice that, while unusual, happens if officials believe an elected official needs to know such information exists and could be used against him or her.
While intelligence officials have denied leaking the dossier, Trump appeared to doubt that. He said documents were "probably... released by 'Intelligence' even knowing there is no proof, and never will be."
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2jE6SROOur previous work has demonstrated that professional athletes show protocol-dependent variability in salivary testosterone (T) responses to resistance exercise (RE). The current study examines the consistency and functional outcomes of prescribing a RE regimen based on T response. We hypothesized that prescribing an individual-specific RE protocol based on T response would enhance weight training gains. Sixteen amateur rugby players [(mean +/- SD) age: 20 +/- 2 years; height: 181.5 +/- 8.2 cm; weight: 94.2 +/- 11.1 kg] were characterized by their maximal (Tmax) and minimal (Tmin) T response to four RE protocols: four sets of 10 repetitions (reps) at 70% of one repetition maximum (1RM) with 2 minutes' rest between sets (4 x10-70%); three sets of five reps at 85% 1RM with 3 minutes' rest (3 x 5-85%); five sets of 15 reps at 55% of 1RM with 1 minute's rest (5 x 15-55%); and three sets of 5 reps at 40% 1RM with 3 minutes' rest (3 x 5-40%). Eight athletes then performed a 3-week training block performing only their Tmax protocol. The remaining eight only performed Tmin. After 3 weeks, the athletes were retested on the RE protocols and then crossed over and performed the alternate 3-week training block. All 16 athletes showed significant increases in estimated bench and leg press 1RM strength and bodyweight while performing Tmax. When Tmin was performed, 75% of athletes showed either no change or a significant decline in 1RM performance. Consistent protocol-responses over the experimental period were seen for both the Tmax and Tmin protocols in 12 of 16 athletes. Thus, a relationship between an individual's biologically available T response to RE and enhanced functional gains is reported.How much do you think your school paid—in head coaching dollars—for each win you celebrated in 2016?
How about $46,000 at the bare minimum to $1.6 million at the top of the scale? The numbers are calculated using USA Today’s 2016 NCAA Coaches Salaries Database. The cost per win equals the “school pay” for each FBS coach divided by the number of wins achieved this past season. It doesn’t include any bonuses or “additional” salary.
It takes the question of “who gets the fattest paycheck” to the next level– highlighting those guys who squeeze the best results out of the least amount of cash. The big winners are those who posted the most wins in 2016 with the smallest paycheck. The losers are those who got paid a lot and won very few games.
Coaches who won league title contests and/or bowl games fared even better, earning extra victories that drove costs down further.
As a note, Jim Grobe (Baylor), Kalani Sitake (BYU), Mark Richt (Miami Fla.), Pat Narduzzi (Pitt), Clay Helton (USC), Chard Morris (SMU), Dino Babers (Syracuse), Willie Fritz (Tulane), and Philip Montgomery (Tulsa) were not included in USA Today’s database.
BEST VALUE – Overall
10. Frank Solich – Ohio (8 wins @ $71,589 per win)
9. Jay Hopson – Southern Miss (7 wins @ $71,429 per win)
8. Neal Brown – Troy (10 wins @ $66,000 per win)
7. P.J. Fleck – Western Michigan (13 wins @ $62,797 per win)
6. Chris Creighton – Eastern Michigan (7 wins @ $62,120 per win)
5. Nick Rolovich – Hawaii (7 wins @ $57,144 per win)
4. Skip Holtz – Louisiana Tech (9 wins @ $55,556 per win)
3. Bobby Wilder – Old Dominion (10 wins @ $55,459 per win)
2. Scott Satterfield – Appalachian State (10 wins @ $52,500 per win)
1. Paul Petrino – Idaho (9 wins @ $46,345)
BEST VALUE – Power Conferences
10. Dabo Swinney – Clemson (14 wins @ $315,536 per win)
9. Dave Doeren – NC State (7 wins @ $314,286 per win)
8. Mike Riley – Nebraska (9 wins @ $311,111 per win)
7. Dave Clawson – Wake Forest (7 wins @ $301,888 per win)
6. Chris Petersen – Washington (12 wins @ $300,000 per win)
5. Dana Holgorsen – West Virginia (10 wins @ $298,000 per win)
4. Larry Fedora – North Carolina (8 wins @ $248,283 per win)
3. Paul Chryst – Wisconsin (11 wins @ $245,455 per win)
2. Mike MacIntyre – Colorado (10 wins @ $201,105 per win)
1. Tracy Claeys – Minnesota (9 wins @ $155,556 per win)
WORST VALUE – Overall
10. Mark Helfrich – Oregon (4 wins @ $825,000 per win)
9. Rich Rodriquez – Arizona (3 wins @ 833,333 per win)
8. Jim Mora – UCLA (4 wins @ $862,500 per win)
7. Jim Harbaugh – Michigan (10 wins @ $900,400 per win)
6. Hugh Freeze – Ole Miss (5 wins @ $940,000 per win)
5. Chris Ash – Rutgers (2 wins @ $1,000,000 per win)
4. Charlie Strong – Texas (5 wins @ $1,040,000 per win)
3. Mark Dantonio – Michigan State (3 wins @ $1,433,333 per win)
2. Tim DeRuyter – Fresno State (1 win @ $1,518,480 per win)
1. Bronco Mendenhall – Virginia (2 wins @ $1,637,500)
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS BY COST PER WIN
11. Sun Belt (co-champs): Scott Satterfield – Appalachian State (10 wins @ $52,500 per win)
10. MAC: P.J. Fleck – Western Michigan (13 wins @ $62,797 per win)
9. C-USA: Jeff Brohm – Western Kentucky (11 wins @ $73,236 per win)
8. Mountain West: Rocky Long – San Diego State (11 wins @ $73,694 per win)
7. Sun Belt (co-champs): Blake Anderson – Arkansas State (8 wins @ $87,500 per win)
6. American: Matt Rhule – Temple (10 wins @ $104,174 per win)
5. Pac-12: Chris Petersen – Washington (12 wins @ $300,000 per win)
4. ACC: Dabo Swinney – Clemson (14 wins @ $315,536 per win)
3. Big Ten: James Franklin – Penn State (11 wins @ $409,091 per win)
2. SEC: Nick Saban – Alabama (14 wins @ $495,671 per win)
1. Big 12: Bob Stoops – Oklahoma (11 wins @ $504,545 per win)
COST PER WIN FOR TEN WINS IN A POWER CONFERENCE
7. Jim Harbaugh – Michigan (10 wins @ $900,400 per win)
6. Jimbo Fisher – Florida State (10 wins @ $525,000 per win)
5. David Shaw – Stanford (10 wins @ $406,722 per win)
4. Mike Gundy – Oklahoma State (10 wins @ $377,500 per win)
3. Justin Fuente – Virginia Tech (10 wins @ 320,000 per win)
2. Dana Holgorsen – West Virginia (10 wins @ $298,000 per win)
1. Mike MacIntyre – Colorado (10 wins @ 201,105 per win)…one giant leap for Superbook as production of smaller batches have started. So far? We’ve been able to work through all the standard kinks to get to mass production. Next week is the final build. After that, we should be smooth sailing into mass production *fingers crossed*.
We are super excited that Superbook production is starting.
Is he packing up *your* Superbook?
So this is going to be a short update, letting you know the following:
1. Superbook production is starting!
2. We have updated the backer portal to reflect the 2-3 weeks delay announced in the last update, caused by the multiple typhoons in Hong Kong. The updated delivery timeline will be available at dashboard.sentio.com in a few hours! Our engineer has been hard at work to send the site to production!
3. A brief intro into we arrive at the estimated delivery date you will see in Backer Portal
4. Once our Backer Portal refreshes, you have until November 1st to edit your cord selection (B or C) and update your address!
5. We will be back on November 1st (in just 5 days) with another update, with lots and lots of sneak peaks at both hardware and software.
Superbook production is starting
The last few weeks have been very productive on hardware. This coming week will be the last “small batch” build before mass production. If everything goes well, we will be in full production mode the beginning of the following week. We're all hands on deck!
Backer portal timelines updated & unpacking the estimated delivery date
Backers, hope your October has been lovely wherever you may be around the world! Following up on what we mentioned in the last update, we’ve refreshed the backer portal to reflect the delayed estimated delivery dates from the Hong Kong typhoons in September.
As Andrew mentioned above, it’s been "one giant leap for Superbook" as production of our smaller batches has begun! Following up on Florian’s notes - as we've debugged & solved issues with hardware development, we can solidify a mass production timeline and shift our focus to improving the logistics process. In the spirit of transparency, here are a few notes on the delivery timeline to help you understand how we arrive at the dates reflected in your portal.
Unpacking the Estimated Delivery Date
The Superbook's journey from initial manufacturing to arrival at your door can be broken down into three main date ranges and stages. **these are used as exemplary, your portal dates may be slightly different than the ones I have shown here**
1. This date captures:
Optimizing packaging at factory: This involves planning assembly line routes, palatalization, & other creative set-ups to cut down on lead time.
This involves planning assembly line routes, palatalization, & other creative set-ups to cut down on lead time. Departure from factory to ports : the next step involves connecting the Superbooks from factory to ports. This involves the careful forecasting of pallet & container packaging, docks & trucks’ availability/capacity, & finally understanding the booking process as these products prepare to leave Hong Kong.
: the next step involves connecting the Superbooks from factory to ports. This involves the careful forecasting of pallet & container packaging, docks & trucks’ availability/capacity, & finally understanding the booking process as these products prepare to leave Hong Kong. In transit to respective warehouses around the world: accounting for transit to warehouses in three different continents & working with on-the ground operations to ensure smooth customs process as our Superbooks arrive in foreign countries.
2. This date captures:
Warehouse processing: Our warehouse partners will process some 20,000 Superbooks over the course of a few weeks as we use a conservative "units processed per day rate” to estimate warehouse speeds.
3. This date captures:
Fulfillment to specific countries: last but not least, we have been working with our fulfillment partners to get a comprehensive list of shipping days estimates to over 80 countries around the world during this time of year.... finally delivering to you, our one-of-a kind Superbook!
Takeaways: The tricky part of the optimization & estimation process is we are working with people and unknowns. This is why your estimation is in a range-- to reflect the degree of unknowns that exist. To accurately estimate lead time, we push for answers from manufacturers, shippers, logistics providers, & legal resources down to the last detail— sometimes to the point of knowing whether or not a pallet of Superbooks can sit in one corner of a factory.
Our Next Steps: We will continue to push for answers and creative solutions, so that in the coming weeks, we can to provide you with a more and more refined estimated delivery window.
tl;dr: we are working to refine estimated delivery dates, which involves pushing for information about the foreseeable future from various contacts in the logistics pipeline.
Make sure you update your shipping info and cord selection (Micro B or Type C) by November 1st. Last day to update at dashboard.sentio.com.
Also, we have kept open accessory ordering for just a few more days. Add extra accessories to your order here until November 1st!
Administrivia
1. We will be back with another update November 1st.
2. If you haven’t checked it out already, Sentio Desktop for Android 7.0+ is out in open beta. Download it now and give us feedback!
3. You can still order accessories until November 1st. Get them here!
4. Any questions or issues? Contact our support team or get into our Backer Slack group!
Love, Team SentioAlbino wallaroos excite researchers at Bathurst's Mount Panorama
Updated
Several rare albino wallaroos are living at Australia's spiritual home of motor sport, researchers have confirmed.
Mount Panorama, in central-western New South Wales, is best-known for motor-racing but its famous events have not been without conflict between humans and animals.
There have been numerous near misses and several crashes involving race cars and kangaroos, and one such accident forced David Russell out of last year's Bathurst 1000.
A kangaroo cull in the lead up to the 2009 event sparked controversy in the community.
The Bathurst Kangaroo Project has been considering ways to manage kangaroos in the region, but the researchers are particularly excited by the discovery of several albino wallaroos.
Project head Daniel Ramp said it was believed there were three, and possibly four, albino wallaroos - including a mature mother and daughter and an albino joey with a non-albino mother.
"This population is special for lots of reasons but also because they've got this heavy, high level of albinism in it," he said.
Researcher Melanie Purdy said the group was hoping to find out if the albino gene was building up in the population.
"We've been taking DNA samples and certainly if we get to tag an albino wallaroo we'll be able to see what kind of genes it's carrying and relate those to the genes of other wallaroos in the area," she said.
"We can see if the populations are related and that would certainly be something that would be interesting, because that means that slowly, as time goes on we might be able to get that recessive gene coming out in the population."
Camera traps and listening posts track wallaroos
An albino wallaroo was first snapped several months ago by Bathurst Regional Councillor Jess Jennings while he was out jogging.
He said he mistook it for a dog.
"Then I saw it lying next to two kangaroos, grey kangaroos, and as I got a bit closer they all stood up and the one in the middle was a white kangaroo," Cr Jennings said.
To find out exactly how many kangaroos are living on "The Mount", and to track their movement and behaviour, researchers are darting and tagging 30 kangaroos with ear tags.
The tags transmit data back to 10 listening posts.
Researchers have also installed 20 motion-sensitive camera traps across Mount Panorama and some have recorded the albinos.
Local wildlife photographer Tim Bergen, who managed to take some close-up pictures, said he was thrilled to see the "amazingly beautiful" animals.
He and the research team have declined to reveal where the animals have been photographed.
"There are people out there who are trophy hunters and an albino is something they'd like to hang on the wall, which I personally think is a bit sickening, but there are people out there that are like that," he said.
It is believed the wallaroos could be descendants of a male albino that lived in the Sir Joseph Banks Nature Park, on top of Mount Panorama, about 30 years ago.
Former park ranger Ian McArtney said the animal was donated by Sir Edward Hallstrom, a one-time benefactor of Taronga Zoo and a keen collector of albino species.
"He was quite a docile old fellow and a good breeder," Mr McArtney said.
"He fathered quite a few babies, but never in my time an albino."
Research aims to help roos live by race track
Ms Purdy said the camera and tagging technology was not in place for the Bathurst 1000 race in October, but it would be used during the Bathurst 12 Hour in February.
"From that, we'll be able to tell where the kangaroos go during the races," she said.
"Using that data, hopefully Bathurst council will be able to find more ways of stopping them from jumping onto the tracks."
She said if the albinos caught on camera could not be tagged, DNA samples could be collected from hair found in locations such as on fences.
Dr Ramp said Mount Panorama was a unique place because of its diverse land uses.
"It's got a car race, there's lots of farms, vineyards and so forth and there's also wild animals," he said.
"Historically, there's been friction between the kangaroos and the people of this place and we're trying to find a resolution to that."
The Bathurst Regional Council has contributed funds to the research project, which is being run by the Centre for Compassionate Conservation at the University of Technology, Sydney.
Topics: ecology, animals, animal-science, bathurst-2795, orange-2800
First postedSeven states controlled by Democratic administrations are formally challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision not to further restrict the use of the controversial pesticide chlorpyrifos.
The states’ attorneys general, led by New York’s Eric Schneiderman (D), filed an administrative challenge on Tuesday. The states could file a lawsuit in court if their initial challenge is not successful.
The states say that the Trump administration violated federal law regarding pesticides, because scientific studies show chlorpyrifos is harmful to the nervous systems and brains of young children.
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“The EPA’s first job is ensuring the health and safety of New Yorkers and all Americans — especially our children. Yet the Trump administration is jeopardizing our children's health by allowing continued exposure to this toxic pesticide at levels it has not found to be safe,” Schneiderman said in a statement.
“If the Trump Administration won’t follow the law — and put our children’s well-being first — we will fight back.”
Schneiderman was joined by the attorneys general of California, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Washington and Vermont.
EPA head Scott Pruitt Edward (Scott) |
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The chief (a water buffalo impressively created by Idris Elba) promptly assigns her to parking duty, but she soon breaks out and teams up with a wily fox (an irrepressible performance from Jason Bateman) to find some missing animals and expose a dastardly plot to make Zootopia's predators revert to the wild and attack their traditional prey.
I don't imagine environmentalists would approve of a movie that suggests wild animals are at their best when tamed, but it's the social anxieties behind Zootopia's message of animal harmony that make me uneasy.
From Aesop's Fables to Franklin the Turtle, animals have always been used to coach young people on how they should behave. But as Zootopia busily tells the kids not to stereotype different groups and to love everybody, it creates a city in which some creatures fear that others are inherently savage.
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That's a pretty close match for both America's historic racism and its new Islamophobia.
And, leaving aside amusing jokes about the wolves trying desperately to contain a group howl or sloths working as bureaucrats, animal behaviour is a troubling metaphor for cultural diversity.
After all, preying on smaller or slower creatures is how many real animals eat; wolves are potentially savage and mice can't really live happily with them.
And how much animal harmony does the sprawling Zootopia team of multiple directors and writers really envisage?
It was only when the sexy gazelle appeared in a final image of the animal kingdom united in song that I noted the very few couples in the film – Judy's bunny parents and an otter whose husband has gone missing – and began to wonder about the deepening friendship between Judy the female bunny and Nick the male fox. But let's not go there.
Highly familiar with the pluralist message that Zootopia delivers, the children for whom the film is largely intended are unlikely to be troubled by anything they see here.
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Thinking parents, however, may think twice.TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya’s National Oil Corporation urgently called on Saturday for more official protection for its installations after an oil pipeline from its El Sarir field was sabotaged, halting flow to Hariga port.
In a separate incident, gunmen stormed government buildings in the coastal city of Sirte, forcing officials out at gunpoint and taking over administrative offices and television and radio stations, the state news agency said.
No group claimed responsibility for Saturday’s pipeline sabotage, but oil infrastructure, ports and pipelines in the North African OPEC member state are often targets of attack.
Libya is riven by conflict, with two rival governments operating their own armed forces under separate parliaments, nearly four years after the civil war that led to the overthrow and death of leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
The fighting also involves Islamist militant groups, former rebels, soldiers who fought for Gaddafi, and tribal and federalist factions often pursuing local causes.
In addition to the El Sarir sabotage, the National Oil Corporation said in a statement that gunmen had also tried on Friday to attack the Bahi oil facility in central Libya, but did not cause any damage.
“The NOC warns that the number of oil installation guards currently in the fields is not enough to protect them and to address such attacks,” it said.
No more details were immediately available about the attack in Sirte, where several Islamist militant groups are active.
Hariga oil terminal supervisor Rajab Abdulrasoul told Reuters on Saturday the El Sarir pipeline was hit at around 5 a.m, igniting a blaze and shutting of the flow to Hariga port.
“Hopefully, they will be able to control the fire as soon as they can,” he said. He had earlier said the incident was a bomb attack, but later said it was sabotage and a fire.
An NOC spokesman said a tanker had been loading up with crude at Hariga. He said it could take up to three days to restore the pipeline.
Hariga had just reopened after a strike by guards there. The country’s two main oil ports and nearby fields are still closed after clashes between rival armed groups trying to gain control of them.
Libya’s oil production has fallen to around 350,000 barrels a day, a fraction of the 1.6 million bpd Libya used to pump before the NATO-backed 2011 uprising that ended Gaddafi’s rule.
Apart from fighting between the two rival factions vying for control of Libya, militants claiming ties to Islamic State extremists in Iraq and Syria have also said they carried out several recent attacks.
Two gunmen attacked Tripoli’s Corinthia hotel last month, killing nine people, including five foreigners, in an attack claimed by militants who said they were loyal to Islamic State.
Earlier this month, gunmen killed 12 people south of Sirte, among them two Filipino and two Ghanaian nationals, after storming a remote oilfield. Officials said most of the victims were beheaded or shot.
French and Libyan officials said Islamic State militants were behind the attack on the oilfield, in which France’s Total has a stake, but which is operated by a Libyan company.Let’s say, for the sake of argument, you’re George Takei. And let’s say you start a Twitter poll to troll President Trump. And let’s also say, purely for the sake of argument, the results don’t turn out the way you’ve anticipated. You admit you may have been wrong, right?
Silly right-winger! Apologies are for adults…
So this happened: @GeorgeTakei deletes his poll when it's not turning out exactly as planned. So damn dishonest. pic.twitter.com/sllBWbtUHk — The Morning Spew (@TheMorningSpew) February 18, 2017
I mean, the results shouldn’t be that shocking (see New Poll Shows Americans… Trust Trump More Than Media and New Poll Reveals Majority of Americans SUPPORT Trump’s ‘Travel Ban’). A lot of polls agree. There’s no shame in having an unpopular opinion. For proof, see yours truly. In this case however, you were simply wrong. So there’s really only one thing for you to do…
Your poll yields an unexpected result. Do you: A: Consider the manifold reasons it turned out the way it did
B: Call everyone alt-right pic.twitter.com/r3JvLDBl7M — Ashton Liu (@Ash_Effect) February 18, 2017
It’s clear this is the new race card for leftists. For the past eight years, if you disagreed with them, instead of defending their opinion…they just called you a racist. Obviously when the President is orange white instead of brown, that doesn’t play as well. So, when it turns out your audience holds a differing viewpoint from yourself… meh. They’re just alt-right. THAT’S THE TICKET! YOU’RE JUST ALT-RIGHT! So George Takei, take solace in knowing that your point is still valid even though you don’t have the courage or intelligence (or facts) to defend it.
This is the next eight years. And I wish I could say I didn’t see it coming…
NOT SUBSCRIBED TO THE PODCAST? FIX THAT! IT’S COMPLETELY FREE ON BOTH ITUNES HERE AND SOUNDCLOUD HERE.Wii U hardware sales surged by more than 150 percent last week following the release of Pokemon fighting game Pokken Tournament, according to sales numbers out of the island nation.
Data from Famitsu, as reported by MCV, reveal that the Wii U game sold 72,505 units in its first week in Japan. Wii U hardware sales jumped by 151 percent, from 3,836 units to 9,644 systems for the latest week.
The PlayStation 4 came out on top for hardware, selling 27,354 systems during the week. At the bottom of the chart was the Xbox One, which sold just 75 units in the country last week.
Pokken Tournament was the No. 1 overall best-selling game in Japan last week, followed by Digimon World: Next Order, which sold 52,521 units. The Division, which was Japan's No. 1 title last week, fell down to third place, with unit sales dropping 69 percent week-over-week.
You can see the the Top 10 charts for hardware and software below.
In other news about Wii U hardware, a recent report claimed Nintendo was ceasing production on the underperforming system by the end of the year. Nintendo has since challenged the report.
Top 10 Best-Selling Games in Japan (week ended March 20)
Pokken Tournament – 72,502
Digimon World: Next Order Vita – 52,521
Tom Clancy's The Division – 26,208
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games – 13,930
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD – 9,435
Pocket Monster Red/Green/Blue/Yellow <Download Card Version> – 9,323
Gundam Breaker 3 – 8,596
Senran Kagura: Estival Versus Sakura Edition – 8572
Minecraft: PlayStation Vita Edition – 8,263
Splatoon – 7,878
Best-Selling Systems in Japan (week ended March 20):LOS ANGELES – The development sounds like a tailor-made Hollywood comeback story, let alone something to feature on one of the Kardashian reality television shows.
After going in and out of rehab more than a year after facing a near-death experience at a Las Vegas brothel, former Lakers forward Lamar Odom reached out to Lakers coach Luke Walton to express interest about joining his staff.
“Lamar would be great,” said Walton, who played with Odom on the Lakers from 2004-11 and won two NBA championships together. “Anyone who knows Lamar, when he’s right, he is one of the most likeable people they’ve been around. He has a great knowledge of the game and has a great way of communicating with people.”
Odom originally shared his interest with joining Walton’s staff in an interview on Monday with TMZ. At this point, though, the possibility doesn’t seem realistic. The Lakers are mindful of Odom’s continuous recovery. Odom was hospitalized in Oct. 2015 for falling unconscious at a Nevada brothel, an incident few around Odom expected he would overcome. Within a week, Odom started physical therapy and was transferred to a Los Angeles hospital.
Although Walton has “talked many times over the last year” with Odom, they have not discussed anything recently. There also have not been any conversations with the Lakers on creating an additional position on Walton’s coaching staff, formally or informally.
Walton currently has an associate head coach (Brian Shaw), four assistants (Jesse Mermuys, Brian Keefe, Mark Madsen, Theo Robertson), an advanced professional scout (Casey Owens) and director of basketball strategy (Clay Moser).
Nonetheless, Lakers forward Metta World Peace considered Odom’s presence valuable because of his positional versatility, team mindset and considerate nature.
“Lamar is super-skilled,” World Peace said. “I would love to know what did he do to get so good.”
INJURY UPDATE
Lakers reserve forward Larry Nance Jr. told Walton he “felt really good” after completing a series of non-contact, 2-on-1 drills and shooting exercises before Tuesday’s game against Portland at Staples Center.
Still, Walton added Nance “wasn’t explosive” in the drills before expressing doubt he could begin practicing on Wednesday. Walton predicted Nance’s return to the lineup “will be a gradual thing.”
Nance is slated to return as early as Jan. 22 in Dallas, but he expressed optimism earlier this week he could beat that timetable.
TALKING ABOUT PRACTICE
Allen Iverson might not have needed it. But Walton has found the last two weeks of practices valuable simply because they have had more. The Lakers have had five home games in the past two weeks, allowing Walton the time to go over defensive concepts with as much depth as he did in training camp.
In related news, Walton has noticed that practice time connected to the Lakers entering Tuesday’s game as winners of three of their past four contests.
“We’re having fun,” Walton said. “No one is complaining about shots. No one is complaining about not getting the ball or being part of the offense. That energizes people. That leads us to playing better defense. That leads us to the bench being more excited.”
Contact the writer: mmedina@scng.comPlauged by atrocious reviews and little online hype, it seems as though the latest Fantastic Four adaptation is set for a very poor debut this weekend.
While it has become customary to knock on the new reboot, there is some good reason. At first, the original teaser seemed okay. It had the hard sci-fi look with almost an Interstellar-like vibe, but it failed to really garner any attention in comparison to Ant-Man or Avengers: Age of Ultron. Many would likely be more excited for the film if it was being released into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, rather than by 20th Century Fox. While X-Men: Days of Future Past was able to overcome this problem, that was mostly due to a much stronger franchise and excellent trailers and marketing. So far the advertising is all over the place for Four. Between some of the TV spots set to the Kanye West song “Power” showcasing ‘wise’cracks and action scenes, and trailers going for a much more serious vibe, it isn’t sure who this is being marketed towards, which is never a good sign, especially as far as studio hope goes. As far as that goes, it seems almost nonexistant.
For one, the studio scrapped its 3D conversion, which is almost unheard of for a major comic book film. Not that I’m complaining about a lack of 3D, but the fact that they aren’t pouring more money into it likely means they don’t have much hope for it. Not to mention the almost daily articles revealing some new damning piece of evidence – the cast hasn’t seen it yet, the reviews won’t be up until a day before release (which turned out to be untrue) and so on and so forth. Still, with 23 reviews the film is sitting at an atrocious 14%. (UPDATE: It is now down to just 7%) In comparison, the lowest in the MCU was Thor: The Dark World at 66%, the only one under 70%. Not that MCU films are a shining beacon of cinematic quality, but a difference in reception so drastic is a bit surprising. One final note is that the 14$% is lower than either of the two other Fantastic Four films, at 27% and 37% respectively.
With a reported budget of $122M, this reboot will likely rely on foreign grosses in order to turn a profit. The studio is already so set on it being successful, however, that they have already set a sequel for June 9th 2017, a release date set months ago. Whether or not that was simply the studio’s faith that the movie would be good or just that it would turn a profit is yet to be seen.
For holdovers, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation will probably fall around 50%, as word of mouth isn’t quite as strong as Ghost Protocol, but strong enough that it will likely avoid the typical summer drop of over 55%, looking at around $28M for its second weekend. Minions and Ant-Man will likely just continue to do solid business as they have been doing for the last few weekends.
The Gift also releases this weekend, a low budget thriller and directorial debut for Joel Edgerton. The film revolves around a stalker from Jason Bateman’s past, determined on digging up history with hopes of getting revenge on whatever it was Bateman did to him many years ago. While that hook is interesting, it’s basically just selling the film as finding out what the big twist at the end is, which can lead to mixed results. This seems like a very August film, a somewhat obscure looking microbudget thriller film with a few B-list actors. The only surprising thing about it is the 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, much higher than one could reasonably expect for a film of this magnitude. While it may turn some solid numbers, a debut over $10M seems unlikely.
Another wide release is Shaun the Sheep Movie, which opened on Thursday but currently has not reported numbers. It doesn’t exactly have a massive fanbase behind it, and August kids movies tend to have particularly poor debuts. The aspect of it not having dialogue will likely also hold it back, but with a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes it may bring out some of the Aardman fans. Even if it does perform poorly, it seems like the kind that will make most of its money from On Demand and DVD rentals.
Ricki and the Flash also hits 1,800 theaters, though with obscure marketing and a premise that doesn’t really seem to understand its audience, it doesn’t look like it will do very well at all this weekend.
One interesting limited release was anime adaptation Dragon Ball Z: Ressurection “F”, which took in almost $2M on Tuesday from just over 800 locations. That’s a pretty solid result for what it is, and shows how strong the fanbase for the show is. Though, given its audience, its likely that it drops like a rock after this for a total of well under $10M, as it is only going to be in theaters for a week. Still, an noteworthy little result.
Predictions
Fantastic Four – $32M Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation – $26.5M Minions – $7.5M Ant-Man – $7.2M Vacation – $6.5M The Gift – $5.8M Shaun the Sheep Movie – $5.2M ($7.6M Five Day)
? Ricki and the Flash – $3.1M
The Bottom Line
Fantastic Four is a big budget summer comic book film, and despite all its hurdles still needs $50M to be considered a win. The Gift is fine with high single digits, around $8M or so. Shaun the Sheep already did well overseas, but should do at least $10M over the five days to be a success. Finally, Ricki and the Flash only needs around $7M due to its limited release.
AdvertisementsGURGAON: An Accenture employee working in the software and consultancy giant’s Gurgaon office filed a police complaint on Wednesday against four senior officials of the company, accusing them of molesting her and making obscene gestures.An FIR was registered at Udyog Vihar police station, charging the four under Section 354 ( molestation ) of the IPC. The 27-year-old woman who filed the complaint lives in Delhi and has been working in Accenture Services Pvt Ltd’s office at Udyog Vihar Phase 1 as a senior associate for a year, the police said.She alleged she was harassed repeatedly during working hours by the four officials, who would come to her desk and behave in an obscene manner. She also accused them of abusing and humiliating her in front of other colleagues.The police visited the Accenture office on Wednesday but did not make any arrests. "On the complaint of the victim, an FIR has been registered against Aditya Nagpal, manager (HR), Ashwini Sinha, team leader, Chaitnya Madura and Anindya Dutta. We are investigating the case from all angles. We will arrest them as soon as possible", said Rajender Singh, station head officer of Udyog Vihar police station.When contacted, an Accenture spokesperson said, "We are aware of the matter and looking into it. Accenture has a code of business ethics and if our people do not comply with the code, we take appropriate action."The Zombie Trumpcare provision that could end everyone's protection from going bankrupt because of medical expenses is getting more attention now. The Wall Street Journal picks up the story.
The provision, part of a last-minute amendment, lets states obtain waivers from certain Affordable Care Act insurance regulations. Insurers in states that obtain the waivers could be freed from a regulation mandating that they cover 10 particular types of health services, among them maternity care, prescription drugs, mental health treatment and hospitalization. That could also affect plans offered by large employers, health analysts said. […] Under the House bill, large employers could choose the benefit requirements from any state—including those that are allowed to lower their benchmarks under a waiver, health analysts said. By choosing a waiver state, employers looking to lower their costs could impose lifetime limits and eliminate the out-of-pocket cost cap from their plans under the GOP legislation.
Large employers will have incentive to lower their own costs by picking their benefits package from the states that have the lowest bar. Which means anyone could once again face the specter of losing coverage in the middle of, say, chemotherapy treatments, if they reach the cap on their policy's lifetime spending limits. Those limits are a thing of the past under Obamacare, and have had a tremendous effect in reducing personal bankruptcy.
x Personal bankruptcy in the US since Obamacare. https://t.co/fCM35IGOJR pic.twitter.com/XKSxREV5qX — Hank Green (@hankgreen) May 4, 2017
That was nice while it lasted.
Call now. House Republicans are hell-bent on ripping away our health insurance and doing it today. Call your member of Congress at 202-224-3121, and demand they vote NO on a renewed Trumpcare that is worse than the one before. Remind them they work for you.#11 Unread post by mysta2 » Mon Sep 26, 2005 11:57 pm
Well, this one’s a bit out of sequence… oh well.The seat was in the cards from the beginning. Originally (and still, actually) I had wanted to pound it out of aluminum… well I’ve never worked aluminum, and am more than a little embarrassed to admit that I have no idea how to weld. Not that this was enough to stop me; not having a torch, hammers, a welder, or sandbags however did stop me. So I decided to do the next best thing and lay it up out of carbon. I briefly considered fiberglass but I wanted a running theme through this bike to be the truth behind its’ makeup (hence the ground tank, the visible machine finish and the polished parts) I had partially chosen this because I hate trying to pick a color… I think any painter will tell you the same.I don’t have any pictures for the first part so I’ll have to try and explain it as best I can. I started with a sheet of corrugated cardboard that I cut out to the shape of the frame to makeup the bottom of the pan. Using the same board I also cut out some ribs to outline the hump at the front of the seat where it mates up with the gas tank. Then I covered the whole thing with painters tape to fill in the holes, and make a solid foundation that I then laid fiberglass matt over. This made up everything with the exception of the rear end cap. Just to make sure everything was all symmetrical and straight I created the end cap I wanted in ProE and machined it out of #10 foam (also commonly called sign foam, it’s what most of the fancy 3D signage is made out of in your’ local mall) The first half of the seat was Bondoed smooth and a heavy coat of primer was applied and sanded. I glued the end cap to this part and then mated them together with another layer of fiberglass:That part (the plug) was also Bondoed, primed, painted, polished, waxed (don’t use expensive car wax for this, many types have a cleaning agent in them that will stick to your’ mold… ask me how I found that out). At which point I laid another couple of layers of fiberglass over it with some ribbing built in to hold it straight (the mold) once the resin has kicked off the two can be pulled apart. Now the mold needs to be cleaned of any residue and waxed for the carbon fiber to be laid into. It’s best to keep the plug around and stretch the carbon weave over the plug before putting it into the mold, this way it will already be stretched to the proper shape, and will go in much easier. Lay the carbon fiber into the mold (I think I used 3 layers, with stripped foam core for support on the seat base and the back) and let it kick off. Pull them apart and trim your’ part:On the left is the plug painted black and polished. Remember what I said about the wax… I used the wrong kind and had to rip the plug in half in order to extract it from the mold. In the middle is the mold and on the right is the part.Here you can see the dirty finish that using the wrong wax created. I decided to wrap the whole thing in a fourth layer of carbon to clean up the finish and round out the edges. Unfortunately with all the resin that went into the last layer to make it smooth and pretty, the seat’s not very light (in comparison to how light it could have been)I didn’t want it glass smooth glossy, but more like the carbon you see on race machines so I gave it a real quick sand and buff but didn’t clear it.ba-donk-a-donkAdd a little shaped foam for comfort (mostly shaped with the belt sander and finish sealed with a heat gun)I’m still on the fence whether to get this covered or not. If I did, the leather would wrap the entire front of the seat leaving just the end cap exposed. But I do like the honest street fighter-esk quality the bare foam has.BTW: thanks for the encouraging words, they help keep me motivatedBased around a ridiculous dance -- currently sweeping South Korea -- the K-pop girl group may have crafted their very own "Gangnam Style"-like smash
Nearly 12 months after PSY's "Gangnam Style" began going viral, K-pop has a new craze on its hands from another unlikely breakout star. Five-member girl group Crayon Pop is seeing the music video to latest single "Bar Bar Bar" going wide in native South Korea with a No. 2 ranking on the Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100.
Outfitted in helmets and brightly-colored track suits that recall the Power Rangers, the adorable quintet bring quirky dances through an amusement park. The choreography is centered around one particular move -- called the "Straight-Five Engine Dance" -- with all five girls bouncing up and down like engine cylinders. The girls sing the pump-up track's encouraging lyrics to leave their troubles behind and jump along while performing their ridiculous moves all over the park from atop of the tilt-a-whirl (with images of Lady Gaga and Michael Jackson in the background) to inside the merry-go-round.
Crayon Pop's sudden success is unexpected. To give background, in K-pop a single will typically hit its peak in the first or second week of release as most acts will roll out their new song music video all at once with live performances quickly following. Unveiled June 23, "Bar Bar Bar" rose to No. 2 on the K-Pop Hot 100 in its fifth week on the chart. To compare, "Gangnam Style" was a quick hit for K-pop veteran PSY who rose to No. 1 on August 4, 2012, after scoring the Hot Shot Debut, at No. 6, a week prior. The slow-burner status for "Bar Bar Bar" is likely from the group still being a rookie: Crayon Pop debuted in June 2012 and had not charted any of its four singles pre-"Bar Bar Bar."
Yet now, Korea appears to be in love with Gummi, Soyul, Choa, Ellin and Way's adorable ways. With over two million YouTube views in less than two months, the video has had big TV exposure and parodies from local celebrities. Check out a police rendition by the agency in South Korean province Gyeonbuk -- a particularly special homage as back in 2007, military and police covers helped break "Tell Me" by Wonder Girls, helping them become one of the genre's most-recognized acts.
Or watch one on "SNL Korea," that even features Crayon Pop. It's not hard to imagine people across the world cooking up their own twists on the straight-five engine dance.
Will we soon be seeing the "Straight-Five Engine Dance" popping up around YouTube? At the moment, Crayon Pop's "Bar Bar Bar" is looking like a slow-burning "Gangnam Style," ready to take over at a moment's notice.Image: Shuttershock
Christien Levien believes the easiest way to improve access to justice—which is a pressing issue in Canada and other countries, where plenty of people can't afford to hire a lawyer when they need one—is putting a "lawyer in your pocket" through an app that will give you basic legal information. That's the idea behind Legalswipe, a free app designed to inform people of their legal rights as they relate to interactions with the police.
The criminal defence lawyer said the idea came out of his own experience. "When I was in my first year of my undergraduate degree, I was assaulted by a police officer. Having to go through the local complaint system to obtain justice, I realized it is so arduous and difficult. People have these same issues and just don't know where to turn."
Launched in July 2015, the app has seen 20,000 downloads, mostly in Toronto, where Levien is based. The app also allows users to video-record their interactions with a police and send emergency messages to certain contacts when activated.
Levien believes free apps like his are critical, because there are "huge financial barriers" to getting legal information. This sort of technology can help "level the playing ground" and empower those who have been "historically vulnerable," he said.
Seeing a lawyer is so expensive that many can't afford it
A growing community of lawyers, policymakers and activists feel the same way. They call themselves Legal Hackers, and they're hoping to drag their profession into the digital age. Toronto is the latest city to launch a chapter of the group, joining others all over the world, from Boston to Barcelona to Kuala Lumpur.
In May, about 30 people met at a pub downtown to discuss creating new technologies to solve legal problems. One of the most important is how to ensure people have access to basic legal services, when seeing a lawyer is so expensive that many can't afford it.
Scott Allan, who isn't a lawyer but believes the legal field could use more "efficiency," led the meet-up. He acknowledged that lawyers have long resisted it. "Law and government are two of the last groups to get online in a proper way," he said, attributing it partly to age and a "generation gap." But of course, free apps could also threaten some lawyers' income. It's already being eroded by the democratization of certain legal services. At Walmart, for instance, people can now get a $99 will.
Until more people can afford a lawyer, many say this is a necessary step.
When it comes to access to civil justice, the 2011 World Justice Project ranked Canada ninth place out of 12 Western European and North American countries. The same report showed that Canada ranked 16th out of the 23 high-income countries, falling behind countries like Australia, Japan, Estonia, Hong Kong, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.
The report partially attributes the lack of legal accessibility to "affordability."
"Federal leadership is needed. We can't just leave it to private actors and hope it works out"
This might be changing. Increased provincial funding and recent boosts by the federal government means 400,000 more Ontarians are eligible for Legal Aid than they were 18 months before, as David Field, CEO of Legal Aid Ontario, noted in a recent op-ed. The province has also said it will improve financial eligibility, and the federal government has dedicated an additional $118 million to legal aid plans across Canada in the next five years, he said.
Legal Hackers isn't the only Toronto group who thinks the industry could use a technological makeover.
Over the last few months, the LegalX Cluster at MaRS, an incubator that hopes to support Canadian science, technology and social innovation, has been backing startups like Beagle, a service that allows users to upload a contract and highlights the key clauses and fine print; Knomos, a platform that hopes to increase access to justice by allowing users to visualize legal information in a way that will help them understand their rights; and Small Claims Wizard, a platform guiding users through the Ontario Small Claims Court process step by step.
Joanna Lehrer, a Toronto lawyer who focuses on criminal defence and youth justice, thinks getting kids to think about the law at a young age might be one way to increase access to justice. She plans on organizing a hackathon that would host three schools from varying socioeconomic neighborhoods around Toronto. The idea is to encourage students to think about how they interact with the justice system and how those interactions can be improved.
"I believe students will learn from each other's realities and that can form really powerful partnerships," Lehrer told me. "I think it's really important in criminal justice, but I recognize that other youth may be dealing with other issues that may have legitimacy as well."
Lehrer heard about the Legal Hackers meet-up through social media, and hopes to use the network to connect with others interested in similar issues.
But how do people even find out about the online legal tools that are out there?
Gaylene Schellenberg, a lawyer with the legislation and law reform directorate at the Canadian Bar Association, says federal leadership is needed to coordinate among public and private initiatives, and to make sure efforts aren't duplicating or doubling up.
"The current situation is quite disjointed and federal leadership is needed. We can't just leave it to private actors and hope it works out."
Kristian Justesen Director of Public Legal Information & Access at Legal Aid Ontario, echoes this sentiment. "The reality of the system is that so many things are connected and they all impact one another. For example, if a court doesn't allow documents to be filed electronically, then that slows down what we do next."
Justesen is hopeful that the industry will see some big changes over the next few years, and not just at organizations like LAO. The courts have a "real appetite" to see what they can do to make the system work better and faster, he believes.
People are always best off speaking to a lawyer, but many of them can't afford the hundreds of dollars in billing fees that come with it. Until legal services are more affordable and accessible to all, technology can help fill the gap.Andre Villas-Boas: Tottenham manager eyeing a striker
Andre Villas-Boas has admitted he is desperate to add a striker to his Tottenham Hotspur squad before the season starts, but insists he will not be rushed into an expensive mistake.
The Tottenham manager has been left with Jermain Defoe as his only senior striker following the departure of Louis Saha and the failure to secure Emmanuel Adebayor on a permanent deal.
He is currently utilising 19-year-old Harry Kane in the club's pre-season fixtures, although the youngster has yet to make his Premier League debut.
But despite the lack of options and time before their opening game against Newcastle on August 18th the new manager insists he will not resort to panic buying.
Sound bids
He said: "In this market it's important to make good, sound bids, not just to do anything for the sake of it.
"We are hopefully moving in the market in the next couple of days or weeks.
"We are trying to deal with the market. Lots of teams are having difficulty, there's not a lot of money around and teams try to hold onto their assets as best they can.
"We're just trying to make the best decisions possible before the start of the league - hopefully trying to solve the issue with one more striker before the Newcastle game.
"It's funny because last January everybody was expecting one big move to trigger all of the others and it didn't happen, so I think it's just a sign of the difficult financial situation in all of Europe. It spreads out into football.
"The Premier League is obviously the richest league in the world and clubs are trying to be able to move the market. Some can and others are trying to trigger that move, but that doesn't mean it will happen."If you are on Twitter, Tarek Fatah is an interesting follow. Always reporting honestly and on a lot of stuff that may not get picked up by American media.
Via Calgary Sun:
Toronto Sun columnist Tarek Fatah was on an ISIS hit list because of “contentious issues related to Islam”, the Times of India reports.
Cops in India say two terror suspects were arrested last week before they could get guns from an ISIS mole in Mumbai and make their sinister plot a reality.
The duo were also targeting a Mumbai police officer.
Fatah — known to Sun readers for his strong views on the Islamic world — earned a spot on the kill list after the would-be killers watched his YouTube videos and concluded his views on Islam were “highly objectionable”, police said.
Sources told the Times the hitmen — reported in the press as Ehtesham and Faizan — were supposed to get guns elsewhere but when that fell through they turned to their Mumbai contact.
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~^|\_@|@_/|^~~/\~~On This Day In GRATEFUL DEAD History~Acoustic GRATEFUL DEAD from the summer of 70'.Sounds like Mickey is "playing" the drums on Candyman...lmao...sad. This version of the show sounds like the right channel has a complete different drum track....hm. Get the other version...Mickey's horrible.Why does anyone need two drummers for acoustic GOSPEL music anyway?Amazing sound from such a primitive time for "live recordings".Here the GRATEFUL DEAD demonstrate their love for CHRISTIAN GOSPEL Music.It probably would have offened most fans of the GRATEFUL DEAD if they released a GOSPEL album of their favorite CHRISTIAN GOSPEL TUNES...this live show is as close as we are going to get. Too bad many of the fans of the GRATEFUL DEAD despise Christianity. You'd think they'd have more sense.Nothing like a bunch of sinners singing Gospel.How often did Jerome sing and play the "Ballad of Casey Jones"?I recommend using your EQ during playback of most of the shows on the IA, this one included.Windows Media Player has a 10 band EQ and SRS WOW effects that enhance the sound.Here's one way to stream/download this show:The IA recommends users of Windows XP view this web-page with RealPlayer.RealPlayer is a free media player you can download at www.realplayer.com Using RealPlayer to view this webpage, click the VBR M3U link to open the songs in the Playlist.If your Playlist is not open, open it by clicking the Playlist icon at the lower right hand corner |
fly there it's not like they would notice." Not just the UN, apparently Japan too is on board this conspiracy as "Finland's main company, Nokia, is apparently owned by the Japanese."
As if this wasn't enough, he even goes on to explain that there are a few reasons why Sweden and Russia are also playing along, but the Japanese fishing rights are to be blamed.
"You see the Japanese love their sushi but tight fishing regulations and public outcry mean they can't fish as much as they want. So after the Cold War they agreed with Russia to create a 'landmass' called Finland where they could fish," he writes.
While we are already reeling from this explanation, Raregan doesn't stop there. "The fish is then transported through Russia where a small percentage of the food is given to the population and then is shipped to Japan under the disguise of 'Nokia' products. Japan is apparently one of the world's largest importers of Nokia products despite the fact that 'nobody there owns a Nokia phone' apparently."
And after all this, here comes the punchline: "...the homage that the Japanese gave to this entire conspiracy theory. What do fish have? Fins. Therefore they named their imaginary country Finland."
And while a lot of us are either having fits of laughter or rolling our eyes, Raregan seems to have made quite a few Reddit users think about it.Advertisement
The origin of the internet-based currency Bitcoin is mysterious.
It seems most revolutions begin in secrecy. Leaders of political revolutions keep their identities hidden because those who wield power often kill to preserve the ability to wield it. Technological revolutions begin in secret because invention is a clandestine activity, and again, people in charge of the status quo may murder to defend it. Social revolutions often begin in secrecy because they start with an underclass that is forced into hiding by society’s prejudice.
All this secrecy is simply self-preservation on the part of the inventor—undermine the powerful opposition, and the opposition is very likely to kill or arrest someone. But what if the revolutionary gives over his or her revolution to the people without attempting to gain financial or political power from the revolution? You can’t decapitate something that has no head.
A few examples of humanitarian revolutionaries come to mind: Jonas Salk didn’t patent his polio vaccine. Linus Torvalds developed the kernel to the open-source operating system Linux and gave it to the world. Martin Luther King, Jr. certainly didn’t profit from his efforts on humanity’s behalf.
Bitcoin isn’t about American greed and speculation, says Mark Pitchford, but about giving poor people in undeveloped countries the ability to engage the global economy.
Bitcoin is a disruption to our current financial system, and it has the potential to devastate entire sectors of society. But its birth is also similar to humanitarian revolutions. Part of its launch was very public. In October 2008, someone—maybe an individual, maybe a group—published a paper under the name “Satoshi Nakamoto.” It was titled Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. Check out the paper that launched a thousand chits here: http://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf. Since Bitcoin is open-source, its code is available to and transparent to anyone who wants to examine or improve it—or who wants to seek vulnerabilities.
But only Satoshi Nakamoto knows Satoshi Nakamoto’s identity. There is, of course, speculation: governments, cryptographers, bankers, mathematicians, hackers—all manner of good and bad actors.
“Speculation” is in Bitcoin’s DNA. But speculation has another meaning: investment with the hope of gain but the risk of loss. And the second definition fueled a kind of digital gold rush to Bitcoin that had the word on the lips of some of the world’s largest financiers in 2013. And it was that speculation that took Bitcoin on one index from a value of $13.40 on Jan. 1, 2013, to $1,242 on Nov. 29, and back down to $757 on Dec. 31, 2013. At this moment, it sits at $856.34.
While words like “revolution,” disruption,” and “speculation” may make the timid dismiss Bitcoin as a flash-in-the-pan internet phenom akin to a dancing baby meme, this revolution is being televised.
Another thing about revolutions is they often begin in bars. And in Reno, the Red Rock Cell is ground zero for Bitcoin.
You say you want a revolution?
Aside from the obvious—an internet-based currency—in a word, Bitcoin is a dream. It's established upon nothing but people's willingness to assign and to agree to its value. But this is true for all money. Without everyone's tacit faith, that paper dollar in your pocket is just paper and ink, with traces of bodily fluids and cocaine. It has no intrinsic value. Even if it still had the backing of gold, and you could take that piece of paper to Fort Knox and get a dollar's worth of gold, the gold that would hypothetically back it probably has no intrinsic value to you. What are you going to do with it? Make a crown for your tooth? Make a computer chip that won't corrode? Make one ring to rule them all? You? Chances are, you personally couldn't even buy a loaf of bread at the correct weight. It's our social agreement that gold has value that makes it worth something.
Those mutually agreed upon rules of money are society’s very glue. You’ve got to trust somebody. Bitcoin simply asks the question, Are you going to trust a government or are you going to trust a worldwide system monitored and maintained by the individuals most concerned with keeping it stable and valuable?
Jay Yerxa says that Americanbusinesses must adopt Bitcoin inorder for it to reach its potentialas a stable world currency.
Jay Yerxa, an IT analyst at Patagonia, has an easy answer to that question. He’s not going to trust government or bankers, both of which favor decisions made by individuals based on opinions, theories or corrupt interests. He’s going with the algorithm.
“We have to trust a third party right now, whether it be a government or the Fed (Are they going to raise interest rates?) or a bank (Is my credit card safe, am I going to get fraud or something?), we have to trust in these third parties. With Bitcoin, it’s a math-based algorithm based on, one, how many are created, and two, how these units are transferred from Point A to Point B.”
Think of Bitcoin as a distributed system of trust that grew out of decades of talk about a worldwide currency independent of government. It’s built upon the ideas of early crypto- and digital currencies. Geekier readers will recognize the underpinning concepts of BitTorrent, another peer-to-peer protocol used to exchange large files like movies or music.
Instead of being directed by an individual, like the Fed will be directed by Janet Yellen, it’s run by the millions of individuals who have an interest in seeing it run well and stably—those who use it.
“There’s a giant development community behind it, mostly volunteers, and then there’s a foundation,” says Yerxa. “The foundation [http://bitcoin.org] is the one that kind of listens to the community, but ultimately manages the official Bitcoin software client. They manage that whole process. … So it’s decentralized, but they have that central organization that makes these changes. The neat thing is that this organization can’t just make a change and push it out to everyone, the people have to look at those changes and go ’OK, I agree with that, I will download the latest version and comply with that.’ ”
There have been heated discussions, says the 30-year-old technologist. For example, at one point the community was trying to decide whether to “flag” certain Bitcoins that had been used for illegal purposes. (This was related to the Silk Road drug trade bust.) In Bitcoin, all transactions are public and traceable and stored on the Bitcoin network. Since transactions are attached to addresses, and addresses are attached to the wallets of the individuals—who, for example, present a Bitcoin payment for a Bud Light—there is only a veneer of anonymity. People who wish to preserve anonymity change their addresses with each transaction and keep different wallets for different purposes.
OK, great, but what is Bitcoin really?
Really, Bitcoin is an online ledger. Just as the money isn’t kept inside one of those big, green ledgers that you used to see at banks, this ledger only records transactions.
God, this stuff is geeky.
What's goin' on
With something as complex as finance, there are practically infinite areas on which to focus and geek out. Simplifying complex Bitcoin concepts to the point of being intelligible to the unschooled risks oversimplifying for the informed. However, attempting to express nuances runs the risk of leaving Bitcoin in the hands of the elite, which is the opposite of what was intended by the currency's creators, and against the best interests of the system, which gains stability with increased buy-in. Suffice it to say, just as one doesn't have to know how a cell phone works in order to use it, Bitcoin can be used by anyone who can use a cell phone.
Unlike gold, which gets produced at a greater rate as its value increases, bitcoins are created in a fairly predictable arc, which actually decreases with time and use. As the plan stands, there will only be 21 million bitcoins created. At this moment, there are about 12.2 million bitcoins, which right now are equivalent to around US $10 billion. The last bitcoin is expected to be created in 2140. The curve of bitcoin creation is pretty easy to visualize: In the first four years, 10.5 million bitcoins were created. That number will decrease by half every four years, so 5.25 in the next four years, and so on.
“That’s the hard part,” says Yerxa. “It sounds like 21 million bitcoins is a very small number, but because it’s divisible eight decimal points, it’s actually over 2 quadrillion in the total units that can be created.”
Bitcoins are divisible down to eight decimal points (0.00000001 BTC). Since a bitcoin could theoretically be worth $10,000, the necessity for division is obvious—you wouldn’t want to buy a $10,000 beer, right? The divisions have vaguely metric names, like for example, 0.001 BTC can be called an mBTC or a millibitcoin or a millibit. But with the 24-hour volatility of the Bitcoin market, you’ll be paying a different price for each beer. It seems a careful observer could potentially decide whether to pay for his or her beers one at a time, or if the price is trending down, start a tab. In reality, though, the price is set—say $3 for a Bud Light—and it’s the Bitcoin number that changes; the value paid stays the same.
For those who want to get their feet wet by actually buying some tiny fraction of a bitcoin, the simplest way to get started is to join an exchange. Sources mentioned Coinbase.com several times, but that’s not an endorsement. Coinbase requires a link to a bank account, much like PayPal. That’s a little nervewracking, so use unique passwords, and put a layer between this account and main household accounts.
The biggest risk to the Bitcoin user is through the exchanges, where passwords may be hacked, and unscrupulous owners could steal the bitcoin data stored on their servers. Exchanges have even been hacked like Target, and there is no FSDIC to insure accounts, although there are Bitcoin insurance companies springing up. If that isn’t worrisome enough, another risk is the operating software—that there’s an unexploited bug waiting to hatch that could bring down the whole system. Risks aside, if you want to exchange bitcoins for American dollars, exchanges are one of the main ways to do it.
Much of the buying and selling takes place through cellphone apps. Various “wallets” with various features can be found at the usual places. Do some research. It’s money. It’s risky.
But if you really want to geek out on risk factors, Google the “51 percent attack” and “the greedy miner theory.”
The times they are a-changin'
In some ways, Reno can be considered an early adopter of this technology. Startups like Robocoin, https://robocoinkiosk.com, are reportedly taking their Bitcoin accepting ATMs to China. Mayberry Salon barber Josh Arias, www.barberarias.com, was featured in the story “8 things you can buy with bitcoins right now” on CNN Money. Storm 5, http://storm5.com, a cloud service provider is the only other one listed on the site, http://coinmap.org, which lists businesses that accept Bitcoin. There are some 29 in Nevada, including at least one casino in Las Vegas.
But national companies like Overstock.com have started accepting the currency, so you know the coffee shops, restaurants and retail stores are not far behind.
“When vendors start accepting it, that’s key,” Yerxa says. He’s a true believer, and probably Reno’s chief evangelist for Bitcoin. He got in when a coin cost less than $30, so he’s definitely got a dog in the fight. He’s even prototyping a machine to create a hardcopy receipt for Bitcoin transactions. “And that’s what brings me to places like Red Rock to talk to guys like Kevin [McGehee], to say, ’Hey, I think this is a really cool idea.’ I get motivated to talk to business owners because I don’t see it taking off unless businesses accept it. I don’t think we can all just trade it, just speculate. Eventually it’ll just collapse. But if businesses are accepting it, if families are sending money back to Mexico because it only costs them 3 percent instead of whatever Western Union is charging them [actually, that transaction is potentially free with Bitcoin through a shared account], I think those applications are real and help and are useful, and that’s why it’ll be successful.”
Yerxa points out that there are challenges for the retailer. It’ll create bookkeeping hassles of the sort experienced in countries where multiple types of currency are accepted. How are gratuities handled? Or what if someone bought $1,000 bucks worth of Bud Light when Bitcoin was at $1,000, and then Bitcoin drops down to $700? As might be expected, infrastructure like payment processors, analogous to Visa or Mastercard, have sprung up that transfer the Bitcoin into U.S. dollars at the moment of transaction in order to minimize risks. And, Yerxa says, Bitcoin transactions are cheaper than Visa or Mastercard. There is another benefit to retailers: there is no “credit card fraud,” with Bitcoin. If a transaction is made, the money is there; it can’t be reversed.
“At Red Rock, they have QR codes on the tabletop tents,” he said. “When it comes time to settle up, the bartender will tell you the total—the exchange rate is decided on the phone. The purchaser just punches the total into the phone, scans the QR code, and in a few minutes, the transaction is confirmed. It’s easy, but it’s not easy enough.”
Talkin' 'bout a revolution
Kevin McGehee, owner of the Red Rock Studios, is a recent convert, but nobody who knows him would be surprised by his conversion. An old-school fiscal conservative, he seems to fall square into the U.S. demographic that love the concepts that have buoyed up the e-currency (and its price). But, maybe surprisingly, it's Bitcoin's humanitarian and sociological underpinnings that really sold him on it.
“We started accepting Bitcoin in November,” he said. “It’s becoming more and more something that people want to participate in and be a part of. I believe in it. … To me, it makes financial transactions more humane. It’s not controlled by a central bank. I just think that banking has become such a corrupt instrument that nobody can manage it. It’s terrible. What Bitcoin does is it makes everything fair.”
Red Rock bar owner Kevin McGeehe says the Bitcoin makes transactions a more personto-person, humane exchange.
It’s those kinds of ideas that probably predict conventional governments’ reactions: Currency is their sandbox, and they don’t want other kitties making messes. Canada ruled that Bitcoin is not legal tender. While the United States government is the largest holder of Bitcoin on the planet at around $28 million worth, it’s expected to make a general ruling on its status by the end of the first quarter. You can bet Uncle Sam will cash out his Bitcoin holdings for American if he decides to make the claim that the stuff is without value. Such a large dump on the market could give vigilant “investors” a big opportunity. China had a regulatory crackdown this month (although not the ban that mainstream media made it out to be).
McGehee says that none of this stuff is unexpected, and as is often the case, governments will have to be shown the proper response.
“You’re talking about creating a new financial instrument. Anytime you create something that is revolutionary or radically different from what came before, there’s going to be problems. I think it appeals to people who are willing to assume a little more risk to feel like they’re in the game.” But he finds safety in Bitcoin’s transparency: “Bitcoin is like a giant glass room that is completely secure and totally safe, and everyone can see what’s in the center of the room is the giant pink piggy bank. And everyone can participate and everyone can see it.”
The revolution starts … now
Maybe this currency really does have a heart at its heart. Mark Pitchford, treasurer for the Reno Initiative for Shelter and Equality, www.renoinitiative.org, which helps feed and clothe homeless people in Reno, says while the thing called “Bitcoin” may pass, something like it will rise. He's another enthusiastic user and prophet. RISE is accepting Bitcoin donations, possibly the first nonprofit in Nevada to do so.
“Adoption is inevitable,” he said. “We’re not talking local, we’re talking worldwide. Bitcoin is not better than the dollar—the dollar is the world standard. Bitcoin is better than 70 of the 130 currencies out on the market. In Nicaragua or other Third World countries, their inflation level is about 30-40 percent. The grandfather who has been working all his life to have a future for his grandsons loses all that wealth in the matter of a year, matter of a decade, a matter of 15 years. When you’re talking about a worldwide economy that’s intermixed with every single other currency, [Bitcoin is safer because it] retains its value because it’s based on the dollar, it’s based on the yen, it’s based on the euro.”
But Pitchford, too, must return to the risky nature of a Bitcoin investment. There’s going to be a dotcom bubble with the Bitcoin, he says. It might have been the precipitous drop in November, or it may be a crash yet to come, “but it’s going to level out and then the utility and the ideas behind it and the consistency of its use will prove itself to the point it will be adopted and mainstream.”
He distinguishes between the currency and the protocol, the software framework, behind it. While this version of the currency very well may go away, as its weaknesses are parsed out and protected against, the next one or the one after that will be sustainable.
“Whether it be Bitcoin or whatever the future holds, the Pandora’s box has been opened,” he declares passionately. “There’s a need for this currency to exist and that’s not because the U.S. dollar sucks; it’s because 60 percent of the other countries’ money sucks, and they need to replace them. And this is the replacement, and it will actually hold wealth. This particular instance might not, but the next one will. And if that doesn’t, the next one will. Right now, in Third World countries, all you need is a cell phone and texting ability, and you can transact. Anyone with a text messaging ability can use the currency. … If you think this money is for the rich white people in America, you’re wrong. It’s for the poorest of the poor who lose the value of their money.
“Our first-world complaints about the Bitcoin: irrelevant.”
And that is what revolutions are made of.It isn’t the exact midway point of the season, but it’s close enough where we can start to examine some things, look forward and look back with anger, sadness, happiness and any other emotion you can think of.
Healing Messi
Obviously, the most dominant thing this season has been Broken Messi. He first picked up the injury against Paris St.-Germain on their potato field last season, re-aggravated it, then re-re aggravated it. Finally, it tweaked a good one, and Messi took 8 weeks off to rehab a hamstring that didn’t take 8 weeks to heal. So what the hell?
It was more than Messi’s hamstring that was broken. Longtime Barça watchers could see that something was missing in Messi, and had been since the Milan remundada of last season. What that was, it was and is impossible to say, but the joy was absent, the fire and spark that made him not only a remarkable player, but a joyful one.
We do know that it doesn’t take 8 weeks to heal a hamstring, unless somehow the muscle tears itself away from the bone. This, of course, leads to speculation about what is really wrong with Messi. For me, it’s nothing that rest … real rest, and a proper pre-season couldn’t cure. And that, my friends, is what takes 8 weeks. No jetting around on moneygrubbing junkets to Asia and other countries, no Messi and Friends charity matches and more jetting around. Just home cooking, familiar trainers and a gradual relighting of the wick.
Some speculate that this break was part of a pre-arrangement between Messi and the club, that in looking at the calendar of matches, the 8 or so that would occur during his break period were matches that could be managed without him. People who suggest this point to the fact that he didn’t really look at all stressed or impaired when he came off when he was last injured. Who knows? What I know is that for the first time in a long time, we have a fully rested, refreshed Lionel Messi, ready to come back for his club.
And yes, let’s not kid ourselves. Messi wants to win a World Cup. Badly. This break is well timed in that he returns daisy-fresh, will play his way into fitness, looking at the summer as well as the rest of the season, as part of his preparations. I do know one thing … I don’t want to be the opponent that will be facing this Messi. Can’t wait.
Discord
Psychologically, this season has been a mess. It began with a cherished player, Eric Abidal, being jettisoned, amid tears and eventual recriminations. Then there was the decision not to replace, or add to the defense at all, counting on the return of Carles Puyol from his elevendyteenth surgery on something or other. But we weren’t finished. Then came the Neymar signing and the speculation/late-night drama/funny money, the Tito Vilanova relapse, resignation and the installation of Tata Martino (WHO??!!) as the coach of Barça.
While Martino was getting ready, Jordi Roura was leading the club on its money-grabbing, frequent flier mile building pre-season.
Then the season began and instead of things calming down, they got crazier. Trainers left, other trainers were promoted and wee Iniestas weren’t happy, manifesting itself in the player talking about a missing “feeling” that was affecting the pace and his willingness to sign a renewal deal.
Messi was re-knocked, and the talk started about things not being the same, the physios were slacking, Martino was slacking, everybody was slacking. Then the Messi camp had to issue a statement about how everything was the same, and shit just happens, so shut up. That this was something that the club should have said, probably was part of the later furor, as ire over a slight began to fester.
Then came more injuries, including Alves, Xavi, Valdes, Puyol and residual knee pain, Alba, etc, etc. And everyone began to wonder if this season was going to be like last season, derailed by physical infirmity. But there was plenty to distract, as for the first time since the pyramids of Egypt were built, Barça lost the possession stats battle to an opponent. Yes, the club won 4-1, but that wasn’t the point. What was that new coach doing? The talk began: end of a era, club that lost its way, clueless coach not ready for big stage, etc, etc.
Meanwhile the club was winning, setting and breaking records, leading the Liga and all that stuff. But none of it mattered, because things were different. Then came a loss, in a fundamentally meaningless match at Ajax, and the talk began. Then the next Liga match, against Athletic, resulted in another loss, and the world stopped spinning as the long knives came out.
And that wasn’t even the fun part, which came as Javier Faus, a member of the Barça board, was asked about Messi no longer being the best paid footballer in the world. Faus replied that essentially, the club shouldn’t have to review contracts that were just signed for an employee.
Then came the story, from a couple of hacks for a Madrid-based entity, that Messi’s father, Jorge, might possibly maybe allegedly (wink, wink!) be under investigation for laundering drug money as part of some shady ticket sales from charity football matches. The club was silent. And while Messi was off in Argentina, recovering from whatever he was recovering from, stuff was about to get real as the oral phase of Messi’s rehabilitation began.
The salvo came, with all barrels blazing, as Messi said in a radio interview that Faus doesn’t know football and tries to run the club like a business, and the best club in the world deserves a board of the same quality, that the club is trying to say I’m greedy when nobody in my camp asked for a raise of any kind. Ka-BOOM!
Faus has been quiet since then, but the board is showing that it has learned. Rosell called BS on the Messi family allegations. Other board members said “By cracky, we won’t sit still while the integrity of our meal ticket is being impugned,” and Rosell said, basically, that Messi can have all the money he wants, that he will be The Man for as long as I am president, blablabla.
Shortly after that, Jorge Messi came out to say that his son loves Barça, is tied to the club in a way that mere mortals could never envision, and he isn’t going anywhere. And that is all we will have to say about that.
Whew!
If someone had told me, after all of this, the injuries, the failure to secure a quality replacement for lost quality in Abidal (and Puyol), that the club would be topping the Liga, still in contention for Copa glory and tops in its Champions League group, I would have laughed so hard that I would have needed hospitalization.
And yet, this is what has happened.
There are two ways of looking at the present state of things: We’re doomed! This is the culer way. Others are saying, “Lordy, if them there boys went through all that, and are still in the position they are in, and just whomped their last opponent 2-5, sky’s the limit. Because what the hell ELSE could go wrong?”
Portents
While we have been squabbling about stadiums, root causes of Messi’s injury, Faus comments and broadsides from geniuses, a coach who was allegedly not ready to coach at the top level, has been doing a wonderful job, for so many reasons:
— Injuries and distractions
— Inadequate roster
— Learning as he went along
— Needing to rotate because of the roster inadequacies
In the 17 different Liga matches, there have been 17 different lineups. There has been that rare beast, rotation. And real rotation, as Martino simply leaves players who are on rotation, out of the roster. Rest. Real rest. The team has also been experimenting with new ways to play and win matches. Almost all of them have worked, even as there have been glitches, which people have chosen to focus on, more than the result. And in a kind of “wait til your father gets home” worldview, the NEXT opponent has always been the one.
“Yeah, they were supposed to beat Levante. Wait til Champions League starts. Well, they’re doing okay, but wait til they play Celtic. Well, they won, but wait until the Classic, THEN we’ll see. Well, RM is in a down cycle, and not themselves, wait until … AHA! Manchester City?”
Meanwhile, the club moves toward the second half of the season in exceptional shape. Players are rested, discord is dissolving and its best player is fresh, healed and raring to go. Two young players, in Neymar and Marc Bartra, have been brought along perfectly. Both are ready to assume their roles as present and future. The team has filtered out the noise and has joined ranks, as players have said “There are attacks from outside that are trying to mess with this team. We can’t allow it, and we don’t like it.”
Statements such as these means that the club not only has talent and quality, but it has a purpose, a reason to unite against a common enemy: the world. From press to pundits ready to bury them to opponents such as Toure Yaya who spout bollocks about Barça being afraid of Manchester City.”
To my view, this club is ready to start kicking the hell out of some people. Pedro typified the attitude on Sunday. Two early goals against sent social media into a tizzy, as people who should know better were already chalking up a loss. Meanwhile, Pedro scored a lovely goal, ran to retrieve the ball with a face and actions that said quite clearly, “Yeah, whatever … we have more work to do.” And the team proceeded to score four more without conceding another, and that was that.
Into that team that has coalesced into a fist, comes the best keeper in the world and the best attacking player in the world. Even as culers, who have mastered the art of pessimism, clutch worry beads and see portents of doom, the only portents I see are of a club that is going to round itself into shape, and then we will see what we have.
If Messi returns, the team gets lazy and returns to business as usual, passing the ball to Messi and hoping for the best, the aftershocks from my facepalm will verge on seismic. This team has a fight on its hands. Atleti isn’t going to go away, and RM is there in third place, ready to pounce on any error. Meanwhile, an immense test is coming up in Champions League. This has been, and will be a difficult season, and no time for business as usual.
Neymar
YouTube sensation, Nikemar, Robinho II, you name it … the 57 million signing had some big hurdles to leap before he would be anything except scoffed at by many. Didn’t need him, wrong signing, too expensive, should have used that money for a defender went the cries.
And Martino brought him along slowly, with substitute roles that allowed him to watch how the team played, to understand that Barça isn’t the Brazil NT, that he isn’t The Man here but part of a team of champions. And as he played more, he went from “whoa!” to electric to incendiary, from making mountains out of contact molehills to leaping to his feet and getting on with it, from a YouTube sensation to one of the stars on what for many is still the best team in the world. … And he isn’t even fully integrated yet, as the rapport that was building between he and Messi was derailed by the latter’s injury.
Martino intimates that we haven’t even seen the best of Neymar, that we have been seeing a tired, beat-up player because of the Confederations Cup, all the travel with Brazil and other stuff.
My view on Neymar was always let’s wait and see but potentially, he is exactly the kind of signing that we need, because Messi needed help, because being the best player in the world wasn’t enough any longer, because teams had learned that only Messi was going to beat them. In Neymar, that destructive force in an area where such a force was needed, on the left side, is exactly what the doctor ordered.
Busquets
I absolutely love this picture of Busquets, and not just because he is doing to Van Persie what so many of us would like to. It shows a player who is evil, who will do anything to win. Dude is naaaasty. So when you take that mentality, and couple with an astounding skill set, what you have is a player who is arguably the best in the world at his position, even as he has no analog.
I would have to call this year Annus Busquetus, in that it’s the year that the world came around to what a remarkable player he is. Some had been saying it all along, but this year, the tributes, articles and videos are coming like wildfire. To the player’s credit, he has improved and grown in stature under Martino, as the coach understands that the roles of Xavi and Iniesta need to change in the face of how the team is being attacked. So Busquets has gone from octopus and reset button to another midfield attacker. People who said “Busquets would be amazing if he started passing the ball forward,” were right.
Who doesn’t remember the furor when Toure Yaya was sold to make Busquets the one. What was crazy then is genius now.
That said …
The failure of our team’s technical staff to reinforce the defense in a meaningful way verges on criminal. People, including me, said “If the team presses in the right way, defenders become less important.” We, I, was wrong, mostly because of a simple oversight: Eric Abidal made everything possible. Alves could get caught out of position, Pique could go on psychic walkabout, Puyol could fireman his way into trouble, because Abidal was human white out. “What error? I fixed it.” From sideline to sideline, he just fixed stuff. The loss of that created problems that haven’t been solved, problems that can’t be solved with a press because the defense no longer has that eraser.
Complicating matters is that Puyol returned from his knee rehab, ready for his gold watch. Our Capita was left out of the Getafe squad for “technical reasons.” We all know what that means, and it’s sad. It also creates another hole in our defense, and that’s just the physical hole.
Psychologically, Pique has become the elder statesman, but he needs competition. Neymar made Pedro better, made Sanchez better, as they have to play for a spot in the XI. Iniesta will have to raise his game, and is showing signs of returning to his brilliant self. Competition improves the breed. That Pique is our best CB is a problem, because he seems to be a player who needs pressure. All coaches, including ours, talk about pressure from equals as an improvement program. Look at what Jordi Alba did for Adriano, by way of another example.
It will be a significant error if the club does not add a quality defender to the roster in January. Board members have said that barring a significant injury, the club plans to sign no one. I wonder if the injury to the pride of lion counts as significant? If the board doesn’t sign anyone, and our Capita can find it in his legs to get through the next half-season with something approaching the quality that we know from him, the board will look like they got it right. If not, they will look stupid, even more stupid than it did in the summer. It will also create a potential frailty that could cost the team on the biggest stages.
Here’s hoping, and here’s looking forward.Iñigo Idiakez says he has a ‘great feeling’ about the mixture of qualities across Derby County’s coaching team as they prepare to intensify their plans for their 2016/17 season.
Tomorrow will see the club’s first team head out to Portugal for a week-long training camp in the Algarve.
This week will represent the first full week that Idiakez will undertake as a fully-fledged First Team Coach back at Derby, where he was a player and fans favourite between 2004 and 2006.
He joined the club from Premier League Champions Leicester City last Friday and has quickly settled back into his surroundings at the Training Centre in partnership with the University of Derby, working alongside Nigel Pearson, the Manager, Chris Powell, the Assistant Manager, Kevin Phillips and Goalkeeping Coach Pascal Zuberbühler.
Idiakez says he and the rest of the coaching set-up are working hard on the playing style they want their players to operate with and are leaving no stone unturned in their quest to have Derby firing on all cylinders come the start of the campaign.
He told Rams Player HD: “I want to add something special to the team if I can and help them in any way I can to help this group of players achieve their goals.
“We have a good mix across us. We’re all ex-football players and we are in the process of thinking about how we want our team to play, how we want our team to win games and we will be working together to cover all aspects of the game.
“It’s working great to be honest. I have a great feeling about what we have got going here.”
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After a week of double sessions – undertaking both fitness and football work – Derby’s squad will get into match action for the first time later this week.
Two games are pencilled in the Rams, who will compete for the Algarve Football Cup against Vitoria Setubal and Benfica.
The former will be played on Friday, before Derby take on the Portuguese Champions 24 hours later on the Saturday (both 8:30pm kick-offs).
Idiakez says he is excited to see what qualities Pearson’s squad display in match action.
He added: “We are going to Portugal this week and as a player I wanted the games to come around as quickly as possible and I have that same feeling as a coach.
“Pre-season can be really boring over the first couple of weeks as a player when you are just building your fitness up and just want to play games, but we will have our first games out there this week.
“Those games are like blood in veins so we all can’t wait to get started and see what qualities this team really has.”
T |
through rioting, what might happen? If we ever refused to offer forgiveness or stand for a photo op and insisted instead on our attackers being held truly and fully accountable, what might happen then?
With the SAE lynching chants, Casselberry’s attack on young Davis, and police shootings and chokings of unarmed Black people, we see the repeated re-centering of whiteness as both master and victim. When Black people dare to speak up, we are immediately accused of “playing the race card,” as though we set up and maintain this system that dehumanizes us at every turn.
As if we hold the cards or created the game itself.
So no, White racists, your apologies—no matter how frequent or varied—are NOT accepted. They will never be accepted, not only because you continue to ignore our humanity and disrespect our rights, but because you never mean it. You never feel remorse. You never acknowledge the truth. Your eyes are never opened, your minds are never expanded, your hearts are never softened.
Don’t come asking me about forgiveness. I ain’t the one, boo. Do you see an Ike Turner sign on my forehead that says: “Come all ye KKK, rednecks, and closeted racists liberals and disrespect me all the days of my life on earth because White Jesus loves me and heaven lasts forever?” What kind of negress do you think I am?
I will not grant you the Black forgiveness that feeds into respectability politics. I am not one of those “Good Negroes” who will sacrifice themselves to uphold the status quo. I will not sustain this charade. I will not play my part in this heinous masquerade that privileges your people and denigrates mine. I will not support the continuing dishonesty and disrespect of people on both sides, and be the sustenance of this White supremacist monster that stomps all over the dignity of my people and keeps the scales tilted in your favor no matter what you say, what you do, or how you try to excuse it.
Fuuuuck your apologies! I can’t use them. Won’t accept them. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not nevuhhh.
#Bloop.
#ThrowsTheMicOnTheyAshesLONDON: Over 30 years after it first emerged and has since infected over 75 million people, scientists have finally pinpointed from where exactly HIV emerged.
A genetic analysis of thousands of individual viruses has confirmed beyond reasonable doubt that HIV first emerged in Kinshasa, the capital of the Belgian Congo, in about 1920 from where it spread thanks to the colonial railway network to other parts of central Africa.Scientists have nailed the origin of the Aids pandemic to a colonial-era city — then called Leopoldville which was then the biggest urban centre in Central Africa including a market in wild “bush meat” captured from the nearby forests.A “perfect storm” of factors then led to the virus’ spread in the human population.UNAIDS estimates that 35 million people were living with HIV in the world at the end of 2013.Scientists from University of Oxford said, “Thirty years after the discovery of HIV-1, the early transmission, dissemination and establishment of the virus in human populations remain unclear. Using statistical approaches applied to HIV-1 sequence data from central Africa, we show that from the 1920s Kinshasa (in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo) was the focus of early transmission and the source of pre-1960 pandemic viruses elsewhere. Location and dating estimates were validated using the earliest HIV-1 archival sample, also from Kinshasa. Our results reconstruct the early dynamics of HIV-1 and emphasize the role of social changes and transport networks in the establishment of this virus in human populations.”Vendors sell their products beside a railroad track in Kinshasa, Zaire (File photo via Getty Images)The breakthrough was possible due to a new, sophisticated analysis of hundreds of genetic sequences of HIV from different time points and locations.The researchers also note that 13 documented cases exist of different simian viruses jumping from chimpanzees, gorillas and monkeys into humans, but only one — known has HIV-1 group M — sparked a global epidemic. They show that group M and another strain, group O, expanded at the same rate until about 1960, but then group M nearly tripled its rate of spread. Possible reasons include public health campaigns that had contaminated needles and an increase in the number of clients of sex workers.“For the first time we have analysed all the available evidence using the latest phylogeographic techniques, which enable us to statistically estimate where a virus comes from,” said Professor Oliver Pybus of Oxford University. “This means we can say with a high degree of certainty where and when the HIV pandemic originated.”“Kinshasa at that time was growing fast, it was the biggest city in central Africa at that time and was very well connected to the rest of the Congo,” said Nuno Faria of Oxford.“Data from colonial archives tells us that by the end of the 1940s over one million people were travelling through Kinshasa on the railways each year. Our genetic data tells us that HIV very quickly spread across Congo, a country the size of Western Europe,” Dr Faria said.“Our research suggests that following the original animal-to-human transmission of the virus, probably through the hunting or handling of bush meat, there was only a small window during the Belgian colonial era for this particular strain of HIV to emerge and spread into a pandemic,” Professor Pybus said.“By the 1960s, transport systems such as the railways that enabled the virus to spread vast distances were less active, but by that time the seeds of the pandemic were already sown across Africa and beyond,” he said.© James Ferguson
Brace yourself for a scoop, dear reader. The most famous petrolhead on the planet has accepted my invitation to Lunch with the FT.
Given the run of his dealings with the media, I am not surprised by Jeremy Clarkson’s reticence. Talking drivel about him and his pals is a staple of the tabloids. Most recently, it’s been suggested that Clarkson demanded a helicopter be sent to fetch him some gravy and that Richard Hammond has been replaced in filming by a gimp in a face mask. Next, I imagine, someone will disclose that James May uses the Queen’s hairdresser.
But the FT, he said, was different, and our lunch wasn’t really an interview. Indeed, in the eyes of the yellow press, it probably doesn’t count as such, because I began by promising (not that he asked for it, or indeed made conditions of any kind — “You just go ahead and make it up,” he said when he saw my notebook) not to ask him about his private life.
“Seventeen seconds early!” he exclaimed, crashing into the room. “I hate being late — it’s saying, ‘My time’s more important than yours.’ And that’s rude.”
He had chosen Assaggi, an Italian restaurant above a pub in Notting Hill, for our meeting. It’s not cheap but Nino Sassu’s cooking is to die for: I have long thought it the best Italian food in London. The kitchen is tiny, the menu pretty unchanging apart from occasional specials: it was inevitable that the tieless man in worn-out jeans would go for the wild boar tagliatelle.
We both had a pear salad to start with, and a couple of glasses of wine apiece. I had vaguely wondered whether we’d end up on an afternoon pub crawl but he didn’t even finish his second glass. It was rosé, too, which was a bit of a shocker. No puddings: he was going to a curry-and-champagne party that evening thrown by one of Pink Floyd.
Nino produced some bits and pieces before lunch — pecorino, salami and what I thought was olive oil. It turned out to be honey, as Clarkson explained, having recently returned from a honey-tasting trip in Australia, which seems a very odd thing to have done.
No one gets to 55 without having made some decisions about their appearance. And Clarkson’s makes it clear he has decided to tell the world to piss off. In a medium obsessed with what you look like, he has chosen to dress as the understudy for Worzel Gummidge in a production at the Wimbledon theatre. In a wardrobe at home he has dozens of pairs of identical old jeans. Everyone on telly is a show-off, but Clarkson shows off by seeming to be normal.
I had happened to mention to a couple of senior BBC producers beforehand that I was lunching with Clarkson, and two individuals whom I had previously thought of as intelligent, friendly and quite sophisticated suddenly became a pair of spitting cobras. To them, Clarkson was pure pantomime enema. Is this a political thing or — they both happened to be women — a gender matter?
Because I simply cannot understand what there is to feel so bitter about. You don’t like him? Don’t listen to him. You don’t care about cars? I’m not interested in cars, either. But I do like to laugh. And Clarkson is funny. Very funny.
Maybe it’s the tone of some of his comments about cars. “Driving most supercars is like trying to manhandle a cow up a back staircase, but this [the Audi R8] is like smearing honey on Keira Knightley... The Ferrari F355 is like a quail’s egg dipped in celery salt and served in Julia Roberts’ belly button... Think of it [the Alfa Romeo Brera] as Angelina Jolie. You’ve heard she’s mad and eats nothing but wallpaper paste. But you would, wouldn’t you?”
Now, I couldn’t tell any of these cars from a Toyota Prius (which I imagine Clarkson loathes) but I can see the metaphors are less than entirely serious. The problem is that too much of the media and the media class have no sense of humour. Hence the weirdly symbiotic relationship between Clarkson and his critics: they invite him to play to a stereotype and, when he does so, they cane him for it.
Here are a few facts to set against the tabloid tramp. He has very good manners. He loves birds. He likes quite a few politicians. He believes British mainline trains are terrific. He can tell the difference between a mute swan and a whooper swan. He loves the London Eye and the Hoover Dam. He’s an accomplished deipnosophist. He co-owns a thousand-acre farm in the Cotswolds that stages the worst shoot in England.
He sometimes seems a bit deaf. He thinks Chuck Yeager, who broke the sound barrier, is “truly the worst human being I have ever met”. Kristin Scott Thomas sends him weak at the knees. He is an avid reader of the Mail Online’s Sidebar of Shame, despite claiming not to know who most of the people mentioned are. He’s good company, quick-witted and, actually, rather thoughtful.
The Ancient Guild of FT Lunchgivers obliges its members — on pain of a lifetime of gruel — to give an honest account of their conversation. I therefore confess that we debated whether the discrete shot at the end of Alien — when Sigourney Weaver slips out of her spacesuit — is the sexiest scene in film.
He protested that distinction belongs to Kristin Scott Thomas when she gets into the bath with Ralph Fiennes in The English Patient. This may be why meeting her so inflates his tongue that all he can do is to gurgle and dribble in her presence. I know the feeling: the same happened when I once met Gillian Anderson. Perhaps it’s to do with the beginning of senility.
For the apostle of laddism is now 55, and beginning to feel “the onset of disintegration”— creaky knees and the rest. His lifestyle is a heart surgeon’s bad dream: “I smoke huge numbers of cigarettes. If I’m awake, I’m smoking.” He thinks a little bit about retiring, but cannot contemplate disconnecting his laptop permanently. “I will always write. But then I don’t count writing as work. I look forward to a Thursday morning when I have to produce my Sunday Times column... In the time between turning on the laptop and sitting down ready to write, I’ve already got a thousand words. It takes me 20 minutes to write the column and then perhaps an hour polishing it.”
He is, in other words, a consummate hack who can be relied upon week after week to have something entertaining to say about something or other. Then all the words of wisdom get collected in a book — invariably adorned with the Clarkson physog on the front cover — and advertised on Tube escalators across central London. The books sell by the pallet-load.
I had vaguely wondered whether we’d end up on a pub crawl but he didn’t even finish his second glass. It was rosé, too, which was a bit of a shocker
So he has committed the cardinal British sin of being successful. If he really did abuse and thump a BBC producer (it’s the subject of a lawsuit, so things are tricky to talk about), it’s clearly unacceptable — a perfectly natural urge that many of us have felt but managed to control, and he should have done so, too. But there was an unmistakable smell of glee in the commentariat, which went far beyond the alleged facts of the case.
It is hard to resist the suspicion that Clarkson’s real crime is to be too noisily male. Top Gear was apparently about cars. But the secret of the programme’s success wasn’t the internal combustion engine. It could have been a fishing club or a bunch of blokes restoring steam locomotives. But it was as male as the Tranmere Rovers dressing room and you wanted to be part of their gang. But then came The Incident and out he had to go. Hammond and May walked out with him and now the three of them, producer Andy Wilman and a crowd of people with slightly less creaky joints are preparing another testosterone-fest to be aired by Amazon Prime next autumn. Four middle-aged blokes have crossed from Old Telly to New Telly.
It is, Clarkson said, too early to judge how different it will be to make a show about cars for an American corporation than it was to do something similar for the BBC. One can be fairly confident that the persistent suggestion that Mary Beard would be the perfect guest will stop. Contrary to caricature, he is rather affectionate about the BBC and spoke warmly of numerous figures in its senior management. But he’s enjoying freedom from the diktats of the corporation’s editorial policy department. (“Amazon’s on the internet, and people fuck horses on the internet, so anything less than that is bound to be all right.”)
“It’s unbelievably exciting to be getting cracking with it all,” he said of the new show. It has no name so far, though he claims they have ruled out Gear Knobs and House of Cars. In homage to Clarkson’s Yorkshire roots, the company that will produce the programmes has been named W Chump and Sons; “of London” has been added to the title “in case anyone thinks we’ve sold out to the Americans. Which we have, of course.” So serious business folk who want to be in on what looks set to be a roaring success will have to carry business cards bearing their name and rank in the hierarchy of, for example, “W Chump and Sons (mugs and T-shirts)”.
In the Doncaster of Clarkson’s youth there seemed to him to be only two types of car — Reliant Robins and Ladas. W Chump has already acquired a corporate fleet of Reliant Robins in attractive shades of cream and brown, from which bits fall off each day. “Yesterday was the first day that any of us completed a journey in his Reliant,” he boasted.
At present producers squat in a building off the Westway cold-calling people to ask if they’ll co-operate with three blokes making films for a nameless TV show produced by what sounds to be a firm of Dewsbury drain-clearers.
The newspapers claim Clarkson will earn £10m a year from the Amazon venture. The fascination lies in the chasm between that success and the fact that Clarkson and James May stop work each time Cash in the Attic comes on television. But the Chump editorial guidelines are pretty straightforward — they look at a map of the world and say, “Not been there, I wonder what it’s like?”
The number of unvisited territories gets smaller by the year — “North Korea and Iran, basically.” It has given Clarkson a small boy’s boastfulness about the travel: “I can’t imagine anyone in the world flying more than I do. Terminal 5 ought to be my address.”
In his newspaper columns there’s something of the cabbie’s “don’t get me started, guv” rant — targets include political correctness, health and safety, caravans. That gets all the kale-eaters squealing, fearing this is how vast numbers of the proles think; though, periodically, someone says he should run for parliament. He claims to be unaligned, and loathes the idea of parliamentary whips (being compelled to vote for a policy). So, who did he vote for in the election? “Christ knows who I voted for. I drove three hours to Chipping Norton, where I’m registered, went into the polling booth and then discovered I hadn’t got my reading glasses. The only glasses I could borrow from anyone made things even worse. I wasn’t allowed to leave to go and buy a pair because I’d had my ballot paper, so I haven’t the faintest notion which way I voted.”
Jeremy Clarkson has no website, though his fans have created one that displays his Twitter stream, including such lapidary comments as the one on October 21 reading: “Fucking bastard fucking useless fucking WiFi.” The website itself seems to have been designed in 1927 and is adorned with a picture of our hero taken before he started shaving.
From left: former ‘Top Gear’ presenters Richard Hammond, Jeremy Clarkson, James May © Getty
Clarkson (of course it’s just his surname, he’s that sort of bloke — like Flashman) once asked me to go on Top Gear as a “Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car” but, to the disappointment of my then young son, I couldn’t see the point in being filmed swearing and sweating and then spending an hour afterwards in an aircraft hangar that reeked of Brut aftershave. Another time, we were both team captains at a charity go-kart race in Milton Keynes. He killed me, mainly because each time I touched the brakes I found myself driving the wrong way around the track. Even so, I think he was beaten by Damon Hill. And perhaps by Delia Smith. And probably by Cilla Black, as well.
His lifetime behind the wheel began when, as a young reporter on the local newspaper in Rotherham, he met a contemporary from the Harrogate Advertiser behind the wheel of a car that cost as much as Rotherham council’s entire annual budget. The Harrogate lad explained how the racket worked: you said you wanted to review a car and, lo and behold, the manufacturers would deliver it to you, insured and full of fuel, for you to use, free, gratis and for nothing, for a week or two. All for a couple of paragraphs of copy.
When we left Assaggi there was an enormous orange sports car sitting in the street outside. “Ah, that’s the new Audi R8,” he said, as the man who had delivered it opened the door for him. He disappeared in a roaring raspberry at the Paris climate change talks. Vegetarians would doubtless make some disobliging comment about phallus substitutes. He doesn’t need one.
Jeremy Paxman is an FT contributing editor
Illustration by James Ferguson
Photograph: Getty
Letters in response to this article:
Paxman will have had us rushing for the dictionary / From Edward Brady
Unworthy of the word / From Angela Polsen-Emy
What’s the difference? / From Malcolm McIntosh
Baffled / From Robert McCannSource: Getty Images
The Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM) is one of the key Israel advocacy groups in the UK. In the last week BICOM has published a series of essays on 'Israel's democratic futures' (if that's a question, the answer is 'here's hoping'). BICOM's worry, as its chief Lorna Fitzsimons wrote in her introduction, is that "a notion is spreading in the West that Israel is fast becoming an illiberal ethno-democracy".
One of the contributions is an interview by BICOM's Alan Johnson of the US political philosopher Michael Walzer. At first glance, Johnson appears to be unafraid of posing the difficult questions - but Walzer's unchallenged replies are revealing.
Israel is not the state of the Jewish people; Jews outside Israel don't vote in its elections and non-Jews inside Israel do vote in its elections. The Jewish people are not sovereign in Israel; the citizens of Israel are sovereign there. I think there is a sense in which Israel, I mean green line Israel, is right now politically a state of all its citizens. The real difficulties are not political, they are cultural, and they arise in every nation state.
Unpacked, this is a wonderful illustration of the denial and diversion tactics deployed by those trying to reconcile the idea of a 'Jewish' and 'democratic' state. Walzer says "there is a sense" in which Israel is "a state of all its citizens" - but he presents no evidence, and quickly moves on in order to focus on "cultural" difficulties.
Walzer's response is just wrong (and he surely must know this).
Firstly, foundational to Israel's legal framework as a Jewish state is legislation passed in the first few years, specifically the Law of Return, the Absentee Property Law, and the Citizenship Law. These laws shaped an institutionalised regime of ethno-religious discrimination by extending Israel's 'frontiers' to include every Jew in the world (as a potential citizen), at the same time as explicitly excluding expelled Palestinians.
Search BICOM's essays in vain, however, for serious acknowledgement that Israel the 'liberal democracy' was founded on the basis of ethnic cleansing and mass land expropriation; that the only reason there is a 'Jewish majority' at all, is because of the historic fact of the forced exclusion of Palestinians from their homes and lands.
Secondly, there is a distinction in Israel between 'citizenship' and 'nationality', a difference missed by English speakers, who tend to use the terms interchangeably. Professor David Kretzmer, law scholar at Hebrew University and member of the International Commission of Jurists, has written how this concept of 'nation' "strengthens the dichotomy between the state as the political framework for all its citizens and the state as the particularistic nation-state of the Jewish people".
In the 1970s, Israel's Supreme Court rejected a petition by a Jewish Israeli who sought to change his nationality status from 'Jewish' to 'Israeli'. The ruling stated that "there is no Israeli nation separate from the Jewish nation...composed not only of those residing in Israel but also of Diaspora Jewry". Then-president of the Court Shimon Agranat said that a uniform Israeli nationality "would negate the very foundation upon which the State of Israel was formed".
Thirdly, Israel continues to be in an official'state of emergency', which the Knesset has annually renewed since 1948. There are still 11 laws and 58 ordinances that depend on the state of emergency, covering a wide range of matters.
Fourthly, Israeli law provides for the banning of electoral candidates who deny "the existence of the State of Israel as the state of the Jewish people". Related to that, proposed bills can be rejected on the grounds that they undermine "Israel's existence as the state of the Jewish people". This is particularly instructive, given the emphasis placed by those trying to defend Israel's 'democracy' on the fact that Palestinian citizens can vote and be elected as MKs.
Fifthly, there is the legislated role of the Zionist institutions, the Jewish Agency/World Zionist Organisation and Jewish National Fund. As I write in my new book, bodies intended to privilege Jews, by being granted responsibilities normally performed by the state, are thus "placed in positions of authority where they have the ability to prejudice the interests of non-Jewish citizens".
Those are a selection of elements in what makes Israel a Jewish state, as opposed to a state of all its citizens. But what has it meant in practice, for Palestinians living in this 'Jewish and democratic' state?
From 1948 to 1966, the majority of Israel's Arab citizens lived under military rule, a state of affairs used to expropriate land for establishing Jewish communities, as well as repress dissent. This is a vital part of the history, and makes it laughable that in one of the BICOM essays, Amichai Magen claims Israel has never had "a single episode of slippage into authoritarianism" (not for the Jewish population, presumably, is what he means).
In over 60 years, around 700 Jewish communities have been established in Israel's pre-1967 borders - but just seven for Arab citizens (and those were built in the Negev for 'concentrating' the Bedouin population). The average Palestinian community inside Israel has lost up to 75% of its land since 1948, while a quarter of all Palestinian citizens are internally displaced, their property confiscated for use by the state and Jewish towns.
An estimated 90,000 Palestinian citizens live in dozens of 'unrecognised villages', which suffer from home demolitions and a lack of basic infrastructure. Israeli officials openly talk of 'Judaizing' areas and tackling the 'threat' posed by non-Jewish citizens. Residency in 70% of Israeli towns is managed by committees that filter out those deemed 'unsuitable' for the'social fabric'.
These are just a few examples of what Professor Oren Yiftachel has described as an "ethnocracy":
Despite declaring the regime as democratic, ethnicity (and not territorial citizenship) is the main determinant of the allocation of rights, powers, and resource... [and] the logic of ethnic segregation is diffused into the social and political system.
In addition, all of this is without commenting on how, for 45 of Israel's 64 years, the Jewish state has military ruled over Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza who do not even have the limited protection afforded by citizenship (while settling the territory with Jewish citizens).
As Israeli jurist and founding member of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel Ruth Gavison put it, the Jewish state is
an enterprise in which the Arabs are not equal partners, in which their interests are placed below those of a different national group - most of whose members are newcomers to the land, and many of whom are not even living in the country.
Such honesty seems to elude Johnson, Walzer, and BICOM. It is encouraging that the Israel advocacy group feels forced to address the issue of Israel's 'democratic future' - not least because, through the weakness of their arguments, they are unwittingly contributing to the growing understanding of what lies at the heart of the continued lack of a sustainable, just peace.
Ben White is an activist and writer. His latest book is Palestinians in Israel: Segregation, Discrimination and Democracy.'Daily Show' host Jon Stewart on May 4, 2015. [YouTube]
Daily Show host Jon Stewart ripped the wave of conspiracy theories surrounding the Jade Helm 15 training exercises, which have some people concerned over a “Texas takeover” by the federal government.
“You know who’s calling it a ‘Texas takeover’? Lone star lunatics. Dallas d*cks, Houston a*sholes,” Stewart said. “There’s no Texas takeover. The United States government already controls Texas. Just borrow a textbook from a neighboring state — it’s all in there.”
While it was “adorable” for Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to think that the state guard could pick a fight with the military and win, Stewart said, the exercises date back to at least 2001, when another Republican, George W. Bush, was president and Rick Perry let the operations continue without incident.
“It appears you are on the verge of being taken over by ISIS or the United States of America,” Stewart said. “So you have a choice to make. And when you make it, just remember — and I never thought I’d be saying this — what would Rick Perry do?”
Stewart also touched on the recent attempted shooting attack outside an anti-Muslim event promoted by Pamela Geller’s American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), criticizing the attack without siding with Geller’s particular message.
“AFDI is a First Amendment group the same way people from Philly are sports fans,” he said. “Ostensibly, they like sports, but really they’re looking for an excuse to punch a stranger and pour beer on someone’s baby.”
Nevertheless, he argued, “It is not okay to shoot other people because you are offended by what they draw. Even if they drew it to offend you, no shooting of them. Never okay.”
That statement led to an impromptu meeting with his correspondents, who popped out from under his desk looking for loopholes.
“What if someone is creating a climate of hate and intolerance by appealing to peoples’ basest fears?” Hasan Minhaj asked.
“No. The violence just perpetuates the fear,” Stewart replied. “You can’t. Thank you.”
Stewart found himself fending off questions from not only Minhaj, but Jessica Williams, Jordan Klepper, and a returning Al Madrigal, who took the host by surprise.
“I haven’t seen you in like six months,” Stewart said, before asking, “When did you get here?”
“I’ve been down here the whole time,” Madrigal replied.
Watch the discussion, as posted online on Monday, below.Man’s former wife, now dead, had specified in will that she did not want her two children to return to live with their father
An English woman who did not want her two children to live with her ex-husband in Australia has lost a fight from beyond the grave.
The woman had written a will and said “under no circumstances” did she wish the youngsters – a girl aged eight and a boy aged seven – to return to their Australian father. Her parents and her ex-husband, who is of Aboriginal descent, became embroiled in a British family court fight over the children’s futures after she died late in 2014.
A judge ruled in favour of the woman’s ex-husband following a hearing in the family division of the high court in London. Mr Justice Roderic Wood had been told that the pair had married a decade ago and lived in Darwin, Australia.
The woman had cancer and had travelled from Australia to England for treatment with the children two years ago, when she was still married. Her then husband had agreed to the trip on the basis that she was going for treatment and the children would have a holiday. But without his knowledge, she had taken legal advice and decided that she wished to stay in England with the children.
She had signed a will and “made it clear” that she wanted the children to “have little or nothing to do with their father”, Mr Justice Roderic Wood said. The judge explained that she had written: “Under no circumstances do I wish my children to be returned to their biological father in Australia, as this would be extremely detrimental to their lives.”
She said she wanted a friend or a relative in England to bring them up – and the judge said they were in England being cared for by their grandparents. But the woman’s ex-husband said they should be returned to Australia under the terms of an international convention. He said they had been born in Australia, had grown up in Australia and that their habitual residence was in Australia. And he said he had never consented to them moving to England to live.
Mr Justice Roderic Wood agreed. The judge said the man had been misled by his ex-wife and that the children had been wrongfully retained by her in England. He said the man had not consented or acquiesced to the children starting a new life in England.
Neither child objected to returning to their father in Australia, and they had not “settled” in England, he added. He said there was no evidence that the children were told of the plans to keep them in England permanently.
“The children left Australia in July 2013 for a holiday,” the judge said. “They did not say goodbye to their friends, school or neighbours. They left many favoured objects behind them, fully intending to return.”Drowning has emerged as a mysterious cause of death amongst groups of young common starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), according to research by a team of scientists led by international conservation charity the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), published today in the journal Scientific Reports.
Image (c) Josie Latus.
Drowning as a cause of death amongst wild birds is comparatively rare and normally involves single rather than multiple animals. Starlings, however, have been observed to drown in groups of 10 or more, prompting scientists to investigate these unusual occurrences.
The team studied 12 separate incidents of starling drownings recorded between 1993 and 2013, finding that on 10 of these occasions, more than 10 birds drowned. All of these incidents, which usually involved juvenile birds of just a few months old, occurred during the spring and early summer months. In all cases, scientists found no evidence of underlying disease as a cause of death.
Dr Becki Lawson, lead author and wildlife veterinarian at ZSL, commented: "Drowning appears to be a more common cause of death amongst younger birds, as they may be inexperienced in identifying water hazards. This combined with the fact that starlings are a highly social species could potentially explain why multiple birds drown together."
"Members of the public from around Great Britain have been instrumental in bringing this unexpected cause of starling mortality to our attention by reporting these incidents. With starling numbers declining in general across the UK, we need to learn more about how and where these phenomena happen, in order to better understand why," Dr Lawson explained.
Rob Robinson, co-author and Associate Director of Research at the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) said: "Starlings are a Red-listed species in the UK, under threat from issues including loss of nesting sites and a lack of insect food sources – so much so that their population has declined 79 per cent in the past 25 years. Whilst drowning is an unexpected cause of death, it’s not thought to be a conservation threat as – fortunately – these incidents are currently relatively rare. However, we still need to better understand factors such as disease that might be contributing to this decline. We would therefore ask people to keep up the good work by reporting incidents of starling death, whatever the apparent cause, via the Garden Wildlife Health website."
Water can be a valuable resource for wild birds, particularly during the summer months. Providing water sources such as ponds or bird baths is still recommended as a way to support garden wildlife. However, experts also recommend adding a sloping exit or ramp to water features, in order to help birds and other animals easily access and exit water sources.
People across Britain who spot sick or dead wildlife in gardens can help scientists learn more about their cause by reporting these incidents via the project website.
Visit the Garden Wildlife Health website
Read the full paper
Drowning is an apparent and unexpected recurrent cause of mass mortality of Common starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) www.nature.com/articles/srep17020Lowered from a helicopter near Dong Hoi, North Vietnam, Air Force pararescueman Duane Hackney of Flint grabbed a downed pilot. Just as the two reached the door, the helicopter caught fire from an enemy round. Hackney removed his parachute, put it on the wounded pilot and pushed him out of the chopper. The airman lunged for a spare parachute just as the aircraft exploded. The chute barely had time to open before Hackney hit trees, then dropped another 80 feet and landed on a crevasse ledge. It was Feb. 6, 1967. Hackney was 19 years old. By the time he retired as a chief master sergeant in 1991, he had flown more than 200 combat missions and received more than 70 medals and awards, becoming the most decorated enlisted man in Air Force history.Now the Beecher High School graduate, who died in 1993 at age 46, is about to receive another honor: induction into the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame.
Did you know?
In addition to the late U.S. Air Force Pararescueman Duane Hackney, the Flint area has had its share of noteable aviation connections. Here are a few:
• The Flint Aviation Co. built about a dozen aircraft here from 1917-19. Flint Aviation's Sidney S. Stewart (a driving force behind the creation of Bishop Airport) and World War I aviator Lt. John L. Hunt later built a twin-engine plane here, first flown in 1930, but couldn't market it successfully as three-engine airplanes took over.
• In 1927, young Flint schoolteacher Mildred Doran was one of 10 fliers to die during a California-to-Honolulu airplane race -- a trek that would have made her the first woman to cross the Pacific in a plane. Doran was lost at sea along with pilot Augie Pedlar, who taught flying in Flint, and their navigator. Doran Tower, an unusual, windmill-shaped building raised in her memory near a small airfield in Grand Blanc Township, was razed in 1973.
• Trans-Atlantic solo flier Charles Lindbergh flew his "Spirit of St. Louis" over Flint in 1927. In an early celebrity product endorsement, Lindbergh also lent his fame to promote Flint-made AC spark plugs.
• Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, a 1928 Flint Central High School graduate who died in 1991, helped design the top-secret U-2 and SR-71 Blackbird spy planes for the U.S. military. When he retired in 1974, Lockheed Corp. said Johnson had worked on more than 40 aircraft, more than half of which were his original designs.
• At least two U.S. astronauts have local roots: Mike Bloomfield, a Lake Fenton graduate; and Donald R. McMonagle, a Hamady High School graduate. Both Air Force veterans flew space shuttle missions. Source: Flint Journal archives
He will join Charles Lindbergh, Iven Kincheloe and other aviators and astronauts with Michigan roots in the hall, at the Air Zoo museum in Portage near Kalamazoo. "Duane Hackney was a go-getter," said Dan Hamill, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who participated in a search and rescue exercise under Hackney's leadership. "You could tell this was a guy who doesn't sit around. He's deserving of any recognition." Past honors include the Air Force Cross, Silver Star, |
already accepted the trade-off in order to be connected and access the huge benefits that technology offers.
We then need to give people the ability to monitor and control the use of their information by creating a tool much like a credit file. We could then restrict the use of our information if it is being used in a way we do not like and at least how it is being used would be transparent.
There is also an opportunity to address inequality by adopting a citizen’s dividend system to our personal information, which has been described as the new oil that will fuel the future economy, perhaps through personal accounts or maybe through an information tax on the big tech giants that already are and will increasingly become monopolies.
Maybe the future of Liberalism is one in which we sacrifice key economic and personal liberal principles like breaking up monopolies and the right to privacy, in favour of a whole variety of new choices and freedoms. But a key liberal principle that cannot be sacrificed in all of this, is the right of the individual to decide.
* Darren Martin is the Press and Social Media Officer for the Hackney Lib Dems. He is a council candidate for next year's local elections.NASA warns Mayan apocalypse stories pose threat to frightened children and suicidal teenagers
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration warns that 2012 Mayan apocalypse rumors pose a real-life threat to frightened children and depressive teenagers
Some say they can't eat, or are too worried to sleep, while others say that they are suicidal, according to NASA astrobiologist David Morrison
The apocalypse rumors began with claims that Nibiru, a rogue planet discovered by the Sumerians, will crash into Earth on December 21, killing everyone
While some are throwing fantastical Doomsday countdown parties, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is issuing grave warnings that 2012 Mayan apocalypse rumors pose a real-life threat to frightened children and depressive teenagers.
David Morrison, an astrobiologist at NASA Ames Research Center, said on Wednesday that he receives a large number of emails and letters from worried citizens, most often from young people.
Some say they can't eat, or are too worried to sleep, while others say they are suicidal, Morrison said.
Doomsday fears: Fantastical rumors of the world's end are causing real-life concerns among frightened children and depressive teenagers, NASA scientists says
Ancient signs: The doomsday fears are based on misinterpretations of the Mayan calendar
He made that announcement during an online video 'hangout' event hosted by NASA on Google+, calling the propagation of rumors on the Internet to frighten children ‘evil.’
‘While this is a joke to some people and a mystery to others, there is a core of people who are truly concerned,’ Morrison said.
NASA, a United States government agency, recently set up an information page on its website explaining why the world is not going to end on December 21, 2012.
The apocalypse rumors and fears are based on misinterpretations of the Mayan calendar, as SPACE.com reported.
The rumors began with claims that Nibiru, a rogue planet discovered by the Sumerians, will crash into Earth on December 21, killing everyone, according to NASA’s website.
Rumor debunker: David Morrison, an astrobiologist at NASA Ames Research Center, says the world will not end on December 2011 Rumor originator: Zecharia Sitchin wrote in 1976 that he had found and translated Sumerian documents identifying a rogue planet that will destroy Earth
The origins of those rumors have been linked to the works of the late Azerbaijani-born author Zecharia Sitchin, who wrote in 1976 that he had found and translated Sumerian documents identifying the rogue planet. Sitchin died in 2010 at the age of 90.
There is no such planet, scientists say.
‘If Nibiru or Planet X were real and headed for an encounter with the Earth in 2012, astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye,’ NASA states on its apocalypse fear debunking page.
Other rumors -- including claims that the Earth's magnetic field will suddenly reverse and claims that the planet is heading towards a black hole at the center of the Milky Way -- were also dismissed on Wednesday.
Concerns about the planet’s demise would be better directed on more substantiated problems such as climate change, Andrew Fraknoi, an astronomer at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, California, said.
Civilization of the past: An ancient Mayan temple in Central America
Ritual: An indigenous man during a Mayan ceremony on February 21 2011 in Guatemala City, GuatemalaIt is no secret the Bitcoin Cash team wants to pursue bigger blocks in the future. While an 8MB block size is sufficient for now, there is no reason to stagnate. It seems this proposal is getting some support from nChain. This company firmly believes Bitcoin Cash is the real Bitcoin, although the opinions are divided on this front. Some interesting plans are scheduled to say the very least.
It is evident there are some big plans in motion for Bitcoin Cash. More and more companies define this altcoin as the true vision of Bitcoin. While that has yet to come true in terms of market cap, the project is very attractive. Moreover, the team has some long-term plans to make BCH even more appealing. With the support of nChain in the pocket, things will get pretty interesting very quickly. That is assuming everything on this roadmap comes true.
nChain Sides With Bitcoin Cash
One of the things standing out right away is the massive scaling. More specifically, nChain will commit Developer and Testing Groups to focus on BCH scaling. It is evident they want to create a fast, reliable, and low-fee ecosystem This is how Bitcoin is designed to look. Unfortunately, the main chain has proven unable to make that goal come true. Some upgrades are in development, but they take a very long time to roll out. Even then, there is no guarantee these solutions will even work.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect is how there will be a major protocol appeared in May of 2018. At that time, the goal is to increase the default block size limit. It seems the new size will be 16 MB. An upgrade to 32MB is also in the books, but for the next upgrade. nChain will help make this happen and they are pleased with this approach. It is an interesting decision, considering more of the Bitcoin Cash blocks aren’t even one-third full right now. There aren’t enough transactions to warrant such a big change.
Moreover, nChain will introduce extension points for new features. Upgrading the network often requires a soft or hard fork. Neither of which is ideal, for the time being. Extension points also allow for protocol upgrades which are implemented by nodes first and foremost. This is where nChain can truly shine in the coming months. Bitcoin Cash will need to evolve just like any other cryptocurrency, that much is evident. It will be interesting to see how all of this will play out.
Header image courtesy of ShutterstockThe Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution film series lands in theaters later this year. The original staff, chief director Tomoki Kyoda, screenplay writer Dai Sato, and character designer Kenichi Yoshida, have all returned. Other staff members from the past series, including character animation director Ayumi Kurashima, Shigeru Fujita, and main animators Hideki Kakita, Kenta Yokoya, Nobuaki Nagano, Shiori Kudo will also join the production.
Story: Ten years ago Adroc Thurston saved the world during the mysterious "Summer of Love" crisis. Today, his son Renton lives a mundane, melancholic life, attending army school and living with his adoptive parents in a small border town. One day his life changes dramatically when Nirvash, the world's oldest LFO suddenly appears in front of him and Eureka, a young girl around the same age as him, emerges from cockpit. The meeting is more destiny than chance; Renton and Eureka set off on an incredible adventure to discover what really happened during the first Summer of Love, how it really was the beginning of everything, and the mysterious part that both Renton and Eureka still have to play.
With the first movie, EUREKASEVEN HI-EVOLUTION 1, on it's way later this year, it's time to celebrate.
It's time for the Eureka Seven Art Contest!
We're looking for your original art featuring Eureka Seven cast. You can include one or more characters or mecha from the franchise. Any characters or mecha from Eureka Seven, Eureka Seven - good night, sleep tight, young lovers, Eureka Seven AO, or Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution is acceptable.
There's one caveat, your artwork has to include the tagline "I can fly!" and the hashtag #Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution. Bonus points for integrating the tagline and hashtag into your artwork (as opposed to just stamping it on).
From the entries finalists will be selected and ANN readers will then be vote for the winners.
Winners will receive:
Grand Prize (One Winner)
Eureka Seven Original TV Series Blu-Ray Box* 1 and Box 2
Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution Poster autographed by Tomoki Kyoda (chief director), Dai Sato (script writer) and Kenichi Yoshida (character designer).
Runner Up Prizes (Two Winners)
Eureka Seven Original TV Series Blu-Ray Box* 1 and Box 2
Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution Illustration Sheet signed by Masahiko Minami (Producer).
Consolation Prizes (Three Random Winners)
Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution Illustration Sheet signed by Masahiko Minami (Producer).
*Eureka Seven Blu Ray box sets will be released on August 29 and September 27, 2017 respectively. They will be shipped to the winners shortly after they become available.
2018-01-19 Update
Due to unforeseen circumstances, we're extending this contest!
Entries will be accepted until Wednesday, January 31st, 2018.
Please rest assured that we have not lost the previous entries, however if you wish to update a previous entry and resubmit it, you are more than welcome.
To make up for the extension, we're adding a few new prizes to the contest. A total of three new prizes will be announced over the next two weeks. These will be in addition to the prizes listed above.
First New Prize (Grand Prize Winner): Wacom Intuos Draw Tablet
How to Enter:
Contest Open World Wide, however prizes will only be shipped to the USA and Canada; Create your artwork and upload it to DeviantArt, Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution ; (we've stopped accepting Facebook) The artwork must be yours, and it must be created for this contest. If we suspect that you have lifted someone else's artwork or recycled older artwork for this contest we will disqualify you; Fill out the form below (very important); Read and agree to the terms.
Name:
E-mail address:
Mailing address: (where to send the prize)
Link to your image on DeviantArt, Twitter or Instagram:
Double-check your answers and then:
By clicking submit, you agree to the terms of the "Fine Print" listed below.
Entry Deadline : Entries must be received no later than 11:59pm EDT on Wednesday, January 31, 2018.
The Fine Print: Although unlikely to happen, Anime News Network reserves the right to cancel this contest at any time. Entrants, whether they win or not grant Anime News Network and Bandai Visual a permanent, irrevocable license to publish their artwork in relation to this contest across all media. Contest is open to any and all residents of the planet Earth and neighbour parallel dimensions, but prizes will only be shipped within the continental United States and Canada (elsewhere, you have to arrange to have it sent to someone living in the appropriate area, and they can send it to you.) Winners' names will be posted on AnimeNewsNetwork.com, their mailing addresses will be provided to our shipping agent of choice (ie: USPS) and no one else. Winners' addresses and e-mail addresses will be erased once the prizes have been shipped. Non-winners' names, e-mail and mailing addresses will not be given out to any one and will be erased when the winners have been confirmed. Non-winners will not be contacted, spammed or harassed in any way. We reserve the right to retroactively add new rules when and how we see fit. EUREKASEVEN HI-EVOLUTION ©2017-2019 BONES/Project EUREKA MOVIEThe Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) held its 2008 fourth quarter investor conference call last month. The private prison profitteers at CCA mentioned the company is suffering from the economic downtown that is facing other sectors. The most clear reason given was the budget discussions happening at the state level and the potential impact on CCA contracts.
Corporate officials were very careful not to disclose too much information in the call that could impact CCA's bottom line. Specifically, they refused to mention which states the company was in current discussions with regarding contracted capacity. We know that Texas is in the middle of it's legislative session right now. There is no doubt that CCA lobbyists are walking the halls of the state capitol in an attempt to protect it's current contracted capacity and influence any opportunity to expand private capacity at the state or local level.
On the investor call, CCA mentioned that the average compensated prison bed occupancy grew to nearly 83,000 beds in 2008 from 75,000 in 2007. Additionally, there was a 5.5% increase in average daily population of CCA capacity during 2008.
In materials relating to the call, CCA lists the facility it owns and operates in Texas. Those facilities are listed below.
Texas Facility Portfolio (as of December 31, 2008)
Facility Name
Primary Customer Design Capacity Security Level Facility Level
Compensated Occupancy 4th Quarter Bridgeport Pre-Parole Transfer Facility
State of Texas 200
Medium
Correctional
99.91%
Eden Detention Center BOP
1,422 Medium Correctional
108.05%
Houston Processing Center
ICE
905
Medium
Detention 94.89% Laredo Processing Center ICE
258
Minimum/Medium Detention
119.49%
Webb County Detention Center
USMS
480
Medium
Detention 112.04%
Mineral Wells Pre-Parole Transfer Facility
State of Texas
2,103
Minimum Correctional 95.32%
T. Don Hutto ICE
512
Non-secure
Detention
100.00%
Source: Corrections Corporation of America (Feb. 10, 2009)
In addition to CCA owned and operated facilities, the private prison company also contracts to manage facilities owned by the state of Texas -- another reason CCA lobbyists are probably running the halls of the capitol. Below is a list of those prisons as of December 2008.
Texas CCA Managed Facility Portfolio (as of December 31, 2008)
Facility Customer Capacity
Security Level
Compensated Occupancy 2008 4th Quarter
B.M. Moore Correctional Center
State of Texas 500
Minimum/Medium
99.74% Bartlett State Jail
State of Texas
1,049
Minimum/Medium 99.78% Bradshaw State Jail
State of Texas 1,980
Minimum/Medium
99.01% Dawson State Jail
State of Texas
2,216
Minimum/Medium 98.54% Diboll Correctional Center
State of Texas 518
Minimum/Medium 99.92% Lindsey State Jail
State of Texas
1,031 Minimum/Medium 99.69% Willacy State Jail
State of Texas
1,069
Minimum/Medium 99.82%
Source: Corrections Corporation of America (Feb. 10, 2009)
CCA officials also mentioned adding a potential customer in the Houston area this year. According to company records, CCA would contract with Community Education Partners to operate a non secure facility for a design capacity that is not clear. However, the alternative education facility is currently configured to house 900 juvenile detainees and could be expaned to accomadate a total of 1,400 juveniles.
According to the information above, CCA owns or manages over 13,200 beds in Texas. That is quite a number. We will keep you posted as CCA continues to update investors on it's profits.Germany has warned Israel to attend a periodic UN human rights review on Tuesday or face "severe diplomatic damage", Haaretz newspaper reported on Sunday.
Israel cut all ties with the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council in March 2012, after it announced it would probe how Israeli settlements may be infringing on the rights of Palestinians.
"On Friday, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle sent a personal letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, warning that Israel's failure to attend the Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review would cause the country severe diplomatic damage and Israel's allies around the world would be hard-pressed to help it," Haaretz wrote.
"Westerwelle's letter to Netanyahu was delivered to Emmanuel Nahshon, deputy chief of the Israeli embassy in Berlin, with the instruction that the prime minister receive it as soon as possible," the daily added, without naming its source.
Netanyahu's office had no comment when questioned by AFP.
An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that a decision on whether to attend Tuesday's Geneva meeting was likely to be taken later Sunday.
On January 29, Israel became the first country to boycott a council review of its human rights record.
But in June it said it would like to re-engage with the body, which has 47 state members.
The Jewish state has come under widespread criticism for ramping up its construction of settlements in the occupied West Bank, including in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.
Israel has long accused the Human Rights Council of singling it out, noting that it is the only country to have a specific agenda item dedicated to it at every meeting of the council, and that the body has passed an inordinate number of resolutions against it.
Short link:CHICAGO — Cubs ace Jake Arrieta continued his year-long run of brilliance on Sunday afternoon, striking out 12 batters with one walk in a 3-2 home loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The 30-year-old righty pounded the lower-half of the zone with his two-seam fastball, throwing it for 70 of his 108 pitches and generating a season-high 15 swinging strikes. The fastball averaged 95.6 miles per hour — his best velocity showing of the season — and topped out at 97.
The National League’s reigning Cy Young Award winner was locked in from the start, striking out the side in the first inning on fastballs of 96, 97, and 97, and doing so again in the second frame, this time all on breaking pitches. Arrieta’s 12 strikeouts were a season-high, and he became just the fifth pitcher since 1900 with 12 or more strikeouts in five innings or less, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
“His stuff was electric today,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon told reporters after the game.
As a team, the Cubs struck out 18 Diamondbacks hitters, trying an Arizona franchise record for most strikeouts in a nine-inning game, a total set in an April 25, 2007 game against the Padres.
On a per-batter basis, it was arguably the most overpowering performance of Arrieta’s career. With 12 strikeouts in five innings, one walk, and no home runs allowed, Arrieta’s Fielding Independent Pitching mark for the game was -1.08, the best FIP in any of his 142 career starts. He generated ground balls on 60% of his balls in play, and allowed a better-than-average exit velocity of 88.1 miles per hour.
Arrieta helped himself out at the plate, too, smacking a 1-0 fastball off opposing starter Patrick Corbin for an RBI double over the head of center fielder Michael Bourn in the second inning to drive in Dexter Fowler. The 6-foot-4 hurler now owns a.695 OPS for the season, putting him in the top five among pitchers with at least 20 plate appearances.
That RBI double, though, accounted for half of Chicago’s offense. The only other damage the Cubs could muster against the southpaw Corbin came in the form of a solo home run by Javier Baez in the sixth inning that cut Chicago’s deficit to one run. The Cubs then went hitless over the final three innings, and Arrieta’s brilliant performance was for naught.
The loss marks the end of a 10-game homestand for Chicago, in which the Cubs went 8-2. They’ll travel to Philadelphia on Monday to kick off a three-game series that marks the start of a nine-game road trip. Lefty Jon Lester will take the hill in the series opener, opposing Phillies righty Adam Morgan. Arrieta’s next scheduled start comes on Friday, June 10 against the Braves, where he will look to build off Sunday’s dominant performance.
* * *
CHICAGO — Cubs ace Jake Arrieta was knocked around on Sunday afternoon, allowing three runs in five innings on a season-high nine hits in a 3-2 home loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The 30-year-old righty labored out of the gate, requiring 10 pitches to retire leadoff man Michael Bourn before walking the second hitter, Phil Gosselin, on six pitches. Arrieta was able to escape damage in the first inning, but the Diamonbacks capitalized on Arrieta’s struggles in the second.
Chris Herrmann led off the frame with a hard-hit ground ball that rolled to a stop in the outfield grass…
…before Chris Owings smoked a jam-shot in on the hands that proved too hot for right fielder Matt Szczur to handle.
Both runners scored on an RBI double by Yasmany Tomas, and the Cubs quickly found themselves in a 2-0 hole.
Arrieta held the Diamondbacks scoreless over the next two innings, though not without running up his pitch count. No at-bat was easy, as Arrieta averaged more than 20 pitches per inning over the first four frames, entering the fifth having already thrown 82 before running into trouble again.
It became apparent that Arrieta was off his game when he failed to retire opposing pitcher Patrick Corbin, who led off the fifth with a screaming line drive to left field.
Bourn then followed up Corbin’s smash with a moonshot to second baseman Ben Zobrist that came off the bat at 67 miles per hour, the highest exit velocity recorded by StatcastTM among all hitters this season.
Bourn later scored on an RBI single by Paul Goldschmidt, putting the Cubs behind, 3-1, a deficit from which they could not recover.
“Obviously, Jake is a human. He’s going to give it up sometimes,” catcher Miguel Montero told reporters.
Arrieta lasted just five innings for the second time in three starts, tied for his shortest outings since a four-inning start in Cincinnati on August 28, 2014. Arrieta’s nine hits allowed on 10 balls in play were the most hits he’s given up in a game since a May 7, 2015 start in St. Louis.
“They had a pretty good approach,” Arrieta told reporters. “They made me show that I had the ability to throw strikes or get in the strike zone early, with the intent to get in some hitter-friendly counts. Pitch count got up.”
The loss marks the end of a 10-game homestand for Chicago, in which the Cubs went 8-2. They’ll travel to Philadelphia on Monday to kick off a three-game series that marks the start of a nine-game road trip. Lefty Jon Lester will take the hill in the series opener, opposing Phillies righty Adam Morgan. Arrieta’s next scheduled start comes on Friday, June 10 against the Braves, where he will look to right the ship after Sunday’s disappointing performance.Media playback is not supported on this device 'Brave' Brewster will get help from Liverpool - Klopp
The Football Association has complained to Fifa and Uefa after Liverpool youngster Rhian Brewster said he suffered racial abuse.
The striker says he has been targeted five times and that there were two other incidents aimed at team-mates.
Brewster, 17, who helped England lift the Under-17 World Cup, criticised football's authorities, saying there needs to be "more severe punishments".
"It's just disappointing it's still in the game," Brewster told the Guardian.
An FA statement read: "We have raised with both Uefa and Fifa a need for discrimination to be covered as part of the pre-tournament player workshops.
"We have also expressed our concern at difficulties encountered in trying to report incidents".
European football's governing body Uefa told BBC Sport they would not speak about a pending hearing. And Fifa, world football's governing body, was unavailable to comment.
But football anti-racism campaign group Kick It Out said Brewster was "brave" for speaking out and added: "It is time for the relevant authorities to act on this unacceptable behaviour."
Kick It Out's European counterpart Fare said: "No young person should have to face this abuse."
The teenager says that the incidents occurred against foreign teams while he was playing for both club and country, and that he has experienced racial abuse on the pitch since he was 12.
"If it wasn't in the game, it would be so much better," Brewster added.
"You wouldn't have to worry about playing abroad, worrying about what the fans are going to say, or what another player is going to say.
"I wouldn't have to worry that if I score they are going to call me all types of names."
'It needs more severe punishments'
Brewster won the golden boot during the Under-17 World Cup in India for top-scoring with eight goals.
He claimed a team-mate was racially abused by an opposition player during the 5-2 win over Spain in the final.
"They were telling us to win respectfully," said Brewster.
"I started laughing. I said: 'How can you tell us to win respectfully when one of your players has been racist? What about your team-mate being respectful to us?'"
Brewster alleged he was racially abused while playing for Liverpool in a Uefa Youth League game against Spartak Moscow at Prenton Park.
Uefa charged Spartak defender Leonid Mironov in December and European football's governing body said the case would be dealt with by their Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body, with a date for the hearing yet to be confirmed.
In September, Liverpool's Nigeria-born forward Bobby Adekanye was subjected to racist chants and gestures from Spartak supporters in Moscow.
Uefa charged Spartak, who had to partially close their academy stadium for their next Uefa Youth League fixture, leaving 500 seats empty.
Brewster added: "Everyone stands behind the anti-racism banners" but "it still happens".
"To be honest, I don't think there is any point. It needs more severe punishments," he said.
Klopp praises 'brave' Brewster
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp praised Brewster for being "brave enough to do what he did".
"I'm really long in this sport and never faced a situation like that," he added. "You think it doesn't happen but obviously it happens all the time.
"It's such an important thing and I really can't believe people still have these thoughts in their mind. It's so strange in this world that it happens.
"We needed a 17-year-old boy to say it is still happening and it happens all the time.
"It's not a situation where you want a 17-year-old to be in but if it's like this he needs help and we give it to him of course."
The alleged incidents
In the Guardian article, the incidents of racial abuse experienced by Brewster were:IRANIAN INVESTORS ARE pouring money into Kish island in the Gulf, hoping its white sand beaches, coral reefs and more relaxed Islamic rules, could make it a major tourism destination.
From the pristine beaches of Kish, it is only 200 kilometres across the water to Dubai — and it is the booming city state’s tens of thousands of wealthy expats that the investors are hoping to lure.
The wide, palm tree-lined boulevards that circle the island of 100 square kilometres (nearly 40 square miles) are full of top-end cars, including luxury American models.
The buildings are modern, the hotels comfortable and new shopping centres are sprouting everywhere.
Diners pack late-night, roof-top restaurants. Women sit with cigarette in hand, wearing colourful headscarves pushed right back to reveal plenty of make-up and expensive hair-dos.
During the day, the men walk the long jetties in bermuda shorts — forbidden in most parts of Iran. Under the warm autumn sun, one man is even shirtless.
A motorboat zooms past, techno music blaring, with men and women sitting together.
Kish is just off Iran and across the gulf from Dubai Source: Google Maps
In many ways, it looks as if little has changed since the days when the shah and his family holidayed here before the Islamic revolution of 1979. The green and white cars of the morality police are rarely seen.
Still, even though Islamic rules are less strict on Kish, they are still in force — creating a major obstacle for investors hoping to attract Western expats for short breaks from Dubai.
There are no bars or clubs — or any alcohol at all — while men and women must use separate beaches, splitting up families.
‘Halal tourism’
Massoud Gilani, an investment consultant who divides his time between Dubai and Kish, tries to put an optimistic spin on the issue.
Source: Shutterstock/Kingsly
Expats “can drink and enjoy themselves in Dubai and relax here,” he said, rather hopefully.
Iran is in the midst of a tourism boom, thanks to the efforts of the current moderate government under President Hassan Rouhani to rebuild ties with the West.
Visitor numbers have leapt from 2.2 million a year in 2009 to 5.2 million in 2015, the government says, and an even bigger increase is expected this year.
But most Westerners are drawn by Iran’s ancient cities and historical treasures, rather than a beach break.
Ali Jirofti, one of the managers of Kish’s free trade zone, recognises that the island’s best hope is to focus on Muslim holidaymakers.
The priority is “high-end halal tourism,” he said.
Kish already attracts some 1.8 million visitors per year, mostly Tehranis hoping to escape not just social strictures but also the horrendous traffic and pollution of the capital.
Shopping is another big draw — Kish was the first and most significant of seven free-trade zones set up during the 1990s to attract investment and help with the import of consumer goods.
There are now some 40 hotels, and US-style malls are everywhere.
The company also wants to double the number of international flights by Kish Air and create a car-free “ecological paradise” on the nearby island of Hendorabi, where an airport, port and hotel have already been built.
Investors are also pushing health tourism, with two top-end hospitals already running on the island, boasting leading doctors, particularly plastic surgeons.
“Forty more luxury hotels of four to five stars are under construction,” said Jirofti.
“Our aim is to reach 2.6 million tourists within 10 years.”
- © AFP, 2016ST. LOUIS - Both Brian Elliott and Jake Allen will be sporting new masks when the season begins.
In fact, they’ll likely be breaking them in Friday when the team skates in its first on-ice practice in training camp.
The masks were designed by Marcus Power and painted by Jason Livery of Head Strong Grafx. The company has worked with both Elliott and Allen before on previous mask projects.
ELLIOTT'S MASK
If Elliott's new mask looks familiar, it should. The netminder has refreshed the angry moose design he introduced in 2013.
Elliott's moose is painted in shades of white, blue and gold. It's incredibly detailed too, with fierce eyes glaring down opposing shooters. In addition, a subtle Blue Note is painted on the chin.
Elliott has featured a "Mr. Moose" character on the back of his masks for years as a tribute to Owen Scott, who died in 2005. Scott was a family friend and a champion moose caller.
ALLEN'S MASK
Allen’s new mask heavily dips into the tradition of the Blues and features logos from several eras in team history.
“(It’s) a more old school, vintage, cleaner look," Allen said Thursday. "It has some stripes, some old Blue Note logos worn in the past and the (current) one as well."
The mask also features several music notes, Allen's No. 34 on the chin and his patented snake on the back plate, which can by seen by clicking here.
"Whatever you want, (Head Strong Grafx) gets it done," Allen said. "They do a great job. Very clean, very detailed."ATLANTA, Georgia — Mitt Romney accused President Barack Obama on Wednesday of fostering a “web of dependency,” amid a sharpening electoral battle over their competing visions for US society.
Under attack due to videotaped comments dismissing 47 percent of Americans as looking for government handouts, the Republican presidential nominee defended his views as the path to prosperity.
“My course for the American economy will encourage private investment and personal freedom,” Romney wrote in an opinion piece in USA Today. “Instead of creating a web of dependency, I will pursue policies that grow our economy and lift Americans out of poverty.”
He doubled down on the concept at a high-end Atlanta fundraiser, the third finance event in two days in which he has attacked Obama for embracing a more socialist-styled role for government.
America “does not work by a government saying ‘become dependent on government, become dependent upon redistribution.’ That will kill the American entrepreneurship that’s lifted our economy over the years,” Romney told donors here.
“The question of this campaign is not who cares about the poor and the middle class?” Romney went on.
“I do. He does. The question is who can help the poor and the middle class? I can! He can’t!”
Romney trails in the polls with just 48 days to go before the November 6 elections. Deficits in key battlegrounds like Ohio and Florida are especially worrying for the Republican challenger as they could decide the race.
Romney has acknowledged that his bombshell comments at a May fundraiser, which were secretly videotaped and then made public this week by Mother Jones magazine, were badly phrased.
But the former Massachusetts governor and his campaign have stepped up their attacks on social welfare “entitlements” as they seek to frame a philosophical debate over the choices facing Americans.
In doing so they have seized on a 14-year-old audio recording from 1998 in which Obama, then a state senator in Illinois, can be heard advocating for government-backed wealth redistribution.
“The trick is figuring out how do we structure government systems that pool resources and hence facilitate some redistribution because I actually believe in redistribution, at least at a certain level, to make sure everybody’s got a shot,” Obama says in the audio.
The White House responded Wednesday by saying Romney’s camp was adopting “desperate” tactics that were examples of a campaign “having a very bad day or a very bad week.”
“You sometimes witness an effort — that seems desperate — to change the subject. We might be witnessing that now,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said.
Romney, who has been holding a series of fundraisers in California, Utah and Texas, heads to key swing state Florida on Wednesday to hold his first public campaign event since late last week.
It has been an awkward period for the nominee, who has fended off a backlash from Republicans worried about his gaffe-plagued campaign.
Last week, Romney set off a furor by criticizing the administration as being too sympathetic to Islamic militants just as the nation learnt that its ambassador to Libya and three other citizens had been killed in an attack on the Benghazi consulate.
Release of the fundraising video, and reports of internal campaign disarray, plunged team Romney into deeper turmoil, but their decision to embrace the anti-dependency message appears to have energized the campaign.
“Mitt Romney’s vision for America is an opportunity society, where free people and free enterprise thrive and success is admired and emulated, not attacked,” Romney campaign manager Matt Rhoades said in a statement.
Romney has also unleashed running mate Paul Ryan and several surrogates to help frame the economic debate as the campaign heads into the home stretch.
“Mitt Romney and I are not running to redistribute the wealth. Mitt Romney and I are running to help Americans create wealth,” Ryan told supporters at a campaign stop in the battleground state of Virginia.Hackers have leaked personal and private photos of top celebrities in what is being labeled as 3.0 leak. This time, the stars joining the list of targeted celebrities having their private accounts hacked and explicit content leaked are Twilight’s Kristen Stewart, Miley Cyrus, Katharine McPhee, Amy Willerton, Danielle Lloyd, Golf superstar Tiger Woods and his ex-girlfriend Lindsey Vonn, a US Olympic gold medal-winning skier.
Other than intimate images, hackers have also leaked private clips of Willerton, Vonn, and Lloyd showing these celebrities in their intimate moments. All this content has been leaked on a celeb gossip site.
In a 1:41 minutes clip, Willerton on a boat and in the next frame, she can be seen in a bathtub. In a 37 seconds clip, Vonn can be seen in a bathtub while another clip shows Lloyd in her intimate moment with her male partner.
As for the leaked photos, Stewart can be seen posing with her girlfriend Stella Maxwell. In Miley’s case, as expected, images are pretty graphics while it’s quite unfortunate for Woods and Vonn to have their photos leaked since they have been separated since 2015. However, reports are that the pictures were leaked from Vonn’s person smartphone.
According to the official statement from Vonn, “Lindsey will take all necessary and appropriate legal action to protect and enforce her rights and interests. She believes the individuals responsible for hacking her private photos as well as the websites that encourage this detestable conduct should be prosecuted to the fullest extent under the law.”
Woods, on the other hand, is also furious about the leak and threatening to sue the sites hosting the couple’s pictures if they are not removed immediately, reports TMZ.
This is the fifth time this year that private photos of celebrities have been leaked. Here is a list of people who had their privacy invaded by hackers:
WWE |
, Palestinians in Syria were subjected to the cruelest forms of torture and deprivation at the hands armed gangs and the ruling Syrian regime. It is hard to find one Palestinian family in Syria that has not been affected."
According to the reports, Syrian authorities are withholding the bodies of more than 456 Palestinians who died under torture in prison. No one knows exactly where the bodies are being held or why the Syrian authorities are refusing to hand them over to the relatives.
Even more disturbing are reports suggesting that Syrian authorities have been harvesting the organs of dead Palestinians. Testimonies collected by some Palestinians point to a Syrian government-linked gang that has been trading in the organs of the victims, who include women and children. Another 1,100 Palestinians have been languishing in Syrian prisons since the beginning of the war, more than five years ago. The Syrian authorities do not provide any statistics about the number of prisoners and detainees; nor do they allow human rights groups or the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit prisons and detention centers.
The most recent report about the plight of Palestinians in Syria states that 3,420 Palestinians (455 of them females) have been killed since the beginning of the war. The report, published by the Action Group For Palestinians of Syria, also reveals that nearly 80,000 Palestinians have fled to Europe, while 31,000 fled to Lebanon, 17,000 to Jordan, 6,000 to Egypt, 8,000 to Turkey and 1,000 to the Gaza Strip. The report also mentions that 190 Palestinians died as a result of malnutrition and lack of medical care because their refugee camps and villages are under siege by the Syrian army and armed groups.
Palestinians flee Yarmouk refugee camp, near Damascus, after fierce fighting in September 2015. (Image source: RT video screenshot)
Alarmed by the indifference of the international community to their plight, Palestinians in Syria have resorted to social media to be heard in the hope that decision-makers in the West or the UN Security Council, obsessed as they are with Israeli settlements, might pay attention to their suffering. The latest campaign on social media, entitled, "Where are the detainees?" refers to the unknown fate of those Palestinians who have gone missing after being taken into custody by Syrian authorities. The organizers of the campaign revealed that in the past few years, 54 Palestinian minors have died under torture in Syrian prisons. The organizers noted that hundreds of prisoners and detainees, after they were apprehended by the Syrian authorities, remain unaccounted for.
Another report revealed that more than 80% of the Palestinians living in Syria have lost their jobs and businesses since the beginning of the civil war. The report added that to support their families, many Palestinian children have been forced to quit school and search for work.
Yet to the international community and Western media, these figures and reports about the Palestinians in Syria are ho-hum at best. The Arab countries care nothing about the Palestinians in Syria who are being killed, tortured and starved to death. In the Arab world, human rights violations are not news. When human rights are respected in an Arab country, that is news.
The Palestinian leadership in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are also blind to the suffering of their people in the Arab world, specifically in Syria. These so-called leaders are too busy ripping out each other's political throats to be bothered with the welfare of their people, being smothered under the undemocratic and repressive regimes of the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. Such leaders are more concerned about President Donald Trump's intention to the move the US embassy to Jerusalem than about their own people. In the past two weeks, Mahmoud Abbas and his officials have not missed an opportunity to warn that moving the US embassy to Jerusalem would spark unrest in the Middle East. The killing, torture and displacement of Palestinians in an Arab country seem not to be on their radar.
It remains to be seen whether the UN Security Council will get its priorities straight and hold an emergency session to discuss the murderous campaign against Palestinians in Syria. Perhaps, somehow, this will overtake "settlement construction" as a topic worthy of world condemnation.Over the course of two decades, the federal government’s Refugee Resettlement Program has forcibly infused the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota with a large dose of Somali culture, and the transition has not always been smooth.
Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., told WND that while many of the Somali transplants have been hard-working citizens, the experiment has been costly for her state. And too many Somalis remain dependent on public assistance.
“We have the largest population of Somalis in the United States, and Somalia is a failed state. It is based on piracy for ransom and fraud,” Bachmann said.
She said the war-torn east African country is in a state of desperation, with an economy that more closely resembles the stone-age than the information age.
“And so tens of thousands of Somalis have been lifted out of a completely different situation and dropped into Minnesota,” Bachmann said. “They have been brought here in many cases by Catholic Charities and Lutheran Social Services and made homes here, but the problems of radicalization have come to Minnesota as well.”
While any refugee entering a new country could be expected to need some temporary government aid, Bachmann said problems arise with the culture of dependency that many Somali families have settled into. There have been ongoing issues with radicalization as well, as young Somalis have been targeted by preachers of Islamic jihad, drawing them into foreign terrorist networks such as al-Shabab in Somalia and ISIS in Syria.
Two Somali men from Minneapolis-St. Paul have died recently fighting for ISIS, and several Somali women have reportedly left their homes in the area to join ISIS. The FBI says up to 25 Somalis have left to fight with Islamic militants in the Middle East since 2007.
“That’s not to say every Somali that has come into Minnesota is a bad person,” Bachmann said. “Our son has taught them at a charter school in the area and worked with many families that are fine people who want to see their children have a better life.”
Bachmann, along with local activists in the state, say the federal government should not resettle refugees into communities without full disclosure of the costs to taxpayers. She believes the feds should also receive permission from elected leaders before dropping refugees into communities.
“I do believe localities and states should have a say in whether refugees come to their community. There was no opportunity to weigh in. When people come from areas of destabilization, the destabilization tends to come in with them,” Bachmann told WND.
“We’ve seen those problems before in Minnesota, we’ve had young men wielding machetes in the streets, we’ve had a number of demands for foot baths at community colleges and demands that food be changed at various public schools to be in accord with Islamic tradition. There’s just a real concern that the way of living of Somalia is being imposed on Minnesota as opposed to them adapting to the American way of life.”
The resettlement program gets its authority from the Refugee Act of 1980, sponsored by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy and former Sen. Joe Biden, and is overseen by the U.S. Department of State. The act allows the refugees to become U.S. citizens within five years. Once here, the refugees are allowed to bring in extended family members through the State Department’s Family Reunification program.
The federal government chose Minnesota, along with Maine, Ohio and a few other states, as hotspots for Somali refugees fleeing civil war in their homeland following the fall of the Soviet-backed Somali regime in 1992.
But 22 years later, the civil war still rages in Somalia. And the Somali refugees keep coming to Minnesota, at an average rate of about 2,000 a year. The federal government chooses places like Minnesota and Maine because of their generous social-welfare programs and strong network of Christian charities ready to help with everything from providing translators to lining up housing, education and Medicaid – all the things that are needed to begin a new life in a new country.
The charities – Lutheran Social Services, Catholic Charities and World Relief Minnesota – work with money largely provided by federal government grants.
Debra Anderson, a working mother employed in the health-care industry in Minneapolis, said she became concerned two years ago after she bought her house in the northeast quadrant of the city and found out a second mosque was proposed nearby.
“I basically live and work in the heart of the beast, and shortly after I moved in there was a proposal for another mosque in my neighborhood,” said Anderson, who is a member of American Congress for Truth. “There are parts of southern Minneapolis that look like Somalia. We have one district in south Minneapolis that was estimated to be 40 percent east African, and they have a pretty strong political hold here.”
She’d heard that Islam was a “religion of peace” but then also heard that many adherents believed in violent jihad.
Rather than pick one side or the other, she said she got a copy of the Quran and started reading. She also started reading the writings of Islamic scholars such as the late Muslim Brotherhood leader Sayyid Qutb, author of “Milestones” and other books before he was executed in 1966 for plotting the overthrow of Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser.
“What I found was jaw-dropping,” she said of the Muslim teachings.
Then she discovered that the neighboring town of St. Anthony had rejected a mosque on zoning grounds and was being sued by the U.S. Department of Justice at the behest of the Council on American Islamic Relations, an organization with known ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.
“We have a very aggressive CAIR chapter in Minnesota,” Anderson said.
The local Muslim community is also active in social media, with many closed groups on Facebook, and a few that are open, such as the Minnesota Muslim Community page. The group posts events, such as a Somali youth peace rally that was held late last year in Minneapolis, and also updates on proposed laws that are seen as discriminating against Muslims.
The lawsuits and threats of lawsuits loom over city councils whenever a mosque or Islamic school is proposed, and Anderson described the climate as one that can, at times, border on intimidation. Socially, the Somali community makes little effort to assimilate, she said.
“Their doctrine tells them not to befriend the infidel because of their frame of mind. It’s described in Qutb’s book ‘Milestones,’ which gives great insight into their view of the Jahiliyyah (or those in a state of ignorance of divine guidance),” Anderson said. “I want to respect their freedom of worship, but at the same time, because I’ve read the text and I’ve read their luminaries, Islam is Islam and, if you read Milestones, he says if you’re not producing an Islamic society like the seventh century community that Muhammad created then you are apostate.
“So even though they may have more freedoms here at this time the text is still telling them to immigrate, to plant seeds of utopia and that is to create a global Islamic caliphate.”
Anderson sees those seeds as the mosques, Islamic centers and schools that have popped up all over Minneapolis-St. Paul and even in outlying areas such as St. Cloud and Bloomington. She looks at European cities that have slowly become majority Muslim and fears her city could be in for more changes as more Somalis pour in from the federal refugee program.
“I want to respect people to have their freedom to worship but once they gain numbers, the text directs them,” Anderson said. “All we have to do is look to Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan to see what Shariah law brings, and to me it is like the mirror, the exact opposite of the Judeo-Christian realm, but I’m fascinated by it because we say they’re oppressed but that’s what they say about us, that they have been given the role to set the world free of immorality and corruption.
“Just the way they treat their women we see as oppressive so it definitely is a clash of cultures, and that’s why I feel compelled to educate people,” she continued, “because I don’t want my three daughters to have to deal with this. I understand modesty, but I’d rather lose my head than ever have to surrender to Shariah law.”
Anderson said she was further perturbed when she found out that the faith-based organizations from the Catholic and Lutheran churches were getting paid by the federal government to provide their “charity” work for the Somalis.
World Relief Minnesota has been working recently with two other evangelical Christian groups – Transform Minnesota and Immigrant Hope – to host all-day training sessions for church volunteers, teaching them how to complete paperwork in anticipation of an amnesty declaration from President Obama.
Anderson says Marxist ideas are deeply embedded in some of the church-led charities.
Noted Christian socialist Jim Wallace, editor of Sojourner’s magazine, spoke at a G92 Immigration Conference at Cedarville University in 2011 along with the director of Immigrant Hope.
“So it’s really obvious that Marxist ideology has infiltrated some of our faith-based organizations, and they’re here training church volunteers,” Anderson said. “It’s redistribution of our wealth on a global scale. We’re still sending money there (to Africa), but it’s being redistributed here as well, big time.”
Another alarm bell went off for activists like Anderson earlier this year when Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges showed up for a meeting with Somali Muslims wearing a full hijab.
“It’s getting really bad,” Anderson said.
Bachmann said that while her state’s experiment with creating a “Little Mogadishu” does not appear to be ending any time soon, she hopes the Somali community will learn to be more self-sufficient.
“Minnesota has been extremely generous in terms of housing, food stamps, education, in addition to a plethora of social welfare programs,” she said. “People in Minnesota are extremely generous and welcoming. But I also think most people in this state believe that anyone, whether they’re coming from Canada, Norway, or Somalia, most Minnesotans believe people should come into the country and learn to speak the English language and learn American history and the Constitution and our form of government and agree that they will not become a burden on the taxpayer and be able to provide for their families and all aspect of their lives.”
“There can’t be an expectation of this continuing government aid throughout their lives,” Bachmann added.
She said that up until the early 1960s, when immigration laws changed, foreign nationals “had to prove they were healthy, that they had a bit of money in their pocket, that they would not be a burden to the taxpayer and that they had a sponsor, that they would follow American law, that they would learn the English language at their own expense and they had to be willing to abide by American values. Now is very different.”
Bachmann said too many foreign nationals today enter the U.S. from any number of countries and demand that the U.S. change and adapt itself to their cultures.
“That is wrong,” she said. “The U.S. takes in over 1 million foreign nationals a year. Every other country of the world added together would bring in fewer immigrants than the U.S. alone does in one year’s time. We are extremely generous in adding to our numbers, and that’s just through legal immigration. Anywhere from 1 to 2 million more come from illegal immigration.”
Saad Samatar, a Somali who serves as chair of the Horn Development Center, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit, told Mint Press recently that the Somali community is still struggling to find stability.
“The family structure is broken down,” he told the news site. “Single mothers are running the families, thus they can’t control the boys. [T]he father figure is missing in the equation of the Somali family.”
In recent years, there have been many changes — both socially and politically — in Somalia and in the U.S. It’s now a race for many young people to catch up with developments in both countries, fit into both systems, and simultaneously satisfy the needs of both countries.
“They are part of this country [the U.S.], but fighting in other countries,” Samatar told Mint Press. “For many of these teenagers, they are being indoctrinated and brainwashed by some of the extremist groups.”
The escalation of Somali refugees being resettled in the United States can be seen in the graph below.The Siege of Breslau, also known as the Battle of Breslau, was a three-month-long siege of the city of Breslau in Lower Silesia, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland), lasting to the end of World War II in Europe. From 13 February 1945 to 6 May 1945, German troops in Breslau were besieged by the Soviet forces which encircled the city as part of the Lower Silesian Offensive Operation. The German garrison's surrender on 6 May was followed by the surrender of all German forces two days after the battle.
Background [ edit ]
In August 1944, Adolf Hitler declared the city of Breslau to be a fortress (Festung), ordering that it must be defended at all costs. He named Karl Hanke (Gauleiter of Silesia since 1941) to be the city's "Battle Commander" (Kampfkommandant).
On 19 January 1945, the civilian population was forced to leave (many thousands died in the bitter cold of the makeshift evacuation;[3] many more arrived in Dresden [3] (to be intensively bombed a few weeks later). The German Army, aided by the Home Guard (Volkssturm) and slave labourers, then turned the city into a military fortress: Breslau was to be capable of a lengthy defense against the advancing Soviets. A large area of the city center was demolished and turned into an airfield. Late in January, a regiment of Hitler Youth (Hitler-Jugend) was sent to reinforce the garrison of Festung Breslau. SS regiment "Besslein" (which included volunteers from France and the Netherlands) also took part.
On 2 February 1945, Hanke presented colors to the newly formed Home Guard units in Breslau. On the same day, Major General Hans von Ahlfen became the garrison commander of Fortress Breslau. Ahlfen, who commanded for only three weeks, had been personally selected by the Commander-in-Chief of Army Group Center (Heeresgruppe Mitte), Ferdinand Schörner.
Prelude [ edit ]
The capture of a bridgehead on the west bank of the Oder by the 1st Ukrainian Front during the Vistula–Oder Offensive allowed the Soviet forces to encircle Breslau. Breslau fell in the sector of the Soviet 6th Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Vladimir Gluzdovsky. Gluzdovsky, who had been relieved of his army command for his performance in positional fighting in eastern Belarus during the winter of 1943–1944, commanded the 6th Army on a secondary attack axis during the Vistula–Oder Offensive. Marshal of the Soviet Union Ivan Konev, commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, in a 31 January directive, ordered the 6th Army to attack the rear of the German forces defending Breslau, and to capture the city within four days of the beginning of the attack, part of the Lower Silesian Offensive. The Breslau attack was not a priority for Konev, as the same directive also tasked his troops with reaching the Elbe and capturing Berlin. However, the capture of Breslau would secure a crucial road junction, ensuing uninterrupted supply of the front.
The start of the attack of the 6th Army was delayed for two days, from 6 to 8 February, by the overstretched supply lines of the front, which resulted from the advances it made during the Vistula–Oder Offensive. Due to a lack of rail transport, fuel and ammunition had to be transported from right bank of the Vistula to the Oder bridgeheads by road. Despite securing vehicles from the units defending the bridgehead, the 6th Army scraped together just 170 vehicles to transport 350 tons of ammunition and 180 tons of fuel. By the morning of 8 February, artillery and mortar units had enough ammunition for between two and five units of fire and infantry guns enough for between one and a half and two units of fire. The only tank support for the army was provided by the 7th Guards Mechanized Corps of Lieutenant General Ivan Korchagin, which late on 7 February fielded 186 T-34 tanks, and 21 each of the ISU-122 and SU-76 self-propelled gun, and the SU-85 tank destroyer – almost at its authorized strength. Only six T-34s were listed as under repair.
Encirclement of Breslau [ edit ]
Nearly an hour of artillery bombardment, begun at 08:35 on 8 February, preceded the start of the 6th Army attack. Elements of the 7th Guards Mechanized Corps crossed to the bridgehead, accompanied by the artillery bombardment, and by 12:00 its first echelon, which consisted of the 24th Guards Mechanized and 57th Guards Tank Brigades, outran their infantry support and advanced into the rear of the German defenses. The two forward brigades ran into fierce German resistance on the railway line from Breslau to the southwest on 10 and 11 February, with the 25th Guards Mechanized Brigade and 57th Guards bogged down at the Domslau station and Koberwitz village and station, respectively. They suffered heavy losses in tanks and men to German tanks and artillery, as well as panzerfausts fired from house basements. Combining their attacks, the 25th and 57th Guards broke through between Domslau and Koberwitz, but were stopped. During the same days, the corps' 24th and 26th Guards Mechanized Brigades, holding defensive positions, were struck by a German tank counterattack between Gross-Baudis and Kostenblut; the latter attempted to break through to Breslau and prevent the encirclement, although the failure of the Soviet attack soon made further counterattacks meaningless.
The 24th and 26th Guards Brigades were relieved by the 309th Rifle Division, fresh from the fighting at Liegnitz, early on 12 February. The bringing up of infantry units strengthened the Soviet defense on the outer edge of the partial encirclement. Another German counterattack, involving the 8th and 19th Panzer Divisions as well as Volkssturm and flak units, began at 18:20 on that day, lasting until 13 February; this extended from Kostenblut to Kanth, to the east of the 10–11 February counterattack as the former was the narrowest part of the encirclement, where the outer and inner rings were separated by only 30 kilometers. It achieved temporary success with the capture of Gross Peterwitz, but was soon pushed back to its jumping-off positions by a Soviet counterattack on its flank. The German situation further deteriorated with the approach of the 273rd Rifle Division, which approached the fighting from the west and north, pushing the German forces further to the south and taking up defensive positions on the line of Strigauer Wasser river, securing the outer encirclement ring. At 14:00 on 13 February, the 309th Rifle Division, after repulsing the German counterattack, began advancing on Breslau from the southwest.
At 08:00 on 13 February a patrol from the corps' 25th Guards Mechanized Brigade discovered a self-propelled artillery regiment of the 5th Guards Army in Rotsurben, a road junction to the south of Breslau. The encirclement was closed when the brigade's 12th Tank Regiment linked up near Rotsurben with the 252nd Tank Brigade of the 31st Tank Corps of the 5th Guards Army. A last breakout attempt was made on the night of 13–14 February by elements of the 269th Infantry Division and other units trapped in Breslau, who attacked the inner ring of the encirclement. Simultaneously, the 19th Panzer Division again attacked the outer ring, with both German forces meeting in the area of Tinz. Two brigades of the 7th Guards Mechanized Corps were involved in heavy night fighting, only restoring their positions by 11:00 on 14 February. The brief corridor created by the German attack enabled the escape of civilians trapped in Breslau in addition to the German soldiers, according to German historian Rolfe Hinze.
Siege [ edit ]
The infantry units of the 6th Army consolidated the advances of the 7th Guards Mechanized Corps between 14 and 16 February, solidifying the inner ring of the siege. The 7th Guards Mechanized Corps was withdrawn on the night of 15 February due to a German counterattack in the Strigau area; by the evening of 14 February, Korchagin's command was down to 108 T-34s, nine ISU-122s, seventeen SU-85s, and thirteen SU-76s, showing its heavy losses in the encirclement of Breslau. In preparation for the transfer of the 5th Guards Army to another sector, its 294th Rifle Division, advancing on Breslau from the east, was transferred to the 6th Army. The latter also received the 77th Fortified Region from the 52nd Army, which defended the northern bank of the Oder. Beginning on 18 February, the 273rd Rifle Division and the reserve regiments of the 6th Army began relieving the units of the 5th Guards Army to the southeast of Breslau; the composition of the 6th Army remained unchanged for the rest of the siege. The 6th Army besieged the city with the 22nd and 74th Rifle Corps, and the 77th Fortified Region, as well as other smaller units. 50,000 German troops defended the city.[7]
Meanwhile, 22nd Rifle Corps commander Major General Fyodor Zakharov ordered his unit at midday on 14 February to capture the southwestern part of the city and advance to the city center by the end of the day. However, the corps' attacks on the Breslau outskirts in the following days proved unsuccessful. The 309th overcame the Lohbrück–Opperau line, while the 218th Rifle Division took Krietern; the German resistance rendered a speedy advance to the city center in a day unfeasible. The 218th began an attack on the key railway embankment in the southwest of the city on 18 February and captured it on the next day, bringing the Soviet forces within two miles of the city center. The 667th Rifle Regiment of the 218th advanced into the Südpark but was forced to retreat back to the railway line on 20 February by a counterattack of the 55th Volkssturm Battalion, made up of Hitler Youth, supported by the garrison's assault guns. An exaggerated account of the Hitler Youth counterattack was published in the Nazi propaganda newspaper Völkischer Beobachter in an attempt to show the resolution of the defenders.
Failing to storm the city, Gluzdovsky paused to prepare a throughly planned attack. According to the plan prepared by his headquarters on 18 February and approved by Konev a day later, the main attack on the city would be delivered from the south along a two-and-a-half kilometer front from Oltashin to the Südpark with the 273rd and 218th Divisions, reinforced by two regiments from the 309th, forming the shock group; these units comprised the army's strongest divisions in terms of manpower, with the 218th and 309th numbering little more than 5,000 men and the 273rd with slightly above 5,400. Despite being at about half of the authorized strength like many Red Army units by this point in the war, these divisions were well equipped with submachine guns, reflecting Soviet infantry tactics, but had a shortage of heavy and light machine guns. Artillery totalling 572 guns was massed in the attack sector. A secondary attack was ordered on both banks of the Oder to eliminate the German defenses that extended along the river to the northwest. By the end of the first day of the attack, the shock group was planned to advance to the city center and reach the Stadtgraben, the old city moat. Another day was given for the storming of the central island as well as the university, post office, and telegraph. The intelligence directorate of the 6th Army estimated German strength at 18,060, with 141 guns and 45 tanks and assault guns at its disposal. To support the assault, the 280 mm mortars of the 315th Battalion were transferred from the northern sector to the southern sector of the 22nd Rifle Corps. The plan assumed that the forces involved would be ready by 20 February.
For the attack, one assault battalion in each regiment was specially formed for urban combat, totalling ten in the entire shock group, including the 22nd Rifle Corps reserve. Each assault battalion was ordered to include a rifle battalion, two 152 mm guns, and either two ISU-152 self-propelled guns or 203 mm guns, a battery of 76 mm guns, and a sapper group with demolitions, a sapper group with obstacle clearing equipment, a group of backpack flamethrowers, a group of anti-tank riflemen, a sniper group, a machine gunner group, and a group of soldiers armed with captured Panzerfausts. For example, the three assault battalions of the 273rd totalled 872 men, with roughly half armed with submachine guns. The ISU-152s were drawn from the understrength 349th Guards Heavy Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment, Gluzdovsky's only armored force, which fielded eight combat-ready self-propelled guns with six under repair on 19 February. The 6th Army headquarters further recommended that subordinate commanders form assault groups integrating single rifle companies with artillery – operating in direct fire mode – and sappers to capture fortified strongpoints.
On the night of 21–22 February, the forces of the 6th Army regrouped and took up jumping off positions for the impending assault. At this time, the 273rd had only two regiments present as the third was still marching into the city from the Strigau area. The divisions of the 22nd Rifle Corps advanced in the traditional manner – two rifle regiment in the first echelon and the third in the second. The assault began at 08:00 with an artillery preparation of two hours and forty minutes. Between 22 and 23 February the 315th Battalion fired 113 280 mm shells, at a relatively short range of four to 5.5 kilometers.
The Siege of Breslau consisted of destructive house-to-house street fighting. The city was bombarded to ruin by artillery of the Soviet 6th Army, as well as the Soviet 2nd Air Army and the Soviet 18th Air Army,[citation needed] and the destruction caused by the German defenders.[15]
On 15 February, the German Luftwaffe started an airlift to the besieged garrison. For 76 days, until 1 May, the Luftwaffe made more than 2,000 sorties with supplies and food. More than 1,638 short tons (1,486 t) of supplies were delivered. On 2 March, Infantry General Hermann Niehoff replaced Ahlfen as garrison commander. Niehoff held the position until the final surrender on 6 May 1945. On 22 February, 6th Army occupied three suburbs of Breslau, and during the next day, the 6th Army troops were in the southern precincts of the city itself. By 31 March there was heavy artillery fire into the north, south, and west of Breslau suburbs. On 4 May the clergy of Breslau — Pastor Hornig, Dr. Konrad, Bishop Ferche, and Canon Kramer — demanded that Niehoff surrender the town. Hanke ordered Niehoff not to have any further dealings with the clergy.[16]
Local German communists called for an end to the resistance of the city in flyers. In a pamphlet titled the "Freiheits-Kämpfer" (English: Freedom fighters) it called for an end to the fighting and told the local population "not to be afraid of the Red Army who came as liberators". Seventeen of the members of the resistance group were executed on Gauleiter Hanke's orders.[17]
Surrender [ edit ]
Festung Breslau, 6 May 1945 Delegation of German officers walking to negotiations for capitulation of, 6 May 1945
On 6 May, after 82 days of siege and shortly before the unconditional surrender of Germany in World War II, General Niehoff surrendered Festung Breslau to the Soviets. During the siege, German forces lost 6,000 dead and 23,000 wounded defending Breslau, while Soviet losses were possibly as high as 60,000.[19] Civilian deaths amounted to as many as 80,000. Breslau was the last major city in Germany to surrender, capitulating only two days before the end of the war in Europe. Gauleiter Hanke had fled to Prague by the time of the city's surrender and was killed soon after.[15]
Aftermath [ edit ]
Villa Colonia at Rapacki Street 14 (former Kaiser-Friedrich-Strasse), where the instrument of surrender of the Breslau garrison was written
Not only because of Soviet aerial and artillery bombardment, but also as a result of the self-destructive actions of the SS and the NSDAP, 80 to 90 per cent of Breslau was destroyed... after the Soviet capture of the Gandauer airfield, the Wehrmacht destroyed many houses and three churches to build a provisional airstrip 200 to 400 meters wide and two kilometers long. August 1945 report of damage to Breslau by employees of the Saxony state administration[20]
Breslau was transferred to Poland in the aftermath of the war and renamed Wrocław. Most of the German inhabitants in Wrocław fled or were forcibly expelled between 1945 and 1949 and moved to Allied Occupation Zones in Germany. A small German minority still remains in the city. The post-war Polish mayor of Wrocław, Bolesław Drobner, arrived in the city four days after the surrender, on 10 May, finding the city in ruins.[15]
See also [ edit ]
Citations [ edit ]
References [ edit ]ALL the signs are that Britain is caving in on the three issues in the first phase of the Brexit talks. Theresa May was told she had to yield by next week to persuade the European Union summit on December 14th-15th to agree that there had been sufficient progress to begin talks on transition and a future trade framework. The prime minister has duly made big concessions on the rights of EU citizens in Britain and on the exit bill, perhaps enough to pass the test. There even seems to be some movement on the trickiest issue of all, how to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, making a December deal more likely—but still not certain.
Yet behind the good new lurks a persistent and dangerous threat. The more that Mrs May yields, the more some Brexiteers argue that Britain should leave on March 29th 2019 without any deal at all. Even if she wins agreement to move to phase two of the talks, the lure of no deal will not disappear. Brexiteers hate the concessions that are being made in phase one, especially over money. And trade buffs are united in predicting that the phase two could prove even more painful, with the EU sticking to a rigid line on trade terms.
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Even so, most people see Brexit with no deal as a disaster to be avoided at almost any cost. Yet the idea keeps returning, in two guises. The first is tactical. In any negotiation, it is said, one must be willing to walk away to get a good deal. Many Brexiteers fault David Cameron, Mrs May’s predecessor, for making clear in his renegotiation of Britain’s EU membership before the referendum that he would campaign to stay no matter what. Mrs May still says no deal is better than a bad deal. Brexiteers were cock-a-hoop when the chancellor, Philip Hammond, set aside £3bn ($3.6bn) for Brexit preparations, including for no deal, in his November budget.
The second guise is the assertion that no deal would not really be so bad. Instead of pursuing the chimera of a generous free-trade deal with a curmudgeonly EU, Britain could revert to trading on World Trade Organisation terms (never mind that this would not be simple—see box overleaf). David Davis, the Brexit secretary, says no deal actually means a “bare-bones” deal. On this basis, there is no serious risk that aircraft stop flying or nuclear materials are no longer imported. Rational people on both sides can see how damaging this would be to all, so they will prevent it.
Yet this idea of a “soft” no deal is not persuasive. A no-deal Brexit would damage other EU countries, but hit Britain harder. And it defies political logic to think that a decision to walk out with no deal can be harmonious. It would mean not paying the exit bill. It would jeopardise the position of EU citizens in Britain. And it would dash hopes of the deep new partnership that Mrs May says she wants. Amid the recriminations and bad blood, the EU would surely look to its own interests first.
Brexiteers often forget that the EU is a legal as much as a political construct. If Britain left with no deal and no transition, it would fall out of all EU organisations, from Euratom to the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The European Court of Justice (ECJ) would lose jurisdiction. Even if all sides wanted Britain to stay in such bodies, it might not be legally possible.
Losers and losers
Oxford Economics has modelled the effects of Brexit with no deal and says that it would lop a cumulative 2% off Britain’s GDP by the end of 2020, equivalent to some £40bn. That is far bigger than the impact on other EU countries (see chart). Before the referendum, the Treasury forecast even bigger losses of output. Such numbers are especially daunting when annual growth forecasts for the next few years have just been trimmed to as little as 1.3% by Britain’s fiscal watchdog.
The main hit would come through lower trade. Brexit with no deal would imply tariffs on 90 |
a retrial on that count.
Sentencing on the other charges was set for March 24. Dunn still faces at least 60 years in prison on the lesser counts. He could face a sentence of life in prison if he was convicted on the first-degree murder charge on retrial.
Dunn argued he was acting in self-defense when he shot at an SUV 10 times while parked next to four teens at a Jacksonville, Fla., gas station in November 2012 after an argument about loud rap music emanating from the vehicle. The shots killed Jordan Davis, 17, of Marietta, Ga.
Dunn showed no emotion as the verdicts were read. Davis' parents left the courtroom in tears.
But Dunn’s attorney, Cory Strolla, said later that his client was stunned by the results.
“He basically said, ‘How is this happening?’“ he said. “It has not settled in.”
“It’s been a long, long road and we're so very happy to have just a little bit of closure,'' Davis' mother, Lucy McBath, told reporters later.
"It's sad for Mr. Dunn that he will live the rest of his life in that sense of torment. I will pray for him. I will ask my family to pray for him. But we are so grateful for the charges that have been brought against him, we are so grateful for the truth, we are so grateful that the jurors were able to understand the common sense of it all.''
On Dunn's potentially lengthy sentence, Davis' father, Ron Davis, said: "He's going to learn that he must be remorseful for the killing of my son, that it was not just another day at the office."
The case has been compared to that of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who was acquitted of murder in the shooting death of unarmed black teen Trayvon Martin in Florida. Like the Zimmerman trial, the case has drawn international attention due to racial overtones and its connection to gun and self-defense laws.MIT-Spun Startup Lumii Is Creating Glasses-Free 3-D Technology
Say goodbye to those goofy looking glasses.
Get a compelling long read and must-have lifestyle tips in your inbox every Sunday morning — great with coffee!
Imagine a day when you can watch a 3-D movie without having to grab the requisite 3-D glasses from a random bin outside the theater.
Lumii is trying to make that vision a reality. The Boston startup is changing the way companies build 3-D displays by replacing the optics in everyday LCD panels with software.
“Our vision is that, one day, you will take out your phone and you’ll see a 3-D, interactive hologram popping out of it,” says cofounder Tom Baran. “You won’t need to wear those goofy glasses.”
The software is spun out of work Baran and his fellow cofounders, Matthew Hirsch and Daniel Leithinger, completed at MIT. While researching computational displays (essentially, how images display on a screen) and camera systems at the MIT Media Lab, Hirsch discovered you could create a virtual image by altering how LCD panels are layered and adding in some software. Leithinger was simultaneously focused on tangible interfaces, developing surfaces that could three-dimensionally change shape, as Baran studied signal flow algorithms—the kind of computation at the core of Lumii.
The research started gaining national media attention—in 2012, the New Scientist encouraged readers to “get ready to chuck away [their] 3-D glasses.” The trick then became commercializing their work. Lumii incorporated this May to make that possible, and applied to startup accelerator MassChallenge.
“There’s a lot you have to do to take something out of the lab and into people’s hands,” Baran says. “You want to make sure it looks as good to everyone walking up to it as it does in the research papers.”
The team has been developing prototypes of their product, using resources in the MADE@ MassChallenge lab, which provides startups access to rapid prototyping equipment, such as laser cutters and 3-D printers.
But Lumii isn’t a hardware company.
“We can run as a company that looks a lot more like a software company than a hardware company,” Hirsch says, “and that’s really a positive for the industry. It’s much easier to innovate quickly in the software space.”
The team plans to sell their algorithm to consumer electronics manufacturers, which can change the layers of LCD panels in their products to accommodate the Lumii technology. Lumii integrates their software to run between those panels to create the 3-D effect. Other uses include interactive signs that could be hung in storefront windows, or kiosks that would allow customers to see 3-D versions of the products they’re shopping for.
“It provides a new way of engaging customers in a retail situation,” Baran explains, noting, “When you take a look at all the flat displays in the world, there’s a lot of opportunity to replace them with the technology we have.”
Lumii won $50,000 in this year’s MassChallenge awards to test that hypothesis, and is now letting others try their features by creating Lumii Holiday Cards with a 3-D effect. All you need are transparency sheets, scissors, super glue, a printer, and the team’s special holiday PDF, which can be downloaded here.
Maybe next year, we could be seeing glasses-free 3-D displays under our Christmas tree, as well.While we know that telcos are all set to commercially launch 3G services with-in two weeks from now, mobile phone users across country are super anxious to know the expected arrival date of 3G and 4G services in their respective areas.
Exactly like how it had happened with 2G services, the commercial launch of 3G services won’t go beyond few major cities of Pakistan.
For now, let’s just absorb the fact that rollout of 3G services across the length of the country will be little sluggish, however, demand of 3G services and associated ARPUs are going to remain major factor in increasing operators’ quest to reach out in more areas of Pakistan.
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Also Read:
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Initially major parts of Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad / Rawalpindi are going to experience 3G services at the launch.
During first phase, according to 3G IM, Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, Quetta and Peshawar must get 3G services before January 2015.
Minimum possible coverage in another 10 cities (minimum two in each province) should be added till October 2015.
According to rollout obligations attached with 3G license, at least 160 cities or 75 percent of all district headquarters are supposed to have 3G services by 2018.
Just to add, above mentioned rollout plan is based on minimum possible requirements included in the license terms. Actual rollout plans will be must faster than the ones mentioned here.
Initially, even the covered cities might face unparalleled coverage. Moreover, some areas of the country might have better performing 3G coverage than the others. But all this will get better with time.
Since the whole play is about converting 2G cell sites into 3G, it will depend how better the transition would be in coming days.
Idea is to wait for some weeks (if you are in major city) or months (if you are in tier two city) to let the 3G service hit your smartphone.nited States and Cuban flags fly side-by-side on the roof of the Iberostar Hotel Parque Central near El Capitolio (background) in the historic Old Havana neighborhood in Havana, Cuba, March 20, 2016.
The State Department was preparing to order non-essential employees in Cuba to return to the U.S. Thursday, CBS News reported. The decision to cut all but essential employees in the embassy in Havana was made for the safety of employees and their families who have been experiencing symptoms possibly associated with sonic attacks.
The complaints from diplomats began in December 2016 and have continued since with 21 employees complaining of symptoms like headache, nausea and hearing loss among others. These employees live in housing provided by the Cuban government. Cuban officials have denied allegations that such attacks are being committed by the government and because some Canadian diplomats have experienced symptoms as well.
What is a sonic attack?
Sonic attacks are the use of sound waves that can then cause physical symptoms. The sound waves are undetectable by the human ear, usually at a frequency humans can’t pick up. The National Institutes of Health conducted a report on such attacks in 2001. They call the sound 'infrared sound' and constitute it as “inaudible sound with a frequency of <20 Hz.”
“Transmission of infrasound energy through the air is not as efficient as transmission through mechanical vibrations at infrasound frequencies,” according to the NIH. Such weapons are sometimes users for riot control in some countries or in war torn areas, the more serious weapons emit loud shrill noise that can be debilitating. The type of acoustic weapon that was possible used on the diplomats is currently unknown, if one was even used at all.
A travel notice is expected from officials Friday that will include travel warnings, USA Today reported. Supposedly some of the attacks took place in Cuban hotels, but no Americans traveling in Cuba have reported suffering from such attacks while traveling.
Symptoms typically present physically and seemingly unexplained. They can include nausea, headaches, hearing loss, dizziness and an overall sick feeling. While some symptoms go away the hearing loss can be permanent.
In August, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert, gave brief information about the attacks at a news conference. “So some U.S. Government personnel who were working at our embassy in Havana, Cuba on official duties – so they were there working on behalf of the U.S. embassy there – they’ve reported some incidents which have caused a variety of physical symptoms,” she said. “I’m not going to be able to give you a ton of information about this today, but I’ll tell you what we do have that we can provide so far.”Is it fake news when on MLK weekend Loretta Lynch issues a scorching 164 page report blasting Chicago police for using force on Blacks 10 times more often then Whites... but nowhere mentioning that Blacks are murdered 15 times more often than Whites, or that Blacks are the murders 20 times more often than Whites, or that Police are 30 times more often to be killed by a Black than by a White?
Seems like a shot in the face at Jeff Sessions and a gift to BLM and civil rights leaders, in the final hour...
Statistical Ideas' blog's Salil Mehta exposes the one-sided statistics outgoing AG Loretta Lynch used to villify Chicago Cops...
Outgoing Attorney General for the Department of Justice, Loretta Lynch, has distributed an environmentally-friendly, 164-page report that finds (after a year-long investigation) that my hometown Chicago Police Department "engages in a pattern or practice of using force, including deadly force, in violation of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution."
The longwinded defense glosses over critical statistics to allow any reader to truly understand what is at the nucleus of their most scorching claim against the Chicago Police. That in addition to economic hardships for minorities (and is that 100% essential?), police use excessive force 10 times more often against Blacks as they do against Whites. And that's a deceptive headline shocker, which combined with selective data-mining, simply states what they feel is obvious with their constituents across the country. The leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement joined other civil rights groups in responding lockstep with the findings, demanding "we are not going to take it any more". What does that mean? Are the big concerns in life that (Chicago) police are simply villains? Life would be coziest if they used kids’ gloves? And why were these groups righteously hushed in recent months, as Blacks were multiple times caught on video group-assaulting Whites who "may have voted for Trump"? Look at the top of the chart -below- which shows this 10x rate for Blacks versus Whites, when it comes to use of excessive police force. Now we'll discuss some other self-computed statistics that should be considered, and which were not provided as meaningful background.
“more often”
This naughty expression incorrectly implies that each Black criminal is subject to 10 times as much excessive police force as each White criminal. But that's a false trap. The actual statistics, for the few who cared to look at them, show that simply the overall population of Blacks saw 10 times more excessive use of force versus the overall population of Whites.
Blacks are a small minority
It is true that in the United States there are nearly five times as many Whites as there are Blacks (put differently, there is 0.2 Blacks per White). So it would be arousing to incorrectly deduct that while there is 0.2 Blacks per White, there is nearly 10 times as many Blacks experiencing excessive force versus Whites. Recall we are discussing the U.S. here. Instead we must drill down to just The Windy City: and there we see an equal number of Blacks versus Whites. Blacks are not a small minority at all. And let's hold on to this 1:1 statistic as we go through some other relevant settings information below.
who is getting murdered
Even though there is one Black per White in Chicago, there are nearly 15 murdered Blacks per murdered White. It's not the Chicago Police Department killing these Blacks, and certainly not White civilians. We should note that in 2016 Chicago Mayor Emmanuel, former Obama Chief of Staff, oversaw the largest number of homicides in Chicago, in the past two decades! These murders are one of the primary reasons that Chicago isn't anymore a top 100 places to live, and it sees great emigration of its citizens to other parts of the U.S. Including people who want to be police officers. And with strained municipal and state budgets and fearing their own life, the Chicago Police Department have to bring justice to whoever is killing all of these Blacks (happening at a rate of nearly a dozen weekly). It’s unfortunately a treasured, yet sometimes unappreciated job.
who is doing the murdering
Without surprise but part of the probability data, Blacks are committing these record murders across Chicago (even under a Democratic leader and with their unemployment rate falling to cyclical lows). Butchering at 20 times the rate of Whites! So while the population is equally split between Blacks and Whites, the Department of Justice (DOJ) report chose to fleece us from the fact that Blacks accounts for 20 times as many of the city's slayings (instead only highlighting the policy focus of Blacks experience 10 times as much use of excessive force).
As appalling as these levels of excessive uses of force against Blacks are, we need to also appreciate that the Chicago Police (as a demographic segment) are >30 times more likely to be killed by a Black, then any other demographic segment killing any other (in chart below, see these drivers of the current 5-year national record-slaughtering of police). It should be part of this report and not a random result but from the most statistically significant predictive factors such as:
the nature of the suspect in relation to others at the scene,
the age difference between the suspect and police,
and how this same suspect interacts with police when approached.
Now given all of this context above, wouldn't you precisely conclude that there should be some balanced compassion for the Chicago Police? Even if not, understand that police have their supporters who don’t feel Whites deserve to experience excessive force in equal number as Blacks, even if see less violent crime. This absurd measure of executing violent criminal justice is unhinged, even though we have the same number of brash disparagers against the police, anyway.
Though we should equally note that nothing in here proves that the Chicago Police have executed their public duties in a racially fair way. Minorities deserve to feel more at ease in their own homes and communities. It's just that showcasing one-sided statistics, as the DOJ did here, is clearly more confrontational and less likely to be embraced.
All of this mortality science has been brought up earlier (here, here) and in a couple high-profile, peer-review academic research articles on race within the police ranks (one of which I was the journal editor for). Though it is worth noticing here every time we get untrue violent justice statistics put forward. This final-hour parting gesture by Attorney General Lynch fall squarely into that category, and one the new successor (perhaps President-elect Trump's nominee Jeff Sessions) is entitled to handle differently.
Mortality probability math is very tough, as shown in our calm debunk of an Oxford University research paper, which they then immediately and mortifyingly redacted with Erratas. Though the teachings are often the same and are worth reminding ourselves of, every time the occasion arises.IS there a single presidential candidate with a clue about business? Where is the leader-in-waiting who might fly across the globe, blazing a trail for Irish enterprise?
IS there a single presidential candidate with a clue about business? Where is the leader-in-waiting who might fly across the globe, blazing a trail for Irish enterprise?
I had high hopes for Senator Feargal Quinn, but he hung his hat on the fortunes of Dragon's Den star Sean Gallagher. Indeed Sean might have fit the bill, but his spell on the board of Fas and his far-too-recent membership of the national executive of Fianna Fail is a hard pill to swallow.
Last week, I and other TDs came under pressure to sign the nomination papers of the vessels of vanity who want to occupy the Aras. So I dug out their CVs to see if any of them might have an idea about the difference between a contract for difference (CFD) and a credit default swap (CDS).
The results were awful.
Gay Mitchell's business credentials make him sound like the most boring beast in Ireland. His campaign website describes him as a "chartered secretary and accountant". Nothing is revealed about where he practised these dull arts.
Michael D Higgins was a university lecturer, as was David Norris. Neither claims any great knowledge of business. Martin McGuinness has been far too busy... er, defending his community, to be corrupted by commerce.
The search for a champion of enterprise seemed fruitless. Most of the candidates' credentials were padded, full of motherhood and apple pie. Gay had been a youth leader at St Joseph's Boys Club in Inchicore, and was a community activist and even treasurer of a St Vincent de Paul network. Such goodness may make us mortal sinners feel guilty, but it hardly makes the wheels of business buzz.
Michael D's business profile includes his justifiable claim to have "reinvigorated" the Irish film industry during his term as Minister for the Arts and Culture. Otherwise he lists a record of cultural achievements that put his competitors to shame.
Norris is big into human rights, but he would never pass the CFD/CDS test.
McGuinness has so far declined to post a CV on the web. It would make fascinating reading. No doubt he kept the books in the Derry IRA and was an expert in the cost of explosives, the going rent for burying arsenals of weapons and the price of trips to Libya; but that is -- hopefully -- not likely to be much use to him in the Aras.
Martin may even know a bit more about banking than he cares to admit. He could, just like Gay, call himself a "community activist", admittedly of a different complexion.
Not much evidence of an ounce of commercial nous surfaced between all four candidates.
And that just left Mary Davis.
Mary showed signs of promise. The difference between Mary and the other candidates was striking. While her rivals strain to paint a commitment to entrepreneurship, Mary is coy. Mary has simply smothered her promotional bumf with apple pie. Unfortunately, she chose to omit some of her greatest achievements.
In her election literature there is Mary with Mandela, Mary with the elderly, Mary the mountaineer and -- above all -- Mary the woman who brought the Special Olympics to Ireland.
Modest Mary has an unrivalled record of selfless service to the community. She even refers to herself as a "social entrepreneur", an all-embracing cuddly phrase which combines the happy clappy stuff with the buzz of business. She won the Lord Mayor of Dublin Millennium award, the Person of the Year Award 2003, the Woman of the Year Award in 2003. Miraculously, she is not yet Man of the Year. She won the Spirit of Humanity Award this year and has notched up honourary doctorates from three universities.
Mary should skip the presidency and simply ascend directly to beatification or sainthood. Her virtue is simply dazzling.
Despite her obvious claims to piety, Mary is too modest. While she lists her chair of the Taskforce on Active Citizenship and includes the Irish Sports Council, the UCD Foundation and the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland in her portfolio, she has chosen to omit a few rather more rewarding business achievements.
As a former PE teacher, Mary is certainly qualified for membership of the Sports Council, but it is difficult to understand why she is not proud of her place on the board of the Irish Civil Service Building Society. It's even more difficult to understand as it is a Bank of Ireland satellite. It fails to merit a mention.
When Mary departed in 2010, directors of the Bank of Ireland subsidiary were being paid €25,000 a year. As a presidential candidate -- with banking experience -- she could offer priceless insights into the property collapse, the current mortgage crisis and the behaviour of the directors of the Bank of Ireland, which paid her such a fine part-time wage. Instead, she prefers to stay silent about this hidden area of her expertise.
Probably just an oversight. You cannot fit everything in with a CV as long or as virtuous as Mary's. But funnily enough, there is another important omission. Mary picked up a gig in no less a semi-state than the deeply troubled Aer Rianta (now the DAA). Indeed, she did a five-year stint there -- possibly the most rotten quango in Ireland.
It is difficult to understand why a PE teacher was a political appointee as a director of the DAA, but she probably helped them with all their verbal acrobatics.
Mary could surely now give us her views on DAA chief Dermot Collier's enormous pay package of €638,000 while she was on the board and a member of the audit committee.
Did she approve it? Can she justify it in the light of the semi-state's huge debt and poor performance?
She might also let us know if she thought she merited her €17,500 annual fee. She could give us the real reasons why Dublin Airport is such a total shambles. She could give us the inside track on the white elephant known as Terminal 2.
So, modest Mary is uniquely placed to shed a light on exorbitant pay in both the banks and the semi-states, as she was at the coal face of both. Michael D would be happy to discuss big bonuses for fat cats with her.
Although Mary was busy at the DAA and the Bank of Ireland subsidiary during the boom years, she found time to serve the State in other capacities. Back in 2000, the Fianna Fail government appointed her as a director of Stadium Ireland, more commonly known as the "Bertie Bowl".
Again, she fails to mention it in her manifesto.
This was a vanity project, pioneered by the former Taoiseach, which floundered into oblivion as the recession hit in 2007. Mary was paid for her troubles on the board of Stadium Ireland. As a presidential candidate and a Fianna Fail nominee, let her tell us why Bertie's folly failed.
Mary flourished under Bertie's government. Not just in terms of the political appointments to the Bertie Bowl project and the DAA; she also landed the highly sensitive post on the board of the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland.
A pity that she was not a bit more upfront about her business pedigree.
The Queen of the quangos wants to be President of Ireland. Let us hope that she discards her halo and shares her business experiences with us.
Sunday Indo BusinessRALEIGH, N.C., June 3 (UPI) -- When researchers selectively bred zebrafish for specific personality traits, they observed measurable changes in body shape and locomotion.
"Complex behaviors, like the behaviors we call 'personality' or 'temperament,' can be associated -- genetically correlated -- with other traits that one might think are independent of such behaviors, like body shape and swimming abilities," Brian Langerhans, an assistant professor of biological sciences at North Carolina State University, said in a news release. "In other words, traits that seem unrelated may not be unrelated."
Researchers often measure an animal's relative "boldness" or "shyness" by how long they take to acclimate or respond to a new object or new environs. In this instance, researchers measured each fish's boldness by the amount of time the fish remained motionless after being placed in new surroundings.
The boldest fish were selectively bred to yield bolder and bolder offspring. In doing so, the researchers found they had also bred for two other physiological traits. The bolder offspring were becoming more sleek and slender in shape and also showed improved agility, darting more quickly through the water.
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"We think pleiotropy, or one gene affecting two or more phenotypes, may explain the correlation between personality and locomotion," Langerhans explained. "On the other hand, the association between personality and body shape seems to reflect linkage disequilibrium that is not caused by pleiotropy or physical genetic linkage."
In other words, the two traits -- being bolder and more agile -- may help the fish make adulthood and reproduce, thus linking the traits via natural selection.
"This is one of the first studies linking personality variation to these other types of traits, and I think many more will emerge in the coming years," Langerhans said.
The study's findings were published this week in the journal Animal Behaviour.Privacy activists and at least one senator are up in arms over a proposed change to a section of the Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure that would allow any magistrate judge to issue warrants authorizing government-sanctioned hacking anywhere in the country.
If the proposal does go forward, it would mark a notable expansion of judicial power to sign off on "remote access" of criminal suspects’ computers. As Ars has reported previously, for more than two years now, the Department of Justice has pushed to change Rule 41 in the name of being able to thwart online criminal behavior enabled by tools like Tor.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court passed the proposed change to Rule 41 and sent it to Congress on Thursday, which will have until December 1 to modify, reject, or defer the proposal. If the House of Representatives and Senate do not pass a resolution in favor by simple majority, the revisions will become law that same day.
For now, Rule 41 allows these junior judges to authorize electronic searches only within their own judicial district. This month alone, two federal judges in Massachusetts and Oklahoma suppressed evidence in two related child pornography cases because a magistrate in Virginia authorized the FBI to seize and operate Playpen, a Tor-hidden site, for 13 days. In so doing, investigators also deployed malware that disrupted Tor's privacy protections and revealed over 1,000 true IP addresses, and lead to 137 prosecutions, including the two men in these two states. Given the success in those states, it seems plausible that other similar cases could also be jeopardized.
In the Oklahoma case, Department of Justice spokesman Pete Carr e-mailed Ars earlier this week to say that the agency was "disappointed with the court’s decision," adding that the DOJ is reviewing its options. But, he added that this case underscored why Rule 41 revisions are sorely needed. "The decision highlights why the government supports the clarification of the rules of procedure currently pending before the Supreme Court to ensure that criminals using sophisticated anonymizing technologies to conceal their identities while they engage in crime over the Internet are able to be identified and apprehended."
Unintended consequences?
For now, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) appears to be the only legislator to have spoken out against the revision.
"These amendments will have significant consequences for Americans’ privacy and the scope of the government’s powers to conduct remote surveillance and searches of electronic devices," he said in a Thursday statement. "I plan to introduce legislation to reverse these amendments shortly, and to request details on the opaque process for the authorization and use of hacking techniques by the government."
Other activists have also now been speaking out against the proposal. Google is one of the largest companies to publicly lobby against this proposed change.
"Such a monumental change in the law should not be snuck by Congress under the guise of a procedural rule," Neema Singh Guliani, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement sent to Ars.
"The change proposed would expose Americans, including victims of crimes, to government hacking with insufficient privacy protections, transparency, or oversight. Congress should reject the proposed changes to Rule 41, and instead demand answers from the government about their current hacking practices."
Kevin Bankston, the head of New America’s Open Technology Institute said in his own statement said that this legal expansion goes beyond traditional wiretapping.
"Like wiretapping, hacking is uniquely invasive compared to regular searches and raises serious issues under our Fourth Amendment, which protects us from unreasonable searches," he said. "Unlike wiretapping, however, Congress has never authorized government hacking nor established protective rules for the road to ensure it's not abused. Government hacking also raises a host of new and serious risks to privacy and security that wiretapping doesn’t, including the risk that the malware used by the government might spread to innocent people’s computers or cause unintended damage."
In 2014, Carr told Ars that he was not aware of any figures as to how many times such remote access has been granted. He also did not answer Ars' question as to the precise technical capabilities of such tools nor whether they involve zero-day exploits.Latin American leaders have joined together to condemn the U.S. government for soaring drug violence in their countries, blaming the United States for the transnational cartels that have grown rich and powerful smuggling dope north and guns south.
Alongside official declarations, Latin American governments have expressed growing disgust for U.S. drug consumers — both the addict and the weekend recreational user heedless of the misery and destruction stemming from their pleasures.
“Our region is seriously threatened by organized crime, but there is very little responsibility taken by the drug-consuming countries,” Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom said at a December meeting of Latin leaders in Caracas. Colom said the hemisphere was paying the price for drug consumption in the United States with “our blood, our fear and our human sacrifice.”
With transit countries facing some of the highest homicide rates in the world, so great is the frustration that the leaders are demanding that the United States and Europe consider steps toward legalization if they do not curb their appetite for drugs.
At a regional summit this month in Mexico, attended by the leaders of 11 Latin American and Caribbean countries, officials declared that “the authorities in consumer countries should explore all possible alternatives to eliminate exorbitant profits of criminals, including regulatory or market options.”
“Market options” is diplomatic code for decriminalization.
The complaints are not exactly new but are remarkable for being nearly unanimous. The critique comes from sitting presidents left to right, from persistent U.S. antagonists such as President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, and from close U.S. allies such as President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia, which has received almost $9 billion in aid to fight the cartels.
‘Rethinking’ the war on drugs
The criticism has been bolstered by opinion leaders in the region, including the former presidents of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, who called for the legalization of marijuana and an overhaul of U.S. thinking on the 40-year drug war, which has cost a trillion dollars by some estimates but has done little to reduce supply and demand.
Senior Obama administration officials say the resentment is understandable, given that the production and transit countries are shouldering more of the violence, but they say the rhetorical attacks against the United States are misdirected.
“I refuse to accept that there has not been progress” in the fight against drug trafficking and consumption, said William R. Brownfield, assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.
Gil Kerlikowske, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said there has been a sustained reduction in demand for cocaine in the United States. According to the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the number of Americans aged 12 and older who are current users of cocaine has dropped by 21 percent since 2007. The purity of seized cocaine is down; prices are up.
“No one single issue drives this global drug problem,” Brownfield said. “Everybody plays his role, everybody shares responsibility.”
Yet while cocaine use may have declined in the United States in the past few years, it is surging in Europe and Asia. In the United States, seizures of methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana are increasing, and the most recent health surveys found that American 10th-graders are more likely to smoke pot than tobacco.
“The biggest challenge faced by many Latin American countries is the rising threat of organized crime funded by U.S. drug consumption. That is without a doubt,” said Andrew Selee, director of the Woodrow Wilson Center's Mexico Institute.
Lack of political will
“But the cruel irony is that drug violence is down in the United States, and so it is hard to build a political constituency that wants to do much more to help Latin America,” he said.
Leaders in Latin America and the Caribbean say that the United States is not only responsible for the cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana that moves north, but also — far more dangerous to them — the bulk cash profits and military-style weapons that flow south.
One of the most outspoken critics of U.S. drug consumption has been Mexico’s center-right President Felipe Calderon, a U.S. ally in a drug war that has left some 45,000 dead in Mexico.
“We are next to the largest illegal drug market in the world,” Calderon said in September at a public dinner held in his honor by the Council of the Americas in Washington. “We are living in the same building, and our neighbor is the largest consumer of drugs in the world and everyone wants to sell him drugs through our door and our window.”
The United States has provided Mexico with almost $700 million of $2 billion in promised aid, including Black Hawk helicopters, police trainers, sophisticated eavesdropping technologies and a mountain of classified drug intelligence, from snitches to drones.
Presidents from Bolivia to Mexico say that the U.S. government is failing to control the nation’s hunger for narcotics, even as U.S. politicians lecture Latin American nations on how to confront their problems of criminal impunity, official corruption and failed institutions.
“All the money, regardless how much it is multiplied, and all the blood, no matter how much is spilled” will not stop the drug trade “as long as the north continues consuming,” said Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega.
Latin American leaders zeroed in on what they see as glaring contradictions in U.S. law, which allows for-profit dispensaries to legally sell “medical marijuana,” while at the same time marijuana growers south of the border are hunted down by the military.
“If all you're doing is sending our citizens to prison while in other places the market is legalized, then we must ask: Is not it time to review the global strategy against drugs?” said Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.
“I wonder if the world's eighth-largest economy, California, which so successfully promotes its modern technology, movies and fine wines, will allow the importation of marijuana into their own market,” Santos said.
At the summit in Venezuela’s capital this month, Ortega suggested that the group “monitor and rate” anti-drug efforts by the United States, just as the U.S. State Department does for the region.
In another forum, Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla proposed that the United States reimburse the transit countries.
“Our region is victim of the brutal onslaught of organized crime, which jeopardizes the safety of our population and attacks the foundations of our democracy," Chinchilla said. “I propose the creation of a fund that would oblige countries with drug users to pay a kind of fee for every kilo of cocaine intercepted in the Isthmus.
“We speak of a drug-trafficking route that moves about a hundred billion dollars a year, culminating in the world's largest market and biggest consumer of these substances, the United States,” said El Salvador President Mauricio Funes, who added that the United States had a “moral responsibility” to do more.Delhi is in the midst of a power struggle, but not the political kind. The city is rapidly running out of energy, as government, opposition and private suppliers all bicker about who is to blame. In the past two years, the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has hiked power rates four times, by a whopping 26%, and another hike is expected, despite the fury of consumers. Meanwhile, many beleaguered Delhi residents suffer eight-hour-long power cuts in 45 degree summer heat.
With local elections coming up in November, Chief Minister Sheila Dixit has been quick to shove the blame on to private distribution companies (known as "discoms"). The chief minister even wrote an angry letter to business tycoon Anil Ambani, the head of Reliance Infrastructure, which owns two of Delhi's biggest discoms. Somewhat belatedly, she directed him to fix the power crisis and ensure all-day electricity. Dixit admitted she was "shocked' to learn that the discoms owe dues amounting to nearly Rs 33 billion to the government (about £375 million).
But the government is no hapless innocent, claim opposition parties. Maverick activist-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwal has alleged that the Delhi government is colluding with discoms to fudge losses, line their pockets and pass on costs to the consumers. The opposition Bhartiya Janata Party is also calling for an inquiry into the financial mismanagement of the discoms and demanding intervention by the Prime Minister.
Meanwhile, as the government muddles along, green campaigners point out that Delhi has completely ignored other solutions. A recent report by Greenpeace India revealed Delhi's miserable failure to attain renewable energy targets. Delhi actually achieved less than 1% of its target, making it the worst performer amongst 22 states, despite being by far the wealthiest.
Part of the problem, says report author and senior Greenpeace campaigner Abhishek Pratap, is Delhi's cossetted status. "As the capital, Delhi gets 75% of its energy from coal plants in other states. This has made the city complacent, and slow to consider other alternatives. The DERC does not even have a proper policy for renewable energy," he points out.
The report also pointed out the growing inequity between rural and urban areas. Delhi consumes double the national average of electricity, while poorer states such as Bihar go short. Coal guzzling also comes at a huge environmental cost for the city, and the country, with India now on the brink of a public health crisis |
redevelopment and management of the retail, dining and amenities at TBIT. Without Kitson in the assortment, TBIT is just another Westfield shopping center. Billions of dollars of Los Angeles taxpayer money has been invested, and the airport has actively promoted its local shopping. External billboards proclaim, "Bringing Los Angeles back to LAX," and LAWA's site instructs its readers to, "SHOP LA. Set the trend. Buy local," but there is no taste of Los Angeles in the retail offerings, except Kitson. As you know, we carry LA designers and manufacturers, introducing and incubating new brands, as well as upscale gifts that promote LA, like our hand embroidered Los Angeles pillows. When a traveler steps off a plane in Sao Paulo, Paris, Hong Kong or Tokyo, their blue bag reads, "Kitson Los Angeles." Others may not be familiar with Kitson, but they certainly recognize Los Angeles, and this directly promotes tourism. Despite construction setbacks, Kitson opened and quickly produced sales results that kept it in the number 1 or 2 position at Tom Bradley, many days beating large, public companies like Michael Kors, Tumi, Hugo Boss, Victoria Secret and Bulgari. We have had huge issues with the partnership. Hudson Group does not adhere to best business practices or to the standards and guidance of its licensors. Some of their violations include: overcharging; selling chocolate from a prominent local company well after its expiration date; defamation of our brand and those we carry, including exclusive, licensed product from Warner Brothers and Dreamworks, and items from Disney and the Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers and Dodgers; and attempting to mine and profit from Kitson's intellectual property in other businesses. The working relationship has become untenable, and Kitson cannot continue to work in a corrupt atmosphere. We are being forced to terminate the contract to protect our brand. Kitson approached executives at LAWA (Los Angeles World Airport) to discuss how to capitalize on its unique position in the marketplace and to present its findings, hoping to somehow salvage the situation, but Gina Marie Lindsey,LAWA's Executive Director, Debbie Bowers, LAWA's Deputy Executive Director for Commercial Development, and Sean Burton, President of the Airport Board of Commissioners, a close friend of the Mayor's, failed to assist us. Westfield, the largest commercial real estate holder at the airport, a corporation based in Australia, and Hudson Group, based outside of California, both have ties to the Mayor's office. In October, the HSAC, the Homeland Security Advisory Council, which Westfield Co-CEO, Peter Lowy, founded, gave Eric Garcetti an award. Several present and past members of Los Angeles government serve on the Homeland Security Advisory Council. In turn, Peter Lowy received an award at the LAANE gala in December, which was co-chaired by Amy Wakefield, the Mayor's wife. Despite these ties, in early November, Kitson reached out to the Mayor's office, believing Mr. Garcetti would support local, Los Angeles business. For the last two months, our representatives have worked through the International Trade Specialist, Felipe Cusnir, Deputy Counsel to the Mayor, Manav Kumar, and Director of Communications, Yuseff Robb, but to no avail. While in discussion with a representative of the Mayor's office, a Kitson spokesperson learned that the Deputy Mayor communicates with the CEO of Hudson Group. This out of state corporation is granted access, while our Los Angeles based business is not. We have failed to receive support or assistance in investigating our claims and have been denied a meeting with the Mayor without reason. Sizeable corporations have the means to lobby on their behalves and to peddle influence, but where is Kitson to turn? We have not seen evidence of a check and balance system in the highly sensitive, airport environment or visible enforcement of the practices by which retailers and other airport entities must abide. LAX is an incredible asset to the city. We want to ensure it represents the best of Los Angeles business, including the customer service, product, and standards it presents to the world. We summarized our position and fairly informed the Mayor's office of our intention to seek the public's help, if we did not have the opportunity to speak with him. He is essentially allowing our airport stores to close. Kitson's top executives want to meet with the Mayor of Los Angeles to discuss the generation of additional tax dollars and creation of more jobs. We have worked hard to enhance and promote the culture and diversity of Los Angeles and feel we deserve to be heard. Why would the Mayor not want to grant us some of his time? There must be more to the story.
· Kitson [Kitson]
· Inside Kitson's Homies-Heavy Shop at LAX Tom Bradley [Racked]Ever since February 22nd, 2011, the Denver Nuggets franchise has been in desperate search of a superstar to replace Carmelo Anthony. Despite a few solid seasons since that time, featuring players such as Ty Lawson, Kenneth Faried, and Danilo Gallinari, the franchise has never truly had the star it craves.
However, last season may have provided a glimpse into the best player the team has featured in years with the emergence of rookie Nikola Jokic.
Although Jokic only averaged 10.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, Nuggets' coach Mike Malone appears to have confidence in the young Serbian.
Malone on if he can build a team around Jokic: "I think so"
— Harrison Wind (@NBAWind) July 19, 2016
Much of the hype around Jokic is based on his solid all-around stats last season in his rookie year. Jokic’s per-36 minute stats are among the NBA’s elite at a staggering 16.5 points, 11.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.0 blocks. Those numbers all come with a remarkably efficient shooting percentage of 53.5% over the entire season. His stellar stats got him a third-place finish in Rookie of the Year voting, and he ended the campaign with a solid nERD rating of 6.2, meaning that Jokic plus a team of average talent should finish 6 games above.500 over a full season.
Perhaps the best illustration of how spectacular his rookie season was is that the top comparable season according to our algorithms was Paul Millsap’s 2011-2012 breakout season, which propelled him to stardom for the Utah Jazz.
Jokic also had a big offseason, which saw him help his Serbian team to the silver medal in the Olympics. In their three-point loss to the USA, it was Jokic who led Serbia with 25 points in the near upset of the Americans.
Maybe the best thing for Malone and the Nuggets is that, despite the loss, Jokic was not intimidated by the best national team in the country.
Serbia's Nikola Jokic on Team USA "They're just another team"........
— MarkJonesESPN (@MarkJonesESPN) August 21, 2016
The one question that remains with Jokic is if he will be able to handle an increased work load as he grows into a new role.
Last season, Jokic only played 21.6 minutes per game with a usage rate of 19.9%. With Malone already claiming he believes Jokic is a building block, those numbers are sure to go up and can sometimes slow a player down over the long haul of an NBA season.
Other advanced stats also show how incredible Jokic was last season with a value over replacement player of 3.0 and 2.2 defensive win shares. He also was third in the NBA in value added amongst players who played fewer than 30 minutes per game, trailing only Hassan Whiteside and Enes Kanter.
Jokic may be far less heralded than Karl-Anthony Towns, but if he can build on his rookie campaign, he may quickly prove to be a building block for the Nuggets. Like Towns, the sky is the limit for the 21-year-old Serbian center.Welcome to my personal blog, since 2012. After seven years and few posts the last several; me thinks I’m going to add more links from my favorite “newspapers” and continue to post selfies, of course, and kitty pics and my garden.All images copyright 2019Scott Gatty.
The thing that has fascinated me most in life is Time, the passage of it and my relationship to it as I age. I was born in 1957; the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, was put into orbit by the Commies when I was four months old and set off a panic here....the first Pink Flamingo lawn ornament rolled off the assembly line; "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" was first published, by Dr. Seuss, Burt Bacharach joined with lyracist Hal David to create some wonderful songs and five days after I was born, John Lennon was introduced to Paul McCartney (!) Things one finds on Wiki. What matters most to me are family, friends, my kitty kats, friends, the plant world, art, making art....laughing and making others laugh. Plants: the other major form of life we share this planet with, but very few of our species treat them with the dignity and respect they deserve. We hear of animal rights, thank God, but not enough of plant rights. I remind people: we need them, for the air we breathe and the food we eat, they're not dependent upon us. Thanks for visiting. "Where or When" is a song by the team of Rogers and Hart. Lorenz Hart was a gifted lyricist, who happened to be gay, and a tragic figure,who wrote lyrics to some of the most beautiful and romantic love songs I've ever heard. The wonderful melodies were composed by Richard Rogers, before he teamed up with Hammerstein.Barack Obama is has a reputation for extreme rationality -- or for being coldly calculating, depending on the viewpoint. Self-control is paramount, and he rarely loses it. One can assume, then, that Obama's barbed comments on Russia, delivered at a Tuesday press conference in The Hague, were designed to provoke. They also show just how vexed the US president is by Russian President Vladimir Putin's exploits in Crimea.
Russia, Obama said following the Nuclear Security Summit in the Netherlands, is a "regional power" that is threatening its neighbors "not out of strength, but out of weakness."
It is a comment that is sure to ruffle Putin's feathers; the Russian president, after all, has shown a penchant for consulting the czarist playbook it his attempt to boost his country's role on the global stage. But Obama wasn't done yet. The US too exerts influence over its neighbors, the president said. However: "We generally don't need to invade them in order to have a strong cooperative relationship with them." And: "Russian actions are a problem. They don't pose the number one security threat to the United States."
It would be difficult to prove the US president wrong. Russian power is certainly not what it used to be and its expansionary tendencies are largely a reaction to the weak geopolitical position in which it finds itself. And it certainly does not represent a direct threat to the US: An invasion of Alaska seems unlikely and a nuclear attack is out of the question.
But indirectly, Russia does present a grave danger -- to Obama himself. Putin is threatening Obama's credibility as the leader and guarantor of the West.
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From the very beginning of his presidency, Obama has been more focused on consolidating US forces rather than embarking on new international adventures. He has significantly reduced America's military footprint overseas, vocally demanded more help from US allies, emphasized the need for multilateral conflict solutions and preferred to focus on domestic issues as much as possible. Obama's retrenchment largely reflects the desires of the American electorate after eight years of George W. Bush.
What does it mean for the current crisis, though? Does his cautious approach to foreign policy automatically mean he is a weak president? And was it a factor in Putin's decision to act in Crimea?
No matter how Obama views Russia, the Ukraine crisis and how he chooses to confront Putin will be decisive for his foreign policy legacy. That he ended the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is certainly worthy of praise. But a triumph of his own making remains to be seen.
"For any president engaged in retrenchment, policy success is not measured simply by how well the United States extricates itself from old involvements," Stephen Sestanovich, the renowned Russia expert and former advisor to US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, writes in his new book "Maximalist: America in the World from Truman to Obama." The decisive question, he writes, is: "How well are new challenges handled?"
There are plenty of them: the conflict with Iran over its nuclear program, the civil war in Syria, a budding military dictatorship in Egypt, China's more aggressive stance toward US allies in Asia -- and now Putin's Russia. The limits to Obama's power are being tested across the globe. And almost all autocrats present America as the enemy as a way of stabilizing their own power.
Mission Failed
Republican hawks have long since begun joking about Obama's allegedly naïve attempt to "reset" US relations with Russia. His predecessor George W. Bush, a man who was driven by obsessions in much the same way that Putin is, is now being celebrated as a strong president, although he wasn't even able to apply sanctions comparable to the current ones in response to Russia's conflict with Georgia in 2008. But Obama's mistake is that he underestimated the revanchist nature of Putin's foreign policy. The Russian president is much less interested in cooperation with the West than he is in constructing an alternative to the West. Putin is a man of the past -- one whom Obama had sought to drag into the 21st century. Mission failed.
It is telling how Obama, on his current European tour, has relied on emphasizing the self-evident to guard against misleading perceptions. As he did on Tuesday, when he ensured Eastern European allies that NATO's Article 5, which treats an attack on one member as an attack on the entire alliance, remains in force. "Every one of our NATO allies has assurances that we will act in their defense against any threats," he intoned. That sounds good. But it is akin to the local fire department calling every day to ensure home owners that it would respond to a fire should the need arise. On the other hand, if Obama had refrained from uttering such a reassurance, how would it have been interpreted?
The situation is a challenging one. But it is a fateful one for both Obama and the future of US foreign policy. How he navigates it will determine whether he, the retrenchment president, will go down in history as a strong or a weak president, and will inform the policies of those that come after him.
Much is dependent upon Chancellor Angela Merkel and other EU leaders; such appears to be the consensus in Washington. Will the EU and US show unity and a willingness to accept potential economic burdens that may result from their response to Russia? Or will the trans-Atlantic relationship suffer anew?
In short, Europe's path will have a decisive impact on the future foreign policy course charted by the world's last remaining superpower. Obama's legacy hangs in the balance.As you may recall, one of the most explosive revelations from the Iraq War Logs released by WikiLeaks pertains to US forces ignoring Iraqi torture of other Iraqis.
The biggest headline from Friday’s Wikileaks dump (everywhere but the NYT, anyway) is that the “US ignored torture.” But the way in which an official policy ignoring torture was followed by collaboration with one of Iraq’s torture squads raises the question whether the US involvement in Iraqi torture was more direct. Did the US “ignore” torture, or “encourage” it? The basis for the claim that the US ignored torture comes from references to Frago 242, which officially instituted a policy of looking the other way in cases of Iraqi on Iraqi abuse. This is the impact of Frago 242. A frago is a “fragmentary order” which summarises a complex requirement. This one, issued in June 2004, about a year after the invasion of Iraq, orders coalition troops not to investigate any breach of the laws of armed conflict, such as the abuse of detainees, unless it directly involves members of the coalition. Where the alleged abuse is committed by Iraqi on Iraqi, “only an initial report will be made … No further investigation will be required unless directed by HQ”.
Another cable showed that US forces turned over detainees to an Iraqi unit known to torture.
By the end of 2004, according to the Wikileaks dump, the US was handing over detainees to a US trained group known to torture. In Samarra, the series of log entries in 2004 and 2005 describe repeated raids by US infantry, who then handed their captives over to the Wolf Brigade for “further questioning”. Typical entries read: “All 5 detainees were turned over to Ministry of Interior for further questioning” (from 29 November 2004) and “The detainee was then turned over to the 2nd Ministry of Interior Commando Battalion for further questioning” (30 November 2004).
Which is why the following detail–from a UN report issued yesterday describing the systematic use of torture in Afghan prison interrogations–is so important.
[UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan]’s detention observation included interviews with 89 detainees who reported the involvement of international military forces either alone or with Afghan security forces in their capture and transfer to [National Directorate of Security] or [Afghan National Police] custody. UNAMA found compelling evidence that 19 of these 89 detainees were tortured in NDS facilities namely, NDS Department 90/124 and NDS Laghman and three in ANP custody (ANP in Kunduz and Tirin Kot). This situation speaks to the need for robust oversight and monitoring of all transfers of detainees to NDS and ANP custody and possible suspension of transfers where credible reports of torture exist. [snip] The US and other ISAF military forces, including Canada and the UK reportedly transferred approximately 2,000 individuals to Afghan custody in 2009 and 2010.166 Judicial rulings in Canada and the UK resulted in suspension of transfers of detainees by those countries’ military forces to various NDS facilities over different periods of time.167 In both cases, the courts’ decisions were based on the credibility of information that NDS abused and tortured detainees in selected locations (Kabul and Kandahar). The UK stopped transfers to NDS Kandahar and NDS facilities in Kabul. Canada ceased transfers to all NDS facilities in Kabul, but continued to transfer to Kandahar’s MoJ Sarapoza prison. Canadian and the UK governments also implemented monitoring programmes in detention facilities where they handed over detainees to custody of Afghan authorities.
The US has not yet put in place a monitoring programme to track detainees it hands over to Afghan authorities. A US government official advised UNAMA that the US Embassy finalised plans for a post‐transfer detainee monitoring programme and a proposal is with the Afghan government for its consideration. The Embassy stated that it regards the proposed programme as a positive way for the US to continue its work with the Afghan government to ensure its detention system is safe, secure, and humane.168 In early July 2011, US military forces stopped transferring detainees to NDS and ANP authorities in Dai Kundi, Kandahar, Uruzgan and Zabul based on reports of a consistent practice of torture and mistreatment of detainees in NDS and ANP detention facilities in these areas.169 ISAF advised UNAMA that it asked the Government to investigate these reports and indicates it will not resume transfers until the situation is satisfactorily addressed.
In early September 2011, in response to the findings in this report, ISAF stated that it stopped transferring detainees to certain installations as a precautionary measure.170
That is, even though our coalition partners had already stopped transferring detainees to Afghans known to use torture in interrogations, the US continued doing so until last month.
And this torture is happening almost exclusively to obtain confessions.
Out of 273 detainees interviewed, 125 (46 percent) reported they had been tortured while in NDS custody. The forms of abuse most commonly reported were suspension (being hung by the wrists from chains attached to the wall, iron bars or other fixtures for lengthy periods) and beating, especially with rubber hoses, electric cables and wires or wooden sticks and particularly on the soles of the feet. Other forms of abuse reported included electric shock, twisting of the detainee’s penis and wrenching of the detainee’s testicles, removal of toenails and forced prolonged standing. Detainees also reported blindfolding and hooding. According to detainees, these abuses almost always took place during interrogations and were aimed at obtaining a confession. Only two percent of those detainees who reported abuse by NDS said that any abuse took place at the time of arrest or in any other context. [snip] Based on the interviews it conducted, UNAMA found compelling evidence that officials at Department 90/124 systematically tortured detainees for the purposes of obtaining information and confessions. According to UNAMA’s findings, NDS officials in Department 90/124 used beating, suspension, and twisting and wrenching of genitals as means of torture. Two detainees also reported receiving electric shocks, two detainees reported their beards had been pulled, and three detainees reported having their heads banged against the wall.57 All of the abuse took place in the context of the interrogation process. In most cases, the detainee’s account of the sequence of events makes it clear that NDS officials used abusive interrogation procedures to obtain information and formal confessions.
It’d be nice if we did more than stop turning over detainees to prisons known to use torture now that the UN has formally put us on notice about it. It’d be nice if we reviewed when the US became aware of this practice and why we kept turning people over to the Afghans.
But I guess that would amount to looking backward.The Chinese environmental ministry has reaffirmed its crack down on polluting firms in Linyi, an industrial city in East China's Shandong province, despite the controversial effects on the local financial situation and the social stability.
"The city is a microcosm of all cities that sacrifice the environment in the process of economic transition, and has to pay its historical debts to the environment now,"said the ministry on its WeChat moments, a social networking site, on Thursday night.
The pollution crackdown has halted production at 57 companies, cutting PM2.5 by a quarter but also threatening financial and social stability, news website Thepaper.cn reported.
Production at 57 companies in Linyi, mostly steel, coal and glass plants, has been suspended since March, after the city's mayor was summoned by the environment ministry for failing to supervise polluting firms.
Although Linyi's levels of PM2.5 pollution - the tiny particulates that are most damaging to public health - dropped 24.3 percent from January to May, the crackdown has caused financial problems and social instability, with companies struggling to pay back hefty loans and 60,000 jobs lost.
With the leaders vowing not to be singled out again by the environment ministry, there's no schedule in sight for the companies to resume production. Halting production has caused the enterprises' capital chain to break, making them unable to pay their debts.
According to statistics from the local banking sector, the city has 300 billion yuan in loans, one third of them from the shuttered companies. Potential loan defaults by these companies may cause a regional financial crisis.
Linyi's government investment platform injected 70 million yuan into the city's largest private company, Huasheng Jiangquan Group, last month to pay back the interest on its loans.
About 60,000 residents had lost their jobs at the 57 shuttered companies. Local police said cases of theft and robbery in the city had increased in recent months.
Companies complained that the local government's sudden order to shut down factories had damaged equipment and left them no time to minimize their losses.
A company that produces glass panes had its electricity cut off when there were still 2,000 tonnes of molten glass and molten tin in the furnace.
"If we resume production, we need to blast off the cooled, solid tin and glass waste, a process which will take four to five months. And the furnace is almost ruined," said one of its workers.
A coal plant leader, whose furnace was also shut down immediately under the order, has asked a professional association to evaluate his losses, which "stand at at least 10 million", according to his estimates.
"Even if I can't stop the order, I must show the government how much it cost me, " he said.
Most of the plants had not been through environmental impact reviews before they opened, as Linyi officials had invited them to invest in the city and promised to handle all "procedural paperwork", the reports said.
A reform group led by President Xi Jinping issued three documents on Wednesday vowing to improve environmental inspection, and to hold officials who fail to properly supervise environmental damage responsible.With Turkey's vote on Sunday for sweeping constitutional reforms, autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has consolidated his power and divided the country. The referendum on the Turkish Constitution is just one further example in the year of Brexit of the dubious value of referenda. There is likely to be much talk in the coming days of a majority vote, regardless how narrow it was (51.4-48.8), and how it must be respected.
For the European Union, however, there can only be one outcome: Membership negotiations with Turkey should be terminated.
The Turks have voted for autocracy, for the repression of political opponents and likely also for the introduction of the death penalty. None of these can be reconciled with membership in the EU. For Brussels now, at the very latest, the time has come to call the accession process what it is: dead.
The Counter Arguments
One popular counter argument is that the EU will lose any of the influence it has in Ankara by breaking off negotiations. But where was that influence in 2013 when Erdogan beat down the protests in Gezi Park? Where was it when Erdogan deliberately escalated the conflict with the Kurds as part of a domestic power play? And where was that EU influence when, right after last summer's military coup attempt, Erdogan had tens of thousands of people rounded up and thrown into jail, including numerous journalists? And where was it when Erdogan stirred up hatred against EU countries to win his constitutional referendum?
A further argument against breaking off negotiations is that it would even further weaken democratic forces inside Turkey. That could, of course, happen. But the EU ought to be paying closer attention to the democracies within Europe that are already imperiled. Autocrats are currently in power in Hungary and Poland, both member states, and the EU has done little to show that it can stand up to the in part openly anti-EU and anti-democratic polices of Viktor Orbán and Jaroslaw Kaczynski. If they now buckle in the face of a Turkish autocrat, they will further damage their credibility while at the same time weakening those who have been fighting to force Poland and Hungary to preserve a free democratic order.
Even the third argument against stopping negotiations has little traction -- namely ensuring that Erdogan doesn't withdraw from the refugee deal with Europe. One reason this argument doesn't work is that the closure to a large degree of the West Balkan route used by refugees to get to Central Europe has contributed at least as much to the reduction in refugees and migrants as has the deal the EU reached with Erdogan. Second, the deal comes with billions of euros in aid that are advantageous enough for Turkey that it wouldn't likely just walk away from the deal.
None of this means that the EU should suspend all efforts in working together with Turkey. But it should be more honest in the way it does so by communicating to Turkey that it is interested in deeper economic ties rather than EU membership for the country. That would likely create greater opportunities for the EU to assert political influence over Turkey, because Erdogan is in fact dependent on having good economic relations with Europe.
EU membership for Turkey is also inconceivable in the longer term. The European states need to speak openly about this once and for all -- if for no other reason than to prevent the EU's further disintegration.Buy Photo Gov. Matt Bevin delivered the State of the Commonwealth address at the State Capitol in Frankfort. Jan., 2017 (Photo: Sam Upshaw Jr./C-J)Buy Photo
FRANKFORT, Ky. — A federal judge has struck down key parts of the ethics code governing the Kentucky General Assembly, including its provision that bans lawmakers from accepting "anything of value" from a lobbyist.
Also struck down in the order is a provision that bans lobbyists from making campaign contributions to candidates for the General Assembly.
In a 35-page opinion, U.S. District Judge William O. Bertelsman stated that such ethics laws must be narrowly tailored to combat "quid pro quo" corruption, but that Kentucky's law is unconstitutionally vague and overbroad.
"The scope of the gift ban is so broad that even a glass of water may be considered a violation..." Bertelsman wrote. "Not knowing what otherwise mundane amenities may constitute something of 'value' would cause hesitation on the part of a legislator if invited to a lobbyist's office to discuss a matter of importance."
More: Second ethics complaint filed over Bevin's home in Anchorage
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As for the ethics codes' ban on lobbyists contributing to the campaign of a legislative candidate, Bertelsman wrote, "Defendants fail to show that a complete ban on campaign contributions from lobbyists is narrowly tailored to prevent quid pro quo corruption."
The case was filed two years ago by state Sen. John Schickel, a Union Republican; David Watson, a Libertarian who ran for a seat in the Kentucky House in 2016; and Ken Moellman, a candidate for Pendleton County judge-executive in 2018, the opinion states.
Defendants in the case are the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance and the Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission.
Schickel called the decision "a great victory for freedom of speech."
Schickel said, "We have prosecutors to prosecute bribery and corruption, which they should do. But this (ruling) means a legislator doesn't have to worry about being hauled into court for something like having a cup of coffee."
But state Rep. Jim Wayne, D-Louisville, who is not a party to the case, said he was "extremely disappointed" because the ruling will give more influence to well-heeled special interests in shaping legislation.
"It's tragic that the legislature can't regulate itself in this in this regard," Wayne said. "Our law is not perfect, but it is an improvement over how these activities were regulated before we passed a strong ethics code."
NEWSLETTERS Get the Breaking News newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong Breaking news alerts Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-800-866-2211. 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
More: These are the groups that spent the most lobbying the Kentucky Legislature this session
More: Who are Frankfort's highest-paid lobbyists?
Kentucky's General Assembly adopted a strong ethics code in the 1990s after a federal investigation called Operation BOPTROT rocked the capital and resulted in convictions of some legislators, lobbyists and others on corruption charges.
George Troutman, chairman of the Legislative Ethics Commission, said he has not made a decision as to whether to appeal.
"I'm not surprised by this given the way the courts have been interpreting the Constitution. Whether it will be the best thing for the commonwealth remains to be seen," Troutman said.
John Steffen, executive director of the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, said he was analyzing the ruling, particularly a potentially major part that deals with the constitutionality of the four legislative caucus committees. Republican and Democratic caucuses in the House and Senate raised huge amounts of money through these committees for their candidates.
The ruling, Steffen said, "in part declares one provision of campaign finance laws dealing with the caucus campaign committees to be unconstitutional while upholding the provision allowing caucus campaign committees to receive contributions."
House Speaker Jeff Hoover, R-Jamestown, and Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, also withheld immediate reaction. That's partly because details of how the ruling will be carried out await a final order. Bertlesman directed all parties in the case to confer and propose to him within 20 days a final order that conforms with the ruling.
Reach Tom Loftus at tloftus@courier-journal.com.
Read or Share this story: http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/2017/06/07/kentucky-ban-lobbyist-gifts-struck-down/376794001/The price of bitcoin has not reached the heights of $466 since September 2014. At that point it was still in free fall from the dizzying heights of $1,200 at the peak of the bitcoin frenzy in December 2013. Now the price of bitcoin has finally returned to the level it last reached 18 months ago as the world's most valuable cryptocurrency shows signs of breaking the $500 mark for the first time in two years.
According to CoinDesk's USD Bitcoin Price Index, the cryptocurrency's price peaked at $466.45 on Tuesday, as it continued to sustain a two-week surge. Prior to this recent uptick, bitcoin had seen a month of relatively stable pricing when it fluctuated between $410 and $430 — a very rare occurrence for it.
The reason for the current positive interest is still unclear, but it is probably related to the launch of a piece of code that is set to improve the number of transactions the bitcoin network can handle at one time. Called Segregated Witness, or SegWit, and first proposed in December, the code is seen as an interim measure before a proposed “hard fork” of the bitcoin network, which would see a new blockchain created with larger blocks.
Bitcoin businesses and users are hoping SegWit will alleviate the problems the bitcoin network has been experiencing recently, with waiting times for transactions to be verified reaching over 40 minutes and more than 40,000 transactions waiting to be cleared at one point.
The bitcoin community is currently split between one group (known as Bitcoin Core) who want to retain the current block size and instead change the way signatures are stored on the blockchain and another (known as Bitcoin Classic) who propose the adoption of an alternative blockchain. That blockchain, incompatible with the original, would increase the block size to 2 MB, a move some believe would increase user adoption.
Another reason for the recent uptick in bitcoin price could be the upcoming halving of rewards for miners. Bitcoins are mined by solving increasingly complex mathematical equations. Currently the miners get 25 bitcoins per block, but that number will halve sometime in July to 12.5 bitcoins per block. This is part of the way bitcoin was created by the anonymous Satoshi Nakamoto to make it ever harder to mine bitcoins.
The rise in bitcoin's price could also have something to do with the recent reports that game developer Valve is about to introduce bitcoin as a payment option on its Steam game distribution network, which has 125 million users. The reports suggest Valve will work with bitcoin payment processor BitPay to facilitate the system.Astroneer begins a procedurally-generated futuristic gold rush in 2016 A group of talented developers have come together to announce a new game that takes players into the outer reaches of procedurally-generated space to brave the wild elements and come back with enough resources to collect vast riches. This is Astroneer.
There's an entire frontier beyond Earth, filled with precious resources. They're surrounded by harsh environments, but the rewards for surviving any treacherous conditions are vast. That's the premise behind Astroneer, a new game from System Era Softworks announced earlier today.
Astroneer takes players into the 25th century, where humanity is in the midst of another gold rush. To aid in their search for valuables, players can alter a surface's terrain, allowing them to search across planets, asteroids, and moons for anything that could be exchanged for top dollar. Finding these resources won't be easy, since environments will be procedurally-generated. Each surface is textureless, adding to the idea of shaping terrain and molding it into something completely new.
System Era Softworks is a team comprised of experienced developers from studios like 343 Industries, Disney, Valve, Ubisoft, and also includes Shacknews Chatty poster eonix. Look for more information on Astroneer in the coming months, but in the meantime, visit the game's website and check out the trailer below. Astroneer is set to release on PC in 2016.The first time I met Geralt of Rivia I was standing in the magazine aisle at the local grocery store. He was staring back at me from the cover of some PC gamer magazine I have long-since forgotten the title of, and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings was set to launch for PC. The year was 2011. The cover drew me in, and I picked up that magazine, started reading and knew this was a game I HAD to play. Monster hunter, mercenary, mutant… hero. I was intrigued, but after putting that magazine back on the shelf I forgot about The Witcher until Steam had a big sale in 2012, just around the holidays.
I was immediately drawn into this world, more than just intrigued with the character, his back story, his companions and his future so I started to do a little digging and discovered something a lot of other nerds knew about LONG before I came along. The game series was inspired by a series of books by Polish fantasy author, Andrzej Sapkowski, and Geralt of Rivia had been a part of this world far longer than my own daughter had been alive. In fact, I was only eleven years old the year Sapkowski wrote the first Witcher story on a whim, and over the next twenty-eight years (mostly during the 1990s) Sapkowski expanded Geralt’s universe to include several short stories and five novels.
While the story between prose and game differs slightly, it takes place in the same world with similar political issues and problems. One thread remains true between both: Geralt of Rivia is a hero, though he rarely sees himself in that light. Mutated, scarred, and allegedly emotionless, Geralt often thinks himself a monster who kills monsters, someone unworthy of love, friendship and the honor that comes with heroics, but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, Geralt of Rivia is perhaps one of the few people in this world Sapkowski created who is not a monster.
To define the term monster in this series is a near impossible task, because monsters aren |
You won, you absolutely won, what else do you want from us?Data about flu rates in different parts of London will be released More than 200 data sets detailing life in London are to be put online by the capital's governing body. Information about planning decisions, crime rates, abandoned vehicles, house prices, road accidents and many other metrics will form the London datastore. The Greater London Authority said the online data warehouse will officially open on 29 January. Boris Johnson, London Mayor, said releasing the data would make the GLA more open and accountable. "I firmly believe that access to information should not just be the preserve of institutions and a limited elite," said Mr Johnson in a statement. "Data belongs to the people - particularly that held by the public sector - and getting hold of it should not involve a complex routine of jumping through a series of ever decreasing hoops," he said. The data is likely to prove attractive to the growing cadre of web developers and programmers keen to put it to use. Those who come up with the most innovative ways to harness the data could get a substantial grant to help them bring their idea to life. 4iP, Channel 4's Innovation for the Public Fund, said it would back the best ideas with a £200,000 cash pot. The decision to set up the datastore follows a similar move by central government to start releasing some official datasets to programmers and developers. The data.gov.uk site will act as a repository for centrally held information and was unveiled in November 2009. It will go fully live in April 2010. Similarly, many developers have been badgering local authorities to release the data they hold so they can put it to public use. Sites such as Openly Local and Mash The State have been campaigning for more access to data.
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21-year-old Jabari Dean was arrested on Monday after threatening to kill students and staff at the University of Chicago.
Dean posted a message on social media over the Thanksgiving weekend in which he laid out the details of his plan to carry out the racially-motivated rampage.
“This is my only warning,” wrote Dean. “At 10 a.m. on Monday mourning (sic) I am going to the campus quad of the University of Chicago. I will be armed with a M-4 Carbine and 2 Desert Eagles all fully loaded. I will execute aproximately (sic) 16 white male students and or staff, which is the same number of time (sic) Mcdonald (sic) was killed.”
“I then will die killing any number of white policemen that I can in the process. This is not a joke. I am to do my part to rid the world of the white devils. I expect you to do the same,” the post stated.
The threat led the University of Chicago to take the decision to close the campus after consultation with the FBI.
Dean was released to his mother on Tuesday morning from U.S. Dirksen Federal Courthouse pending a charge of transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.
However, U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Cox has “allowed him to attend class,” according to reports, a privilege that presumably would not have been granted to a white student who had threatened to massacre over a dozen black people.
Dean was given permission to return to campus under the justification that he had no weapons with which to carry out his planned attack. Bill Burton, a spokesman for UIC, declined to comment on whether the university would allow Dean to return or what disciplinary action he would face.
Despite being infinitely more threatening than the University of Missouri “poop swastika,” which prompted weeks of protest at colleges across the U.S. and lavish media attention, Dean’s threat to massacre 16 students as part of a ‘Black Lives Matter’ revenge attack has attracted comparatively little press coverage.
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A bowl of pork rinds in Thailand
Pork rind is the culinary term for the skin of a pig. It can be used in many different ways.
It can be fried or roasted in pork fat (lard) to produce the snack called pork rinds in American English and pork greaves, pork scratchings, or pork cracklings in the UK (although "crackling" may instead refer to the rind on a roasted pork joint).[1] The frying renders much of the fat attached to the uncooked rind, causing the size of the cooked product to be reduced considerably.
Snack [ edit ]
Often a byproduct of the rendering of lard, it is also a way of making even the tough skin of a pig edible. In many ancient cultures, animal fats were the only way of obtaining oil for cooking and they were common in many people's diets until the industrial revolution made vegetable oils more common and more affordable.
Microwaveable pork rinds are sold in bags that resemble microwaveable popcorn and can be eaten still warm. Pickled pork rinds, though, are often enjoyed refrigerated and cold. Unlike the crisp and fluffy texture of fried pork rinds, pickled pork rinds are very rich and buttery, much like foie gras.
Preparation [ edit ]
For the large-scale production of commercial pork rinds, frozen, dried pork skin pellets are used. They are first rehydrated in water with added flavoring, and then fried in pork fat at 200–210 °C (392–410 °F). Cooking makes the rinds expand and float on the oil surface. The rinds are then removed from the fat, flavored, and air dried. Antioxidants may be added to improve stability.[2]
Nutritional value [ edit ]
Like many snack foods, pork rinds can be high in sodium and fat; however, they are low in carbohydrates and are sometimes considered an alternative snack food for those following the Atkins diet. According to Men's Health, a one-ounce (28 g) serving contains nine times the protein and less fat than is found in a serving of potato chips, which are much higher in carbohydrates. They add that 43% of pork rind's fat is unsaturated, and most of that is oleic acid, the same healthy fat found in olive oil. Another 13% of its fat content is stearic acid, a type of saturated fat that is considered harmless because it does not raise cholesterol levels.[3] A 60 g serving of pork rind contains 29 g of fat, 375 kcal and 0.65g of sodium.[4] However, pork rinds are considered an incomplete source of protein because they contain very low amounts of some essential amino acids, including methionine, tryptophan, and histidine.[5]
Regional variations [ edit ]
Americas [ edit ]
Brazil [ edit ]
Torresmo, also known as toicinho de porco, is a popular bar snack in Brazil, usually served in bite-sized chunks. It is also a common accompaniment to typical dishes such as feijoada and virado.
Colombia [ edit ]
Chicharrones is the term for pork rinds in Colombia. Two kinds of chicharrón exist: chicharrón toteado (exploded pork crackling), which has no meat in it and is similar to the lighter, commercial version, and chicharrón cocho, which is usually made with part of the pork meat attached to the skin. This makes for a crispy skin and a soft, juicy meat. It is traditionally served with beans, rice, fried eggs, avocado, and plantain in a typical plate called bandeja paisa.
Canada [ edit ]
Scrunchions is a Newfoundland term for small pieces of pork rind or pork fatback fried until rendered and crispy. They are often used as a flavoring over other foods, such as salt fish and potatoes, and mainly used as a condiment for fish and brewis.[6][7]
In Quebec, they are often called oreilles de Christ (Christ ears) and are eaten almost exclusively as part of traditional cabane à sucre meals.
Costa Rica [ edit ]
Chicharrones are commonly served in homes or snack in bars and restaurants, little sodas (small restaurants with home-cooking flavor business) also adds in their menu Vigoron or empanadas with chicharrones and famous snack dish called chifrijo.
Preparation could change from using pig fat as base, boiling and later frying, but many prefer using a wok-like pot and wood-fire cooking.
Mexico [ edit ]
Mexico is one of the world's largest producers and consumers of pork rinds, known as chicharrón or chicharra. It may still have fat attached, called in Spanish chicharrón con gordo in central México.
It is commonly served in homes across Mexico. It can be served in a soup sometimes called chicharrón con chile (pork rind with chili sauce) or salsa de chicharrón (pork rind sauce). It is often served as an appetizer, or even offered as snack at family reunions. However, chicharrones can be purchased on the street[8] and are usually eaten with hot sauce and lime juice.
One popular breakfast is salsa de chicharron, (also chicharrón con chile or just chicharrón in some regions) cooked in green tomato or tomato salsa spiced with epazote. If liquid is drained, the pork rind can be used in tacos, either as fast-food products or kitchen made.
The dryness in pork rind pairs perfectly with humidity and softness in pico de gallo (diced tomato, avocado, onion, cilantro [coriander leaf], and chili mix) and both fill perfectly a corn tortilla as taco.
A byproduct in frying rinds is the decanted residues in fryer called asiento or boronas (grounds). The process requires uniformly cooking rinds, and while the product dehydrates, it cracks, losing small pieces, which are collected afterwards and become a thick, fatty salsa, that can be mixed as an ingredient in other salsa de chicharrón recipes or used for its flavor and fat in pan frying. A second byproduct in frying rinds is lard.
Cueritos are the same as pork rinds, but are soft, chewy, and translucent, as they are not heavily cooked unlike the chicharrón, which is very crispy. They are easily available in Mexico as antojo and sold on the streets, usually by butchers, oftentimes served fresh, but one can also find them marinated with vinegar and onion at tienditas, popular convenience stores where the clerk is usually the owner. If marinated, they are served with lemon and salt, powdered chili and probably with salsa Valentina.
Another vatiety is duritos, also called chicharrones de harina. These are similar to traditional chicharrones, only made with fried flour leavened with baking soda, instead of fried pig skin. This variety also features a pinwheel shape. Like cueritos, this food is popular with street vendors. They are infrequently sold in Mexico, but tend to be a Mexican-American version of the popular chicharron. [9]
In the Yucatan cuisine, it is often served along pork belly, known locally by the Maya word kastakán,[10] blood sausage, and a spiced sausage made from pork entrails and habanero peppers known as buche.[11]
United States [ edit ]
A selection fried pork skins and pork cracklins at a local Winn-Dixie in Florida.
Pork rinds, sometimes cracklings, is the American name for fried or roasted skins of pigs, geese or other animals, regardless of the status or amount of pork in the snack. Pieces of fried meat, skin, or membrane produced as a byproduct of rendering lard are also called cracklings. Cracklings consist of either roasted or fried pork rind that has had salt rubbed into it and scored with a sharp knife: "a crackling offers a square of skin that cracks when you bite into it, giving way to a little pocket of hot fat and a salty layer of pork meat."[12]
Cajun cracklings (or "cracklins") from Cajun cuisine (called gratons in Louisiana French), are fried pieces of pork fat with a small amount of attached skin, flavored after frying with a mixture of peppery Cajun spices.[12]
Pork rinds normally refers to a snack food commercially sold in plastic bags. They are made in a two-step process: pork skin is first rendered and dried, and then fried and puffed.[13] These are also called by the Spanish name, chicharrón, a term from Latin America.
Pork rinds sold in the United States are occasionally stained with a pink or purple spot. These edible marks are actually USDA stamps used on the skins to mark that they have been inspected. They are not harmful.[14]
In 2003, sales of pork rinds experienced rapid growth, but they have dropped "by $31 million since 2004, when they reached $134 million, and now make up barely more than 1% of the salty snack market."[12]
Asia [ edit ]
China [ edit ]
"脂渣" (zhizha) is made from pork, and are extremely popular in and only popularized in Qingdao, Shandong. It is a byproduct of lard. Lard is usually sold around US$1, but zhizha may be sold for about $30-40 and huazhi for around $10 "精肉脂渣" (zhizha): The skin is removed and sliced as thin as a gold coin. After the extraction of lard, the rest is hard and tastes like a salty cracker, seasoned with salt and MSG while it is hot. "花脂" (huazhi): This is made from intestines, chopped and deep-fried twice, and used in stew or soup.
Philippines [ edit ]
Chicharon (derived from the Spanish chicharrón; also spelled tsitsaron) is usually bought from balut vendors as pulutan (i.e. appetizer dishes usually eaten with alcoholic beverages). It is also available in grocery stores, supermarkets, outdoor markets, sidewalk food vendors, and sari-sari stores (small, home made stores). Chicharon is prepared by deep-frying dried pork rinds and seasoning with salt. It is usually eaten with vinegar, hot vinegar (chopped chilies and/or soy sauce are added), or with bagoong, lechon liver sauce, or atchara (pickled green papaya). Chicharong manok, which is made from chicken skin, and chicharong bulaklak (literally 'flower chicharrón', from its distinctive shape) made of pig intestine, are also popular. It is also used as a topping for pancit palabok and pancit malabon and in preparing pork sisig.
Thailand [ edit ]
Khaep mu (in the bowl at the bottom of the image) served as one of the starters in this selection of northern Thai dishes (in the bowl at the bottom of the image) served as one of the starters in this selection of northern Thai dishes
Khaep mu (Thai: แคบหมู, pronounced [kʰɛ̂:p mǔː, kʰɛ́p mǔː]), as crispy pork rinds are known in Thai cuisine, are a speciality of the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai.[15][16] One way of making khaep mu is to first cure the pork skin, with an attached layer of fat, in salt for several days, after which it is soaked in water for a couple of hours. This ensures that the fat cells will expand, resulting in a "puffed skin" after cooking. The slabs of belly fat are then slowly cooked at a low heat in, preferably, lard but other animal fat and vegetable oil can also be used. Similar to a confit, the pork thus treated can be stored. The pork is then cut into smaller pieces and baked in an oven until perfectly crispy.[17] Another method of making the pork rinds again involves salting the pork skin, but instead of soaking it, the skin is hung out to dry in the sun after which it is sliced and deep-fried twice.[18] Yet another way to make this dish in Thailand is to first cut the pork skin into strips, then boil them in water after which they are thoroughly dried before being deep-fried.[19]
Northern Thai people most often eat pork rinds together with different Thai chili pastes, such as nam phrik num (made with grilled green chili peppers) and nam phrik ong (made with dried chili peppers, tomato and minced pork). It can also be eaten as a snack, either on its own, or with nam chim khaep mu, a dipping sauce made with lime juice, fresh chili peppers and a sweet chili paste.[20] It can also figure as an accompaniment to Thai dishes such as Nam ngiao and the famous Thai salad som tam[19] or used crushed as an ingredient, for instance in sa makhuea, a northern Thai salad made with minced pork and Thai eggplant.[21]
Vietnam [ edit ]
Pork rinds used to be a very common food in Vietnam before the Doi moi program in 1986. Due to various economic difficulties in the pre-Doi moi era, cooking oil and meat were still considered "luxury goods", and consequently fat liquid and pork rind became excellent replacements in Vietnamese daily meals. Nowadays with a better economic situation for the country, pork rind is no longer a substitute food, but rather a special component in many Vietnamese dishes, such as cơm tấm, noodle and snails (bún ốc), noodle soup, etc.[22][23] In Vietnamese, pork rind is called tóp mỡ, which translates to "dried piece of fat".
Europe [ edit ]
In most Slavic countries they are known as "škvarky" (as in the Czech Republic and Slovakia), "шква́рки" (as in Russia or Ukraine), or " Čvarci" (as in Serbia or Bosnia). Often they are mixed with lard as a type of spread, and served with bread. They are particularly popular in this form during celebrations when alcohol is to be consumed.
They are part of the traditional dish "bramborové knedlíky se škvarkama a kyselým zelím", potato dumplings with cracklings and sauerkraut. See the picture.
In Hungary, they are called "tepertő" and is usually served with salt and bread, sometimes vegetables. It's consumption is at its peak during the season of pig slaughter, as it is then when pork rind is at its freshest. It is usually consumed as breakfast or dinner meal.
In Romania they are known as "jumări". The outer layer of a pig's skin, known as "șorici", is usually served with salt and cut in thin slices of a few millimeters.
In Catalonia, a llardó is each of the pieces of fried animal fat (specially of pork) that remain after pressing to extract the lard, so that they are golden and crunchy. They are sold by weight in salumerias in Catalonia, and in the Carnival time they are often also found in pastries. The llardó is used as an appetizer, as a snack, and is essential to make the coca de llardons, a cake typical in Catalonia during different festivals. Some salumerias use them to make egg butifarras, since in Barcelona both products are strongly associated to Fat Thursday.
United Kingdom [ edit ]
Pork scratchings is the British name for deep-fried, salted, crunchy pork rind with fat produced separately from the meat. This is then eaten cold.[24] Pork scratchings typically are heavy and hard, have a crispy layer of fat under the skin, and are flavored only with salt. The pig hair is usually removed by quickly burning the skin of the pig before it is cut into pieces and cooked in hot fat. In comparison, Crackling is distinguished from normal pork rind in the United Kingdom by the fact that it is cut from a freshly-roasted joint of pork (Usually a Pork loin or Pork chops) after the meat has finished cooking and is usually served warm or hot, before the fat on the underside of the roasted skin can finish cooling down and re-solidifying.
Pork scratchings are sold as a snack food, and common brands include Mr. Porky,[25] Big D, Uncle Albert, Jays, and Midland Snacks.[26] Unlike the physically large, but relatively light bags of deep-fried skin without the fat sold around the world, in the UK they are sold in relatively small bags which usually weigh between 42 g and 90 g. and are eaten as an accompaniment to a pint of beer in a pub, just like crisps or peanuts. Scratchings can also be bought from butchers, supermarkets or newsagents. They have been taken to both the North and South Poles on various expeditions, because of their high energy content.[27]
There are three distinct types. Traditional scratchings are made from shank rind and cooked just once. Pork crackling is also made from shoulder rind, but is fried twice. It is first rendered at a low heat, and then cooked at a higher temperature for a less fatty, crispier result, or cut from roasted pork joints to produce heavier but less fatty results. A more recent development is the pork crunch, which is made from back rind and again double-fried to become a large, puffy snack.[28] Some supermarkets now sell just the layer of skin and fat (no meat), in a raw form for home grilling or roasting, or cooked and ready to eat from hot food counters. The term "crackling" is also often applied to a twice-cooked variety of pork scratchings.
See also [ edit ]
Chicharron
Ciccioli, an Italian food made from pressed pork scraps
, an Italian food made from pressed pork scraps Čvarci
Gribenes, a Jewish snack made from chicken skin
, a Jewish snack made from chicken skin Krupuk kulit, a similar Indonesian snack but more commonly made from cattle skin.Police were investigating how a Comic-Con attendee suffered serious head injuries not far from the San Diego Convention Center.
A teen Comic-Con cosplayer initially thought to have been brutally assaulted is now believed to have suffered her head injuries in a fall, police said Thursday.
Harbor police said in a news release issued Thursday afternoon that the 17-year-old Riverside County girl in town for Comic-Con was not the victim of a sexual assault or beating, as earlier thought, but rather suffered head injuries after falling six feet.
Police said the girl was climbing a gate at the Marriott Hotel after an altercation with an older man. That’s when she fell and was found at 1 a.m. Sunday near the pool at the hotel on Harbor Drive, near the San Diego Convention Center.
Since the incident, police have had difficulty piecing together the circumstances because the girl did not remember what happened.
The case attracted widespread online attention – first by bloggers questioning whether an assault of the girl was a hoax – and then by mainstream media, including national news outlets. Photos of her dressed as a Roger Rabbit cosplayer, or dressed in character, were widely circulated online.
Harbor police said because of this widespread attention they investigated the case extensively, including reviewing footage from multiple surveillance cameras and by questioning Comic-Con attendees
“Her injuries and physical evidence at the scene were consistent with a fall,” the news release said.
The girl suffered several brain bleeds and is still recovering, her family has said
A 29-year-old man, Justin Kalior, whom the girl got into a fight with before her fall, was arrested on unrelated allegations of having sexual contact with a minor and providing her alcohol. He will not face any other charges, police said.
Ed. Note: A previous version of this article incorrectly attributed information on the victim's condition to Harbor police. We have removed the incorrect information and regret the error.Did you ever wonder what A Christmas Carol might look like if the NSA wrote it during the Cold War? And replaced all the characters with Communist icons? Well wonder no longer!
The Fall/Winter 1987-1988 issue of NSA's internal magazine Cryptological Quarterly made all your dreams come true. Karl Marx plays the role of Uncle Scrooge, Stalin and Lenin play the Ghosts of Communism Past, and Mikhail Gorbachev stands in for the Ghost of Communism Future.
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The story was declassified in 2010 and I only recently stumbled upon it while perusing the NSA archives. The story serves as a fascinating snapshot of NSA humor near the end of the Cold War. We don't know who wrote the story exactly since the name is redacted. But it's transcribed below for your reading pleasure.
Happy Christmas, you Commies!
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UNCLE SCROOGE, who has been asleep for what seems like a hundred years, awakes slowly. Discovering his surroundings have changed dramatically, he starts looking about for familiar objects. Instead of his small office, he realizes with a start he is in a huge factory of sorts, with hundreds of people and thousands of strange objects all around. Walking slowly from stage left to center stage, he bellows:
Cratchitt!, Bob Cratchitt!
(From behind him, center stage, appears his office manager, who looks startled.)
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Yes, is that you, Uncle Scrooge?
SCROOGE. Of course it's me! What is this? What's going on here? Things look so different. I don't recognize anything... even the shop.
BOB. You've been asleep, dear uncle. We... I...your employees, we have had to manage without you for a while. You've been gone so long.
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SCROOGE. When I fell asleep, I had a nice little shop. It was profitable - and I could imagine what it would look like years hence. Rather idyllic, actually. Lots of hard work of course... but all this! What is all this?
BOB. Uncle, you've been asleep for a hundred years. We... I mean, I, know what you wanted the shop to do - but we've encountered some problems stemming from our incorporation and we had to make do.
SCROOGE. Incorporation?
BOB. Yes, uncle - back in 1917.
SCROOGE. My God, it took that long? And this isn't Germany, is it Bob?!
BOB. No, Uncle, it's Russia - that is, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
SCROOGE. I don't know what that means. It looks like Russia to me.
BOB. Well, Uncle...
SCROOGE. What are all these things here?
(Their conversation is interrupted by BOB's wife MARY, who glides in elegantly dressed and made up in sharp contrast to the office workers present who stand in awe of her presence.)
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MARY. Bob, Bob-it's Tiny Tim again!
BOB. Mary, there's someone here...
MARY. Bob, what are you going to do with Tim? If he's not being mischievous in the Ukraine playing with his science kit at that reactor place, or leading that gang of thugs in Kazakhstan, he's playing cops and robbers in Afghanistan! Now he's throwing paper airplanes from Finland to the Kremlin!
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BOB. Mary, shhh! We have company. Uncle Scrooge is awake.
MARY. Ohhh! Uncle Scrooge. Oh dear G...! I mean, why, welcome back, uncle. We've missed you - Bob more so than the others, I think. But I'm not sure any of them have really missed you at all...
BOB. Mary, please... that's enough. Of course we've missed you, uncle. Why, Tiny Tim especially has been wondering what's happened to you. He's missed your stories about the way things would be someday. It's going to be wonderful having you back, I mean awake, I think....
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SCROOGE. Thank you, Bob. (pausing) Bob, I want you to take the rest of the day off. Why don't you tend to Tiny Tim? He obviously needs a fatherly chat.
BOB. But, Uncle, if I tend to my work here at the factory, Tim will appreciate me that much more when I show him what I've done for him.
SCROOGE. No, Bob, I think you should spend even more time with him. Take a good look at that sign above your head... "Glasnost." It doesn't mean just publicity - telling him what you're doing. It also means being open - finding out what he's thinking.
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BOB. (chuckling) We've really got them fooled in the West, don't we, Uncle? (with a realization) Of course, they do go hand in hand, don't they, Uncle? But before I go - you asked me about the factory.
SCROOGE. That's all right, Bob. I'll just ask questions as I go.
BOB. Well, all right, Uncle, but there's something I should tell you.
SCROOGE, (frowning) Well, what is it? Come on, man.
BOB. Well, Uncle, the factory is haunted. There are ghosts roaming around who try to direct the workers. It makes our job as managers difficult at times.
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SCROOGE, (skeptically) I see, Bob. Well you and Mary run along now. I'll tend to the... ghosts. Spend some time with Tiny Tim, get to know him better. It'll be fun.
With that dismissal, BOB and MARY leave, MARY leading BOB who keeps looking back over his shoulder uncertainly. SCROOGE looks out over what is at least in name his domain. Most of it looks incomprehensible to him. He lets it soak in for several minutes, then starts walking slowly. Almost immediately he is confronted with an apparition. The ghostly presence, obviously highly intelligent and very concerned, looks more frightened than SCROOGE does. SCROOGE, comforted by this realization, addresses the apparition.
SCROOGE. Who, might I ask, are you? And why are you here?
FIRST GHOST OF PAST, (entering from left of center stage) Permit me to introduce myself. I am the Ghost of Communism Past. I'm here... well, I managed the store for a few years after we incorporated back in '17. But I got sick and... well, things started slipping away before I died.
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SCROOGE. What do you mean "things started slipping away?"
FIRST GHOST OF PAST. Well, we had some problems, you see. First, even after we revolted, the other countries didn't, and well, they invaded in an attempt to get us out of power. Then, well, Uncle Scrooge, that theory of yours had some flaws, so we had to experiment. I tried to warn everyone about him...
(With this a SECOND GHOST appears from right of center stage, much more confidently and aggressively.)
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SCROOGE. Who are you?
SECOND GHOST OF PAST. I'm the one who pulled you and him from the dustbin of history, so to speak. I am the Ghost of Communism Past, not this Bolshevik! If I hadn't reworked your theory and fixed his mistakes, none of us would be standing in this factory today. We'd still be back in your shop.
SCROOGE. Just what was wrong with my shop? Why has this all been changed so...?
FIRST GHOST OF PAST. Well, I can understand some of it (as he surveys the T-80s, Backfires and Blackjacks, BMPS, SS-N-23's, LPAR's, destroyers, etc.), but I doubt all of this is necessary.
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SECOND GHOST OF PAST. Of course it's necessary, why we've been invaded four times this century. Since you fell asleep, Uncle Scrooge!!
SCROOGE. But, there's so much here.
SECOND GHOST OF PAST. Absolutely necessary! And I'm proud that my involvement... although I never would have imagined all this... really set things in motion.
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FIRST GHOST OF PAST. Things could have been different! Some of this may be necessary. But all these resources devoted to one purpose! So much else could be done.
SCROOGE. Enough, both of you! I'm still confused as to how and why... Go! Leave me in peace.
(FIRST GHOST pulls SECOND GHOST away, forcing him to vanish as well. FIRST GHOST takes longer to depart, mournfully looking at a row ofT-80's, then back at SCROOGE, obviously wanting to talk more.)
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SCROOGE walks slowly along the overhang outside his office, looking down at seemingly thousands of uniformed and plain clothes workers who all, in regimented fashion, joylessly go about their jobs. The uniformed lot seems slightly less joyless than the civilians, if only because they look more authoritative. Row upon row of armament rolls off countless assembly lines. Below him are portals where the machinery is mixed and apparently designated for shipment. He sees signs with strange names painted on them, where machinery is queued. Afghanistan, Angola, Bulgaria, Congo, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Finland, Hungary, Iraq, Libya, Mozambique, North Korea, Peru, Romania, Syria, Vietnam, Yugoslavia, Zambia. Each has different amounts and different mixes. As much material as is headed for these destinations, it is a trifling quantity when compared with much larger assemblages with much broader and more complex mixes underneath signs which read GSFG, CGF, SGF, NGF, Moscow MD, Far East, Transcaucasus MD, etc!... MD after MD. SCROOGE staggers back, boggled by all he has seen. Men, soldiers, planes, guns, ships, signs representing unheard of places.
SCROOGE. What does all this mean? (He cries to the assemblage which remains unable to see him for the chaos on the factory floor, while the GHOST OF COMMUNISM PRESENT appears from stage right - a big, gruff, bushy-eyebrowed, none-too-intelligent looking, yet forceful presence.)
GHOST OF PRESENT. Force, power, strength! That is what all this means. (The GHOST OF PRESENT stops as if nothing more need be said, and as if he has nothing more to say.)
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(SCROOGE stares at him for a minute. He looks hard and realizes he will get only short, direct answers, stripped of the potential arguments - theoretical and otherwise - that the FIRST GHOST OF PAST would have given him.)
SCROOGE. Why the need for so much strength, force, and power? This seems overwhelming, so omnipotent.
GHOST OF PRESENT, (smiling broadly, almost patronizingly) Yes, it does, doesn't it?
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SCROOGE, (pausing) But why?
GHOST OF PRESENT. Because of our enemies, those we have now and those we shall have.
SCROOGE. Enemies! What enemies? Why should you have so many enemies? Why do you anticipate more? This isn't what I imagined!
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GHOST OF PRESENT. We had to adapt some, we may have to adapt more to make sure the dream - yours and ours, of course - is reality.
SCROOGE. But surely not this way!
GHOST OF PRESENT. There is no other way. In order to succeed, the vanguards of the worldwide movement need...
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SCROOGE. Vanguards, what vanguards?
GHOST OF PRESENT. Ah... you know, the vanguard, the... ahh... forefront of... the... leadership... maybe you should talk to the Ghost of Communism Past, the first one, I believe.
SCROOGE, (in mock understanding) Yes, of course. I'll have to do that! What exactly is your contribution to the present, ghost?
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GHOST OF PRESENT. Much of this, Uncle. I presided over almost twenty years of the metamorphosis of the shop into a factory such as this. In turn, I was able to expand upon the factory's management style considerably.
SCROOGE. Oh, and how did you accomplish this?
GHOST OF PRESENT. Well, when those damn Czechs... forgive me... when our fellow socialists, or rather soon-to-be communist haven in Czechoslovakia was threatened by the forces of... of... of... oh, yes - Western imperialism, our party ideologue drafted my doctrine!
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SCROOGE. And what doctrine was that?
GHOST OF PRESENT. You know, the one where I said that socialism... I mean communism, must remain inert, or intact, something like that. And we had to have the toys, or tools, to make sure it did.
(SCROOGE says nothing in response. He merely frowns, which soon becomes a scowl. Under his gaze, GHOST OF PRESENT slowly, uncertainly, fades away.)
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SCROOGE takes everything in again with a slow, sweeping gaze - almost incomprehensibly. He longs for his shop, searching for any remaining evidence of it. Unable to recognize any, he debates going back to sleep for another long, perhaps longer, nap, when his disillusioned reverie is interrupted by another ghostly presence. The apparition appears first from stage right, then from stage left, then from center stage, and even appears for an instant to be able to appear simultaneously across the entire stage.
This apparition confuses SCROOGE. It has the intelligent look of the FIRST GHOST OF PAST, the determination of the SECOND GHOST OF PAST, the resolve of the GHOST OF PRESENT, but interestingly has almost some semblance of the humanity and compassion with which SCROOGE had hoped the store would be managed. SCROOGE, however, senses something deeper in this apparition; beneath the surface |
Rage” - a gay bar in West Hollywood.
(DRAG QUEENS)
What’s worse than not being able to rock it with a hot girl? Having to get busy with a gay dude-looks-like-a-lady. Which is a thing because you know how all gay men will have sex with anything cause they’re gay? Because that’s how gay people work. You just put a butthole in front of them and they’re happy as clams! Gay people are funny cause they’re gay and they do gay things! Jokes!
It wouldn’t be a true song about Los Angeles if the Valley wasn’t promptly skewered. And not only the Valley, overweight girls who live in the Valley!
This is top shelf pussy
(NOT VALLEY GIRLS)
You should try the Vall-ey
(VALLEY GIRLS)
And the music cuts out completely. Just like a record scratch at a party! You know, like when something UNBELIEVABLE happens! Like overweight girls! Whoa! It’s funny ‘cause they’re not rail thin! Who loves chubby girls? No one! Who saw GIRLS this weekend?! Who read Rex Reed’s IDENTITY THIEF review? POINT PROVEN! Jokes!
DJ’s complaining that hot girls won’t go to the bone zone with him, but then, he won’t go to the bone zone with chubby girls from the Valley. Can you believe a person could have such a Grand Canyon lack of awareness about what he’s doing? He’s doing the very thing to these Valley girls that he’s complaining is being done to him by the hands of hot girls. What a fun little circle of bullshit!
(WEST HOLLYWOOD GIRLS)
All you need to know about these girls is they love kale juice, Lululemon, and talking about working at CAA. Which all seems like normal women trying to build a career for themselves in L.A. while staying healthy, but we’re quickly reminded that these girls get plenty of $$$ help from their dads! Unlike guys in L.A., who have never spent a dollar of their parents’ money, because guys are men and they do men things, like make money.
(BEVERLY HILLS GIRLS)
Persians. Too much perfume. Hair. A simple boiling down of a type of woman, a city and a culture, all at once. It’s like magic…but sad and hurtful.
And for no reason, other than to probably drive views, Jaleel White shows up.
He does an ill placed rap where he almost smashes a TV. Well, he hits it real hard with a bat, but nothing breaks. Perhaps he’s not mad enough about the boots he hasn’t been knockin’?
Question: What’s the best AIDS musical to get a misogynist’s point across? RENT, of course.
Five hundred twenty four hundred six thousand women,
Have rejected me in LA County.
Five hundred twenty four hundred six thousand dollars,
Is what you need to get pussy.
Finally, someone put a number on how much it costs to buy another human being! Or at least, a vagina.
What has to be the worst scene/lyric in this whole five minute tirade against girls, are these lyrics:
They don’t drink on dates
Cause they’re afraid of DUI
One wine’s not enough
To get between my thighs
First of all, date rape. Secondly, shaming a person for not drinking enough?! Incredible. Remember earlier when that girl was snorting cocaine? What a loser! Remember just now when that girl wouldn’t drink a lot? What a loser!
I wrote a song, here’s the first part:
It makes me sad this is a thing
I’m a woman in L.A.
Look, I’m sure DJ Lubel didn’t set out to make something misogynistic or anti-women.
This is what makes it so horrifying. He doesn’t even know what he’s doing. It’s the attitude of “I’m a guy, how dare these women reject me!? “, implying that women are here to serve men, despite how women feel. Which was a fun idea back when it was called “The Donna Reed Show.” And because he is blind to what he is doing, he doesn’t realize the degree to which he is completely dehumanizing women to the point of denying that they have their own wants and desires and thoughts and opinions, all so he can promote a series of LA clichés that were sort of acceptable before 1985.
DJ, and others who like the video, I believe, think it’s all in good fun. It’s exactly like when my mom says something hurtful to me, cause she’s passive aggressive and Irish, and then says “Just kidding!” As if “joking around” is an acceptable excuse to act like a total jerk face.
There’s also a deep river of anger throughout “Women of L.A.”. I get it. Dating is hard. People are mean. It happens to everyone. Last year, I went on about 40 dates, all with guys who were not right for me. I paid for my own meals and my own drinks and I spent a lot of money. But, I don’t hate the entire male population of Los Angeles because none of those guys worked out - because it’s unfair to use hurt feelings and resentment to attack an entire gender.
Last year, I met DJ. I was dating his friend (pre-40 dates nightmare). My boyfriend played me this song and I remember saying “oh, this is the worst idea, how could a person write that, etc.” Despite that, I gave DJ a birthday present. Cause he’s a human being, and it was his birthday and I wanted him to have a fun birthday present. Which is why it makes me doubly sad/mad that I am writing this piece. I feel like if it were the 80’s, I would have taken the demo tape and burned it, so this never happened. But, I don’t have a time machine and this didn’t happen in the 80’s and this whole scenario is impossible so I shouldn’t waste everyone’s time with it. But just know, I had the thought.
My point is, I know DJ, and he’s a nice guy. And he deserves to be loved and have a great relationship with a great girl. In the meantime, there’s a lesson to be learned about how to not vilify, demean, degrade and disrespect an entire city of women just because you can’t get your dick wet.
Pussy’s not a right - it’s a privilege. And if you want it, treat the things wrapped around pussies (women) with respect and dignity.
It’s what Jesus would do. Jesus my neighbor.
(special thanks to Alex Fernie (@ferniecommaalex) and Allison Hord (@hordie))Dame Kathleen Mary Kenyon, DBE (5 January 1906 – 24 August 1978), was a leading British archaeologist of Neolithic culture in the Fertile Crescent. She is best known for her excavations of Jericho in 1952–1958, and has been called one of the most influential archaeologists of the 20th century.[1] She was Principal of St Hugh's College, Oxford from 1962 to 1973.
Biography [ edit ]
Kathleen Kenyon was born in London, England, in 1906. She was the eldest daughter of Sir Frederic Kenyon, biblical scholar and later director of the British Museum. Her grandfather was lawyer and Fellow of All Souls College, John Robert Kenyon, and her great-great-grandfather was the politician and lawyer Lloyd Kenyon, 1st Baron Kenyon.[2] She grew up in Bloomsbury, London, in a house attached to the British Museum, with her mother, Amy Kenyon, and sister Nora Kenyon. Known for being hard-headed and stubborn, Kathleen grew up as a tomboy, fishing, climbing trees and playing a variety of sports.
Determined that she and her sister should be well educated, Kathleen's father encouraged wide reading and independent study. In later years Kenyon would remark that her father's position at the British Museum was particularly helpful for her education. Kathleen was an excellent student, winning awards at school and particularly excelling in history. She studied first at St Paul's Girls' School, where she was Head Girl, before winning an Exhibition to read History at Somerville College, Oxford. While at Oxford, Kenyon won a Blue for her college in hockey and became the first female president of the Oxford University Archaeological Society. She graduated in 1929 and began a career in archaeology.
Although working on several important sites across Europe, it was her excavations in Jericho in the 1950s that established her as one of the foremost archaeologists in the field. In 1962 Kenyon was made Principal of St Hugh's College, Oxford. She retired in 1973 to Erbistock and was appointed a DBE. Kenyon never married.[3] From 1974, Kenyon was the Honorary Vice President of the Chester Archaeological Society. [4]
Archaeological career [ edit ]
A career in archaeology was first suggested to Kathleen by Margery Fry, librarian at Somerville College. After graduation Kenyon's first field experience was as a photographer for the pioneering excavations at Great Zimbabwe in 1929, led by Gertrude Caton-Thompson. Returning to England, Kenyon joined the archaeological couple Mortimer Wheeler and his wife Tessa Wheeler on their excavation of the Romano-British settlement of Verulamium (St Albans), 20 miles north of London. Working there each summer between 1930 and 1935, Kenyon learned from Mortimer Wheeler the discipline of meticulously controlled and recorded stratigraphic excavation. Wheeler entrusted her with the direction of the excavation of the Roman theatre.
In the years 1931 to 1934 Kenyon worked simultaneously at Samaria, then under the administration of the British Mandate for Palestine, with John Crowfoot and Grace Crowfoot. There she cut a stratigraphic trench across the summit of the mound and down the northern and southern slopes, exposing the Iron II to the Roman period stratigraphic sequence of the site. In addition to providing crucial dating material for the Iron Age stratigraphy of Palestine, she obtained key stratified data for the study of Eastern terra sigilata ware.
In 1934 Kenyon was closely associated with the Wheelers in the foundation of the Institute of Archaeology of University College London. From 1936 to 1939 she carried out important excavations at the Jewry Wall in the city of Leicester. These were published in the Illustrated London News1937 with pioneering reconstruction drawings by the artist Alan Sorrell whom she had happened to notice sketching her dig.[5]
Digging Jericho [ edit ]
During the Second World War, Kenyon served as Divisional Commander of the Red Cross in Hammersmith, London, and later as Acting Director and Secretary of the Institute of Archaeology of the University of London.
After the war, she excavated in Southwark, at The Wrekin, Shropshire and elsewhere in Britain, as well as at Sabratha, a Roman city in Libya. As a member of the Council of the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem (BSAJ), Kenyon was involved in the efforts to reopen the School after the hiatus of the Second World War. In January 1951 she travelled to the Transjordan and undertook excavations in the West Bank at Jericho (Tell es-Sultan) on behalf of the BSAJ. Initial finding were first viewed by the public in the Dome of Discovery at the Festival of Britain 1951 with a reconstruction drawing by Alan Sorrell. Her work at Jericho, from 1952 until 1958, made her world-famous and established a lasting legacy in the archaeological methodology of the Levant. Ground-breaking discoveries concerning the Neolithic cultures of the Levant were made in this ancient settlement. Her excavation of the Early Bronze Age walled city and the external cemeteries of the end of the Early Bronze Age, together with her analysis of the stratified pottery of these periods established her as the leading authority on that period. Kenyon focused her attention on the absence of certain Cypriot pottery at City IV, arguing for an older destruction date than that of her predecessors. Jericho was recognized as the oldest continuously occupied settlement in history because of her discoveries. At the same time she also completed the publication of the excavations at Samaria. Her volume, Samaria Sebaste III: The Objects, appeared in 1957. Having completed her excavations at Jericho in 1958, Kenyon excavated in Jerusalem from 1961 to 1967, concentrating on the 'City of David' to the immediate south of the Temple Mount.
Although Kenyon had no doubt the sites she excavated were linked to the Old Testament narrative she nevertheless drew attention to inconsistencies, concluding that Solomon's "stables" at Megiddo were totally impractical for holding horses (1978:72), and that Jericho fell long before Joshua's arrival (1978:35). Consequently, Kenyon's work has been cited to support the Minimalist School of Biblical Archaeology.
Legacy [ edit ]
Kenyon's legacy in the field of excavation technique and ceramic methodology is attested to by Larry G. Herr, one of the directors of the Madaba Plains Project. He attributes to her directly the first of the key events (after the advances made by William F. Albright at Tell Beit Mirsim in the 1920s) that brought about our modern understanding of pottery in the southern Levant:
"The first event was the refinement of stratigraphic techniques that Kathleen Kenyon's dig at Jericho catalyzed. The strict separation of earth layers, or archaeological sediments, also allowed the strict separation of ceramic assemblages".[6]
Herr detects Kenyon's powerful indirect influence in the second event that promoted advance within ceramic methodology, namely:
"the importation of Kenyon's digging techniques by Larry Toombs and Joe Callaway to Ernest Wright's project at Balata. Here, they combined Wright's interest in ceramic typology in the best Albright tradition with Kenyon's methods of excavation, which allowed the isolation of clear, stratigraphically determined pottery assemblages".[6]
Herr summarises the somewhat mixed nature of Kenyon's legacy: for all the positive advances, there were also shortcomings:
"Kenyon... did not capitalize fully on (the) implication of her stratigraphic techniques by producing final publications promptly. Indeed her method of digging, which most of us have subsequently adopted, causes a proliferation of loci that excavators often have difficulty keeping straight long enough to produce coherent published stratigraphic syntheses. Moreover, her insistence that excavation proceed in narrow trenches denies us, when we use the Jericho reports, the confidence that her loci, and the pottery assemblages that go with them, represent understandable human activity patterns over coherently connected living areas. The individual layers, insufficiently exposed horizontally, simply cannot be interpreted credibly in terms of function. This further makes publication difficult, both to produce and to use".[6]
From 1948 to 1962 she lectured in Levantine Archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London. Kenyon's teaching complemented her excavations at Jericho and Jerusalem. In 1962, she was appointed Principal of St Hugh's College, Oxford.[3]
Awards and commemoration [ edit ]
The British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem, amalgamated within the Council for British Research in the Levant (CBRL) in 1998, was officially renamed the Kenyon Institute on 10 July 2003 in honour of Kathleen Kenyon. On her retirement from Oxford in 1973, she was appointed a DBE.[3]
Kenyon Collection [ edit ]
The Kathleen Kenyon Archaeology Collection, a collection of Kenyon's books and papers purchased from her estate in 1984, is housed at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.[7]
The finds from her excavations are held in a number of collections, including the British Museum,[8] the UCL Institute of Archaeology,[9] while the bulk of archive is located at the Manchester Museum.[10]
Published works [ edit ]
1942 The Buildings at Samaria, [Samaria-Sebaste I], London, 1942 (co-authored with Crowfoot, J.W. & Sukenik, E.L.)
, [Samaria-Sebaste I], London, 1942 (co-authored with Crowfoot, J.W. & Sukenik, E.L.) 1948 Excavations at the Jewry Wall Site, [Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London 15], Leicester, London : Society of Antiquaries, 1948.
, [Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London 15], Leicester, London : Society of Antiquaries, 1948. 1949 Guide to Wroxeter Roman City, London, 1949.
, London, 1949. 1951 "Some Notes on the History of Jericho in the Second Millennium B.C.", PEQ 83 (1951), 101-138.
83 (1951), 101-138. 1952 Beginning in Archaeology, London, 1952.
, London, 1952. 1952 "Early Jericho", Antiquity 26 (1952), 116-122.
26 (1952), 116-122. 1953 Beginning in Archaeology, second edition, London, 1953.
, second edition, London, 1953. 1954 Guide to Ancient Jericho, Jerusalem, 1954.
, Jerusalem, 1954. 1957 Digging Up Jericho, London, 1957. (also published in Dutch, Hebrew, Italian, Spanish and Swedish editions).
, London, 1957. (also published in Dutch, Hebrew, Italian, Spanish and Swedish editions). 1957 The Objects from Samaria, [Samaria-Sebaste III], London, 1957 (co-authored with Crowfoot, J.W. & Crowfoot, G.M.
, [Samaria-Sebaste III], London, 1957 (co-authored with Crowfoot, J.W. & Crowfoot, G.M. 1958 "Some Notes on the Early and Middle Bronze Age Strata of Megiddo", Eretz Israel 5 (1958), pp. 51–60.
5 (1958), pp. 51–60. 1959 Excavations at Southwark, [Research Papers of Surrey Archaeological Society 5], 1959.
, [Research Papers of Surrey Archaeological Society 5], 1959. 1960 Archaeology in the Holy Land, first edition, London, 1960.
, first edition, London, 1960. 1960 Excavations at Jericho - Volume I Tombs Excavated in 1952-4, London 1960.
- Volume I Tombs Excavated in 1952-4, London 1960. 1961 Beginning in Archaeology, revised edition, London, 1961.
, revised edition, London, 1961. 1965 Archaeology in the Holy Land, second edition, London, 1965.
, second edition, London, 1965. 1965 Excavations at Jericho - Volume II Tombs Excavated in 1955-8, London, 1965.
- Volume II Tombs Excavated in 1955-8, London, 1965. 1965, "British Archaeology Abroad - Jerusalem", Antiquity 39 (1965), 36-37.
39 (1965), 36-37. 1966 Amorites and Canaanites, (Schweich Lectures Series, 1963), London : Published for the British Academy by Oxford *University Press, 1966.
, (Schweich Lectures Series, 1963), London : Published for the British Academy by Oxford *University Press, 1966. 1966 "Excavations in Jerusalem, 1965", PEQ (1966), 73-88.
(1966), 73-88. 1967 Jerusalem - Excavating 3000 Years of History, [New Aspects of Antiquity], London, 1967 (also published in a German edition).
, [New Aspects of Antiquity], London, 1967 (also published in a German edition). 1969 "Middle and Late Bronze Age Strata at Megiddo", Levant 1 (1969), pp. 25–60.
1 (1969), pp. 25–60. 1970 Archaeology in the Holy Land, third edition, 1970 (also published in Dutch, Danish, German, Spanish and Swedish editions).
, third edition, 1970 (also published in Dutch, Danish, German, Spanish and Swedish editions). 1971 Royal Cities of the Old Testament, London, 1971.
, London, 1971. 1971 "An Essay on Archaeological Technique: the Publication of Results from the Excavation of a Tell", Harvard Theological Review 64 (1971), 271-279.
64 (1971), 271-279. 1974 Digging up Jerusalem, London : Benn, 1974.
, London : Benn, 1974. 1974 "Tombs of the Intermediate Early Bronze - Middle Bronze Age at Tel 'Ajjul", in Stewart, J.R. (ed.), Tell el Ajjul - the Middle Bronze Age Remains, [App. 2. Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology], Göteborg, 1974, 76-85.
, [App. 2. Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology], Göteborg, 1974, 76-85. 1978 The Bible and recent archaeology, London : British Museum Publications Ltd, 1978.
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Further reading [ edit ]Paedophilia and Cognitive Dissonance
In the UK at the moment there is a scandal rocking the entertainment and broadcasting industry. It actually started several years back when glam rock star Gary Glitter was found with child pornography in the 90s and was found guilty in Vietnam in 2006 for obscene acts with minors.
More recently, Sir Jimmy Savile, after his death, has been accused of abuse cases involving minors that run into the hundreds. These abuses seemed to have happened in the context of his charity work and his radio roadshow work, such that he took advantage of children in hospitals and care homes – the vulnerable – making it even more despicable, if that is possible. Savile was a national icon who presented for Radio 1 and a TV Show called Jim’ll Fix It which sorted out giving children dreams that they wanted (when in reality he dashed many). Personally, I never liked him and found him ti be an intensely irritating man. He appeared to hide many of his actions under the guise of his charity work.
Now, in the broader investigations taking place, we have had singer Freddie Starr arrested, publicist to the stars Max Clifford helping police, and in the last few days too, sports broadcaster and host of the hilarious programme It’s A Knockout, Stuart Hall, being arrested.
The scale of this problem seems to be growing weekly as more people (I think even Savile’s driver has been arrested) are detained and questioned. What I find interesting, however, is what goes on in the minds of us, the general public, when people we have grown up knowing and ‘loving’ turn out to be moral monsters. I like Stuart Hall – he has a voice and a way with words that no other broadcaster has come close to. His work on It’s A Knockout was brilliant – what a fun programme!
If I wasn’t aware of how my brain can work against the desire to be entirely rational, if I wasn’t aware of my own predisposition to cognitive dissonance, then I could be doing all sorts of mental contortions in order to rationalise why Stuart Hall is a good bloke and how I can still hold that view.
So let us look at cognitive dissonance. What is it? Well, in my book Free Will? (available from the menu on the right) I talk about cognitive dissonance:
One way we like to invent intention is when we do something that is at loggerheads with our own desires or beliefs. Just like in Aesop’s Fables when the fox cannot reach the grapes, so decides they are sour and not worth having, so we do the same thing (known as cognitive dissonance). I remember buying my first campervan, ‘The Beast’, for what to me was a fortune (£2300), and using many different mechanisms to convince myself that it was a better buy than I thought it was; that it was a good thing it didn’t have a table, because then I could comfortably eat my food on the bed etc. People do this relatively frequently, in such situations as buying a house that has certain issues, or following the Nazi party in the Second World War. Jason Long, in his tirade against the bible in his 2005 book “Biblical Nonsense” claims that cognitive dissonance is at play with the majority of Christians as a way to deal with evidence against their belief such as the non-answering of prayer. In reasoning why Christians, in his opinion, give unusually implausible explanations to such issues as the problem of evil (and natural disasters), the amount of deaths in the bible caused by God, and apparent contradictions, Long claims, “Because the evidence contradicts their deepest convictions, Christians provide nonsensical solutions to the perplexity and ignore valid rebuttals when they can’t answer them” (Long 2005, p.17). As you will see, cognitive dissonance can drive our minds to create intentions for our actions or beliefs. Could it also be, that with the evidence that seems to be undermining aspects of free will, that by defending free will we are showing cognitive dissonance ourselves? As debating groups will concur, experiments have been done to show this, asking people to debate or make speeches about certain issues that the speaker is not in agreement with. After making the speeches, the person is quite often more aligned to, or understanding of, the position they were asked to argue. In one piece of research[1] a group of students were asked to write an essay on something they all disagreed on. The students were told that they did not have to write it (i.e. given a choice) but they ended up writing it anyway; some were paid 50 cents and the others were paid the then sizeable payment of $2.50 for their efforts. The people who wrote it for 50 cents actually became more positive toward the topic (even though they had less reward). The students that wrote it for only 50 cents not only changed their attitude to the topic, but their perceived intention changed, such that their new attitude led them to believe that they must have had a prior intention of having wanted to do it. Interestingly, it was only while writing this that the film director Roman Polanski was arrested in Switzerland to be possibly extradited back to the States for a crime of sex with a thirteen-year-old girl that he committed some thirty years ago. What struck me as strange were the lines of people on the streets at a film festival in Switzerland, and similar protests in France, to object to his arrest, as well as the objections of many famous people in the film industry (fans of Polanski’s work). I found this bizarre, since I can hardly imagine that they would have protested that a suspected paedophile not be arrested for having sex with a minor, especially one whom they didn’t know, or had not heard of. It appears that this is a result of cognitive dissonance as their [desires] approval of his work, their being Polanski fans, is trying to be reconciled with the fact that he is a fugitive and suspected paedophile. The outcome is the strange behaviour of supporting his not being extradited and not being convicted. The shock of knowing this about Polanski was outweighed by their mental investment of admiration for him as a person and artist. Surely, in the eyes of justice, it matters not a jot that you murder, rape of have underage sex yesterday, or thirty years ago! A crime is a crime, no matter the temporality…
[1] Linder, Cooper and Jones (1967)
And here is the wikipedia definition:
Cognitive dissonance is a term used in modern psychology to describe the feeling of discomfort when simultaneously holding two or more conflictingcognitions: ideas, beliefs, values or emotional reactions. In a state of dissonance, people may sometimes feel “disequilibrium”: frustration, hunger, dread, guilt, anger, embarrassment, anxiety, etc.[1] The phrase was coined by Leon Festinger in his 1956 book When Prophecy Fails, which chronicled the followers of a UFO cult as reality clashed with their fervent belief in an impending apocalypse.[2][3] Festinger subsequently (1957) published a book called A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance in which he outlines the theory. Cognitive dissonance is one of the most influential and extensively studied theories in social psychology. The theory of cognitive dissonance in social psychology proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance by altering existing cognitions, adding new ones to create a consistent belief system, or alternatively by reducing the importance of any one of the dissonant elements.[1] It is the distressing mental state that people feel when they “find themselves doing things that don’t fit with what they know, or having opinions that do not fit with other opinions they hold.” [4] A key assumption is that people want their expectations to meet reality, creating a sense of equilibrium. [5] Likewise, another assumption is that a person will avoid situations or information sources that give rise to feelings of uneasiness, or dissonance.[1] Cognitive dissonance theory explains human behavior by positing that people have a bias to seek consonance between their expectations and reality. According to Festinger, people engage in a process he termed “dissonance reduction”, which can be achieved in one of three ways: lowering the importance of one of the discordant factors, adding consonant elements, or changing one of the dissonant factors.[6] This bias sheds light on otherwise puzzling, irrational, and even destructive behavior.
The case of Roman Polanski was incredible, to me. A man who has committed a crime that if an unknown other had done it, the very same people who supported him would have been disgusted. It is amazing to see such mental gymnastics. The case of Savile is very different. This reflects the degree to which people didn’t really like him. There is not so much surprise and even less support for him. I think the latest stats are some 600 cases have now been reported to the police. The interesting question raised here is why it took so long for these people to come forward and for the other celebrities that seemed to know about this to do anything or speak out.
I gave a talk last night on the Nativity and there were some good questions after the talk, one of which touched on cognitive dissonance. I tried to communicate the idea that CD is so all-pervasive. We all use the mechanism on an almost daily basis.
So, question for you, the reader – when did you last most obviously recognise yourself exhibiting cognitive dissonance?[HGC] Stitches Want to Play! Text by TeamLiquid ESPORTS Graphics by EsportsJohn
Stitches Want to Play! Written by: EsportsJohn
After sitting mostly dormant for almost a year, Stitches emerged from the Mid-Season Brawl as a premier tank hero, something no one would have expected only a few weeks ago. His sudden and explicable burst of popularity is unrivaled in the history of Heroes of the Storm—and best of all, no one seems to really know why!
For the first time since beta, Stitches sits as king. Let’s examine how he got there!
From zero to hero almost instantly
Stitches’ popularity was abysmal prior to the Mid-Season Brawl. He wasn’t entirely irrelevant like Gazlowe or Nova, but he definitely wasn’t one of the first heroes to come to mind when you were looking to pick up a tank in draft. In the first week of group play, Stitches was picked sparingly and had an equally unimpressive win rate, but that picked up substantially as the tournament went on.
Stitches' overall involvement in the Mid-Season Brawl was relatively low at 36%, but when we account for his popularity in the later stages of the tournament, that number is closer to 50%. In the last four series of the final bracket involving MVP Black, L5, Fnatic, and Dignitas, his involvement jumped to well over 60%.
The point? As the tournament went on, the very best teams found value in Stitches, and he became an S-class tank very suddenly. The pace at which he transformed from a niche hero into a power pick is stunning, spanning all of one weekend. Stitches has since then been involved in over 50% of the drafts in Phase 2, and in the last three weeks he’s already surpassed his total game count from the last six months. Compared with the 9% involvement in Phase 1, that’s a huge improvement for the chain-hooking abomination.
What's going on here??
Stitches’ last update was in the middle of June. His level 20 Heroic upgrades got at best utility buffs, and the removal of Bolt made Gorge cheeses significantly worse. Other than that, he’s had no balance updates
Let’s talk about the heroes that rose to prominence just before the Mid-Season Brawl: Uther, Anub’arak, Genji, and racecar Dehaka. Uther’s re-work made him a powerhouse in terms of damage mitigation, which in turn shut down a lot of the stun-train heroes which had been popular just a few months before like Varian, Malfurion, and ETC (in addition to any nerfs those heroes faced).
Anub’arak’s meteoric rise in popularity is perhaps as convoluted as Stitches. Despite going through multiple reworks and tons of minor tweaks here and there, Anub’arak remained a fairly ineffectual pick until late April. It would take another article to dissect what happened there, but suffice it to say that Cocoon in a dive-heavy meta has been a big power play for the Nerubian King.
Genji was just a strong, flexible hero on release.
Between these four heroes, dive compositions aided by heroes like Tassadar, Illidan, Abathur, Li-Ming, and Tyrael have become the standard. It’s so easy to get into the back line right now, and not many sustain compositions can outlast the power and efficiency of these dive heroes at the moment, especially not at the mercy of Cocoon to shut down the healer or Guardian of Ancient Kings to completely eliminate the possibility of bursting down an overextended hero.
The return of King Stitches
It’s in these conditions that Stitches has thrived. He is a meaty wall of HP with excellent self-sustain and fairly high sustained damage numbers, meaning that he can survive the dive while slowly wearing down the opposition over time. But what sets him apart from every other tank in the game is the ability to force an engagement from a distance with Hook.
Hook is a multi-purpose tool that allows Stitches to simultaneously create picks or re-engage, giving him a lot of flexibility in draft. In a pick composition, all Stitches has to do is land the hook and let his teammates rain hell on the opposing hero. In a sustain comp, Stitches can outlast his foes and re-engage with Hook just as both teams are disengaging. Compared to the massive cooldowns of Blessed Shield on Johanna or Judgement on Tyrael, Stitches can make a fight happen whenever he wants, forcing the other team to play around Hook at all times.
Is there a solution for Stitches? MVP Black’s response has been ultra mobile compositions focused on getting picks. In their game against L5 two weeks ago, they used Tracer and Valla to maneuver around the Stitches and chip down their opponents while relying on Sound Barrier and Sanctification to turn around Gorge plays.
Tassadar and Nazeebo have also been cited as soft counters to Stitches due to their inherent sustain, utility, and walling abilities which prevent Stitches from retreating with Gorge victims.
Chris "EsportsJohn" Meek is a writer for LiquidHeroes who enjoys Taco Bell way more than he should. You can follow him on Twitter or check out his content on YouTube
Bracket and schedules on Liquipedia After sitting mostly dormant for almost a year, Stitches emerged from the Mid-Season Brawl as a premier tank hero, something no one would have expected only a few weeks ago. His sudden and explicable burst of popularity is unrivaled in the history of Heroes of the Storm—and best of all, no one seems to really know why!For the first time since beta, Stitches sits as king. Let’s examine how he got there!Stitches’ popularity was abysmal prior to the Mid-Season Brawl. He wasn’t entirely irrelevant like Gazlowe or Nova, but he definitely wasn’t one of the first heroes to come to mind when you were looking to pick up a tank in draft. In the first week of group play, Stitches was picked sparingly and had an equally unimpressive win rate, but that picked up substantially as the tournament went on.Stitches' overall involvement in the Mid-Season Brawl was relatively low at 36%, but when we account for his popularity in the later stages of the tournament, that number is closer to 50%. In the last four series of the final bracket involving MVP Black, L5, Fnatic, and Dignitas, his involvement jumped to well over 60%.The point? As the tournament went on, the very best teams found value in Stitches, and he became an S-class tank very suddenly. The pace at which he transformed from a niche hero into a power pick is stunning, spanning all of one weekend. Stitches has since then been involved in over 50% of the drafts in Phase 2, and in the last three weeks he’s already surpassed his total game count from the last six months. Compared with the 9% involvement in Phase 1, that’s a huge improvement for the chain-hooking abomination.Stitches’ last update was in the middle of June. His level 20 Heroic upgrades got at best utility buffs, and the removal of Bolt made Gorge cheeses significantly worse. Other than that, he’s had no balance updates since April, and in any case, that patch wasn’t even played at the Mid-Season Brawl. So his relevance has to do with either a particular affinity for the meta developed at the Mid |
IC JUSTICE
The AP’s review found very different brands of justice from place to place.
For years, officials in states with the most juvenile life cases were united in arguing that the Supreme Court’s ban on life without parole did not apply retroactively to inmates already serving such sentences. Now, states are heading in decidedly different directions.
Pennsylvania, which long resisted reopening the old cases, has resentenced more than 1 in 5 of its 517 juvenile lifers and released 58 so far. Attorneys there talk about working their way through all the cases in the next three years. Since the Supreme Court’s ruling last year, two Pennsylvania inmates have been resentenced to life without parole, which the justices said should be uncommon and reserved for the rare offender who “exhibits such irretrievable depravity that rehabilitation is impossible.” Another six inmates were resentenced to life without parole earlier, and could eventually be resentenced again.
In Michigan, meanwhile, prosecutors want new no-parole terms for some 236 of 363 juvenile lifers, and there are wide variances from county to county, which has prompted lawsuits. Defense lawyer Deb LaBelle says more than 200 of these cases are on hold until the state Supreme Court decides whether judges or juries should hear them.
Says Elizabeth Calvin of Human Rights Watch: “I don’t think anybody who is being honest about what is happening in American courtrooms can walk away and say, ‘Yes, the system has carefully culled out the worst of the worst and that’s who these individuals are.’”
Louisiana lawmakers spent two sessions debating over that state’s 303 juvenile lifers, with district attorneys lobbying against eliminating no-parole terms. The Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights notes 18 of 23 juvenile offenders tried for murder since 2012 have gotten life without parole.
In June, the state Legislature finally changed the law, making juvenile homicide offenders eligible for release after 25 years, though prosecutors can still petition a judge for a no-parole sentence in old cases and new cases of first-degree murder.
A Louisiana inmate was at the center of last year’s U.S. Supreme Court decision. Henry Montgomery, 71, originally got life without parole for the 1963 shooting of a sheriff’s deputy. He is one of about 67 former teen offenders in the state so far resentenced to life with a chance for release; he now awaits a parole hearing. Montgomery “has been a mentor, he’s helped others and, from all indications, he does appear to be rehabilitated,” said the judge who resentenced him.
While life without parole for teens remains an option in Louisiana, 13 states have passed legislation in just the last five years that prohibit the sentence.
PAROLE IN THEORY ONLY
The AP also found that while many states have taken steps to make former teen criminals eligible for parole, in practice, officials regularly deny release.
In Missouri, the parole board has turned down 20 of 23 juvenile lifers, according to the MacArthur Justice Center, which filed a federal lawsuit this year claiming the board is denying the state’s juvenile life-without-parole inmates a meaningful chance for release as required by the Supreme Court.
The lawsuit says these decisions were made after short hearings — some just 30 minutes long — before a three-person panel that includes just one of seven parole board members, and two corrections employees. Inmates can bring only one supporter, either a witness or lawyer, not both, and have been told their lawyers may not even take notes during hearings.
The state’s parole board has come under fire after an investigation revealed a board member had made a game out of hearings by repeating words like “armadillo” and “hootenanny” and trying to get inmates to say the words, too. The board member resigned in June.
Maryland, meantime, has 271 juvenile lifers whose sentences have always given them a chance for release. But no such prisoner has won parole in more than 20 years, prompting a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union.
CONFUSION OVER NON-MANDATORY TERMS
The impact of last year’s Supreme Court ruling goes far beyond the 2,000-plus offenders who faced mandatory no-parole sentences as teens.
In many states, legal challenges are being mounted on behalf of juveniles sentenced to life without parole at the discretion of a judge or jury, or those who are legally entitled to parole but serving such lengthy terms they are unlikely to ever get out. The latter group encompasses some 7,300 inmates, according to The Sentencing Project. The Supreme Court didn’t specifically address these cases, however, and that’s led to different outcomes.
Tennessee, for example, is so far refusing to resentence its juvenile life-without-parole inmates. That’s because judges and juries have a choice in sentencing, but that choice is between life in prison or life with the possibility of parole after serving 51 years, an option Marsha Levick of the national Juvenile Law Center calls “cruel.”
In Oklahoma, juvenile life without parole isn’t mandatory, either, but unlike in Tennessee, lifers are getting a second chance after a state court said their age at the time of their crimes and efforts to rehabilitate must be considered. Inmates there are now filing motions for reduced sentences, and in Oklahoma County, the state’s largest, First Assistant District Attorney Scott Rowland says his office will address each on a case-by-case basis.
“On the one hand this is a mandate from the U.S. Supreme Court, and we have to comply with it,” Rowland says. “On the other hand, you’re talking about disturbing sentences on crimes that may be three decades old, and very violent, heinous crimes. So the stakes are high.”
Responding to the AP’s findings on Monday, Jody Kent Lavy, executive director of the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, called on the Supreme Court to take additional action.
“Given that the implementation of reform varies dramatically from state to state, as highlighted by the AP series, it’s clear that the U.S. Supreme Court needs to take up this issue again and ban juvenile life without parole once and for all,” Lavy said. “Otherwise, a child’s fate in the justice system may be arbitrarily determined by his or her geographic location or race, as opposed to his or her capacity for growth and change.”
___
It is no exaggeration to say that Evan Miller’s crime was heinous: He and another teen beat Cole Cannon with a baseball bat before setting fire to Cannon’s trailer with him inside. At a resentencing hearing in March, Miller’s lawyers cited his childhood of physical abuse and neglect and argued that at 14, his brain wasn’t fully developed. The prosecution said his actions were those of an adult who acted mercilessly.
Miller apologized to Cannon’s family, but the victim’s daughter, Cheatham, rejected that as insincere, “empty words.” She testified of anger and despair. “To bring this up and make the victims’ families relive this, that’s being cruel and unusual,” she says.
Under an Alabama law adopted last year, a judge can resentence Miller to life without parole or allow parole after 30 years. A decision is pending.
“These are young Hannibal Lecters,” says Sheriff Michael Bouchard in Oakland County, Michigan, where officials want new no-parole sentences in 44 of 49 juvenile-lifer cases. “These are not people you want to meet on the street on a dark night.”
County prosecutor Jessica Cooper argues all her cases are rare since they comprise just a small portion of all the criminal cases her office has pursued over time.
She did offer possible parole to five offenders, including Jennifer Pruitt, who targeted her 75-year-old neighbor for robbery and then stood by as an accomplice stabbed Elmer Heichel to death.
When Pruitt got life at age 17, the law provided only one other choice for punishment — sentencing her as a juvenile, which meant just three years of court supervision.
In an extraordinary move, the former judge who imposed the sentence in 1993 visited Pruitt in prison last year. Fred Mester found “a new person.” He wrote letters to Cooper and a new judge, praising Pruitt for pursuing an education, tutoring others and counseling fellow inmates.
“I was always hopeful that those who were sentenced before me would take advantage of all the programs offered to rehabilitate inmates,” he wrote, and Pruitt had “done just that and more.”
In March, Pruitt was resentenced to 30 to 60 years, making her earliest possible parole date in 2022, when she’s 46. Mester says that’s too long to wait.
“If the criminal justice system has any merit at all,” he told the AP, “I think people should have a second chance.”
Like Pruitt, other juvenile lifers did not actually kill but rather were convicted of participating in crimes where a companion took a life. And the AP’s review found a number of others who long ago rejected plea bargains that would have seen them released already.
Kempis Songster was 15 when he joined another teen in the 1987 Philadelphia drug house stabbing of fellow gang member Anjo Pryce, 17. At trial, Songster turned down a prosecutor’s offer that would have likely seen him do eight to 10 years in prison.
“You walk in there and see that they’re children and you say, ‘Wait a minute,’” says Jack McMahon, who offered the plea deal and chalks up Songster’s refusal to youthful bravado. Now a defense attorney, McMahon had offered to testify for him. “So many of the people who are looking at it from the outside in, they want simplistic answers to it: They did the crime, they should do the time. It’s not that simple, and anybody who thinks that just doesn’t know.”
Prosecutors recently offered a new sentence that would have made Songster eligible for parole in five years. Now 45, Songster sought less time. A judge on July 24 resentenced him to 30 years to life, making him eligible for parole in September.
The victim’s father said the slaying shattered his family. “I know we want to get somebody released from prison and all, but there’s a victim here who’s never going to be released from where he is,” Errol Pryce said in court.
Nearly two-thirds of juvenile-lifer inmates are African-American, according to a 2015 report by Phillips Black, a public interest law firm that analyzed data from corrections departments. And since 1992, the report said, a black juvenile arrested for homicide was twice as likely as a white teen to be sentenced to life without parole.
Most juvenile lifers also come from troubled backgrounds. A 2012 survey by The Sentencing Project, an advocacy group, found that nearly 60 percent had a close relative in prison, almost half had been physically abused as children, and about 80 percent reported violence at home. That is not an excuse for criminal behavior, but it puts it into context, defense lawyers and some experts say.
Ahmad Williams’ mother, a crack addict, died when he was 10. The grandmother who raised him in Grand Rapids, Michigan, died soon after. By the time Williams shot and killed Derrick Pimpleton in a simmering feud, he was smoking marijuana daily and attending school just a few days a month. Both boys were 15.
“I didn’t think for myself. I was basically a follower,” Williams, now 35, said from prison. He wanted to imitate older guys who took and sold drugs in his neighborhood, he said, because “I thought that was fun.... I was doing what I thought a regular 15 year old would do.”
At a resentencing hearing last fall, Danneka Cooper, the victim’s sister, testified that 18 years wasn’t enough time to make up for her family’s loss. “He broke my mother’s heart,” she said. Williams apologized. His new sentence makes him eligible for parole in early 2025.
___
In Michigan, Williams and Bobby Hines are among about 86 juvenile lifers resentenced so far. Prosecutors sought stays in almost all the other cases until the state Supreme Court, weighing appeals of two new no-parole sentences, decides whether judges or juries should hear them.
Hines, meanwhile, is the only one of the three teens convicted of killing Warren who is still serving time. Back in 1989, he rejected an offer to plead guilty in exchange for a sentence of 20 to 40 years. “When you’re 15 years old and someone tells you 20 years in prison, it is longer than you’ve been alive,” his attorney, Valerie Newman, says.
In his first decade in prison, Hines racked up about a dozen misconduct tickets, many for fighting. But he eventually settled down, comforted by his mother, Gracie, who lobbied for his release before her death. He earned his GED certificate, enrolled in self-improvement programs and developed a reputation as a solid worker in maintenance, kitchen and recreation jobs.
At his resentencing hearing in March, Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway takes that all into account. Wiping away tears, the victim’s father, Henry Carpenter Warren Jr., tells her Hines “was punished excessively.... He can go home today.”
In the end, Hathaway hands down a sentence — 27 to 60 years — that makes Hines immediately eligible for parole. He is due to be released Sept. 12.
“I hope that my decision today will not come back to haunt me,” the judge says.
On his first day of freedom, Hines says, he intends to visit his mother’s grave. Eventually, he wants to meet with the family of his victim.
“I pray for him,” says the dead man’s sister, Valencia Warren Gibbs. “I just want him to be OK.”
Hines, too, is hopeful.
“I always tell people I don’t know what I’m going to do,” he says in an interview from prison. “But I know what I’m not going to do — and that’s get in trouble.”
____
Read more in the series: https://apnews.com/tag/LockedUpForLife and contact the reporters at: scohen@ap.org or http://twitter.com@scohenAP and ageller@ap.org or https://twitter.com/adgeller
____
Cohen reported from Detroit, and Geller from Philadelphia. Also contributing to this report were AP reporters Sheila Burke in Tennessee, Sean Murphy in Oklahoma, Juliet Linderman in Maryland, Mariah Brown in Pennsylvania and many other AP reporters across the nation.Clarence Hill of the Star-Telegram, normally a very reliable source of information, writes via Twitter that Sean Lee has been playing with a partially torn ACL his entire NFL career.
Cowboys LB Sean Lee came into league with partially torn acl. It was a ticking bomb. Now it's fixed. Knee should be stronger than before — Clarence Hill (@clarencehilljr) June 12, 2014
Cowboys are confident Sean lee can and will still have long career with a stronger, surgically repaired knee. — Clarence Hill (@clarencehilljr) June 12, 2014
It was the partial tear that showed up on his predraft MRI. The cowboys knew it was there. It's why he fell to the second round. — Clarence Hill (@clarencehilljr) June 12, 2014
Hill's colleague at the Star-Telegram, Charean Williams, confirms the torn ACL story:
Lee partially tore the ACL in the left knee in 2009 while a senior at Penn State and never had it repaired.
I'm not a medical professional, so I can't do anything but speculate, and perhaps I'm doing a disservice to Lee and the team with this speculation, but this whole story has a weird feeling to it.
They say that the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, and in Sean Lee's case, the best time to fix that ACL, if indeed it had a tear, could have been his rookie season, or perhaps the 2012 season when he was put on injured reserve anyway in October after suffering a toe injury on his right foot.
Already there is speculation that perhaps his other injuries could have been a direct or indirect result of that weakened knee.
However, there was no indication whatsoever over the last four years that Lee's knee was anything less than fully functional, and depending on how severe that partial tear was, maybe surgery didn't make sense. But you've still got to wonder about the type of risk/return analysis the Cowboys are running that tells them it's okay to have your best defensive player running around on a partially torn ACL. Or, to put it a little more bluntly, to have a time-bomb ticking away at the heart of their defense.
Our own Tom Ryle, ever looking forward of course, quotes from the Kool-Aid Drinker's Manifesto.
So if Lee was Sean freaking Lee on one bad wheel all this time...
In any case, Lee's surgery today seems to have gone well:
"He had surgery this morning and by all accounts the surgery went well," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. "I talked to Sean extensively about it yesterday. He feels good about it and got him all cleaned up, and he’ll be back and doing his rehab before you know it and he’ll be back on the playing field before you know it."
Now we'll keep our fingers crossed that head trainer Jim Maurer will be right about Sean Lee returning stronger.Code: BOARD_SYSTEMIMAGE_PARTITION_SIZE := 4341104640 BOARD_USERDATAIMAGE_PARTITION_SIZE := 24897388544
Code: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <manifest> <project name="CyanogenMod/android_device_qcom_common" path="device/qcom_common" remote="github" revision="cm-12.1" /> <project name="lg-devs/android_device_lge_g4-common" path="device/lge/g4-common" remote="github" revision="cm-12.1" /> <project name="lg-devs/android_device_lge_h815" path="device/lge/h815" remote="github" revision="cm-12.1" /> <project name="lg-devs/android_kernel_lge_msm8992" path="kernel/lge/msm8992" remote="github" revision="cm-12.1" /> <project name="CyanogenMod/android_hardware_qcom_audio" path="hardware/qcom/audio-caf/msm8992" remote="github" revision="cm-12.1-caf-8994" /> <project name="CyanogenMod/android_hardware_qcom_display" path="hardware/qcom/display-caf/msm8992" remote="github" revision="cm-12.1-caf-8994" /> <project name="CyanogenMod/android_hardware_qcom_media" path="hardware/qcom/media-caf/msm8992" remote="github" revision="cm-12.1-caf-8994" /> <project name="lg-devs/proprietary_vendor_lge" path="vendor/lge" remote="github" revision="cm-12.1-caf" /> </manifest>
I've had this building since Friday but unfortunately it gets stuck at the LG screen. I'm going to play around again this afternoon and see where I can get to.Although the Github description for the msm8994 kernel says "G4", the H815 needs the msm8992 kernel. Also the partition sizes in g4-common aren't correct for the H815, they need to beThis is the local manifest I've been usingSorry, i didn´t Update this Thread because i got my HTC One X some days ago.
I will not check the Kindle Fire Development Section daily.
If someone would like to update this Thread, i will send you a.txt file of this, and you can update it by yourself, and make your own Thread. Just send me a PM.
Sorry again...
Quote: Welcome to the
Amazon Kindle Fire Development Index Thread
ALL CREDITS GO TO THE DEVS!!!
I just copy and paste the Links.
@Developers, please start putting DATE in the TOPIC! Its easier to track.
______________________ Custom / Stock Roms: ______________________
__________________________ Kernels __________________________
External Links
___________________________ Mods ___________________________
______________________ All about Root / Tools ______________________
_______________ Guides / How to´s and other helpfull Stuff _______________
External LinksIf one should ask me what use there was in climbing, or attempting to climb the world’s highest peak, I would be compelled to answer ‘none.’ — George Mallory
You know those awkward moments where you’re at a friend’s dinner party, or at a restaurant, and something is placed before you that you don’t like the look of? Where an internal battle rages – whether to offend your host and pass, or munch down on it anyway, come what may? That decision governed by the answer to one and only one question : “How bad could it be?”
I know how bad it could be. I’ve tasted it. Twice.
Several years ago, while I was still living in Australia, I heard about Hákarl. “The world’s most disgusting food-stuff that you can eat and still live” was how I remember it being described. Put in less-poetic terms, it’s putrefied shark meat, it’s from Iceland, and it’s absolutely awful. Growing up a very fussy eater, somehow in my adult life I have swung the other way – trying everything, just in case there was something amazing out there I hadn’t tasted, making that a personal mission. You name the body part, bizarre root vegetable, I’ve probably nommed it down, or at the very least, wanted to. But to suddenly be aware that the adventurous culinary path did indeed have a limit? I had to try it.
Of course, at the time (and probably still today) it was nearly impossible to get the putrefied (i.e. cured by shoving slabs of poisonous shark meat underground for several months) flesh of a Greenland or basking shark past Australian quarantine officials. Even if that were something easy to do, the noxious, rotting, urea-dripping, formerly poisonous carrion would need to be transported cold all the way from Iceland to Sydney – something which sounded a little out of my regular food-curiosity budget.
Flash forward : late 2013…
Now based on London, I found myself sharing the office of a food industry startup in the midst of a promotion involving insect recipes. Naturally, during the course of the ‘crazy stuff we’ve eaten’ discussion that ensues when one is sharing a plate of ant tacos and cricket pad Thai with a couple of gents, the conversation turned to Hákarl.
A lightbulb suddenly tinked on – I was now living close enough to Iceland that maybe, just maybe, rotten shark was something one could procure without much drama.
Sure enough, I was right.
Within minutes, someone in Iceland was packing 100grams of the stuff into a box full of cold packs, my address plastered on the front. It arrived. It was eaten.
How did it taste? I’ll get to that in a moment…
Jump to last Friday…
Working in a different office on the opposite side of town, the Swedish gentleman sitting beside me posted a video of a bunch of non-Swedes failing dismally at eating Surströmming. I remembered seeing the Australian comedy duo, Hamish & Andy, doing a piece about it – the Swedish equivalent of Hákarl (if I may be so bold) except it’s rotten herrings, it comes in a can, and is a lot easier to get hold of. After my experience with Hákarl in November, I felt I had a story to tell, however with a proud Swede on my right, and an equally proud Norwegian on my left, the old rivalries (mixed with a dose of Australian bravado) meant suddenly Hákarl’s title of “world’s most disgusting food-stuff” was being brought into question.
Of course, nobody but myself had ever tried one of the two morsels in question — it seemed only right that I take the initiative to settle the discussion for once and for all. Getting hold of the Surströmming was even easier than I could ever have imagined it to be : there’s a Scandinavian deli only 100 metres from where we were arguing, and still a half an hour left before they closed for the day. You can probably figure out the rest.
So…
To cut a long story very short, I have now consumed both countries’ rotten seafood delicacies, and feel I’m now one of the few people out there who can speak with good authority as to which is indeed The Worst.
I took good notes during November’s Hákarl experience, and am still feeling very fresh from the recent Surströmming tasting, occurring mere hours ago (I can still smell it on my hands in a few places the soap ceased helping). Regardless of any question as to the clarity or errors that might creep into recalling two experiences now separated by a few months, there’s a clear winner. Of that there is no question. In the battle between Hákarl and Surströmming for the title of “World’s Foulest Food”, I can speak with complete confidence as to which is indeed the worst. Rather than any further long-winded narrative, I’m going to table it, side-by-side, blow-for-blow, gulp-for-gulp :
(Note – I did attempt to shoot video for both tastings, but both attempts were met with bitter failure. Once those packs were opened, there was no mental space left for worrying about camera operation – if there were to be a next time, I promise to rope in a nostril-blocked friend to shoot.)
Hákarl Surströmming Ease of procurement Tricky and expensive. Easy and cheap, like heroin. Feeling going in… Nervous dread, akin to a dentist’s waiting-room. Cocky. I was all: “Been there, done that – this won’t be worse… 80% of Hákarl at its baddest.” Package Opening An immediate increase in the feeling of dread as an intense ammonia smell filled the room, followed by deep regret I hadn’t done this outside. Was very prepared this time, and thought I was really clever utilising the balcony. The fermentation pressure build-up in the can sprayed liquid out everywhere, but I’d done the reading, and did all of the opening inside a plastic bag. Still feeling cocky at this point – for about 0.5 seconds. Initial Stench Terrifying. Very, very strong ammonia smell, mixed in with a smell that’s like the worst thing you’d ever smell down at the docks where fishing boats come in, multiplied by around 100. Stomach was fine with it – I felt a deep dread that I was about to eat what was causing the smell, but my stomach was behaving itself – no gags. Much, much worse than anticipated. Less ammonia, more of a shit smell at first, hints of sulfur, before hitting my nostrils with a overwealming assault of that ‘death’ smell. That, and a few hints of the same ‘where fishing boats come in’ smell – there were notes that were quite similar to that of Hákarl, but only a few. A very different beast. Involuntary gagging began within two seconds of the can opening. Stench Growth The ammonia smell definitely got worse the closer you put the food to your mouth, but it did not change much over time, in either intensity or flavour. Once you know what Hákarl smells like – it makes you wish you were dead – find small comfort in the knowledge that that’s all you’re going to be dealing with. The smell only got worse over time, and changed its tone constantly. Just as you thought you were getting a handle on one aspect of it, something else would hit you. There were simply too many smells for my brain to cancel out or keep control of, all of them 10/10 horrible, all of them building over time. Stench Linger-time I mananaged to clean the kitchen out fine, the smell gone completely within 20 minutes with the help of the stove-top extractor fan and some lavender-scented bathroom air-freshener. Unsure, though already the linger time has beaten Hákarl by a long shot. I can’t get the stuff off my hands. I made the mistake of trying to film the experience on my phone, and smudged some juice on the touch-screen at one point – my phone now smells too, even though I’ve wiped that spot down with several chemicals. I don’t think it’ll ever die from whatever it touched. How do you kill something that’s already dead? Oh god. Make it stop. Appearance Clean-looking white cubes. Not scary at all while they were in their vacuum pack. Deceptively safe-looking until the point you snip open the package and let the smell out. Once the can was open, the contents looked exactly like what it was : a sludge of rotten fish. There was nothing appetizing about the presentation. Nothing. It looked as bad as it smelled. (Sorry, as it smells. SMELLS. Present tense. Make it stop…). At least it wasn’t pretending, not like Hákarl. Even if you can’t smell it, Surströmming looks like something you don’t want to eat. Texture Rubbery at first, but more powdery/melty as you chew. Interesting texture. Exactly as you’d imagine sloppy, wet, rotten fish would be, complete with bones, skin, oily bits, sticky bits, gross bits, fins, lots of watery rotten-brine mixture… First Bite I did as the literature suggests – placed the first piece in my mouth and inhaled deeply through the nose, experienceing the icy – almost menthol? – burn of the ammonia up my nostrils. Wholly unpleasant based on how terrible the smell was at this point, but an unexpected novelty element with the burning. There was a sense of danger in this – nothing that does what that gas did to my nose should be going inside my body. I could still feel the burn of it hours later. Oddly, the flesh itself didn’t taste so bad – not if you forget the smell for a moment. Just… fishy. The smell was disproportionately terrible compared to the taste by a factor of at least 1000. By the time I had the first piece in my mouth, trying to bite through the skin/bone/flesh, the juices splattering over my face and hands, my stomach had had enough. There was no time to savour or think about the experience. I knew I only had seconds left, as my chest was already hunched and heaving. The only strange thing I did notice was that the flesh itself felt almost fizzy on my tongue at one point, like bubbles in beer. This didn’t help anything. It was all wrong. All so very wrong. The smell. THE SMELL. The Chew I took my time. The fact that I wasn’t already puking, and had survived the nostril thing, gave me time to note the textural change from rubber to powder as I got through it. It’s not like I was smiling though – this wasn’t pleasant. It was horrible. I kept thinking of that line from Harry Potter describing the experience of encountering a ‘Dementor’ – such misery that I wasn’t certain I’d ever feel cheerful again. My stomach was already fighting the experience very hard, way before the flesh even got to my mouth. I had to keep the chewing to a minimum. My time was up. The Swallow Nothing exciting: I swallowed. I stood there in that cloud of ammonia stench, bracing myself for something worse to happen, but nothing did. I felt truly horrible, staring blankly, trying to recover from the ordeal. I questioned why I’d done this in the first place. The smell filled my head and soul, and I couldn’t escape it – that ammonia death smell was inside me now. I was its bitch. My time was long over by the time I got up to swallowing. As I began to swallow, the retching began. I continued to try, and believe at one point I managed to get the mouthful about half-way down my throat, but it wasn’t long before I was bent over the plastic bag puking Surströmming back into the can. Then, an extended period of dry-retching. It took about a minute before I had the presence of mind to force myself away from the source of the smell, which was doing most of the ongoing damage. As for the herring, I doubt I digested any more than a fraction of a gram of the stuff in the end. My body simply said “NO” to Surströmming. Immediate Aftermath I felt dirty and afraid. I wondered when the sickness would start. I wondered why I’d put myself through that. I wondered how far away the bin would need to be from my house so that I never had to smell that ammonia/fishy stench again once I threw it out. I thought about my own mortality, and how fragile life was. There was no time for reflection. As soon as I’d finished puking, I ran inside, gathered five or six plastic bags, and set about wrapping up the source of the death-smell. That stench was just seemed to keep growing in volume and menace similar to the black-cloud monster thing from ‘Lost’, spreading out like a nuclear fallout that badly needed to be contained, and fast. There was a desperation and urgency to removing all trace of it from my house, from my life. I was down the street within 60 seconds, where I carefully placed the six-times-wrapped-but-still-opened can upright at the bottom of a bin that I wouldn’t smell when they emptied it. I feel sorry for those garbage men. I really do, but this had quickly become a self-preservation issue, consequences be damned. Extended Aftermath My skin felt greasy all afternoon, and I had a sort of ‘after-smell’ going on for the rest of the day. My nostrils felt like they were a little sunburned, and along with the slight burn feeling, a very slight ammonia smell lingered, though that could have been in my head. I still can’t bring myself to remember the precise smell of Hákarl even now – it was a scarring experience, and one I’d rather not repeat. I’m mostly just hoping that I don’t end up in a discussion where somebody claims to have found something worse to eat than Surströmming. Surely this is the limit. It was for me at least. I don’t think I’m going to get over it for a while, though fortunately as I didn’t digest any of it, I don’t feel sick or anything now. With the Hákarl I felt a bit funny all afternoon, but with this, if I could get the last of the smell off my fingers/phone, I’d be feeling no adverse physical effects now, only mental ones. Overall Feeling There is no reason for people to feel they need to eat Hákarl for anything other than a dare, or to discover their persoal extremes as I have. It was wholly unpleasant. However, now that I have tasted Surströmming, I can at least appreciate that there was a certain degree of ‘crafting’ in Hákarl. The smell, as bad as it was, was an interesting one which felt ‘human made’, almost like it had been created in a lab. Regardless of how repulsive the smell is, looking back now I feel like there’s some intent behind it in a strang sort of way. Plus, for to keep the title of World’s Worst, it needs to actually taste bad. It didn’t taste that bad – it merely smelled bad. If you pinch your nose and eat Hákarl, it’s nowhere nearly as bad as pinching your nose and eating Surströmming. There is no reason for people to feel they need to eat Surströmming at all, ever, for any reason. If I had to chose between eating Hákarl every day of my life or eating Surströmming one more time, I would still go with the daily shark. It was horrible in so many more ways that Hákarl wasn’t. I walked away from the shark dish in November feeling like I’d touched the edge of the Universe, but in reality, I hadn’t come even close. This is by far the worst thing a human can ever eat. I’ve accidentally eaten dog-shit before – this was worse. I’ve accidentally sipped some urine that had been congealing in a plastic drink bottle for several months – this was worse (but only just – in a remarkably similar ball-park). Don’t try this, thinking it’s going to be cool. It’s not going to be cool trying something so gross. It’s going to be horrible. You are going to vomit. You are going to wish you’d never gotten yourself into this in the first place. There’s no silver-lining to the experience, apart from the thought that perhaps, eating it with Swedish locals, already fully tanked on very, very strong clear spirits, you’re just drunk enough that you keep more of it down than I did. Horrible. Words can’t describe it.
The final result?
Surströmming is, by far, the world’s most foul thing designed to be eaten by human beings.
Congratulations, Sweden, and IN YOUR FACE, ICELAND!
The Swedes have this one completely sealed. There’s something truly horrendous about Hákarl that I don’t want to take away from our Icelandic friends – it *is* incredibly horrible, and I love the crazy way it’s prepared – but the fact that I walked into the Swedish sitting thinking it might be easier, only to be uncontrollably gagging within seconds of the can hissing its vile stench out into the world? No. Just, no.
Hákarl is definitely a 10-out-of-10 experience for people looking to expand their culinary horizons all the way down into the darkest depths of putrefied-shark depravity, and that’s fine. If you can get your hands on some, knock yourself out. Have a laugh with your friends. Brag about it, as I did, on Facebook. But know, deep in your heart of hearts, that while you just gulped down an ammonia-soaked 10-out-of-10, that just across the sea, there lurks an eleven…
Don’t do it, folks. Either of them.
I feel dirty.A TRUCK driver who allegedly struck and fatally injured a pedestrian on Sydney’s northern beaches has been shown on security camera footage cleaning his vehicle and disposing of an item of clothing — which police allege had been caught under his truck.
Police will allege one of the items thrown into a skip bin was a purple jacket belonging to the victim.
After Emmanuel Xiberras, 36, allegedly hit Jo-Ann Thwaites, 60, as she made her way across a pedestrian crossing at Brookvale on Friday, |
conditions, including the 200,000 Americans living with younger-onset Alzheimer’s.”
American Cancer Society
“Our analysis indicates the bill could allow insurers to:
Charge cancer patients and survivors far higher rates to make coverage unaffordable
Eliminate coverage for cancer care in their health plans
Re-institute arbitrary caps on annual and lifetime coverage”
National Association of Medicaid Directors
“Our members are committed to ensuring that the programs we operate improve health outcomes while also being fiscally responsible to state and federal taxpayers. In order to succeed, however, these efforts must be undertaken in a thoughtful, deliberative, and responsible way. We are concerned that this legislation would undermine these efforts in many states and fail to deliver on our collective goal of an improved health care system.”
American Hospital Association
“This proposal would erode key protections for patients and consumers and does nothing to stabilize the insurance market now or in the long term. In addition, the block grant to provide support for the expansion population expires in 2026, thereby eliminating coverage for millions of Americans.
For these reasons, we oppose the Graham-Cassidy plan.”
American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
“ACOG condemns the latest effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act by ignoring regular order and rushing the harmful Graham-Cassidy bill to a vote. This latest effort is the most dangerous bill to date, threatening to strip health care from millions of Americans and end Medicaid as we know it.”
Children’s Hospital Association
“The nation’s children’s hospitals stand in strong opposition to the most recent legislative proposal introduced by Sens. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., Bill Cassidy, R-La., Dean Heller, R-Nev., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis. Their legislation would slash funding for Medicaid, the nation’s largest health care program for children, by one-third, reducing access and coverage for more than 30 million children in the program.”
Public Health Institute
“The Graham-Cassidy proposal is just as bad as previous versions of ACA repeal—it would eliminate the Prevention and Public Health Fund, gut Medicaid funding, weaken current protections for people with pre-existing conditions and make meaningful coverage unaffordable for many.”
Join the conversation
Are you an Obamacare enrollee interested in what happens next? Join our Facebook community for conversation and updates.In a televised speech of extraordinary gravity, President John F. Kennedy announces that U.S. spy planes have discovered Soviet missile bases in Cuba. These missile sites—under construction but nearing completion—housed medium-range missiles capable of striking a number of major cities in the United States, including Washington, D.C. Kennedy announced that he was ordering a naval “quarantine” of Cuba to prevent Soviet ships from transporting any more offensive weapons to the island and explained that the United States would not tolerate the existence of the missile sites currently in place. The president made it clear that America would not stop short of military action to end what he called a “clandestine, reckless, and provocative threat to world peace.”
What is known as the Cuban Missile Crisis actually began on October 15, 1962—the day that U.S. intelligence personnel analyzing U-2 spy plane data discovered that the Soviets were building medium-range missile sites in Cuba. The next day, President Kennedy secretly convened an emergency meeting of his senior military, political, and diplomatic advisers to discuss the ominous development. The group became known as ExCom, short for Executive Committee. After rejecting a surgical air strike against the missile sites, ExCom decided on a naval quarantine and a demand that the bases be dismantled and missiles removed. On the night of October 22, Kennedy went on national television to announce his decision. During the next six days, the crisis escalated to a breaking point as the world tottered on the brink of nuclear war between the two superpowers.
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On October 23, the quarantine of Cuba began, but Kennedy decided to give Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev more time to consider the U.S. action by pulling the quarantine line back 500 miles. By October 24, Soviet ships en route to Cuba capable of carrying military cargoes appeared to have slowed down, altered, or reversed their course as they approached the quarantine, with the exception of one ship—the tanker Bucharest. At the request of more than 40 nonaligned nations, U.N. Secretary-General U Thant sent private appeals to Kennedy and Khrushchev, urging that their governments “refrain from any action that may aggravate the situation and bring with it the risk of war.” At the direction of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. military forces went to DEFCON 2, the highest military alert ever reached in the postwar era, as military commanders prepared for full-scale war with the Soviet Union.
On October 25, the aircraft carrier USS Essex and the destroyer USS Gearing attempted to intercept the Soviet tanker Bucharest as it crossed over the U.S. quarantine of Cuba. The Soviet ship failed to cooperate, but the U.S. Navy restrained itself from forcibly seizing the ship, deeming it unlikely that the tanker was carrying offensive weapons. On October 26, Kennedy learned that work on the missile bases was proceeding without interruption, and ExCom considered authorizing a U.S. invasion of Cuba. The same day, the Soviets transmitted a proposal for ending the crisis: The missile bases would be removed in exchange for a U.S. pledge not to invade Cuba.
The next day, however, Khrushchev upped the ante by publicly calling for the dismantling of U.S. missile bases in Turkey under pressure from Soviet military commanders. While Kennedy and his crisis advisers debated this dangerous turn in negotiations, a U-2 spy plane was shot down over Cuba, and its pilot, Major Rudolf Anderson, was killed. To the dismay of the Pentagon, Kennedy forbid a military retaliation unless any more surveillance planes were fired upon over Cuba. To defuse the worsening crisis, Kennedy and his advisers agreed to dismantle the U.S. missile sites in Turkey but at a later date, in order to prevent the protest of Turkey, a key NATO member.
On October 28, Khrushchev announced his government’s intent to dismantle and remove all offensive Soviet weapons in Cuba. With the airing of the public message on Radio Moscow, the USSR confirmed its willingness to proceed with the solution secretly proposed by the Americans the day before. In the afternoon, Soviet technicians began dismantling the missile sites, and the world stepped back from the brink of nuclear war. The Cuban Missile Crisis was effectively over. In November, Kennedy called off the blockade, and by the end of the year all the offensive missiles had left Cuba. Soon after, the United States quietly removed its missiles from Turkey.
The Cuban Missile Crisis seemed at the time a clear victory for the United States, but Cuba emerged from the episode with a much greater sense of security.The removal of antiquated Jupiter missiles from Turkey had no detrimental effect on U.S. nuclear strategy, but the Cuban Missile Crisis convinced a humiliated USSR to commence a massive nuclear buildup. In the 1970s, the Soviet Union reached nuclear parity with the United States and built intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of striking any city in the United States.
A succession of U.S. administrations honored Kennedy’s pledge not to invade Cuba, and relations with the communist island nation situated just 80 miles from Florida remained a thorn in the side of U.S. foreign policy for more than 50 years. In 2015, officials from both nations announced the formal normalization of relations between the U.S and Cuba, which included the easing of travel restrictions and the opening of embassies and diplomatic missions in both countries.Dealing Bishop Might Not Be Only Move Bolts Make
The Tampa Bay Lightning traded goalie Ben Bishop along with a fifth-round selection in 2017 to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for goalie Peter Budaj, defensemen Erik Cernak, a seventh round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, and a conditional pick in 2017.
Who The Lightning Receive:
Budaj, 34, has played in 53 games with the Kings this season (27-20-3) and has a 2.12 goal-against average to go along with a.917 save percentage. He also has seven shutouts on the season. In an 11 year NHL career he has appeared in 350 NHL games with the Los Angeles Kings, the Montreal Canadiens, and the Colorado Avalanche. Overall, he has a 152-127-39 mark and has 18 career shutouts.
Cernak, 19, has skated in 41 games with the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters. He has registered three goals and 17 points, along with a plus-27 rating. He has played 82 career OHL games with Erie, recording seven goals and 32 points with a plus-34 rating.
Lighting Send Bishop To Kings
Bishop, 30, will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. He has a 16-12-3 record with a 2.55 goals-against average and a.911 save percentage. Last season, he was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy.
Bishop’s name has been mentioned in trade rumors ever since when Andrei Vasilevskiy proved he was ready to assume a more prominent role in last year’s playoffs.
Additionally, there was the looming restrictions during the Las Vegas expansion draft plus the Bolts own expected salary cap crunch.
He was in the final year of a two-year, $11.9 million deal. He waived a full no-movement clause in the deal.
Bishop was traded to the Lightning by the Ottawa Senators during the 2012-13 season. He began his career with the St. Louis Blues after being drafted in the third round (85th overall) of the 2005 draft.
Lightning May Not Be Done:
The Bishop trade may be the first of several moves that GM Steve Yzerman makes over the next several days. Brian Boyle, an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season is a valuable commodity. Tyler Johnson, due to upcoming salary cap issues over the summer, also could be moved prior to the trade deadline."Can we please find out what is the status of the issuing of the money that the council voted for to enforce our tenant protections?" she asked.
The problem has been because of a lack of resources, said Michele Byrd, director of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department. The council pushed the city Tuesday night to find a group that could manage that pot of money, which is supposed to be used for education and outreach services for tenants to learn their rights -- a major systemic failure for Oaklanders being displaced, according to housing advocates.
The early-morning vote also doesn't solve another major problem -- a state law known as the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act that exempts about 40 percent of Oakland’s rental stock from the moratorium, according to Mayor Libby Schaaf, who spoke on KQED's Forum yesterday. The units exempt from the moratorium include newer rentals, including single-family homes and condos.
Oakland has seen rents rise 40 percent over the last 12 months for vacant available units, Schaaf said.
Wayne Rowland, president of the East Bay Rental Housing Association, said these are the units that are driving up market rents, not the rentals subject to the moratorium.
"It’s a little disingenuous to use the market-rate rents of 40 to 50 percent increase and turn around and put a freeze on units that are already pretty well controlled by the rent ordinance," Rowland said.
Property owners subject to the moratorium can raise rent on units under rent stabilization laws by a value tied to the Consumer Price Index, which is currently under 2 percent.
The moratorium would be extended to two- and three-unit owner-occupied buildings, which would increase coverage to about 60 percent of Oakland’s housing stock, Schaaf said.
But the moratorium does allow a landlord to petition for a fair rent increase. Landlord Alan Reinke was one of many who spoke against the moratorium. He said there’s a much bigger problem that needs to be dealt with.
"Frankly, I think you should find a way to create more affordable housing, and do it quickly, but that’s going to take money. Good luck," Reinke said.Knowing why we don’t use past methodologies can be just as useful as knowing why we use current ones. In this article, we are going to look at past methods for delegating access to an API (the problem that OAuth is the current solution for) and why we shouldn’t use them anymore. Examples in this article are based on systems I’ve seen in the wild or discussed on StackOverflow.
Scenario
For a user to delegate access (or authorize, give permission) to a mail service to send emails on the user’s behalf. Only send permission must be allowed.
We’re going to use the OAuth terminology of:
Client Application: The application we want to delegate access to
The application we want to delegate access to Protected Resource: Your mail service (think the Gmail or a private mail server) exposed as an HTTP API. This resource is considered to be owned by the requesting user. Also referred to as our API.
Credential Sharing
Integrate with API Username: Password: Submit
Credential sharing is where you simply give the client application your credentials for the protected resource, allowing it to authenticate with our mail service as if it was the user, and send an email.
And that’s the first issue, we are no longer delegating access, instead the client application is impersonating the user. This means that there is no scoped access, the application can do anything the user can. So instead of just being able to send emails, it can now delete them, create new contacts, change the user’s details, whatever it wants. This is a little more forgivable when all applications are within a single security domain (e.g. an intranet), but it’s still asking for trouble.
Revocation is also an issue, as this would involve the user changing their credentials for their entire account, instead of just this client application, which would also affect any other application using this technique and, let’s face it, the user is probably using this password for many other accounts.
We’re also unnecessarily exposing user credentials to the client application. Not only is this increasing the attack surface for our protected resource, but the client must store the user credentials in a reversible format so that they can later be relayed to our protected resource. As we know, passwords should be stored using a password hashing algorithm and never be stored in a reversible format (pain text or encrypted).
This also brings challenges to systems using multiple factors for authentication, as the authentication method used must have a constant value so that it can be stored and repeated at a later date. This means secure factors such as “something you have” using a local token generator such as Google Authenticator cannot be used. Federated identity is also not an option unless they support credential sharing (unlikely), so it’s local accounts or nothing.
Yet another limitation is with native or client side applications, which might not have a mechanism for storing credentials with any semblance of security, and therefore cannot use credential sharing without putting users at risk.
API Key
Integrate with API Key: Submit
A common solution is to have your protected resource generate a key for the user. This would typically be generated by the user within the protected resource. This could be a single API key or a mechanism that allows the user to generate keys. Out of the box this gives us removes a few of the downsides of credential sharing, we’re no longer exposing the user’s credentials, our API authorization method no longer affects what authentication methods we can use (both factors and external identity providers).
A key per client application is certainly more desirable, and using this mechanism you can start to address other concerns by building out the logic:
Scoped Access (maybe configurable by the user on key generation)
Key Revocation (assuming on key per app, we can revoke keys safely)
However, this approach still has its limitations. The credentials are still not explicitly linked to the client application, there’s no guarantee that the request using this API key came from the application it was generated for. Whilst this can also be true for bearer tokens used in OAuth, an API key has no expiration, meaning that until you discover it has been compromised and manually revoke it (assuming you built a revocation mechanism) the attacker has free reign over your system.
Assuming the client application is already aware of the protected resource, then we are also unnecessarily exposing the user to client credentials and forcing them to manage them. We already know how lazy we get with username and passwords; do you trust that API keys will be treated any differently? This has the potential for keys to be shared, making them harder to revoke, and relies on the user to know what permissions the client resource requires.
There’s a lot of custom code and architecture involved in getting this approach right, and even then, it has fundamental vulnerabilities. Based on how many failed implementations of OAuth there are, do you really think you’ll be able to both reinvent all of this logic and then implement it within this decade?
Another option that is very similar to the API Key method, is to create a user account specifically for the client application.
Cookies
Click here to log into API Submit
Yes, cookies protecting APIs is unfortunately still a thing. Whether it’s the protected resource sharing the same cookie as the client application, or prompting the user to log into the protected resource before in order to use it as seen above.
So, you log into your API and get a cookie. Great, now the client application can make requests. But if you open another tab in your browser and make a request manually to the API, you will still be successful. The problem here is that we are no longer authorizing the application to access our API, instead we are authorizing the browser. This opens up a world of pain in the form of Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF or XSRF), where other applications will happily start using your API without your permission. Not good.
We also do not have much of a revocation path, as now we’d need to invalidate a cookie stored in a user’s browser by either waiting for them to make another request, or by changing our keys used to protect the cookie, invalidating every cookie for that protected resource.
I’m sure there are hacks around some of these issues, but the point still stands, cookies for APIs is a bad idea as they will always be open to CSRF.
Summary
Most of the above involves the protected resource being aware of user credentials and/or client credentials in some way. This isn’t unnecessary and doesn’t scale well, as the more APIs you create, the more manual one-to-one integrations you have to implement. The obvious solution would be to create a central authorization server and have your APIs trust this to make authorization and delegation decisions, which is exactly what OAuth does.
Let me know if you’ve seen anything else that you think should be added to this list (though try not to name and shame).(edited to add: For the irony-impaired, this is SATIRE)
Dear boys,
I have some information that might interest you. Last night, as we sometimes do, our family sat around the dining-room table and looked through your social media photos. Because we’re creepy like that.
We have a teenage daughter, and so naturally there are quite a few pictures of you handsome boys to wade through. Wow – you sure took a bunch of selfies in your pajamas this summer! Your bedrooms are so dirty! Don’t you know how to clean your rooms? Our nine-year-old son brought this to our attention, because with one older sister who has a room that smells like an old dead hamster, he notices boyish details like that.
I think the girls notice other things. For one, it appears that you are not wearing a shirt.
I get it – you’re in your room, so you’re heading to bed, right? But then I can’t help but notice the big muscles pose, the extra-arched back to show off your rock-hard abs, and the smirky grin. What’s up? None of these positions is one I naturally assume before sleep, this I know. Because I’m a woman. And rock hard abs left me four children ago. And I like to judge others based on my own standard behavior.
So, here’s the bit that I think is important for you to realize. If you are friends with a daughter of mine on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter, then you are friends with the whole fam-dam-ly.
Please understand this, also: we genuinely like keeping up with you. We enjoy seeing life through your unique and colorful lens – which is what makes your latest self-portrait so extremely unfortunate. You just aren’t good enough. We’re the Joneses. Now keep up with us.
Those posts don’t reflect who you are! We think you are handsome and probably interesting, and, if I’m being generous, very smart. But, we had to cringe and wonder what you were trying to do? Who are you trying to reach? What are you trying to say? Because we literally have nothing better to do than judge and examine the lives of teenage boys.
And now – big bummer – we have to block your posts. Because, the reason we have these (sometimes awkward) family conversations around the table is that we care about our daughter, just as we know your parents care about you. But not as much as we care about our kids because we’re totes better parents than your parents.
I know your family would not be thrilled at the thought of my teenage daughter seeing you only in your towel. Did you know that once a female sees you in a state of undress, she can’t ever un-see it? You don’t want my daughter to only think of you in this sexual way, do you? Because if she does, it will be YOUR fault. Our daughter does not have free agency. She is incapable of controlling her thoughts and actions so you must do it for her. Seriously, she can’t. It’s some sort of chromosome condition that only occurs with the XX.
Neither do we. I mean, I don’t want my daughter to think of you in a sexual way, but I’m not gonna try and make myself un-see a picture of Ryan Gosling in just a towel. I mean, yum. And It’s not like he’s a real person.
And so, in our house, there are no second chances, boys. Because we’re just mean like that. I know, I know. We proclaim to be Christians who believe in the power of the atonement and all. But we’re not Jesus, so only he has to forgive you. Us? Well, we are just going to judge you all we can and shame you and infer that you’re giant bags of whore on the internet.
If you want to stay friendly with the females in my family, you’ll have to keep your clothes on (unless you’re Ryan Gosling), and your posts decent. And interesting. I mean, no one wants to read that “Roman is having an okay day and bought a Coke Zero at the gas station.” All of your posts should revolve around me and what I find interesting. If you try to post a sexy selfie, or an inappropriate YouTube video – even once – you’ll be booted off our on-line island. Because like I said, there is zero tolerance for forgiveness in our family. Mess up once and it’s the guillotine.
I know that sounds harsh and old-school, but that’s just the way it is under this roof for a while. We hope to raise women with a strong moral compass, and women of integrity don’t linger over pictures of scantily clad high-school boys. Women of integrity also don’t write incredibly mean, self-righteous posts that slut-shame teenage girls. Phew, luckily I didn’t do anything like that!
Every day I pray for the men my girls will love. I hope they will be drawn to real handsome guy (not dorks. No dorks allowed in this super awesome fam), the kind of men who will leave them better people in the end. I also pray that my daughters will be worthy of this kind of man, that they will be patient – and act honorably – while they wait for him.
Boys, it’s not too late! If you think you’ve made an on-line mistake (we all do – don’t fret – I’ve made some doozies), RUN to your accounts and take down anything that makes it easy for your female friends to imagine you naked in your bedroom. DO IT NOW! I AM THE EMPRESS OF ALL AND I COMMAND YOU TO TAKE DOWN ALL POSTS THAT DON’T MEET MY HIGH STANDARDS. But actually it is too late because we already blocked your skanky ass profile because Jesus and no second chances.
Will you trust me? There are girls out there waiting and hoping for men of character. Some young women are fighting the daily uphill battle to keep their minds pure, and their thoughts praiseworthy. And you shirtless boys in just your swim trunks are ruining it for them. You are making their minds impure and they have no control over it. None! It’s like you’re literally controlling their minds.
You are growing into a real handsome dude, inside and out.
Act like him, speak like him, post like him. Because no second chances.
I’m glad we’re friends. But not like the for reals kind of friends. Like the passive aggressive kind who make really mean judgments about you and then write about it on the internet.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Judgmental Slut Shamer Jones
(my response to this post)
AdvertisementsPandagon is daily opinion blog covering feminism, politics, and pop culture. Come for the politics, stay for the complete lack of patience for the B.S. and bad faith coming from conservative leaders and pundits.
MISANDRY
Oof, saw this one coming: Sarah Begley of Time is pushing back against all the hilarious “misandry” jokes that feminists online have been making recently in an attempt to inject some comic relief in the endless tide of false accusations that feminists are out to get men. “What feminists really hate is the patriarchy—the web of institutions that systemically oppress women. And to tear it down, we need as many allies as we can get. Telling half the population that we hate them, even in jest, is not the way to do that,” Begley argues.
Dayna Evans of Jezebel defends feminists’ right to self-defense through humor: “Do women lose allies by alienating the men who aren’t in on the wink-wink joke? Maybe. Are those men worth losing? Probably.”
I can see that this debate will probably go around and around in circles, so I would like to offer a nice, simple solution. So simple, I’m actually surprised no one has thought of it yet. And while I’m hesitant to speak on the behalf of all feminists, I think this proposal is so simple that everyone will sign on immediately. So here it is:
Feminists will agree to quit it with the misandry jokes if anti-feminists cease making scurrilous accusations that feminists are motivated by man hatred.
Really, as a compromise, it’s more than fair. Feminists are actually sacrificing more in this compromise! After all, all anti-feminists have to do is promise not to tell lies, something they should have been doing already. Feminists, in exchange, will give up an amusing source of gifs.
Anti-feminists don’t like these gifs? Simple: Stop pretending that one has to hate men in order to believe that men should not be unfairly privileged over women. Then they will go away.
Indeed, that this even has to be discussed shows how misogyny is a real thing and misandry simply is not. We should be having a public debate about whether or not it’s acceptable for conservatives to routinely lie about feminists rather than argue with them directly. Instead, we’re having a very silly debate about whether or not it’s acceptable to make fun of the kind of people who are idiotic enough to think men are oppressed if they meet any resistance for oppressing women.
A short list of some of the lies that would have to be discontinued in order to make this peace accord work (though please share some more in comments—the lies anti-feminists tell about feminists are many in number!):
That feminists want to prosecute rape more aggressively not because they think rape is a serious crime, but because they want innocent men thrown in jail for REASONS.
That feminists want there to be consequences for sexual harassment not because they want women to have equal access to jobs and social spaces, but because they want to ruin a man’s good time, which anti-feminists apparently believe requires pushing people’s boundaries.
That feminists are out to stop men from having sex generally, a lie that gets told frequently despite, you know, the fact that feminists put an immense amount of their personal resources towards protecting reproductive rights, i.e. allowing men to have more sex with women.
That feminists want to get more women in power not because they think power should be shared equally, but because they are out to steal from men.
That feminists want contraception to be covered by health insurance not because they want people to be able to have sex without threat of unwanted pregnancy (which benefits men), but because they’re greedy sluts who want to steal from men.
That feminists want men to share in housework and childcare duties equally not because they believe in fairness and equality, but because they’re trying to emasculate men.
That Hasidic Jewish women whose deeply patriarchal religion forbids them from singing in front of men found a loophole (woman-only shows) not because they want to sing their songs, but because they are out to get men.
That feminists want more attention to diversity in hiring because they are out to destroy “merit”, as opposed to believing that merit is not actually concentrated in the hands of white men.
Just any generic screaming that feminists are out to “get” men that is tossed out because you see women pushing for more equality and you don’t like it.
I realize that not being able to lie about feminist motivations puts anti-feminists into a miserable situation of having to come out with their own real arguments in favor of a status quo where women are routinely disadvantaged. Being able to attack straw feminists and demonize unfairly helps prevent people from actually listening to feminists. Anti-feminists understandably worry feminists are very persuasive. People do like fairness, after all. Those who stand for the unfair status quo may feel that being able to lie levels the playing field a bit: Feminists have better arguments and in exchange, anti-feminists get to lie and distort to handicap their chances.
But, you know, that doesn’t change the fact that lying is wrong. Feminists can’t stop anti-feminists from persisting with the scurrilous, untrue accusations of man-hating, of course. But we can make fun of you with “misandry” jokes. But if the misandry jokes really are hurting people’s feelings, well, the solution is obvious: Stop making false accusations of misandry, and the misandry jokes will dry right the fuck up. I give you my solemn word on this as a feminist.
(Ironically, this treaty wouldn’t even require giving up all bad faith arguments anti-feminists come up with, such as saying “religious freedom” requires not allowing someone else to use her own damn insurance on contraception or that you believe abortion is “murder”, though of course, not enough not to enthusiastically support men who benefit from “murder”. Just the false accusation of misandry is on the table.)
I invite other feminists in comments to let everyone know if they’d be cool with a peace treaty where we quit with the misandry jokes in exchange for anti-feminists agreeing to quit with the false accusations of misandry.The end-of-the-month blogs these days seem to write themselves, just change the month...
For the fourth time in the past six months, Seattle has set the record for all-time warmest month. March 2015 now joins brethren October, December and February as the warmest on record at Sea-Tac Airport (70 years of data) by average monthly temperature -- found by taking the high and low and divided by two.
This month, the average temperature was 50.5 degrees, just beating 1992's 50.3 degrees. By average high temperature, we came in second place at 57.8 degrees, lagging only behind 1992's 59.1 degrees.
(The readings are behind three others from before Sea-Tac was "born" and records were kept in Downtown Seattle, including a 53.1 average temperature reading in 1941.)
March has featured a bit of extremes, with a mix of sunshine and very warm temperatures for several days, and drenching rains the next. The 2.20 inches of rain that fell on March 15th was the second wettest March day at Sea-Tac. On the other hand, 11 of the 31 days were 60 degrees or warmer, and only three days of the month were considered below normal and none since March 4.
The month also appears to be cementing that Feb. 1 may go down as our last day of the season with a high under 50 degrees which usually that date isn't until well into March, sometimes April.
And March will now make it 13 consecutive months that we've had above normal temperatures.
I've made a short graph to show our amazing warm stretch by average monthly temperature and where the months rank overall in parenthesis -- again this is through 70 years of data):
And as the blog I wrote two weeks ago says (and will probably write again in two weeks), the long range forecasts show no stopping to the overall warm weather pattern -- perhaps lasting through the summer.It started with a few barrels being allocated towards a small series of beers, followed by a Blonde Ale that was tested with a few different strains of Brett during secondary fermentation. It eventually lead to the Inland Sea series, a collection that includes several sour ales in addition to other barrel-aged beers to honor the Great Lakes region. And once the experimentation began, it was hard to stop. There was a watermelon phase, then grapefruit, raspberry, and cherry.
“It's a bit of an addiction for me, because it's fun and the flavors that we get are really interesting and just so wonderful,” Bautz says. “Right now, we're working with a lot of grape. We're looking to enhance the wine flavors from fermenting them with Brett in wine barrels. We're in that zone right now, because it transfers so well to brewing. I really love the flavors from it. They're so complex. There's a lot of nurturing in it. It's really satisfying to see your baby growing up and going out the door.”
Brett has an incredible bandwidth for what it can do in beer, and Bautz has enjoyed playing with different ways to get the flavors he wants. In addition to wild fermentations aged in barrels for extended periods of time, he kettle sours some of his beers, adding Lactobacillus to the wort to get the flavors he’s looking for faster. There has only been one Lake Effect Inland Sea beer that was purely kettle soured with Lacto, a blueberry Berliner Weisse that’s fittingly-if-not-imaginitively called Blueberry Berliner Weisse. Everything else that’s soured during the boil has been used as a blending agent to either tighten up the flavor profile of an aged beer coming out of a barrel or to make the final flavors more complex.Juan Rodriguez[1][2][3] (Dutch: Jan Rodrigues, Portuguese: João Rodrigues) was the first documented non-Native American to live on Manhattan Island.[4] As such, he is considered the first non-native resident of what would eventually become New York City, predating the Dutch settlers. As he was born in Santo Domingo (now in the Dominican Republic) to a Portuguese sailor and an African woman, he is also considered the first immigrant, the first person of African heritage, the first person of European heritage, the first merchant, the first Latino, and the first Dominican to settle in Manhattan.[5]
Biography [ edit ]
He was born in the Captaincy General of Santo Domingo (now the Dominican Republic) to an African woman and a Portuguese sailor,[5] in an era in which a tenth of the Dominican population was born in Portugal,[6] which at that time was in dynastic union with the Spanish Crown (see Iberian Union).
Raised in a culturally diverse environment in the Spanish settlement of Santo Domingo, Rodrigues was known for his linguistic talents and was hired by the Dutch captain Thijs Volckenz Mossel of the Jonge Tobias to serve as the translator on a trading voyage to the Native American island of Mannahattan. Arriving in 1613, Rodrigues soon came to learn the Algonquian language of the Lenape people and married into the local community. When Mossel's ship returned to the Netherlands, Rodrigues stayed behind with his Native American family and set up his own trading post with goods given to him by Mossel, consisting of eighty hatchets, some knives, a musket and a sword.[7]
He spent the winter without the support of anchored ship, at a Dutch fur trading post on Lower Manhattan that had been set up by Hendrick Christiaensen in 1613. This small settlement, and others, along the North River were part of a private enterprise. It was not until 1621 that the Dutch Republic firmly established its claim to New Netherland and offered a patent for a trade monopoly in the region. In 1624, a group of settlers established a small colony on Governors Island. Together with a contingent of colonizers coming from the Netherlands that same year, the traders established in the tiny settlement of New Amsterdam, only 11 years old.
Report of Adriaen Block [ edit ]
In the early spring of 1613, fur trader Adriaen Block complained bitterly that a competitor, Thijs Volckenz Mossel, commander of the Jonge Tobias, had tried to "spoil the trade" by offering three times more for a beaver than Block did. In his report against Mossel, which he submitted to the Amsterdam Notary upon his return to Holland, Block topped off his list of accusations against Mossel with his outrage that
crewman Rodrigues had become a permanent fixture in the Manhattan frontier, trading and living alone among the natives. When the said Mossel sailed away from the river with his ship, Rodrigues, born in Sto. Domingo, who had arrived there with the ship of said Mossel, stayed ashore at the same place. They had given Rodrigues eighty hatchets, some knives, a musket and a sword.
According to Block, Mossel denied that Rodrigues was working on his behalf. Rodrigues had taken it upon himself to gain friendship with the natives, set up a trading post, and live comfortably on Manhattan Island.
Mossel declared that
this Spaniard [Rodrigues] had run away from the ship and gone ashore against his intent and will and that he had given him the said goods in payment of his wages and therefore had nothing more to do with him.
Block closed |
do much for us. Putting a giant banner across the top of the stage where everyone will be looking is much better. Talking to hundreds of people and getting them to sign up for our mailing list is also very nice. Having the right audience at the event is also critical here: people with a need for custom machined parts.
Now, working on some of the factors above might not overlap with your skills. If you're visiting the Big Blue Saw website, chances are that you like building things a lot, and there's a good chance you don't care so much about having Twitter followers or documenting your build process with slick YouTube videos. And that's perfectly understandable. So if you don't yet have a solid online or media presence, you should consider adding to your team someone to be your media director.
Finally, when reaching out to us for sponsorship, make sure you're clear about what exactly you need. If you need waterjet machining and have DXF files ready for us to cut, it makes our decision much easier than if you don't have a design ready. Similarly, if you want gift certificates for prizes, let us know the exact amounts and quantity you require.
We're always on the lookout for great events, teams and even individuals to sponsor. Now that you know what we're looking for, you can e-mail us and let us know how we can work together to help each other: info@bigbluesaw.com."We had conscription before 2008, and we thought that it will never be necessary. But with a changing geopolitical situation around our borders, we realized that the threats are very real. The threats are real for our whole region, all Baltic states, and our neighbourhood has become less predictable and more aggressive, I mean Russia," Grybauskaitė said.
The president also mentioned the recent increase in Russia's military activity in the Kaliningrad region, in the Baltic Sea and in the air where Russian military planes pose threat to civil aviation.
"We know the procedures in NATO. The rapid reaction forces can start to work at least from 72 hours. But our nations in the Baltics are quite small. We need to protect ourselves at least for these 72 or more hours," she said.
The president also called the reintroduction of conscription a clear message that, if attacked, Lithuania would not surrender and would defend itself.
An informational war is being waged against the Baltic states and they come under cyber attacks, she added.
"Already we are in the front line, and the first stage of confrontation is taking place: I mean the informational war, propaganda and cyber attacks. So we are already under attack. Will it be extended to conventional confrontation? Nobody knows. But already now we need to defend ourselves from this aggressive behaviour," the Lithuanian president said.
Speaking to Lithuanian journalists, Grybauskaitė underlined that Lithuanians must defend their country.
"How can you or I, or we, Lithuanians, can ask, for example, a Danish or a German to come and defend us in case of a threat, and somehow we ourselves don’t want to do that? It's our constitutional duty," the president said.
The recording of the president's interview was given to BNS by the presidential press service.
Earlier in the day, the Lithuanian government backed a bill drafted by the Ministry of National Defence on the restoration of conscription. In Defence Minister Juozas Olekas' words, the conscription of 19- to 26-year-olds should start in August or September. Lithuania plans to conscript around 3,000 men every year.The Snow is coming! The Snow is coming! If you are a driver in NYC that parks on the street, you have probably dug out your car more than a few times. With snow storms of this magnitude, it’s no small feat.
But there is a trick that I’ve picked up over the years. Always park on the left side of the street, not the right. You’ll be happy you did.
Since I quantify everything, I am going to make a fake attempt to quantify why this is. I looked Google Images on “NYC Snow Plow”. Despite the prevalence of oneway streets in the city, of the first 18 images of snow plows, 17 of them push snow solely to the right. Only one seems to be plowing down the middle.
That makes a whole lot of sense because on a two-way street, you don’t want to push the snow into the middle. So do yourself a favor and park on the side of the street that the snow is being pushed away from.
Note that I wish I could quantify the snow plowing in NYC for real, but sadly our city’s snow plow tracking website PlowNYC does not provide underlying data. I hope, in the spirit of Open Data, this will change soon. Until then, this is about the best I can do. Be careful out there!
Update: Redditors seem genuinely upset about my lack of clarification that this is for one-way streets. I thought it was vacuously true since In my eyes you can’t park on the “left” side of a two way street. But I guess many disagree with that. I hope that clarifies things!Do you have Comcast as your Internet service provider? If so it is likely you now have a data cap.
This week Comcast rolled out data caps in 28 states that place an arbitrary 1 TB limit on your data. If you go over the 1 TB limit you will be charged $10 for blocks of 50 GB over 1 TB not to exceed $200 every month. Or you could pay $50 every month for unlimited data.
Comcast claims 1 TB will allow you to:
Stream between 600 and 700 hours of HD video
Play online games for more than 12,000 hours
Stream more than 15,000 hours of music
Upload or download more than 60,000 hi-res photos
However, this is a similar argument they made back when they put in 250 GB data caps: it is more than enough. The problem is when you start to do all of these things, or want to stream in 4K, or have a large family.
But there are a few things to do to stay under your data cap. You can find the full list of recommended tricks to stay under your data cap in our guide to staying under your data cap.
Wondering what states have the new data cap? Here is the full list:
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
New Mexico
Western Ohio
Oregon
Tennessee
Texas
South Carolina
Utah
Southwest Virginia
Washington
Wisconsin
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Protesters constructed a mock wall from painted cardboard boxes in front of the home of Abbigail Brown, CEO of CPM Logistics, a firm that has worked on California’s high-speed rail project and the Presidio Parkway project in San Francisco.
Brown came outside and spoke to the protesters, eventually signing a pledge they prepared vowing to retract any bid on the border wall.
Update: While Brown signed the pledge document, she crossed out the section of the pledge that read ‘to retract any bid on the border wall’ because, as she told the East Bay Times, she had never planned to submit a bid.
“We will not work on the wall in any capacity, will not seek contracts with [the U.S. Department of Homeland Security] on this project, and will not seek to consult or sub-contract for other firms contracted directly by DHS on this project,” read the statement.
Protesters arrived at about 7am, started building the wall out front and unfurled large banners that said, “Resist hate, racism, corporate greed.” They blocked traffic until disbanding shortly after 9am.
Our press release from today's protest. pic.twitter.com/RooDciSzgx — CPM Logistics, LLC (@cpm_logistics) July 19, 2017
Next time give us a call before your stage a protest based on libel & misinformation. We are always happy to sit down and provide the facts. https://t.co/VQD0w0YgTr — CPM Logistics, LLC (@cpm_logistics) July 19, 2017
CPM released a statement shortly after the protest, saying the company had no interest in building the wall and was just tracking its progress. It characterized a San Francisco Chronicle report that the company had bid on the border wall as inaccurate.
In a series of posts on CPM's Twitter page after the confrontation, the company said the protest was based on "libel and minformation," adding, "we already are an example for communities and do not require Gestapo tactics and mobs gathering to protest false information."
Brown did not immediately return a call seeking clarification on exactly what communication her company has had with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which solicited proposals for the wall in March.
This is false information and is perpetuating what you are fighting against. Check your facts please (before you victimize another family). https://t.co/tUHzB2zXP3 — CPM Logistics, LLC (@cpm_logistics) July 19, 2017
“It’s nice when people take courage and do the right thing at the right moment,” protest spokesman Pete Woiwode said.
Activists blocked the street outside of Brown's home.
Activists said today's gathering is the first action in a planned series that targets other Bay Area contractors who've expressed interest in building the wall. As many as 19 Bay Area companies have reportedly submitted bids to help construct the barrier.
Companies interested in building the wall have faced backlash from city governments as well. Oakland and Berkeley have both passed laws prohibiting the city from doing business with companies bidding on the wall. Similar legislation has also been proposed in San Francisco and statewide.
Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have estimated that the wall could cost up to $38 billion. Trump has recently made allusions to the wall being built using solar panels, therefore providing green energy, or being transparent, to prevent people near the wall from being hurt by falling 60-pound bags of drugs.Sometimes, when a political campaign has run out of ideas and senses that the prize is slipping through its fingers, it rolls up a sleeve and plunges an arm, shoulder deep, right down to the bottom of the barrel. The problem for John McCain, Sarah Palin, and the Republican Party is that the bottom was scraped clean long before it dropped out. Back when the polls were nip and tuck and the leaves had not yet begun to turn, Barack Obama had already been accused of betraying the troops, wanting to teach kindergartners all about sex, favoring infanticide, and being a friend of terrorists and terrorism. What was left? The anticlimactic answer came as the long Presidential march of 2008 staggered toward its final week: Senator Obama is a socialist.
“This campaign in the next couple of weeks is about one thing,” Todd Akin, a Republican congressman from Missouri, told a McCain rally outside St. Louis. “It’s a referendum on socialism.” “With all due respect,” Senator George Voinovich, Republican of Ohio, said, “the man is a socialist.” At an airport rally in Roswell, New Mexico, a well-known landing spot for space aliens, Governor Palin warned against Obama’s tax proposals. “Friends,” she said, “now is no time to experiment with socialism.” And McCain, discussing those proposals, agreed that they sounded “a lot like socialism.” There hasn’t been so much talk of socialism in an American election since 1920, when Eugene Victor Debs, candidate of the Socialist Party, made his fifth run for President from a cell in the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, where he was serving a ten-year sentence for opposing the First World War. (Debs got a million votes and was freed the following year by the new Republican President, Warren G. Harding, who immediately invited him to the White House for a friendly visit.)
As a buzzword, “socialism” had mostly good connotations in most of the world for most of the twentieth century. That’s why the Nazis called themselves national socialists. That’s why the Bolsheviks called their regime the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, obliging the socialist and social democratic parties of Europe (and America, for what it was worth) to make rescuing the “good name” of socialism one of their central missions. Socialists—one thinks of men like George Orwell, Willy Brandt, and Aneurin Bevan—were among Communism’s most passionate and effective enemies.
The United States is a special case. There is a whole shelf of books on the question of why socialism never became a real mass movement here. For decades, the word served mainly as a cudgel with which conservative Republicans beat liberal Democrats about the head. When Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan accused John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson of socialism for advocating guaranteed health care for the aged and the poor, the implication was that Medicare and Medicaid would presage a Soviet America. Now that Communism has been defunct for nearly twenty years, though, the cry of socialism no longer packs its old punch. “At least in Europe, the socialist leaders who so admire my opponent are upfront about their objectives,” McCain said the other day—thereby suggesting that the dystopia he abhors is not some North Korean-style totalitarian ant heap but, rather, the gentle social democracies across the Atlantic, where, in return for higher taxes and without any diminution of civil liberty, people buy themselves excellent public education, anxiety-free health care, and decent public transportation.
The Republican argument of the moment seems to be that the difference between capitalism and socialism corresponds to the difference between a top marginal income-tax rate of 35 per cent and a top marginal income-tax rate of 39.6 per cent. The latter is what it would be under Obama’s proposal, what it was under President Clinton, and, for that matter, what it will be after 2010 if President Bush’s tax cuts expire on schedule. Obama would use some of the added revenue to give a break to pretty much everybody who nets less than a quarter of a million dollars a year. The total tax burden on the private economy would be somewhat lighter than it is now—a bit of elementary Keynesianism that renders doubly untrue the Republican claim that Obama “will raise your taxes.”
On October 12th, in conversation with a voter forever to be known as Joe the Plumber, Obama gave one of his fullest summaries of his tax plan. After explaining how Joe could benefit from it, whether or not he achieves his dream of owning his own plumbing business, Obama added casually, “I think that when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody.” McCain and Palin have been quoting this remark ever since, offering it as prima-facie evidence of Obama’s unsuitability for office. Of course, all taxes are redistributive, in that they redistribute private resources for public purposes. But the federal income tax is (downwardly) redistributive as a matter of principle: however slightly, it softens the inequalities that are inevitable in a market economy, and it reflects the belief that the wealthy have a proportionately greater stake in the material aspects of the social order and, therefore, should give that order proportionately more material support. McCain himself probably shares this belief, and there was a time when he was willing to say so. During the 2000 campaign, on MSNBC’s “Hardball,” a young woman asked him why her father, a doctor, should be “penalized” by being “in a huge tax bracket.” McCain replied that “wealthy people can afford more” and that “the very wealthy, because they can afford tax lawyers and all kinds of loopholes, really don’t pay nearly as much as you think they do.” The exchange continued:
YOUNG WOMAN: Are we getting closer and closer to, like, socialism and stuff?... MCCAIN: Here’s what I really believe: That when you reach a certain level of comfort, there’s nothing wrong with paying somewhat more.
For her part, Sarah Palin, who has lately taken to calling Obama “Barack the Wealth Spreader,” seems to be something of a suspect character herself. She is, at the very least, a fellow-traveller of what might be called socialism with an Alaskan face. The state that she governs has no income or sales tax. Instead, it imposes huge levies on the oil companies that lease its oil fields. The proceeds finance the government’s activities and enable it to issue a four-figure annual check to every man, woman, and child in the state. One of the reasons Palin has been a popular governor is that she added an extra twelve hundred dollars to this year’s check, bringing the per-person total to $3,269. A few weeks before she was nominated for Vice-President, she told a visiting journalist—Philip Gourevitch, of this magazine—that “we’re set up, unlike other states in the union, where it’s collectively Alaskans own the resources. So we share in the wealth when the development of these resources occurs.” Perhaps there is some meaningful distinction between spreading the wealth and sharing it (“collectively,” no less), but finding it would require the analytic skills of Karl the Marxist. ♦In this study, the factors potentially contributing to hospitalizations for gastroparesis were investigated. Poor glycemic control, infections, noncompliance with or intolerance of medications, and, perhaps, adrenal insufficiency seemed to be contributory factors.
The American Diabetes Association recommends a HbA1c goal of <7% in diabetic patients [11]. Poor glycemic control, as determined either by elevated hemoglobin A1C >7% or elevated fasting blood sugars >180 mg/dl, was present in 35.9% of the hospitalized patients and in 80% of the diabetic patients. Hyperglycemia disrupts normal antral phase III motor complexes and delays gastric emptying in healthy humans and patients with diabetes [12, 13, 14]. Increased glycosylated hemoglobin levels have been associated with an increased frequency of gastrointestinal symptoms [15]. This poor glycemic control may worsen gastric emptying and lead to worsening symptoms.
In this study, infections were seen in 19.4% patients admitted for an exacerbation of gastroparesis. Some of these were vascular line infections used for intravenous nutritional support. Other infections, for example urinary tract infection, were unrelated to the disorder or treatment, but were seen in patients being admitted for exacerbation. As expected, the inflammatory markers, ESR and CRP, were elevated in patients with documented infections compared with the control groups. Assessment of inflammatory markers may indicate those gastroparetic patients in whom a vigorous search for infection should be undertaken. Interestingly, a significant percentage of hospitalized patients had elevated ESR and CRP levels without overt evidence of infection. Thus, elevation of inflammatory markers may suggest either infection or ongoing inflammation without true infection. Our study suggests that those patients with elevated inflammatory markers have a higher risk of recurrent hospitalizations for exacerbations of their gastroparesis.
Harberson et al. [6] demonstrated inflammation in full-thickness biopsies of the antrum in some patients with gastroparesis. This observation supports the hypothesis that inflammation may play a role in the exacerbation of gastroparesis. Case reports have shown infiltration of the myenteric plexus with lymphocytes and resolution after corticosteroid therapy; there was also a case report describing a series of five cases of gastroparesis, three of which developed after vaccination and two following Lyme disease, which raises the possibility of inflammation predisposing to exacerbations of gastroparesis [7, 10].
Of the two inflammatory markers studied in this series, ESR was elevated more often than CRP in patients with exacerbations. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) measures the degree of erythrocyte settling in a blood sample. It is sensitive but not specific for infection and inflammation. The ESR increases significantly in widespread inflammatory disorders and is prolonged in localized inflammation and malignant disease. C-reactive protein (CRP) is a liver-derived pattern-recognition molecule that is increased in inflammatory states [16]. Increased levels also occur in rheumatoid arthritis, myocardial infarction, cancer, Hodgkins disease, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and inflammatory bowel disease [17]. CRP has been shown to correlate with hospital mortality and hospital resource utilization [18, 19]. In this study, elevated CRP values were found in 26% of the patients with prolonged hospitalization and in 19% of gastroparetic patients with recurrent hospitalizations.
Some patients admitted to the hospital for exacerbation of gastroparesis were not taking their prescribed medication for gastroparesis. In addition to noncompliance, which was believed to be present in 6% of the patients, this could also represent patients not taking medications because of side effects of the medications, which was present in 5% of patients. For example, the prokinetic agent, metoclopramide, has been associated with side effects necessitating discontinuation of treatment in up to 20% of patients [1].
The occurrence of adrenal insufficiency in some of the gastroparetic patients admitted for symptom exacerbation is a provocative finding. Fasting morning plasma cortisol concentrations of <3 μg/dl were found in 8.7% of hospitalized gastroparetic patients for whom fasting morning cortisol values were obtained. This strongly suggests adrenal insufficiency [20, 21]. In addition, 38% of the patients had plasma cortisol values less than 10 μg/dl which is also suggestive of adrenal insufficiency. Patients with chronic adrenal insufficiency may report fatigue, anorexia, asthenia, weight loss, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and/or weakness [20]. Some of these symptoms are also present in gastroparesis. Further testing of ACTH levels and/or use of the cosyntropin stimulation test may confirm adrenal insufficiency in some of these patients with gastroparesis [20].
In conclusion, poor glycemic control, infections, noncompliance with or intolerance of medications, and adrenal insufficiency are contributory factors leading to hospitalizations of gastroparetic patients. In this retrospective study, we were able to identify potential causes for hospitalization in patients with gastroparesis exacerbations. Further prospective studies need to be performed to determine if intervention for these factors in outpatients with gastroparesis may help to prevent hospitalizations. Patients with elevated ESR and CRP had recurrent hospitalization when compared with patients with normal ESR and CRP. This observation suggests that a vigorous search for infection and inflammation should be undertaken in patients with symptomatic gastroparesis. Interestingly, a significant percentage of hospitalized patients had elevated ESR and CRP levels without overt evidence of infection. Thus, although an elevated ESR and CRP can be associated with infection, elevated ESR/CRP in patients with gastroparesis may also be suggestive of an ongoing inflammatory state associated with refractory symptoms with recurrent hospitalization for gastroparesis exacerbations.WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) - The man who holds in his hands the fate of U.S. credit, and with it potentially the global economy, favors small tie knots, sports a bushy mustache and smokes his fair share of cigarettes.
David Beers, Managing Director of Standard & Poor's sovereign and international public finance ratings group listens to reporters during a Reuters Investment Outlook Summit in London, June 9, 2010. REUTERS/Benjamin Beavan
Beyond that, he is a mystery, like the work he does.
You may have never heard of David Beers but every finance minister in the world knows of him. A Wall Street veteran, a graduate of London School of Economics where he has endowed a scholarship in his name, he is the global head of sovereign credit ratings for Standard & Poor’s.
It is on his say-so and the committee he oversees that financial markets have been rocked over the last 18 months. They now await his judgment upon the U.S. debt deal on which will turn borrowing costs all around the world.
Behind all too many of market moves in government debt of late has been a report from one of the major credit ratings agencies. S&P is the biggest and arguably the most influential, fast followed by Moody’s Investor Service and then their smaller rival, Fitch Ratings. In national capitals, they are alternately vilified by politicians or held out as just arbiters for denouncing government profligacy.
Yet there is an overwhelming irony in their new-found prominence. These are the same firms that many blame as prime instigators of the 2007-2008 credit crisis for freely giving out top ratings to ultimately worthless structured mortgage products, allowing the credit bubble to form. Now they sit in judgment of the countries that had to ruin their public balance sheets to prevent financial collapse by saving the banks shattered by those bad instruments once blessed by the agencies.
“The ratings agencies failed the world economy in spades in the past,” said Lord Peter Levene, chairman of the Lloyd’s of London insurance market and a former senior adviser to the British finance ministry.
“Their track record has not exactly been stellar.”
Today they have Washington in their thrall. S&P and Moody’s both have threatened to cut the top-notch credit rating of the United States’ sovereign debt for the first time in its history, a move that could have deep ramifications for financial markets, pushing up the cost of credit world wide for many years.
They cite the $14.3 trillion U.S. debt, almost equal to the size of U.S. annual economic output and growing. They warn this is unsustainable and failure to break political gridlock to agree on a credible medium-term plan to reduce the debt pile — at least by $4 trillion — will trigger a downgrade.
In Europe, the agencies already have downgraded three euro zone countries for similar debt problems.
THE POWER
For many people their power and relevance is a mystery. Few understand why these companies have the authority to rock the global economy. Put simply, their role is little different from a credit bureau that hands out scores to individual and households. A bad credit rating denotes higher risk and lenders will push up the interest rate charged borrowers to protect themselves against chances they will not be repaid.
The credit score for the United States has outsized import. Its $14.7 trillion economy is the largest in the world and its track record of debt repayment is stellar, hence its Triple A rating from Standard & Poors, Moody’s and Fitch.
U.S. government debt since World War Two has become the gold standard, the global benchmark off which all other credits worldwide — government and corporate — is judged. Lower the U.S. credit score and interest rates not only in the United States but worldwide will climb.
The ripple effects could be dramatic, from lower corporate profits to weakened consumer spending, as everything from mortgage rates, credit cards and car loans are costlier. At worst it could be enough to tip a shaky U.S. recovery back into recession and seriously dent world growth.
The credit ratings agencies have a secondary source of power of no less magnitude. They are embedded in the regulatory structures that dictate operations of banks and many pension and mutual funds, giving them a central role in the world financial system.
Much of this stems from the unwieldy acronym NRSRO. A “national recognized statistical rating organization” is an entity that, in the view of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, is qualified to rate companies and their various financial obligations.
Governments and financial institutions around the world have required that any credit investment be officially rated by such an organization. In other words, an NRSRO has to say a bond is investment worthy before many banks, mutual funds and national treasuries can buy it.
Bank rules adopted in 2004 further cemented their role. Crafted by global finance officials in the Swiss border town of Basel, the Basel II rules put credit ratings at the heart of evaluating how much capital a bank must set aside in reserves against potential losses — but with a twist. Sovereign debt was considered risk free under Basel II, a decision coming back to haunt bank regulators.
As sovereign nations face downgrade and even default, it further weakens banks whose capital reserves are filled with once risk-free sovereign debt.
For years Moody’s, S&P and Fitch were the only recognized credit ratings organizations. After a series of reforms, there are now 10. Most people haven’t heard of the other seven, though, and their ratings carry far less perceived weight.
The responsibility they bear is so huge that even people who wield it think it is too much. They say it distorts the financial system by encouraging bondholders to substitute the judgment of a handful of ratings agencies for their own in-depth credit analysis. It stacks the deck when a handful do the homework for hundreds of thousands of private investors, banks and funds.
“The big agencies have been given this power through the regulatory framework, and given this power by the markets that have relied on them in some cases blindly for decades,” said James Gellert, chief executive of Rapid Ratings, a small agency that favors more competition.
“I definitely think that the ratings agencies have too much power. I don’t think it was sought but it just sort of happened that way,” said one former managing director of an agency. “I think there should be less regulatory reliance on them and much more responsibility placed on the investors to do their homework.”
Further complicating the issue is that the major agencies make money by charging private issuers for a rating. They are paid by those they judge. Critics say this created perverse incentives such that at the height of the credit boom in 2005 to 2007, the agencies recklessly awarded Triple A ratings to complex exotic structured instruments that they scarcely understood.
They have profited handsomely. In the three-year period ending in 2007, the height of the credit boom, S&P’s operating profit rose 73 percent to $3.58 billion compared to the three-year period ending in 2004. The comparable gain for Moody’s over the same period was 68 percent to $3.33 billion.
In an April report to the U.S. Congress, Senators Carl Levin, a Democrat, and Tom Coburn, a Republican, said the agencies “weakened their standards as each competed to provide the most favorable rating to win business and greater market share. The result was a race to the bottom.”
There is no such incentive for sovereign ratings, which are provided free of charge to the country. But this creates potential for a different type of conflict or at best a lively political tension where raters judge those who regulate them.
“Four years ago, the rating agencies were rating everyone AAA. They had a clear conflict of interest and they missed the crisis,” said Sam Geduldig, a former aide to House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner and now a lobbyist with Clark Lytle & Geduldig.
“Now they’re seeing the world with clearer vision. The irony isn’t lost on anyone in either party,” said Geduldig.
To be sure, there is nothing to suggest they have abused their power to determine the financial fate of nations. And during the intensive lobbying in Washington when armies of trade groups descended on the city in the spring and summer of 2010 to influence debate on new financial rules that eventually were enshrined in the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill after the credit crisis, ratings agencies were scarcely to be found.
At the time, a financial lobbyist said privately he did not want their business. An official at one of the big three agencies complained that “no one was on their side.”
Lawmakers in the United States have written laws giving investors an easier way to sue them if they “recklessly” failed to review information in developing a rating, and to reduce reliance on their verdicts, federal agencies must remove references to ratings in their rules.
“The positive is that this will be the U.S.’s answer to diminishing the reliance on traditional rating agencies because there will no longer be a regulatory and legal structure that forces people to use them,” said Gellert.
THE PUNCH
Over the past 18 months, the ratings agencies have trained their sights on Western governments, where the deepest recession since the 1930s has ravaged budgets. Most vulnerable are countries that face the triple whammy of falling tax revenues, soaring social welfare costs and the multi-billion dollar cost of bailing out economies and banks crippled in the credit crisis.
In Ireland, beset by huge bank bailouts, its government liabilities have risen to 70 percent of GDP this year from 1.5 percent in 2006, according to the OECD. In the United States, the level is 74.8 percent of GDP, against 41.7 percent five years ago.
Right now, Washington is the bull’s-eye. The changed status of ratings agencies from accused to accuser in less than three years is remarkable.
“It flabbergasts me that we are all on ‘pins and needles’ as to the verdict of the rating agencies as if the rating agencies themselves have any credibility after completely missing the crisis of ‘08 and ‘09,” said Stephen Roach, senior executive at Morgan Stanley.
They are no strangers to criticism. During the 1997-98 Asian currency crisis, ratings agencies were castigated for failing to spot unsustainable capital inflows that led to currency collapses across Eastern Asia and deep recessions.
In 2001 they came under heavy fire for taking too long to lower Enron’s credit ratings, leaving the company with a high investment grade even as its impending collapse became obvious.
The harshest public criticism of late comes from European governments, where the agencies have become a pariah for their sovereign downgrades. They are accused of untimely actions that immensely complicated the cost and the structure of international rescue packages.
When Greece lost its investment-grade status from the big-three ratings agencies in early 2010 at the start of the euro-zone’s sovereign debt crisis, its borrowing costs soared, locking it out of financial markets and forcing the European Union and the International Monetary Fund to come up with a rescue package.
When the EU last month was trying to structure a new Greek bailout where private sector bondholders would take on more risk, Moody’s said any requirement that they roll over their debt would be tantamount to a debt default. EU officials were furious because defaulted Greek bonds would have wrecked bank balance sheets and worsened the cost of the euro zone crisis.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble called for the agencies “oligopoly” to be broken. European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet has expressed similar sentiments. Notwithstanding S&P’s heavy corporate presence in London European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has suggested the agencies may hold an anti-European bias.
In the United States, the Obama administration has chafed at S&P for a steadily ratcheting up its warnings since last October of a potential U.S. downgrade, sources have told Reuters.
Jared Bernstein, a former economic adviser to Vice President Joseph Biden and now at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, sees an element of ‘shoot the messenger’ in such criticism.
“You’re well within your rights to take a jaundiced view of the bond raters — they didn’t exactly distinguish themselves when they were giving high grades to dangerous mortgage bonds a few years ago. But I agree with their assessment: ‘the probability of a default on interest payments is low but no longer de minimis,’” he said on his blog.
THE HISTORY
The two companies have in many ways the same story, which has a lot to do with trains.
At the turn of the 20th Century, John Moody revolutionized markets with his Moody’s Manual of information on stocks and bonds. His business failed with the 1907 market collapse, but he went back to the well in 1909 with a system of analyzing and rating railroad stocks and bonds.
Within 15 years the company was rating virtually everything in the bond market. In the 1970s, the business made a shift in its fee structure, one that would become a central point of criticism during the recession — it started charging issuers for ratings as well as charging subscribers for its reports.
Critics say that makes Moody’s (MCO.N) beholden to issuers, on whose fee revenue it relies; the company, in its corporate history, says “the rationale for this change was, and is, that issuers should pay for the substantial value objective ratings provide in terms of market access.”
By age, though, Standard & Poor’s takes pride of place. The company dates to Henry Varnum Poor’s 1860 “History of the Railroads and Canals of the United States,” an attempt to consolidate the financial details on the railroads.
Around 1906, aspiring actor Luther Blake formed the Standard Statistics Bureau, publishing cards with news on industrial companies outside of the railroads. He had taken a job at an investment bank to pay the bills while trying to make it on Broadway, a not-unfamiliar path even today.
In the 1920s, Standard Statistics and the company that had evolved into Poor’s Publishing started rating bonds. In 1941 the two merged, ultimately going public in 1962. The publishers McGraw-Hill MHP.N acquired the company in 1962 and remain the owners today — though just this week, activist investors started a push to break the company up and sell S&P.
THE PEOPLE AND THE PLACE
The ratings agencies hire a broad spectrum of experienced people, from Wall Street investment banks, central banks and from outside, including former journalists. The deeply analytical environment, one that is almost professorial far from the cut and thrust of Wall Street is an attraction, former employees say. And they are respected.
“They may have had different views from me, but they were very sharp,” said Claudio Loser, an international economist who was at the International Monetary Fund during the Latin American debt crisis in the 1980s and 1990s.
Two former agency managing directors said working at a ratings agency is a lot like being in graduate school. One said in his experience the companies favored trained economists; perhaps one-in-four would have a doctorate, and their experience would mirror a lot of other Wall Street resumes.
“We used to have a lot of people (who) came from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York — very good research department — some people came from academic backgrounds, some from the banking sector,” he said.
They also get paid well for the work they do.
Glassdoor.com, a website that specializes in anonymous reviews and data about companies, says Moody’s pays up to $155,000 a year, while comparable analysts at S&P top out at $167,000. Media reports this year on attempts to poach Moody’s analysts by other upstart agencies said the best can command more than $200,000 a year, rates that are competitive with investment bank analysts.
Their offices are be |
Trump’s gilded escalator descent to announce his presidential bid ever become news had he not been a household name?
Maybe Hollywood is to blame for that. Had the crème de la crème not been singing from the same vanilla song sheet for decades, maybe Trump wouldn’t have been such a standout.
Now the Oscars are coming up in just over a month, with several more awards shows happening before then. There will be more celebrity speeches.
Please bring on the fashion, but not the politics. Hollywood’s dress choices are much more diverse and interesting than their political ones.
Follow Amanda on Twitter.Tecnobytes MSX Ethernet Cartridge and InterNestor Lite review (part 2) Posted by Hardware, How-to, MSX, Retro, Posted by Javi Lavandeira in Gadgets Technology | October 18, 2015
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This is the second part of this post. We continue from the point where the previous part ended: looking at the network applications developed by Konamiman.
FTP.COM: File Transfer Protocol
Yes, an FTP client for MSX! You can now connect to FTP servers on the Internet and download files directly to the MSX, without having to download them to a PC or a Mac first and then copy to the MSX via removable media.
FTP.COM is very easy to use. It accepts the standard commands to interact with FTP. You can also set the environment variables FTP_USER, FTP_PASSWORD and FTP_ACCOUNT and use these as the defaults when connecting to servers.
Typing ‘help’ at the FTP prompt will show all the available commands:
Here’s an actual session connecting to a real FTP server (ftp.jp.freebsd.org) and downloading a text file from there:
This program works well, but has one important limitation: filenames. It only accepts file names in 8.3 format. This means that you can’t download files with long names. Other FTP clients rename downloaded files on the fly, or prompt the user for a local name, but FTP.COM just aborts the transfer with an error message:
OBSOFTP.COM: FTP server
Yes, a server. Not only can you download files from your MSX with FTP.COM, but you can also serve files stored in your MSX to other users anywhere on the Internet.
Running OBSOFTP.COM without any parameters show the usage. You need to specify at least the path that will be the root of the FTP server when clients connect. ObsoFTP can use the root of one of the MSX drives (I used C:\ when I left my FS-A1GT running as a server a couple days ago), or a directory such as C:\FTPDATA or whatever else you like.
Optionally, you can also specify a file mode: read/write or read-only. In read/write mode anybody can upload new files, create/delete directories, or delete existing files in the server. In read-only mode nobody can upload or delete anything, only download is allowed. By default the server runs in read/write mode.
In this video (around three and a half minutes) you can see me starting OBSOFTP on my MSX and then connecting to it from my MacBook Pro:
Needless to say, this is an excellent way to exchange files between the MSX and other computers in your home network.
TCPCON.COM: TCP Console
This is a simplified Telnet client. All it does is connect to an especific TCP port on a remote computer and then send to it everything you type on the keyboard, and displaying on the screen everything received from the other side. It doesn’t support some of the capabilities of an actual Telnet client and it doesn’t do any terminal emulation, so we may get garbled characters depending on where what machine we’re connecting to.
Running it without parameters shows the usage:
When running in passive mode TCPCON.COM will wait for a connection from a remote host on whichever port we tell it to. After the remote host connects everything works exactly the same: both computers send lines of text to each other.
In this video (about 5 minutes long) I’m connecting to the HispaMSX BBS using TCPCON. This is a Spanish BBS reachable on the Internet via Telnet (clicking this link should open a telnet session in your machine). The lack of terminal emulation makes things a bit complicated (deleting text, for example), but overall it is usable:
OBSOSMB.COM: Sharing your MSX drives on the network
ObsoSMB is another file server, but this one uses the SMB protocol. What this means is that you can share a drive of your MSX (or more than one) with Windows and Mac computers in the same home network. To the other computers the MSX drives appear as network drives and can be used without restrictions (other than the 8.3 filename format, the transfer speed, and the limited size of the MSX storage).
Again, running OBSOSMB without any parameters shows the usage:
Like ObsoFTP, ObsoSMB also allows serving files in both read/write and read-only modes. In this video you can see me starting the ObsoSMB server on my MSX and then connecting to it from a computer running Windows 8. Data transfers feel slow because Windows seems to be downloading every single file in the background in order to generate previews and thumbnails. Otherwise it works flawlessly: Windows can upload files to and download from the MSX:
HGET.COM: HTTP File Downloader
This is a file downloader (not unlike wget) used to download files from web servers. It supports resuming partially downloaded files, HTTP authentication, and even sending custom HTTP headers. It can also read URLs from the standard input:
In this video you can see me downloading two files from this site. The first is a zipped archive, and the other the index page for my site (this one I print on the screen instead of saving to disk):
GETURL.COM: Store URLs on a file
This isn’t a network application per se. You could call it a bookmark manager. The reason for it to exist is simple: some web sites have very long addresses and it’s annoying to type these again and again to download files with (for example) HGET. You can keep your bookmarks in a text file and give them an easy to remember alias. GETURL converts the short alias to the full URL, which you can then pipe into HGET in order to download something.
DBACC.COM / DBFILE.COM / DBFOPS.COM: MSX Trivial Dropbox
Yes, a Dropbox client. This program is split in three binaries because it is too big to fit in a single.COM file:
DBACC.COM: Authenticates your user account against the Dropbox servers
DBFILE.COM: Used to upload to and download files from the Dropbox folder
DBFOPS.COM: File operations manager. Used to list the content of folders, create folders, and move/copy/delete/rename files and folders.
This program requires some additional configuration and another computer to act as a middleman. This is because Dropbox requires the use of encrypted HTTP connections (SSL). The MSX CPU can’t handle the encryption/decryption process, so another computer is required to handle this step. During my tests I used a Raspberry Pi computer to perform this function.
I will dedicate another post to how to set up and use MSX Trivial Dropbox, because the process is too long to describe here.
TFTP.COM: TFTP client/server
TFTP is a very simple file transfer protocol. It’s often used to boot computers from a network file instead of a local disk, but it can be used to transfer files between computers as well. And it is much easier to start a TFTP server on the MSX than on a Windows or Linux machine!
Advanced usage
I mentioned in the first part that in some cases we will need to set up the IP address manually. This is done with the TCPIP.COM program. When invoked without parameters it will show the usage information:
To set an IP address manually use the “TCPIP ip” command. This allows you to set up the local IP address, subnet mask, gateway address and DNS servers, one by one or all at the same time. You can also view the current settings by running “TCPIP s”:
The other program to perform advanced tweaks is ETH.COM. This one allows you to directly handle the Ethernet controller in the cartridge and even change the MAC address via software. Usually you won’t need to touch these options, but it’s nice to see that we can modify these settings if we want.
Transfer rates
The Ethernet controller supports transfer speeds of up to 10 Mbps (about 1.2 megabytes/s). However, the MSX CPU can’t handle that much, even in an MSX turbo R running in R800 mode.
InterNestor Lite processes one input frame and one output frame per display interrupt (60 times per second). These frames are about 500 bytes long, so the maximum absolute data rate supported by InterNestor Lite is a bit over 30 KB/s. In practice it is much less than that because of the processing overhead.
In my tests I reached download speeds of up to 12-13KB/s.
Conclusion
This is a very useful piece of hardware. Together with InterNestor Lite, the Tecnobytes MSX Ethernet Cartridge opens the doors of the Internet to the MSX. We no longer need to have another computer to download from the network, and sharing files over FTP or SMB is much easier (though slower) than using removable media.
The software still has rough edges, but being able to do so many things from an MSX is a very big deal.
In my opinion, these are the best $60 I’ve spent on my MSX so far.(Image: Nino Gehrig/plainpicture)
A glimpse of consciousness emerging in the brains of babies has been recorded for the first time. Insights gleaned from the work may aid the monitoring of babies under anaesthesia, and give a better understanding of awareness in people in vegetative states – and possibly even in animals.
The human brain develops dramatically in a baby’s first year, transforming the baby from being unaware to being fully engaged with its surroundings. To capture this change, Sid Kouider at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, France, and colleagues used electroencephalography (EEG) to record electrical activity in the brains of 80 infants while they were briefly shown pictures of faces.
In adults, awareness of a stimulus is known to be linked to a two-stage pattern of brain activity. Immediately after a visual stimulus is presented, areas of the visual cortex fire. About 300 milliseconds later other areas light up, including the prefrontal cortex, which deals with higher-level cognition. Conscious awareness kicks in only after the second stage of neural activity reaches a specific threshold. “It’s an all-or-nothing response,” says Kouider.
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Adults can verbally describe being aware of a stimulus, but a baby is a closed book. “We have learned a lot about consciousness in people who can talk about it, but very little in those who cannot,” says Tristan Bekinschtein at the University of Cambridge, who was not involved in the work.
Signature of awareness
Kouider and his colleagues wanted to see if a similar signature of conscious awareness was present in pre-verbal infants. They put EEG caps on groups of babies aged 5, 12 and 15 months, recording brain activity as the babies were shown a series of rapidly changing images. Most of the images were randomly patterned ovals, but among them was a face, fleetingly displayed for between 17 and 300 milliseconds.
Each group responded to the face with the expected two-stage pattern. But the second stage – the activity linked to conscious awareness – was a much slower and less distinct response in the 5-month-old babies than in the older groups.
In 12-month-old babies the second stage of activity arrived 800 to 900 milliseconds after the image was displayed. The 15-month-old group showed a very similar response. In the youngest infants, there was a delay of more than one second before the second pattern appeared. In adults, the second pattern shows up after 300 milliseconds, on average.
“Babies have the same mechanisms as adults but they are very slow,” says Kouider. “There are things happening in the brain but they are unable to deal with the information.”
Not proof
Kouider is careful to note that the results do not offer direct evidence of subjective experience. Although the babies’ changing brain activity highlights the development of visual perception, it is not yet clear when the second-stage timings become short enough for awareness to kick in. “I don’t know what proof would look like,” says Natasha Sigala at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School, UK. “This is as good as it gets for the moment.”
The observed brain activity is consistent with what we know from anatomical studies. In young infants, neurons are not yet fully covered with myelin – a fatty insulating sheath. This physiological immaturity explains the delayed signals seen in 5-month-old babies, says Kouider. Developing brains also have more connections than mature ones ( these connections get pruned as different regions become dedicated to certain activities), and the early glut of connections would also disrupt brain signals, he says.
“The results give a really good handle on visual awareness in infancy,” says Sigala. It may also help explain why we are unable to form memories at a very young age, she says. “My personal view would be we cannot have memory without perception in place.”
Ron Chrisley at the Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science at the University of Sussex, UK, suggests that if similar patterns of brain activity were found in animals, then it would be a good basis for attributing consciousness to non-humans – though lacking that pattern should not count against them. “There might be more than one way in this universe to be conscious,” he says.
Journal reference: Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.1232509This article is about the food. For the album by MU330, see Crab Rangoon (album)
Crab Rangoon, sometimes called crab puffs,[1] crab rangoon puffs, or cheese wontons,[2] are filled crisp dumpling appetizers[3] served in American Chinese and, more recently, Thai restaurants.[1][2]
Preparation [ edit ]
The filling is made with a combination of cream cheese, crab meat or imitation crab meat, scallions or onion, garlic, and other flavorings.[3][4][5][6] A small amount of the filling is wrapped in each Chinese wonton wrapper. The dumpling is then shaped by folding the wrapper over into a triangle,[1][3][7][8] by creating a four-pointed star,[1][2] by gathering it up into flower or purse shape,[1][5] or by twisting it into the traditional wonton shape.[6]
The appetizers are cooked to crispness by deep-frying in vegetable oil or by baking.[3][4][5] They can be served hot or cold.[3][5] In North America, crab Rangoon is often served with a sauce for dipping: either soy sauce,[6][9] plum sauce,[10] duck sauce,[9][11] sweet and sour sauce,[1][4][7][9] or hot Chinese mustard.[8][12]
History [ edit ]
Crab Rangoon was on the menu of the "Polynesian-style" restaurant Trader Vic's in San Francisco since at least 1956.[13][14] Although the appetizer is allegedly derived from an authentic Burmese recipe,[15] the dish was probably invented in the United States.[16] A "Rangoon crab a la Jack" was mentioned as a dish at a Hawaiian-style party in 1952, but without further detail, and so may or may not be the same thing.[17]
Though the history of Crab Rangoon is unclear, cream cheese, like other cheese, is essentially nonexistent in Southeast Asian and Chinese cuisine, so it is unlikely that the dish is actually of east or southeast Asian origin.
Names [ edit ]
They may be referred to as crab pillows, crab cheese wontons, or cheese wontons.
In the Pacific Northwest states of the US crab Rangoon are also known as crab puffs, although this primarily refers to versions that use puff pastry as a wrapper instead of wonton.
Gallery [ edit ]
Triangular fried Crab Rangoons
In the wonton shape, surrounded by dipping sauces
Inside, showing the crisp shell, white filling, and golden dipping sauce.
See also [ edit ]Share. American gamers will be returning to Hyrule this June. American gamers will be returning to Hyrule this June.
It's the news that so many have been waiting for. Nestled gently just inside a press release sent out by Nintendo of America this morning was the official release date for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, the highly anticipated portable remake of Link's first polygonal adventure.
It'll ship on Sunday, June 19, 2011 in America.
And, in a bit of even better news for our European readers, you'll be getting a headstart. Europe will be getting the game two days earlier, on Friday, June 17, 2011. (The 3DS hardware also launched two days earlier in Europe than it did in the States.)
The official boxart for the game.
This news falls in line with what most of us expected for the title, as though it missed being available for the 3DS system's launch day we figured it wouldn't trail too far behind. Nintendo, too, had heavily hinted that the title would see release in close proximity to this year's E3 show.
That yearly expo will take place between June 7 and 9 in Los Angeles this year, where you can bet that Ocarina of Time 3D will see a major push from the Big N. We'll be there to cover every detail of it for you, and then less than two weeks later you'll be able to make the game your own.
So, what do you think? Is this the date you were hoping for? Have you been holding out on purchasing the 3DS until you could grab Zelda to take home along with it? Check in your thoughts with the Comments box below and less us know, then join us in renewed anticipation. We're heading back to Hyrule in just two months.As the NFL returns to action, trash talk is as much a part of the fan experience as first downs, fantasy football lineups and betting lines. For fans of the Lions, the Week 1 battle with the Giants isn't causing much concern.
In fact, when surveying what Lions fans have to say on MLive.com, it's clear that the trash talk for Monday Night Football is alive and well in the Motor City.
Here's a sampling of what Lions fans have stated about the weaknesses the Giants will bring into the season-opening game:
LongTimeNJLionsFan: If the Lions don't commit a ton of stupid penalties (ex. Jumping offsides) really sick of that one. They should give the Giants O-line fits.
Lioneyes: Every Giants Message Board is the same... they think they will run the ball on us all night, and shut down our offense for only about 10 points. They obviously don't know anything about the Lions, we match up well against them. 60% of Giants fans are doom and gloom though.
Jdeed: @Lioneyes LOL!.
They will not be running the ball at all.
In the end they will have to put out Mr. inconsistent Manning and hope he flips a switch on this year otherwise it will be a long long night.
Triple_P: I'm honestly expecting the Lions to come out very strong, swinging and knocking the Giants out early. This is one of those games where the Lions biggest oppponent once again will be themselves and their knack for using their own foot as target practice.
31-17 - Lions
E-y-eWantW-i-n-z: I just got back, I borrowed Doc Brown's time machine and I have this to report:
After going 11-34 for 112 yds 0 TD's and 3 INTs, Eli Manning at the post game presser said, "We couldn't run on them, they were in my face every time I dropped back, what are you gonna do, those guys are beasts."
Giants fans aren't going to go quietly, right?
Sound off below in the comments section with your reaction to the confidence currently being shown by Lions fans.
Joe Giglio may be reached at jgiglio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoeGiglioSports. Find NJ.com on Facebook.If you're into car customization, the name Atoy Llave will certainly ring a bell. The man behind A-Toy Bodykits and the company's aftermarket exterior designs is quite popular among Filipino car lovers. The curious thing you see here--the Salamander amphibious trike--is Llave's latest creation. He made this in partnership with a new company called H2O Technologies, developing it in particular with the firm's technical head, Lamberto Armada.
Because it is amphibious, the Salamander can travel both on land and in water. It stemmed from Llave's desire to do something really useful for the benefit of his countrymen. That and his wish to put the Philippines on the global automotive map.
"I want to show the world that the Filipino can," Llave told TopGear.com.ph.
As you read this, Llave and his partners are launching the thing somewhere in Mandaluyong (near our office, actually). It's a big night for the group. They have been toiling day and night in order to seamlessly roll out the Salamander before the critical eyes of the motoring press.
Continue reading below ↓
Last month, Llave gave us exclusive access to the Salamander. It was for a full-length magazine story that will appear in our February issue. Writer Niky Tamayo was able to test it for himself, and you will read his initial impressions in our next issue.
The Salamander has two powerplant choices: one electric and one internal-combustion. Boasting a six-person seating capacity (four in water), the amphibious tricycle is powered by either a 5kW electric engine or a 250cc gasoline motor. We assume these are the target specs for the production version, because the provisional spec sheet still mentions a 3kW electric engine and a 200cc motor. (Watch the video at the bottom.)
"I've already achieved so much in the car business," Llave shared. "Now, I want to leave behind a legacy. I want to produce something that will help people."
Llave, of course, is referring to our country being flood-prone. Imagine having an amphibious vehicle like this when the water rises. The Salamander will also be practical as a shuttle vehicle in between small islands all around the archipelago.
The only hurdle? As with any brilliant Filipino idea, there is currently a lack of funding, which Llave hopes to get as soon as word spreads about his newest brainchild. We hope a wealthy businessman with patriotic and philanthropic intentions is reading this. The Salamander is waiting to be developed, polished and marketed to the world.
Atoy Llave is right: The Filipino can.
For a more comprehensive story on the Salamander, read our February 2015 issue.
Continue reading below ↓
Photos by Christian Halili
Continue reading below ↓
Continue reading below ↓
If you're viewing this on a mobile device and can't see the video, please click here.
<>Scientists at The Neuro find important time factor in second-language acquisition
The age at which children learn a second language can have a significant bearing on the structure of their adult brain, according to a new joint study by the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital - The Neuro at McGill University and Oxford University. The majority of people in the world learn to speak more than one language during their lifetime. Many do so with great proficiency particularly if the languages are learned simultaneously or from early in development.
The study concludes that the pattern of brain development is similar if you learn one or two language from birth. However, learning a second language later on in childhood after gaining proficiency in the first (native) language does in fact modify the brain’s structure, specifically the brain’s inferior frontal cortex. The left inferior frontal cortex became thicker and the right inferior frontal cortex became thinner. The cortex is a multi-layered mass of neurons that plays a major role in cognitive functions such as thought, language, consciousness and memory.
The study suggests that the task of acquiring a second language after infancy stimulates new neural growth and connections among neurons in ways seen in acquiring complex motor skills such as juggling. The study’s authors speculate that the difficulty that some people have in learning a second language later in life could be explained at the structural level.
“The later in childhood that the second language is acquired, the greater are the changes in the inferior frontal cortex,” said Dr. Denise Klein, researcher in The Neuro’s Cognitive Neuroscience Unit and a lead author on the paper published in the journal Brain and Language. “Our results provide structural evidence that age of acquisition is crucial in laying down the structure for language learning.”
Using a software program developed at The Neuro, the study examined MRI scans of 66 bilingual and 22 monolingual men and women living in Montreal. The work was supported by a grant from the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada and from an Oxford McGill Neuroscience Collaboration Pilot project.
The Neuro
The Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital — The Neuro, is a unique academic medical centre dedicated to neuroscience. Founded in 1934 by the renowned Dr. Wilder Penfield, The Neuro is recognized internationally for integrating research, compassionate patient care and advanced training, all key to advances in science and medicine. The Neuro is a research and teaching institute of McGill University and forms the basis for the Neuroscience Mission of the McGill University Health Centre. Neuro researchers are world leaders in cellular and molecular neuroscience, brain imaging, cognitive neuroscience and the study and treatment of epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and neuromuscular disorders. For more information, visit theneuro.com.On November 3, 2011, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals that they're working on a possible future iPhone that will operate using a Virtual SIM Card. Apple states that it would be desirable to be able to provide improved ways in which to provide users with the ability to purchase and use wireless network services without the need of a SIM Card. According to Apple, a secondary benefit of switching to a Virtual SIM Card is that'll improve security while allowing Jony Ive and his team to do what they do best: Design an ever thinner, astoundingly beautiful, next generation iPhone. Report Updated at 2:40 MST
Basic Overview of Apple's Patent & Background
Wireless systems are used to provide, inter alia, voice and data services to user equipment such as cellular telephones and computers. Conventionally, user equipment is provided with a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card. The SIM card includes security information such as private key information that could be used in authenticating user equipment to a cellular network.
It may not always be desirable to require the use of SIM cards. For example, the need to include a SIM card slot in user devices tends to make the devices bulky and add cost. It also necessitates management of SIM card inventories and distribution by the manufacturer or service provider. A user might also want to purchase wireless services even when the user is not able to easily obtain a SIM card. It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide improved ways in which to provide users with the ability to purchase and use wireless network services.
Apple's solution is very complex and unless you're grounded in this particular field you're going to get lost. However, while the patent discusses the use of Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM)) cards, the real discovery here is that Apple is considering a model of iPhone that may use a next generation Virtual SIM card that includes an NFC Router and tamper-proof security. It's only in this mode that Apple's background description of creating a thinner device makes any sense.
Apple introduces the use of a Virtual SIM
In Apple's patent FIGS. 5a and 5b shown below we see two exemplary embodiments of a hardware architecture (502, 504) for a "virtual" Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs) according to the invention. Unlike prior art solutions, the exemplary embodiments of FIGS. 5a and 5b store a USIM (506) within an embedded Secure Element (SE) (508), which isn't a removable card. The first illustrated embodiment (502) of the present invention (FIG. 5a) additionally includes a Near Field Communication (NFC) router (510).
Legacy Architecture for Carriers Resistant to Upgrading their Existing Networks
Alternatively Apple's patent FIG. 6 shown below illustrates the first embodiment 502 of FIG. 5a, in conjunction with a SIM accessory device.
As shown above, the SIM accessory device enables inter alia, transitional embodiments, and support for legacy architectures. Legacy embodiments may find particular value when adopted by frequent SIM-card "swappers", and/or carriers that are slow, or resistant to upgrading their existing networks. As shown in patent FIG. 6, the Bluetooth SIM Access Profile (SAP) provides the required functions (e.g., AKA protocol) normally executed by a physical SIM card inserted within the modem.
Apple's patent application was originally filed in Q4 2010 by Sr. Director Engineering iPhone/iPod Ruben Caballero along with fellow engineers Stephan Schell and Mohit Narang.
Updated 2:40PM MST: It should be noted that back in late 2010 The Financial Times reported that "some of Europe’s leading mobile operators are warning that they could take punitive action against Apple if it introduces a technological innovation on its iPhone. Of course the patent covers more than just smartphones and that has to be pointed out.
Under Apple's Patent Ponit # 59 covering "Exexmplary Embodiments," Apple lists the following devices that may use the virtual SIM Card in the future: "The user equipment may be, for example, a cellular telephone or smartphone, a table-top computer, laptop computer, or other suitable computing equipment. If properly authorized, the user equipment may communicate with the network service provider over the wireless link."
It's inteteresting to note Apple's choice of words for "Table-top" computer in Patent Point # 59 instead of the traditional "desktop." Could it be that Apple is thinking about a pure iCloud Network Computer? Hmm, I wonder. Suffice to say that the iPad could be another prime target for the virtual SIM as well. Time will tell.
Two Other Noteworthy Patent Application Published Today
While we're on the topic of telecommunications, it should be noted that a published patent application from Apple titled "Methods and Apparatus for Preserving Battery Resources in a Mobile Communications Device," surfaced this morning. Like all smartphone OEMs, Apple is always trying to improve battery life. It's not revolutionary, but it's a way to squeeze out a little more juice for your iOS devices.
If this topic interests you, then check out patent application 20110269463. In a nutshell, Apple's invention generally relates to radio resource control between User Equipment (UE) or other wireless or mobile device and a wireless network, and in particular to transitioning between states and modes of operation in a UE in communication with a wireless network such as for example, a Universal Mobile Telecommunication System.
For more details, here's a temporary link to Apple's patent application, which is good for about 48 hours.
The last patent application of the day that may be of interest to some is one titled "Systems and Methods for Hot Plug GPU Power Control." See patent 20110267359 for details. Here's a temporary link that's only good for about 48 hours.
Notice: Patently Apple presents a detailed summary of patent applications with associated graphics for journalistic news purposes as each such patent application is revealed by the U.S. Patent & Trade Office. Readers are cautioned that the full text of any patent application should be read in its entirety for full and accurate details. Revelations found in patent applications shouldn't be interpreted as rumor or fast-tracked according to rumor timetables. Apple's patent applications have provided the Mac community with a clear heads-up on some of Apple's greatest product trends including the iPod, iPhone, iPad, iOS cameras, LED displays, iCloud services for iTunes and more. About Comments: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit comments.
Here are a Few Great Community Sites covering our Original Report
MacSurfer, AllThingsD - RT John Paczkowski, Roam Mobility, NFC Data.com, Simple Solutions Computing, AppleWeblog Spain, Stadt-Bremerhaven Germany, iPhoneGen France, Reddit, Apple World, Twitter, Facebook,, Apple Investor News, Google Reader, UpgradeOSX, TechWatching, Macnews, iPhone World Canada, CBS MarketWatch and IT Bende - Podcast Netherlands.
iClarified, MacDailyNews, Techmeme, Hightech-Analogy, TheTechJournal, Mac Life Germany, 9 to 5 Mac, AppleTalk TV Korea, iPhoneHellas Greece, Melablog Italy, MacFreak Netherlands, TodoiPhone Spanish,Globalnewstech Italy, ComputerBase Germany, IntoMobile, CyberStyle Russia, Guomii China, Xataka movil Brazil, TechGen France, PC News Russia, Aberto ate de Madrugada Portugal, t3n Germany, Netbooknews Germany, TechPedias, iPhoneMania Slovak Republic, Apple HD Blog Italy, Le iPhone Chinese, iPodTouchisapro French, Say People, Noticias2D Spanish, Moole Russia, Apple Unity Germany, The Inquirer Spain, Rumor Oficial Spanish, and more.
Note: The sites that are linked to above offer Apple community members with an avenue to make comments about this report in many original languages. Additionally, many of these sites provide our guests with different takes on any given patent, concept or lawsuit that is presented in our reports to make it more fun, interesting and/or personal. If you have the time, join in!Dan Trachtenberg’s highly secretive 10 Cloverfield Lane surprised audiences when it was released in March with its tense horror-thriller plot and surprise ending (btw, spoilers!). The JJ Abrams / Bad Robot-produced film mainly plays out in a doomsday bunker until the main character Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) finally encounters a mysterious space ship and alien creature above ground. Bad Robot’s in-house VFX unit Kelvin Optical completed these complicated effects as well as many other invisible shots. vfxblog talked to visual effects supervisor Luke McDonald, who also detailed deleted scenes and some unexpected effects duties.
vfxblog: 10 Cloverfield Lane doesn’t feel like a visual effects film at all. There’s such an invisible effects and seamless nature to it. Can you talk a bit about that as a mandate of the director and Bad Robot in general?
Luke McDonald (visual effects supervisor): Yeah, Dan Trachtenberg and JJ, they didn’t want this to be an overpowering monster film, and they didn’t want it to be reminiscent of the first Cloverfield with the huge monster. Obviously there was talk about doing something like that, but they just didn’t want to do it. They wanted to have this really unique type of movie where there were really only three actors through the entire thing except for the little cameos that happened throughout. But they wanted to not let the effects tell the story. They wanted the actors to tell the story and I think that we really achieved that not only by sparingly seeing what we saw, but also just the visual effects being so integrated that it just helped the entire thing.
vfxblog: The initial car crash where Michelle is hit is an example of that. It’s not over the top, but it really works as a crash. Can you tell me what effects and how it was shot and what was involved for that?
McDonald: We were working with the special effects guys pretty heavily. I had designed a couple of actual rigs for basically the car buck to sit on. One of them was a rotisserie where the camera sat directly behind the front seat and the passenger seat, and this thing was on a rotisserie gimbal that would completely rotate three hundred and sixty degrees. The camera was just sitting just outside it, so the car would always kind of rotate around the camera.
And then we had – since we’re talking cars I might as well just get this out of the way, for the truck itself for the end sequence when the truck is being pulled up into the alien belly, that was also on a huge gimbal. That entire truck was on a gimbal that could rotate basically all the way down to ten degrees and all the way up to like almost a hundred and seventy degrees so we could get that feeling of zero G and what have you. And we could strap the camera and actually attach it to the car, so the truck, so the entire thing was constantly, you were there in the action because the camera was right there in the action as well.
vfxblog: I heard the director talk about an interesting invisible effects which was placing a mole on the photograph of the girl to match the photograph that was shown. Could you talk about that in particular and maybe even some other examples where maybe people wouldn’t realize you’ve intervened?
McDonald: When they were editing the scene where Michelle finds the earring of the deceased girl who Howard had pulled down to the bunker, basically in test screenings we were getting a lot of, ‘Hang on, I don’t get it, I don’t connect these photographs, they don’t look like it’s the same girl.’
So one of the things we came up with was, let’s tie it all together with just a mole, and we literally just put a mole on any time that you see this girl. And obviously in some shots the mole was so small you can’t even tell that it’s there, but it was there enough to pay off to basically do that subconscious connection between oh that girl is this girl. And it worked really well.
Through the entire first three quarters of the film it’s all in the bunker, it’s all taking place in the bunker and it’s very contained, but there was a ton of visual effects throughout the entire first two acts of the entire film. Not only the car crash but even in the bunker, going down to basically doing a ton of split screens, restabilizing things, and basically taking action from one take, putting it into another take, because it was just one of those things where we were on such a tight shooting schedule, things that we were not able to get on set we kind of literally came back to Bad Robot and basically started hacking things up to make them work – doing split-screens, and just, ‘Oh we need this hand from this take or we need this from this’, or what have you, and just Frankensteining shots together. But it worked really well, it worked flawlessly, and thank goodness we had the coverage to be able to do that.
vfxblog: When it does get into the |
Gran Guerrero [NWA WELTER]
Volador Jr.’s first defense.
5) Stuka Jr. vs Mephisto © [MEX LH]
Mephisto’s 11th defense
6) Hiroshi Tanahashi, Mistico, Stigma vs Kazuchika Okada, Pólvora, Shinsuke Nakamura
annual Black Tiger tribute match.
7) Atlantis vs Último Guerrero
Live on NJPWWorld, 3:30 AM Mexico City time on Sunday morning.
Atlantis & UG can do the main event in their sleep, may try.
Stigma gets in his uncle’s tribute match; Tanahashi is going to have his hands full in that one.
Mephisto/Stuka feels like a match which has to have happened sometime before, but it’s a first time ever.
Gran Guerrero’s probably not up to the demands of a Volador exhibition match; Cavernario would’ve been so much better in that spot.
Mascara Don is Nakanishi in a mask doing wacky things (and probably giving Dorada & Sombra a night off before the finish.)
Assuming Jado’s back to being retired and that’s why Ishii is wrestling on these. Though Ishii could probably also use the rest; there has to be a better solution.
CMLL (MON) 01/19/2015 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
1) Jushin Liger, Kushida, Stuka Jr., Tiger Mask vs Gedo, Okumura, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI
2) Captain New Japan & Tritón vs Ryusuke Taguchi & Tetsuya Naito
3) Ángel de Oro & Stigma vs Gran Guerrero & Mephisto
4) Rey Cometa vs Bárbaro Cavernario
5) Mistico vs Pólvora
6) Atlantis, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Volador Jr. vs Kazuchika Okada, Mr. Niebla, Shinsuke Nakamura, Último Guerrero
7) Máscara Dorada vs La Sombra
Live on NJPWWorld, 3:30 AM Mexico City time on Monday morning.
Mascara Dorada versus La Sombra, another first ever is super intriguing. It’s CMLL’s top NJPW heavyweight vs CMLL’s top NJPW junior heavyweight, which usually means the junior heavyweight is doing down, but also usually means they don’t do this match to avoid being anyone.
Mr. Niebla in the semifinal is his one significant match on the tour, assuming Peste Negra doesn’t advance
No Welterweight title match; fifth one might have been if they didn’t take it away last week, and I’m less sure why they bothered to do that. Polvora’s going to have a busy day.
I’d be thinking Triton might be the guy to surprise people, do well on the tour, and get brought back a couple times later, like Fuego last year and Titan the year prior. It looks like it lines up a lot better for Cavernario to be in that spot, especially since he gets Cometa on the 19th.
The plan is for live coverage of both shows, though I’m not exactly sure how I’m going to pull that off for the second one. We’ll see.
Like this: Like Loading...Manning.
Less than a day after being sentenced to 35 years in prison for passing classified U.S. documents to WikiLeaks, Army private Bradley Manning has a huge, if not exactly surprisingly, announcement: “I am Chelsea Manning. I am female,” the 25-year-old wrote in a statement to Today. “Given the way that I feel, and have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible. I hope that you will support me in this transition. I also request that, starting today, you refer to me by my new name and use the feminine pronoun.”
But the transition has colored much of Manning’s life for many years and factors heavily into how she became one of the most notable leakers in American history. Even if much of the world is only now paying attention to Manning’s gender-questioning, it’s always been a part of her story.
Manning’s full letter is titled “The Next Stage of My Life” and has notes of relief, her trial and sentencing finally complete after three years. “As I transition into this next phase of my life,” Manning wrote, “I want everyone to know the real me.”
Manning was wrestling with her sexual orientation while serving in Iraq and when she got involved with WikiLeaks. As reported by Steve Fishman in a July 2011 issue of New York, “Among fellow soldiers, Manning had to conceal the basic facts of his sexual orientation. On the web, he was proudly out and joined a ‘Repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ group. He’d even begun to explore switching his gender, chatting with a counselor about the steps a person takes to transition from male to female.”
In November 2009, Manning “made contact on the web with a gender counselor back in the States.” The counselor told Fishman, “Bradley felt he was female. He was very solid on that.”
Quickly, their conversation shifted to the practicalities: How does someone transition from male to female? “He really wanted to do surgery,” the counselor recalled. “He was mostly afraid of being alone, being ostracized or somehow weird.” To the counselor, it was clear Manning was in crisis. “I feel like a monster,” he’d typed on his computer several times. The statement referred partly to his gender struggles but more to his job. He’d taken an oath not to divulge this type of information. But then it spilled out. He told the counselor about a targeting mission gone bad in Basra.
Manning’s personal and professional life in crisis, November 2009 was also the month she started working with Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. Manning’s online friendship with the hacker Adrian Lamo, who would eventually turn her in, was also based partly on sexuality and gender. Of Lamo, Fishman wrote: “He was a celebrity in the hacker circles with which Manning identified, and he’d worked on a task force for gay, lesbian, and transgender youth. He’s bisexual. And then, Lamo, like Manning, lived the most vivid parts of life online.”
In one chat with Lamo, Manning wrote, “i wouldn’t mind going to prison for the rest of my life, or being executed so much, if it wasn’t for the possibility of having pictures of me … plastered all over the world press … as [a] boy.”
Manning’s defense team also cited her gender identity disorder, or gender dysphoria, which combined with various mental health issues, resulted in “severe emotional distress at the time of the alleged offenses.” Manning had hoped the military would solve her gender questions, but it only complicated them.
Now, facing at least seven years in prison before she’s eligible for parole, Manning will encounter more hurdles. While federal courts have ruled that refusing sex-change operations for inmates constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, a spokesperson for Ft. Leavenworth, where Manning is likely to serve time, told Courthouse News, “The Army does not provide hormone therapy or sex-reassignment surgery for gender identity disorder.”
“I don’t think people understand what hormone-replacement therapy does,” said Lauren McNamara, a transgender woman who testified for Manning’s defense. “This is something that’s the best anti-depressant, anti-anxiety drug I have ever been on. Denying people access to this treatment just because they’re in prison is simply inhumane.” While Manning has taken a big step, her struggle is far from over.This week scientists revealed the first white dwarf pulsar ever identified. That’s right, a rapidly spinning, burnt-out stellar remnant the size of Earth—but 200,000 times more massive! And, oh yeah, it’s one half of a binary star system and lashes its red dwarf partner with powerful beams of electrical particles and radiation, causing the entire system to brighten and fade dramatically twice every two minutes.
If that doesn’t blow your mind, I don’t know what will.
From its unusual behavior, astronomers determined that AR Scorpii (AR Sco, as they call it) in the constellation Scorpius is a white dwarf pulsar. With an electromagnetic field 100 million times more powerful than Earth’s and spinning with a period just shy of two minutes, AR Sco produces lighthouse-like beams of light and charged particles. This focused beam of concentrated radiation—much like a particle accelerator emits—is totally unique in the known Universe.
Its companion—a cool red dwarf one third the mass of the Sun—resides around 1.4 million kilometers (870,000 miles) away and the two orbit each other in 3.6 hours. AR Sco’s powerful beam accelerates electrons in the atmosphere of the red dwarf to nearly the speed of light, an effect never observed before in similar types of binary stars. The red dwarf is basically powered by the kinetic energy of its spinning neighbor.
“The new data show that AR Sco’s light is highly polarized,” says study co-author Tom Marsh, “showing that the magnetic field controls the emission of the entire system, and a dead ringer for similar behavior seen from the more traditional neutron star pulsars.”
“AR Sco is like a gigantic dynamo: a magnet, the size of the Earth, with a field that is [about] 10,000 [times] stronger than any field we can produce in a laboratory, and it is rotating every two minutes,” says another co-author, Boris Gänsicke. “This generates an enormous electric current in the companion star, which then produces the variations in the light we detect.”Forty-seven House Democrats joined their Republican colleagues in voting for a measure that would likely halt Syrian and Iraqi refugees from resettling in the United States.
The bill, which passed 289-137, was intended as a response to fears that ISIS militants could sneak into the U.S. by posing as refugees in the wake of last week’s terrorist attacks in Paris. Security experts say such a scenario is unlikely.
The legislation would toughen the already rigorous refugee screening process by calling for intelligence officials, law enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security to officially certify that any individual seeking refuge from a war-torn country isn’t dangerous.
“It would close the program down for two years, if not more,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), who voted against the measure.
The White House has threatened to veto the bill, saying it would introduce “unnecessary and impractical requirements that would unacceptably hamper our efforts to assist some of the most vulnerable people in the world.” FBI Director James Comey expressed concern that the legislation would add serious hurdles to the visa waiver program, making it impossible for any refugees to enter the U.S. and affecting travelers from three dozen countries.
President Barack Obama remains adamant that he’ll fulfill his promise to within a year accept 10,000 of the more than 4 million Syrians who have fled years of civil war and terrorism.
It’s not clear whether the legislation will reach Obama’s desk. Senate Democrats have vowed to block the bill.
(Republican support for the bill was widely expected. You can see a full list of everyone who voted for the measure here.)
Here are the 47 Democratic lawmakers who voted for the bill:
Rep. Pete Aguilar (Calif.) Twitter|Facebook
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Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified the state Rep. Brad Ashford represents and linked to the wrong Twitter account for Rep. Patrick Murphy.
Read More On RefugeesDianah Mwanika is 19 years old. She lives in Kenya’s Western Province. And she's friends with 17-year-old Angela Khaluyila. They go to Bukhaywa Secondary School together.
Dianah wants to study agriculture so that she can help her community avoid food shortages. Angela wants to be a doctor.
A few years ago, Angela’s father promised to buy her a bicycle if she studied hard and became the top student in her class.
"So, when I became No. 1 and he did not buy me a bicycle, I felt so angry with him," she says. "He told me that there was no money to buy me the bicycle."
Barriers To Education
School fees are expensive in Kenya. Many families decide there’s not enough money to educate their girls. So Dianah and Angela are lucky.
"My family have been very much supportive," Dianah says. "They struggle much to get the fees so that they can pay for me to get the education."
World Bicycle Relief’s Matt Pierce has spoken with Dianah’s parents.
"They said, quite frankly, that they had a choice: they could either re-roof their home, they could invest in more cattle — I think they had one cow and they thought about expanding that," Pierce says. "And they said, 'No, we've chosen to forego all of those things because we want to invest in our daughter's education, because that will really benefit us in time.' "
Despite the support from their families, Dianah and Angela had a problem. They live far from their school.
"My home is 4 kilometers to and from school," Dianah says. "I used to walk from home to school and it was tiresome. And wasted a lot of time."
Dianah. (Courtesy World Bicycle Relief)
And along the way, there are dangers.
"There is a road that all the students have to travel to get to school," Pierce says.
"On the way, there are very many distractors, those boda boda men," Dianah says.
"These are motorcycle drivers, many of them young guys that maybe dropped out or can't find other employment," Pierce explains.
If the girls are late for school, they won’t be allowed in the classroom. And the boda boda drivers know when the girls are running late.
"So they offer students rides to get to school," Pierce says. "So we heard, time and time again, that girls were being mistreated by these boda boda drivers."
"It was very disturbing," Dianah says. "I was very much scared because, after all, they only want to destroy our life by impregnating us."
That's not a euphemism. The boda boda drivers really do want to get these schoolgirls pregnant.
"They know that their life is somewhat capped, topped off, and they want to bring the girls down with them. They don't want to see them soar and fly," says Leah Missbach Day, co-founder of World Bicycle Relief.
One day, not too long ago, the principal at Bukhaywa Secondary School made an announcement.
"People from World Bicycle Relief, they have come, and they would like to donate to us the bicycles," Dianah says. "Those who were interested were to apply."
But there was one catch. World Bicycle Relief would only give out the bicycles according to a set ratio.
"Seventy percent for girls and 30 percent for boys," Dianah says.
That ratio — 70 percent for the girls, 30 percent for the boys — it was an issue. Because even though the parents of the girls at Bukhaywa Secondary School believed in educating their daughters, letting them ride bicycles was something else altogether.
"Because culturally, girls riding bicycles in that area was not common," Pierce says. "So, it's a conversation, it's a back-and-forth, and it's something where we say, 'You know, we're only going to do this program with that ratio.' "
'Bicycles Did More To Emancipate Women Than Anything Else'
World Bicycle Relief doesn’t just use that 70-30 ratio at schools where girls are being harassed by boda boda drivers. They use it all over the world. Because, as it turns out, there’s a long history of women’s lives — in particular — being changed by the bicycle.
And we might as well start that story with Susan B. Anthony.
"Well, that's kind of where I started, so it is a good place to start," says Sue Macy.
A few years back, Macy was researching a book about Nellie Bly. "Nellie Bly was a journalist — one of the first investigative reporters of any gender and one of the first female reporters of the day. And so she was a feminist and she loved to interview famous women.
"So at one point she interviewed Susan B. Anthony, and Susan B. Anthony declared that she stands in salute every time she sees a bicycle."
And this was the part that really caught Sue Macy’s attention.
"She said that bicycles did more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. And I thought, 'Why is this feminist icon talking about a piece of athletic equipment?' "
It's one of those quotes you find on the internet and think, "That can't possibly be true."
"Right, right. But it was," Macy says with a laugh. "The 1890s, when the bicycle explosion took place in the United States, women led rather restricted lives."
Women’s clothing was restrictive: they wore corsets and long, heavy skirts. Their movements were restricted: unmarried women were rarely allowed to go anywhere without a chaperone. Their physical activity was restricted: they were kept indoors to protect their delicate constitutions.
"And the bicycle changed all that," Macy says. "Suddenly they needed clothes that were more practical for riding a bike. So, for practical reasons, clothing started to get more reasonable, more 'rational,' as they called it then."
And there was something else going on. Women were discovering that they were capable of more than they had ever dreamed.
"Frances Willard, who was the head of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, wrote a book about how she learned to ride a bicycle at age 53," Macy says, "and she not only learned to ride the bicycle, she learned to take it apart and put it together."
But there was one prominent feminist of the day who didn’t learn to ride a bike: Susan B. Anthony.
"She did not. She was older by then, by the 1890s," Macy says. "She never rode a bicycle, but she appreciated it.
"It must have been a thing for her to look out the window and see women riding by," I say.
"Yeah, well, because when you're an older woman who's led the struggle all these years, and then you suddenly see women breaking out, it must have been pretty gratifying."
'They Dream Into A Different And Bigger Future'
But what does Susan B. Anthony have to do with Dianah and Angela at Bukhaywa Secondary School in Western Kenya?
Well, no one’s suggesting that Western Kenya today is just like the United States in the 1890s.
But Leah Missbach Day says research shows that by focusing on girls, World Bicycle Relief can have a bigger positive impact on the community than if they were just to hand out half the bicycles to boys and half to the girls.
"When the bicycles start to come into the community and the girls — and the adults — can see how it's working, they dream into a different and bigger future," she says.
When World Bicycle Relief first came to the Bukhaywa Secondary School, Matt Pierce says it wasn’t easy to find enough girls whose parents would agree to let them receive a bicycle.
Angela (left) and other students at Bukhaywa Secondary School. (Courtesy World Bicycle Relief)
"Girls riding bicycles in that area was not common," he says.
But when World Bicycle Relief came back for the second distribution at the school...
"The principal and vice principal said that the applications were overflowing," Pierce says.
Dianah and Angela received their bicycles during that second distribution. But even though they had both seen others at their school riding bikes, they still weren’t sure they could do it themselves.
"Some of my friends told me that I could get hurt," Angela says. "So that got me worried."
"I saw other girls riding, so I just felt it is simple, and in a few moments, I was able to ride it also," Dianah says.
"So some of the students, we were competing in the road," Angela says. "Because everybody wanted to see that he knew how to ride better than the others."
"On the road, you are competing, everyone is riding the bicycle that day that we are given, so we are feeling like we are flying," Dianah says.
Dianah and Angela both say that their bicycles help them to get to school on time. They make it possible for them to finish their chores and their schoolwork... and still get a little sleep.
But outside of school hours, the bicycles are changing their community in all sorts of ways. Adults use them to get grain to the mill. One student told World Bicycle Relief that she’s used hers to take her grandmother to church on Sundays.
But what about those boda boda drivers, waiting by the side of the road, hoping to bring the young girls down? Dianah says they’re not a problem anymore.
"You pass by them very fast and they can't disturb you. So I'm very glad about that."
Read more about the role of bicycles in women's liberation in Sue Macy's book, "Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way)."1st Page of the Codex at the time of Discovery
The Novgorod Codex (Russian: Новгородский кодекс) is the oldest book of the Rus’, unearthed on July 13, 2000 in Novgorod. It is a palimpsest consisting of three bound wooden tablets containing four pages filled with wax, on which its former owner wrote down dozens, probably hundreds of texts during two or three decades, each time wiping out the preceding text.
According to the data obtained by stratigraphy (and dendrochronology), carbon dating and from the text itself (where the year 999 occurs several times), the wax codex was used in the first quarter of the 11th century and maybe even in the last years of the 10th century. It is therefore older than the Ostromir Gospels, the earliest precisely dated East Slavic book.
Discovery and description [ edit ]
An example of excavated Novgorod boardwalk, built ca. 1120
Since 1932 the ancient Russian city of Novgorod has been continuously excavated by the Novgorod Archaeological Expedition started by Artemiy Artsikhovsky. Since the early 1970s the excavations focused on the Troitza (Trinity) area of the ancient Ludin part of town, covering nearly 6,000 square meters (64,500 square feet). The area excavated housed affluent mansions and a large 1,200 square meter (13,000 sq ft) communal building housed a court house and a Novgorod city treasury. The vast majority of text found in Novgorod were birch bark manuscripts; wax tablets were extremely uncommon.[1]
On July 13, 2000, the expedition headed by prof. Valentin Yanin discovered three wooden wax tablets in the soil. The tablets were 19 x 15 x 1 cm, and they have a 15 x 11.5 cm indentation filled with wax. Two of the tablets have one wax layer and one blank wooden side, and a third tablet has two wax sides. The boards have round holes at one edge, through which wooden pegs were inserted, holding the tablets together as a four-page book.[1]
The tablets were discovered in a stratum 50 cm away and 30 cm below a wooden walkway dendrochronologically dated to the year 1036. As the strata in Novgorod are estimated to have grown at about 1 cm per year, the document was estimated to have been placed there around 1015-1020. Subsequent radiocarbon dating of the wax at the Uppsala University in Sweden gave the range of 760 AD to 1030 AD with a 95.4% certainty. Due to the Christian text on the tablets, dates earlier than the Christianization of Kievan Rus' in 988 are considered unlikely, and as such, the wax tablets are reliably dated to a very narrow 42-year window between 988 and 1030 AD.
Basic text [ edit ]
The wax of the codex itself contains psalms 75 and 76 (and a small fragment of psalm 67). This is the so-called basic text of the Novgorod Codex. Consequently, the book is alternatively known as the Novgorod Psalter. This text can be read as easily as any other document on parchment and could be examined at once. The Psalter translation exhibits a somewhat different translatory tradition than the Slavonic translations of the Psalter known so far (especially the Psalterium Sinaiticum).
Language [ edit ]
The language of the Novgorod Codex is a very regular (especially in the basic text) Church Slavonic, albeit with some'mistakes' in the rendition of the yus letters betraying the author's East Slavic origin. The whole text was written by the same hand in a so-called'monoyeric' orthography (Russian одноеровая система письма), i.e. instead of the two yer letters ь and ъ only ъ is used; before the codex discovery, the monoyeric system was considered to have been a late invention, with the dualyeric system being the original; the discovery proved that the reverse was the case.[citation needed]
Preservation and reading method [ edit ]
Preservation of the tablets presented unique challenges, as the usual preservation method for wood would have destroyed the wax layer, and vice versa. The method eventually decided on called for careful separation of the wax layer, and preserving each material separately. The newly exposed wood under the removed wax was found to have been extensively scratched by the stylus cutting through the thin wax. It took the research team several weeks to realize that some symbols could be discerned in the scratches.
Russian linguist Andrey Zaliznyak, one of the foremost experts on the early medieval Novgorod dialect, has taken tremendous effort to reconstruct so far only a small portion of the texts preceding the basic text. The main difficulty with this task is the fact that the feeble traces of dozens of thousands of letters left by the stylus, often hardly discernible from the natural shading of the soft lime wood, have been superimposed on each other, producing an impenetrable labyrinth of lines (Zaliznyak speaks of a “hyper-palimpsest”). Consequently, ‘reading’ a single concealed text of one page can take weeks.
Andrey Zaliznyak
According to Zaliznyak, reading the concealed texts in the scratches is a unique challenge unlike anything attempted by any research team previously. The very compact surface of the four writing surfaces contains traces of thousands of texts, estimated to have been written over several decades. As such, the stylus traces form a constant mesh of lines across the entire surface. To complicate the process, they are also all written by a single hand, making handwriting analysis impossible. As such, Zaliznyak does not call the process'reading'; instead, he calls it'reconstruction'. Instead of asking himself the question, 'what's written on this line', Zaliznyak approaches the problem as 'is a phrase A or a word B possible among everything written in this sector'.
The reconstruction is therefore done letter by letter, starting from an arbitrary position, usually somewhere at the top of a 'page'. After analyzing a meshwork of scratches and identifying some of the letters in a given spot (which can realistically number hundreds or even thousands), Zaliznyak then moves some distance to the side and begins identifying symbols at the next position. After several positions are discerned in that way, most letter combinations are discarded as senseless jumble, and possibly meaningful words are identified. Zaliznyak then moves to the next position and attempts to locate subsequent symbols that would complete the word or a sentence. As the text, in a typical fashion for the writing of the time, is written with no spaces between words, identifying these chains becomes somewhat easier compared to if it had been written with spaces.
After careful examination of each position, Zaliznyak creates symbol chains that continue to grow in size. The search often branches off into false leads, where at a certain symbol the chains switch off to a different text fragment. Sometimes these false branches are identified after only a few symbols, but sometimes the false branches can take several words, sentences, and even longer to be discounted. Such false leads can take several days or even weeks to identify.
Another specific of the texts is that many of them have been written multiple times, for reasons that can only be guessed at. Due to the previous copy being erased before a new copy is made, each repetition is written somewhat shifted compared to the previous copy. It is unknown whether the copies were made right after each other, or weeks, months or even years apart. Multiple copies of the same text make identifying false chains easier.
The process remains exceedingly hard to peer-review. Only small portions of Zaliznyak's texts have been peer-reviewed to this time, as no research team came forward that was willing to learn and repeat the process over the length of a large text. Linguist Izabel Vallotton of Geneva cooperated with Zaliznyak on some portions of the reconstruction, where Zaliznyak identified a portion of the chain and passed it on to Vallotton, with both of them then continuing to independently reconstruct the text. In the experiment, both Vallotton and Zaliznyak ended up with completely identical chains, matching to the letter, but the chains were admittedly short, only 20-30 symbols long.
Finally, a problem Zaliznyak considers unsolvable is identifying spelling errors or Russisms in the Church Slavonic. Often, the position where an error or deviation from Church Slavonic is possible, a correct symbol or symbols will also be present alongside an erroneous one, in which case Zaliznyak always assumes the original text was correctly written. In some cases, such assumptions will of course be incorrect. These multiple possibilities may also be the original author's correcting himself by erasing a mistake with his stylus and writing in a correct symbol.
Concealed texts and identity of the owner [ edit ]
Reconstructed first page, Ps 75
One of the very first concealed texts reconstructed was an unnamed text Zaliznyak called Instruction on Forgiveness of Sins. Its introduction is written in first person by somebody who identifies himself as 'Alexander, the Areopagite of Thracia, of Laodicean origins (birth)'. The text contains a highly unorthodox prayer, reading 'we pray to thee father Alexander, forgive us our sins by your will and give us salvation and the food of paradise, amen'. In it, this Alexander therefore assumes powers usually reserved to God alone. The prayer is followed by prophecies by the same Alexander, who then calls for people to 'leave your villages and homes' and to walk the earth, spreading Alexander's message. Alexander then says 'whoever listens to me, listens to Peter'. This is followed by a highly original call following along the lines of 'leave your villages and homes', with dozens of phrases starting with 'leave your' and listing a great number of things to leave, all starting with a Slavic prefix 'raz-': разлады, раздоры, расклады, развозы, распловы, разлогы, разлеты, размеры, размолвы, and so on (troubles, strifes, positions, moving around, sailing, flying, sizes, disagreements, etc.). This highly original sequence leads Zaliznyak to believe that the text was originally composed in Church Slavonic, as it is hard to imagine that translation from a foreign language could follow such a neat Slavic pattern.
A subsequent concealed text contains the following passage: 'The world is a town in which live the Armenians and the Africans and the Thracians and the Italians and the Spanish and the Greeks'. Zaliznyak believes that an earlier allusion to Alexander, the Areopagite of Thracia is connected to the listing of Thracians early in the list.
Finally, another text that Zaliznyak calls “Spiritual Instruction from the Father and the Mother to the Son” contains the following note “Въ лѣто ҂ѕ҃ф҃з҃ азъ мънихъ исаакии поставленъ попомъ въ соужъдали въ цръкъве свѧтаго александра арменина…” (“In 6507 [i.e. 999] I, monk Isaakiy, was posted as a priest in Suzdal, at the church of St. Alexander the Armenian…”). The year 6507 |
an option to Pakistan, asking them whether they will come to India. Pakistan was to get back to me, they haven't got back to me." Asked whether there were any specific reasons he was opposed to India playing in the UAE, Manohar said there were none.
Khan's response to the offer initially was that the PCB would not send its team to India, keeping in mind two factors: the security situation given some political elements having opening displayed their opposition to Pakistan, and the MoU India had signed in 2014 where it was decided that Pakistan would host the first of the six bilateral series in the UAE. While the BCCI agrees that the MoU had been signed, its officials have always stressed that the series was dependent on the federal government giving it its nod.
On Friday Khan had feigned ignorance about the impending meeting, saying he was in the UAE to attend the fourth ODI between Pakistan and England. He said that he had not heard at the time from Manohar but would be open to discuss the matter. On Saturday Khan travelled to Abu Dhabi to meet top UAE government officials, reportedly to seek support for hosting the series in the Gulf state. He said the decision to play India now did not lie with the PCB anymore, but the Pakistan government would take the final decision.
* 19.00GMT, November 22: This article was updated.
Nagraj Gollapudi is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. Umar Farooq is ESPNcricinfo's Pakistan correspondent. @kalson
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.Share. Gold accessible by anyone using Gold-enabled machines. Gold accessible by anyone using Gold-enabled machines.
Exit Theatre Mode
Update: Microsoft has clarified to IGN that Xbox Live Gold is not required for digital game sharing; a subscription is only necessary to share access to entertainment apps and multiplayer gaming. As digital game sharing a local-only feature -- one user logging into a friend's console, for example -- games can be shared between users' Xbox One consoles without a subscription.
Microsoft has explained how Xbox Live Gold and digital game sharing features will work on Xbox One. To some degree, it's the revival of the nixed Family Sharing feature originally announced earlier this year. Here's how it breaks down.
Anyone can access your digital library via your Xbox One and use their Gamertag to play games. The license is tied to the hardware rather than the original purchaser alone. That said, you can also play and share games on other Xbox One consoles, and any purchases made on a friend's Xbox will be available on your primary console as well. Separate from the DVR functionality and Skype app, you will not need Xbox Live Gold to share your digital games locally.
Exit Theatre Mode
On that note, Xbox Live Gold is also tied to your console rather than just your Gamertag. Regardless of whether or not the console owner is connected, friends and family can log in to their accounts and use Gold features, and you can do the same on their Xbox. Essentially, only one user needs a Gold account: Anyone using a Gold machine can access Gold features, even if they're not a paid subscriber.
Recently, Microsoft revealed that Xbox One would come with a headset out of the box after all, and that game DVR functionality outputs at 720p and 30 frames per second.
Source: Xbox
Mitch Dyer is an Associate Editor at IGN. He’s currently reading Joe Hill's Heart Shaped Box. Read his ramblings on Twitter and follow him on IGN.Target is coming to town.
The Minneapolis-based retailer is poised to turn a long vacant building at the corner of Shattuck Avenue and Allston Way into one of its new-concept TargetExpress stores by March 2015. The store will only be 12,000 square feet — compared to the average Target store size of 80,000 square feet — but will sell food, clothing, accessories and consumer electronics that will appeal to students, commuters and downtown’s growing residential population.
“This fills a critical 12,000 square feet of vacant space,” said Michael Caplan, the manager of Berkeley’s economic development program. “Many people from Berkeley frequent the Target stores in Albany and Emeryville. That takes consumer dollars out of our community. Even though this store is smaller, it will be an opportunity for people to get some of those products here.”
Target also announced it will open a TargetExpress in San Francisco near the Montgomery BART station. The company plans to announce the location of a third location, also in San Francisco, later this year. It opened its first TargetExpress in Minneapolis in July.
Teams from Target spent time in Berkeley to better understand the community and present “the right merchandise mix,” according to a press release.
“The Berkeley store will offer a large selection of grocery items, including produce, dairy, frozen, snacks and beverages to serve the students, commuters and residents of Berkeley,” the company said in a press release. “Additionally, both new TargetExpress stores will be stocked with essentials in home, beauty and electronics, including a robust assortment of Target’s owned brands. The stores will also include Target’s popular pick-up-in-store service and a pharmacy.”
Target is taking over a space that was previously occupied by Walgreens, which moved across the street to 2190 Shattuck Ave. The two stores will now compete, as Walgreens has also diversified its offerings. It now sells fresh fruit and carry out, and has a selection of Cal-related clothing.
Mayor Tom Bates said downtown has long needed more retail. The owners of the building still had a lease with Walgreens, so they could wait to get the best tenant for the location.
“I think it’s a step forward,” said Bates. “It’s something we’ve been looking for for a long time, which is a retail store to come downtown and offer various products. We’ve been anxiously awaiting for something to happen at that corner.”
Target first started looking at Berkeley about six months ago and just recently signed a lease, said Caplan.
“They liked Berkeley,” he said. “They liked the direction of downtown Berkeley. They wanted to be close to campus. A lot of the elements here were very appealing to them.”
Target considers itself a socially responsible company. Since 1946 it has donated 5% of its profits back to the community, which equals about $4 million a week, according to the press release. Target has 1,925 stores in the United States and Canada. Its nearest big stores to Berkeley are in Emeryville, Albany, Alameda and Richmond.
See Target’s planning application with the city of Berkeley. This story was updated as more information became available.
Berkeleyside’s Uncharted: The Berkeley Festival of Ideas is two days of provocative thinking, inspiring speakers, workshops, and a big party — all in downtown Berkeley in October. Read all about it, be part of it. Register on the Uncharted website.http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons
Today we are taking a brief side trip in Bergmann development to look at a couple of magnificent engraved Bergmann pistols - specifically, a pair of model 1896 No.3s, a Bergmann Mars 1903, and a model 1910. One of these (the 1910) was done by an outside engraver, and the others are examples of Bergmann factory engraving work. The Bergmann style is one of very fine banknote style scrollwork with gold accents - I think it is beautiful, and really highlights the skill of the engraver.
The 1910 is an interesting piece both for its style and for the gold Arabic phrase on the side of the slide, which is an excerpt from the Hadith and translates to "Verily, strength is in shooting". A pretty apt martial exhortation for a pistol! Examples of several of contemporary examples with the same engraving pattern do exist in museum collections to this day, which hopefully I will be able to examine in the future.
The best of these guns, of course, is the immaculate 1896 in its presentation case. Like a true time capsule, it shows the full quality one would have received from Bergmann in the late 1890s.Ram Jethmalani By
Scams seem to have great potential to beget second generation scams. Recall the ANTRIX-ISRO-Devas scam that exploded in 2011, exposing our premier space agency, directly under the Prime Minister, of committing gross financial malfeasance, in almost throwing away the precious S Band spectrum for a song to Devas Multimedia, at the cost of the taxpayer. Devas claimed to be a satellite communication company, ostensibly started by a few former ISRO employees, including a humble chaprasi but reportedly controlled by some of the highest and mightiest in the land. Had the deal not been aborted by a vigilant media, it would have resulted in more than Rs 2 lakh crore loss to the government, according to the CAG Report.
After the scam became public, the Space Commission, chaired by K Radhakrishnan, consisting of the MoS in the PMO, Principal Secretary to the PM, National Security Adviser, Cabinet Secretary, Finance Secretary, and other eminent space scientists,in July 2010 directed the ISRO (also headed by Radhakrishnan) to terminate the contract. The matter remained shrouded in secrecy until February 2011, when finally, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) decided to direct the Space Department to ‘annul’ the contract, by invoking force majeure. The government had suddenly realised that the spectrum allocated to Devas was required for the nation’s genuine and urgent social and strategic objectives!
ISRO’s confidentiality immunity was unable to contain the public exposure of the scam, and risks for the PM as Minister for Space, were intensifying. Hence, a corresponding process for building an effective firewall around him was set in motion through the standard operating procedures -- setting up inquiries headed by cronies, selecting convincing scapegoats, and most importantly, drawing up an innovative post-facto blueprint for salvaging some of the losses of the aborted deal at the taxpayers’ cost. This hidden post-facto segment of the scam resonates of the Bhopal compensation case, where through deliberate,calibrated errors and omissions, state power conspired with the culprits to appropriate maximum compensation for common benefit, from India’s unfortunate taxpayer.
Devas had claimed in the Antrix-Devas Contract of January 2005 (Clause 12 b) that it had the ability to design Digital Multimedia Receivers (“DMR”) and Commercial Information Devices (“CID”) and had the ownership and the right to use the intellectual property involved in their designs. After allegations regarding the deal started mounting, the ISRO chairman in December 2009 appointed B N Suresh, a senior retired scientist, to report on the technical and financial aspects of the deal, which Financial Advisor G Balachandran was asked to examine in June 2010. His findings, submitted to the ISRO chairman in January 2011, apart from revealing the absence of due diligence in the scrutiny of the contract, also revealed some shocking, new facts. On December 2, 2010, the Financial Advisor had submitted a note to Radhakrishnan, based on the findings of a leading ISRO scientist, which stated, inter alia, that technology claimed by Devas in the Antrix-Devas Agreement to be used by it is not a confidential and proprietary technology held by Devas. The note recommended that the ISRO chairman should get this confirmed by Antrix and if confirmed these facts should be intimated to the CCS and the contract should be cancelled on the grounds that Devas had given false information when signing the contract about its ownership and right over the technology and intellectual property.
This clearly reveals that the contract was induced by fraud and misrepresentation and was void. Stating this as a reason for cancellation would have greatly strengthened the government case against Devas in arbitration and compensation claims.
However, Radhakrishnan disregarded this unimpeachable advice of his Financial Advisor and concealed these facts from the CCS. On the basis of his misleading note, the CCS decided to ‘annul’ the contract in February 2011 and informed the Space Department that in view of the “increased demand for allocation for national needs and having regard to the needs of the country’s strategic requirements, the government will not be able to provide orbit slot in S band to Antrix for commercial activities, including for those which are the subject matter of existing contractual obligations for S Band.”
The government thus manipulated its own record to show that the contract was breached by it for its own needs and without lawful justification. The people of India, who were actually the plaintiffs were converted into defendants by the government. A red carpet was being spread to legally enable Devas’ sure success in the expected arbitration and extract maximum reparation.
The people of India are entitled to seek answers from the Hon’ble Prime Minister:-
1. Is it a fact that Secretary Space, Radhakrishnan ignored without any credible reason, the advice of his Financial Advisor supported by the note of a senior Space Department scientist, that the DVB-SH technology claimed by Devas in the Antrix-Devas Agreement, was not its confidential and proprietary technology?
2. Is it a fact that Radhakrishnan concealed these facts from the CCS in his note in February 2011, which annulled the deal on a non-existent ground that it had no spare S Band spectrum to offer?
3.Why was the real reason, that the Antrix-Devas contract had been induced by fraud and misrepresentation, excluded from our case as a ground for terming it null and void?
4. Is the belief of many people, that the truth was kept away from the Prime Minister and the CCS by some dishonest scientist-public servants unfounded or are the people who believe it without justification, only gullible simpletons?
5. What action is proposed to fix the responsibility on the Secretary, Space Department for concealing the crucial and vital facts from the CCS, the consequences of which are going to cost the taxpayer several billion dollars in the near future.
I understand Devas has demanded around $2billion in damages and Deutche Telecom, which purchased a good chunk of the Devas shares after its Antrix contract, has separately demanded another $1 billion. This amounts to Rs 18,000 crore that the country will have to shell out, if the government loses the arbitration, a highly likely eventuality, judging from the government’s actions.
I ask the Prime Minister to appoint a panel of legal experts to put the Department of Space on the right legal track to safeguard national interest and the taxpayers’ money. Legal amends can still be made to save the nation and the taxpayer from being robbed of Rs 18,000 crore, because of the criminal conspiracy.MPP-elect Doug Holyday was surrounded by reporters outside the mayor’s office Monday — once again defending Rob Ford’s indefensible public behaviour. Holyday used to be uncomfortable with this task. On Monday, he wore the mantle with ease. Such is the compromised position of the deputy mayor, days before he leaves decades at city hall behind to become a partisan propagandist for a provincial political party — the Progressive Conservatives.
Outgoing deputy mayor Doug Holyday, who assumes Etobicoke-Lakeshore MPP duties on Aug. 17, defends Mayor Rob Ford Aug. 12, after videos surfaced showing Ford slurring words at the Taste of the Danforth festival. ( David Rider / Toronto Star )
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· Holyday to Rob Ford: 'Don't coach football' The sooner Holyday leaves, the better. City residents who crave city councillors with clear, unvarnished and untainted views — even views they philosophically oppose — stopped expecting that from Holyday many months ago. The once principled mayor of Etobicoke increasingly put Ford’s political survival ahead of the city’s interests and, as such, lost his treasured independence. Holyday’s transformation is now complete. And he’s nowhere near the admirable politician who arrived at city hall as the champion of frugality. He’s still cheap — Etobicoke cheap; a politician who would vote down plans for a transit horse and buggy because he figures a donkey would do fine. That’s why it was laughable to see Holyday appear with party leader Tim Hudak on Monday trumpeting subways for Toronto. That’s subways — as in the most expensive transit option; subways, as in the Eglinton subway the Mike Harris-led Conservatives buried the last time the party ruled Ontario.
But that is partisan politics for you. So, expect more incongruence from the once uncomplicated councillor. If Holyday could up and leave his Ward 3, Etobicoke Centre, office to seek a job as MPP — in the middle of the term — then everything he says in future is open to scrutiny. Holyday made a career of railing against politicians who use city hall as a stepping stone to “higher office” with the provincial or federal governments. Now he’s done the same — sparking the same upheaval and costs to the taxpayers he excoriated numerous times.
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Mayor Ford has called a council meeting for late this month to decide how to fill Holyday’s ward vacancy. A byelection might cost more than $200,000. Should a school trustee win, replacing the trustee might cost another whack of cash. The Holyday of 2004 criticized such a cascade of events as a “perversion of the system.” Politicians should never be allowed to quit for a shot at another political job, Holyday insisted. “The public expects that they, once elected, honour that trust and complete their term,” Holyday said in a motion council rejected. So, some might consider him a hypocrite now. It’s best he join the party, any party, where malleability is a virtue. Mayor Ford compromised Holyday for almost three years — often leaving Holyday to defend the administration when it was clear Holyday was kept in the dark about essential policy decisions. This engendered much sympathy among the press corps. But no one needed to feel sorry for Holyday. He knew what he was getting into. He had years of evidence from viewing Ford close-up on city council. And he didn’t like much like what he saw first-hand. Holyday reluctantly took the job as Ford’s top lieutenant. He publicly fretted about getting in bed with Ford. He said that during 10 years on city council he was unable to forge an alliance with Ford on matters of common interest. Ford the councillor had been too unpredictable, too much of a loose cannon, too unwilling or unable to form a team in opposition to former Mayor David Miller, Holyday groused. Still, he took the job. Why? Politicians can’t resist a high-profile appointment, especially after being passed over by previous administrations. Holyday has proved himself a loyal soldier. That attribute will serve him well at Queen’s Park, where the party leader calls the shots. But don’t expect Holyday to benefit Toronto residents in any particular way — except to insist his government spend only what it is legally mandated to spend. When Ford is finally unmasked — his denials and lies and half-truths so exposed that only the Ford Nation acolytes prop up his empty sack — reporters will seek out Holyday to get his reaction. Holyday will claim he was kept in the dark; that he asked questions in private but was never told the truth. That response may stand up as a political dodge. But if the entire collapse of the Ford administration is triggered by a tragedy in which someone is hurt by the mayor’s impaired driving or his blind refusal to be chauffeured, Holyday’s lame offerings of “I’ve never seen the mayor take a drink” will ring hollow. Sadly, he won’t be alone. The mayor has many enablers. Holyday has been merely the highest-ranking. Royson James usually appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Email: rjames@thestar.caYanis, back in June 2015, Paul Mason of Channel 4news and myself on PS exposed the Irish “Incentive Schemes” when you wrote your essay on the German Queen. The tax incentives that Ireland and other EU states have granted to some corporations (which the EU now wants to claw back in order to save the German banks, yet again) have been known for a very long time, especially for people that are in the know! This “Tit for Tat” vendetta (using the judiciary in one country to fine or penalise a corporation or the bank of another country in order to repatriate (launder) money) had started by the intelligent “Comedian-In-Chief”. The world has been in the midst of wars (financial, political, military, etc. just name it), since 2009. The EU Commission is right to ask Ireland to rectify the situation with Apple and with other corporations, if needs be. Times have changed since the 90s’ and Apple would not have grown and outpaced other corporations if it was not for all this “Indirect Funding”. Many corporations have become financially much stronger than many countries. This just cannot continue and is neither fair nor right. This “Inequality” in treatment, whereby one state within the EU offers better fiscal / funding terms than others to X or Y, has got to stop and this non-sense of the “Comedian-In-Chief” must stop as well (luckily he has only very few weeks left in office). If the leadership of Greece, and I personally have the greatest respect and sympathy to the people of Greece and to Greece itself but none to the leadership, they should have been the first at introducing such schemes in Greece in order to attract investors. I myself gave several examples on PS, one of them was about A. Papandreou who back in the 80s’ offered tax incentives to companies willing to set up business and invest in Greece (Law 89 is one of them). You mentioned Ireland, how about Bulgaria that has taken most businesses from Greece due also to their accommodating laws and tax regimes. In this world it is the rule of the fittest and not only with the look or words but with real and true actions. Yanis, back in June 2015, Paul Mason of Channel 4news and myself on PS exposed the Irish “Incentive Schemes” when you wrote your essay on the German Queen. The tax incentives that Ireland and other EU states have granted to some corporations (which the EU now wants to claw back in order to save the German banks, yet again) have been known for a very long time, especially for people that are in the know! This “Tit for Tat” vendetta (using the judiciary in one country to fine or penalise a corporation or the bank of another country in order to repatriate (launder) money) had started by the intelligent “Comedian-In-Chief”. The world has been in the midst of wars (financial, political, military, etc. just name it), since 2009. The EU Commission is right to ask Ireland to rectify the situation with Apple and with other corporations, if needs be. Times have changed since the 90s’ and Apple would not have grown and outpaced other corporations if it was not for all this “Indirect Funding”. Many corporations have become financially much stronger than many countries. This just cannot continue and is neither fair nor right. This “Inequality” in treatment, whereby one state within the EU offers better fiscal / funding terms than others to X or Y, has got to stop and this non-sense of the “Comedian-In-Chief” must stop as well (luckily he has only very few weeks left in office). If the leadership of Greece, and I personally have the greatest respect and sympathy to the people of Greece and to Greece itself but none to the leadership, they should have been the first at introducing such schemes in Greece in order to attract investors. I myself gave several examples on PS, one of them was about A. Papandreou who back in the 80s’ offered tax incentives to companies willing to set up business and invest in Greece (Law 89 is one of them). You mentioned Ireland, how about Bulgaria that has taken most businesses from Greece due also to their accommodating laws and tax regimes. In this world it is the rule of the fittest and not only with the look or words but with real and true actions.I watched the third and most boring presidential debate last night. Here are my thoughts.
Clinton’s goal was to stay vertical for ninety minutes and sound more well-informed than Trump while framing him as an unstable monster. She accomplished all of that and won the debate, in my opinion.
But it wasn’t a big win.
Trump only needed to act semi-presidential, and he did. We don’t expect him to have the same mastery of the facts. The bar is lower for the outsider. He needed a knockout punch but there was none.
Persuasion-wise, the most emotionally powerful moments involved Clinton describing Trump as a sexist/racist monster who can’t be trusted with the nuclear codes. “Scary” was the only message she needed to drive home, and she did.
Ask Clinton voters why they prefer her over Trump and few people will mention the economy or any specific policies. Almost everyone will mention Trump’s “temperament” or alleged racism/sexism. Those were the only variables that mattered. Clinton reinforced those messages and Trump did little or nothing to counter them. The rest of the debate and all of the policy questions were largely irrelevant to persuasion.
Trump mentioned Clinton’s various scandals involving email, Wikileaks, and pay-for-play. But the public assumes all career politicians trade favors and say things in private that they wouldn’t say in public. The public also expects some dirty tricks out of campaigns. The Wikileaks attacks are toothless so far. So toothless that Clinton’s “Russia did it” defense is good enough (for a debate) even though it is ridiculous.
The biggest buzz from the debate seems to be Trump’s refusal to say in advance that he would accept the election results if they went against him. The pro-Clinton pundits are framing that as another example of Trump’s terribleness. But of course it is nothing but Trump keeping all of his options open as he does in every other situation when he can. He wants to maintain the right to complain later if the result looks rigged to him. That seems reasonable to me, and no real danger to the Republic. But the Clinton-friendly parts of the media will make it a thing this week.
If you want a reason to be worried, ask yourself why the mainstream media is so keen on framing the election as “not rigged.” The message I’m getting from them, collectively, is that they think it will be. (Because it will be.) We just don’t know how much the rigging will matter.
Why do I say it will be rigged?
Because whenever humans have motive, opportunity, a high upside gain, and low odds of detection, shenanigans happen 100% of the time. Our vote-counting systems have plenty of weak spots. Rigging (to some degree) is a near guarantee.
And keep in mind that Team Clinton has framed Trump as the next Hitler. That gives every citizen moral cover to do outrageous things to stop him. The stakes are sky-high. In this environment, it would truly be a miracle to have an unrigged election. But again, we don’t know how much rigging there will be. It might not be enough to matter.
There will almost certainly be election rigging for the same reason there has been debate rigging. If you don’t believe me about debate rigging, ask a woman who did some of that debate rigging herself. Allegedly. Unless it was Russia’s fault.
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You might like my book because I blame Russia for rigging it.Although reported in France since the 1970s under pressure from feminists, gender stereotypes persist in children’s literature. According to Anne Dafflon Novelle, there has been even a regression in this area in recent decades (1). How appears this sexism?
More male characters
In children’s literature, female characters are underrepresented in the leading roles (2, 3); the title makes often first contact with one character, who happens to be male in 2 / 3 of cases, according to a study published in 2002 (3). When two characters are mentioned, they are two girls in only 4% of the cases against two boys in 30% of cases.
A character is almost always on the covers of albums for children. A male character appears on over three quarters of these illustrations (77.7%), whereas less than half the covers (48.9%) contained at least one female character … (3)
Even inside illustrated books, the male presence is growing. Hence 90% of the books present at least one male character, while only 73% of the books present at least one female character. This imbalance is particularly increased for childish characters, as little girls appear in only 42.5% of the books, and little boys in 56.8% (3). Another study states that 51.3% of the book tells the story of a hero and only 24.7% narrate the story of a heroine (4).
Impact of the type of characters: human, animal or anthropomorphic.
There are three main categories of characters: the human characters, anthropomorphic characters and real animals. The ratio between the sexes is fairly balanced in the “human” illustrated books” as a male appears in about 92% of the books and a female character in about 84%. But the probability of seeing a female character decreases in “anthropomorphic” illustrated books, as the likelihood is only 74% against 94% for boys! These trends are increasing again in the illustrated book with real animals: we encounter a male in 96% of the books, while only 69% of the books contain at least one female character (3, 4).
Different gender roles…
Girls or women little access to the main role, although they are slightly more numerous than male characters in minor roles. Female characters are usually represented inside and are less active. When women are shown working (which is twice less than for male characters …), they are represented in traditional and undiversified occupations (teaching and child care in half the cases, trading in 30% of the cases …) (2, 3). Sometimes, female characters appear in non stereotyped activities, but the goal in this case seems to bring out the “abnormal” aspect of the situation: so women’s work is devalued (3). Furthermore, the maternal function is present in the illustrated book (there’s a mother in approximately 40% of books) and appears as the major model of the adult female: only 20% of the books about humans and 25% of the books with humanized animals are depicted whith a female character who is not a mother (3).
Men’s roles are more diverse: in addition to their professional activities, much more varied, fathers are more often represented in the process of sharing leisure activities with their children (2). In addition, over one third of the books about humans and half of those about humanized animals represent an adult male who is not a father. (3)
Finally, the type of animals used to represent an anthropomorphic character will differ depending on the sex of the character. Hence, male heroes are much more represented in the form of powerful animals (bears, wolves, etc.) or under the traits of an animal from children’s collective imagination (rabbits). In contrast, female characters take the form of small and / or demeaning animals, such as mice or insects. In addition, animals which are selected to embody them are less diverse than them used to represent males. (2, 4)
Consequences
Sexism in children’s literature has consequences on children’s development, as they integrate very quickly societal norms. Thus, according to a study published in 1978 (5), girls who have read books with female characters presented in non-traditional roles consider women could engage in occupations or activities not stereotypically feminine, more often than girls who have seen only traditional female characters.
In addition, it has been shown that self-esteem of children increases when they are in contact with heroes of the same sex (6). Thus, self-esteem of girls may be affected since there are few heroines in the books they read.
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References
1. Novelle Dafflon, Anne. Sexisme dans la littérature enfantine : quels effets pour le développement des enfants?
http://www.cemea.asso.fr/aquoijouestu/fr/pdf/textesref/SexismeLitteratEnfants.pdf
2. Ferrez, Eliane et Novelle Dafflon, Anne. Sexisme dans la littérature enfantine. Analyse des albums avec animaux anthropomorphiques/Sexism in children’s literature. Analysis of picture books with anthropomorphical animals. Les Cahiers internationaux de psychologie sociale. 2003, Vol. 57. Abstract
3. Brugeilles, Carole, Cromer, Isabelle et Cromer, Sylvie. Les représentations du masculin et du féminin dans les albums illustrés ou comment la littérature enfantine contribue à élaborer le genre. Population. 2002, Vol. 57, pp. 261-292. Full text
4. Dafflon Novelle, Anne. La littérature enfantine francophone publiée en 1997. Inventaire des héros et héroïnes proposés aux enfants. Revue suisse des sciences de l’éducation. 2002, Vol. 24, pp. 309-326. Full text
5. Ashby, M. S. et Wittmaier, B. C. Attitude changes in children after exposure to stories about women in traditional or nontraditional occupations. Journal of Educational Psychology. 1978, Vol. 70, pp. 945-949. Abstract
6. Ochman, Jan M. Journal Name. The effects of nongender-role stereotyped, same-sex role models in storybooks on the self-esteem of children in grade three. Sex Roles. 1996, pp. 711-735. Abstract
AdvertisementsSince its launch five years back, Ubuntu has turned into one of the most popular Linux operating system. After the launch of Windows 7, a major update of Vista, Ubuntu 9.10 or "Karmic Koala" has launched on October 29th. At present, Linux operating system has about 1% market share for desktops as compared to 92% of Windows, whereas it is popular for servers or embedded systems. Ubuntu, based on the Linux’s Debian flavor has focused to bring Linux OS to the common people.
Here, the article compares some of the features of Windows 7 and Ubuntu 9.10:
Installation and upgrades
Users can easily upgrade their PCs with the new version of Ubuntu and it can also installed on your vintage PCs. Further, like Windows 7 and Mac OS X, Ubuntu 9.10 automatically keeps users’ operating system up-to-date. While, Windows 7 will update only the Microsoft software and the OS, Ubuntu updates itself with any other software installed on users’ system.
Multimedia
Due to their own terms and conditions, Ubuntu does not ship with the ability to play commercial DVDs. However, you can download the commercial DVD support via Ubuntu Restricted Extras in the Software Centre. It has Rhythmbox player for music and the Movie Player for video.
Microsoft’s Windows 7 come preinstalled with Windows Media Player and Media Centre, which take care of your personal files. Further, if your hardware permits, you can also watch live TV on the PC.
Software and applications
According to developers, Ubuntu is like Apple’s iPhone and supports vast softwares and applications. Users can have instant access to thousands of free and open-source applications. It comes with free OpenOffice.org 3.1 installed by default as its office productivity suite through which you can create professional documents, spreadsheets and presentations. The suite is compatible with all office apps including MS Office.
Windows 7 users have to buy Microsoft Office, or they can download OpenOffice and GIMP. While Windows users will have Outlook for their email, Ubuntu comes with Evolution, its emailing and calendaring software.
Windows 7 comes with Internet Explorer 8 and MSN Windows Live messenger, Ubuntu 9.10 ships with Firefox 3.5 and Empathy multiple protocol IM client.
Cloud Service
The new Linux version offers cloud storage to the masses with its Ubuntu One service, where users can store upto 2GB of data for free, but will have to pay for more storage. Ubuntu 9.10 can also take advantage of Amazon's EC2 cloud computing service.
Microsoft also provides a cloud storage application called Live Mesh that offers 25GB of storage for free, but the service is not integrated with the OS as in Ubuntu.
Speed and hardware
In terms of speed, the latest OS of Microsoft is definitely lighter on hardware than its predecessor, Vista and it will run well on older hardware. However, Ubuntu 9.10 also works well on a wide range of hardware.
Security
According to various analysts, Linux OSs are more secure than Windows and are not easily infected by bugs and viruses. In Windows 7, Windows Security Center has been renamed to Windows Action Center, which covers both security and maintenance of the computer.
Pooja Vij/ITvoir NetworkAdvertisement
As you will only be considering a kitchen redesign very occasionally it will be necessary to formulate a list of questions, a self examining kitchen remodeling questionnaire to ensure that the finished product is exactly what you want.
Does it meet all the up to date specifications in equipment and building improvement methods and is it stylish enough for you and are you comfortable with the design brief you are working to.
With the advances in decor and equipment it becomes more difficult for the consumer to use the most up to date ideas to develop a state of the art cooking suite with a family friendly recreational area using all facets of the kitchen to add to the dining experience. By following this logical path of considerations in buying a kitchen it ensures that you reach the right decision on each of the steps to formulate the area you have always dreamed of.
Know what you want, is it a food production area or a social space for family and guests
Obviously the first necessary step to take is to form a kitchen plan and to create a scale outline of the room layout and the easiest way is with graph paper and using a tape measure and pencil get a paper or electronic plan.
Be sure to note the location of existing services, where does the water come in, are the main isolation points in the kitchen area, if not where are they and also show all existing hot and cold water outlets, gas points and the location of electric sockets.
Once you have this you can easily check whether the appliance, worktop or sink unit will fit where you are planning their position and also ensure that doors are wide enough for the new equipment.
Make a Plan
What are your options in planning a kitchen well you first have to decide if you want independent cooking equipment with separate sinks and preparation areas or will your creation take advantage of all the area by making the units be part |
54 p.m., Lions Sign Defensive Tackle Akeem Spence to 3 year, $10.5 Million Contract.
Detroit needed help and depth on the defensive line and they got a good core piece in Akeem Spence. In his four year career so far in Tampa, he ended up with 98 total tackles, five and a half sacks, and three fumble recoveries. While Spence won’t be a starter in Detroit, he fills a nice backup need, depth that Detroit has needed with many of their defensive tackles leaving on one year deals.
Thursday, March 9: 4:55 p.m., Lions Sign Defensive End Cornelius Washington to 2 year, $6 Million Contract.
Another defensive line addition to the team. This looks like Detroit isn’t going to draft a defensive lineman in the early rounds of the upcoming draft. Washington didn’t do much in Chicago his first four years, getting 30 tackles, three sacks and one pass deflection. He brings depth at the defensive end position.
http://gty.im/502142274
Thursday, March 9: 6:04 p.m., Cardinals Tight End Darren Fells will visit the Lions Friday.
Fells is a blocking tight end that the cardinals were hoping to sign for less than the original round restricted free agent tender. In three seasons Fells has recorded 40 receptions for 536 yards and four touchdowns. He is 6’7″ and 281lbs and graded better on PFF than Germaine Gresham in the Cardinals very demanding tight end role.
Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @BKnappBlogs, find me on Reddit at /u/sportsguy4life and share your thoughts on the Detroit Lions subreddit.“The best thing we could ever do would be to just not do this,” Gabe Newelltold PC Gamerlast year when the possibility of Hollywood making a Half-Life movie was raised. “Or we'd have to make it ourselves,” he added. Well, indie filmmakers Brian Curtin and Matthew Hall know Valve has plenty on its plate, so they went out and made their own film.
Titled Beyond Black Mesa, it went live this week, and you can view it below. We know this happened a few days ago, but if you haven't seen it yet... it's NEW TO YOU!
Like previous fan-generated shorts – Street Fighter Legacy springs to mind – Beyond Black Mesa has two things going in its favor. Firstly, it's made by people who know their shit and love the hell out of the source material. (You can't survive a day on a film set unless you're being paid well or you really love the subject matter – and Curtin/Hall haven't announced any day-job departures just yet).
Above: This flare-lit interlude is straight out of Aliens. If you're going to steal, steal from the best
Secondly, it's ten minutes long – meaning the stylistic showmanship, overdone orange/teal palette and and action-heavy plot don't have a chance to get on your wick. It's just 11 minutes of “how'd they do that?” moments and winking nods at everything from Portal to Naked Gun. If you like what you see here, show some love below. Then head to the pic's website and let them know what you thought – and how they might fit headcrabs into the sequel...
Jan 25, 2011This article is over 3 years old
A 14-year-old boy has been detained in Blackburn and 16-year-old girl in Manchester as part of the same investigation, police say
A 14-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl have been arrested on suspicion of preparing acts for terrorism.
The boy was arrested in Blackburn, Lancashire, after police examined a number of electronic devices and raided a house in the town on Thursday.
The girl was arrested after police raided a house in Longsight, Manchester, on Friday as part of the same investigation.
Both were detained on suspicion of terrorism-related offences and bailed until 28 May. Neither has been named.
The investigation involves the north-west counter-terrorism unit, Greater Manchester police and Lancashire Constabulary.
An eyewitness to the Longsight raid quoted in the Manchester Evening News said the street was “full of terrorist police” at the time of the girl’s arrest.
The arrests are not believed to be related to the detention of nine people from Rochdale near the border between Turkey and Syria on Wednesday.
The number of terrorism-related arrests in Britain has surged in recent months as an increasing number of Britons try to travel to Syria, where they are thought to be aiming to link up with Islamic State extremists there.A new Bird Park and a new Rainforest Park are set to be part of the new Mandai nature precinct when it is completed, announced Mandai Safari Park Holdings.
SINGAPORE: The Mandai nature precinct will be home to two new wildlife parks when it is completed - a Bird Park and Rainforest Park - announced the Mandai Safari Park Holdings (MSPH) on Wednesday (Jun 1).
The new Bird Park, located in the western part of the precinct,will open by 2020. The 17-hectare attraction will house one of the world's largest collections of birds. It will have nine large aviaries with different landscapes from around the world, including wetlands, bamboo forests and rainforests.
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Together with the existing Singapore Zoo, Night Safari, and River Safari, this will create an integrated nature and wildlife experience for all visitors to Mandai.
Jurong Bird Park will close eventually and the land will return to the Government when the new Bird Park is ready. No definitive timeline is given for this, but Group CEO of MSPH Mike Barclay said Jurong Bird Park will still be open before the new Bird Park is ready.
Some of the best-loved features in Jurong Bird Park will be reimagined in the new park, said MSPH. There will be a new waterfall, a grand entrance to the park framed by flowering plants and a custom-designed amphitheatre to feature bird performances.
The new Bird Park will also feature a facility that focuses on breeding and researching critically endangered species from all over the world.
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The 12.5-hectare Rainforest Park will open in 2023. It will be connected to the new Bird Park. Visitors will be able to be fully immersed in the sights and sounds of the tropical rainforest of Southeast Asia.
Besides wildlife, Singaporeans will get access to a series of open spaces in the heart of Mandai - with gardens, waterways and playgrounds.
An indoor nature-themed education centre focusing on Conservation, Research and Education is also in the pipeline. The centre will aim at raising awareness and appreciation for the region's biodiversity and natural heritage.
In response to public feedback, the current eco-accommodation will be expanded to allow nature enthusiasts and families to extend their stay in Mandai. MSPH is also exploring a range of options with the Government to improve accessibility to Mandai. These include introducing shuttle buses from the upcoming Springleaf MRT station and direct bus services from regions that are not well-connected to Mandai.
"We want to give Singaporeans a nature and wildlife destination that they can call their own. Visitors have asked for more novel, engaging and immersive experiences and we hope the new Mandai nature precinct will provide all that and more," said Mr Barclay.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The Nature Society Singapore has raised concerns that the development of the Mandai nature precinct will affect the native animals living in the Central Catchment area.
"Back in 2010, there was another development proposed in that area and the Nature Society's opinion was that the area would be better off as a nature park and to allow the continued usage of the area by the native fauna,” said Tony O'Dempsey, a spokesman from the organisation. “So from the nature point of view that is the optimum usage for the land."
Mr Barclay said steps will be taken to protect the wildlife: "We will be very careful in how we go into the new development area and to make sure we have a very, very responsible way of moving wildlife away first before we build structures there."
An eco-link bridge will also be built spanning Mandai Lake Road. The bridge will allow animals to move between the central and northern reaches of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve.
In regard to this, Mr O'Dempsey added that the Nature Society Singapore hopes there will be sufficient buffer zones for the animals in the area, as well as "reasonable-sized eco links", so that they can continue to move to and fro the two parts of the nature reserve.
Mr O'Dempsey also lauded the mitigation efforts undertaken by the environmental impact consultants.
"I think the environmental impact consultant is actually putting in a lot of effort into mitigation the construction impact by phasing the construction work. You can never have no impact, but at least they're taking some reasonable steps to minimise," he said.
DEVELOPMENTS TO BE COMPLETED IN PHASES
The new developments at Mandai will be completed in phases from 2020, subject to required approvals. The first phase is estimated to cost some S$1 billion.
When asked if there is sufficient demand to justify the investment, Mr Barclay noted that there has generally been "very robust growth" in visitation to zoological parks around the world.
"We also want to be a cutting edge kind of wildlife park - move away from the cages and have open concept exhibits or very large aviaries. So we want to be an environment where our guests feel that this place really understands looking after wildlife and conservation," said Mr Barclay.
"The conservation elements will be very strong both in terms of education and our breeding centres, our rehabilitation centres which will be opened to the public," Mr Barclay added.The Trust Project is a collaboration among news organizations around the world. Its goal is to create strategies that fulfill journalism’s basic pledge: to serve society with a truthful, intelligent and comprehensive account of ideas and events.
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In September, a forensic-psychiatry patient at Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health absconded during a scheduled outing. Thomas Brailsford had been found not criminally responsible for cutting off his mother’s head in 2010, so the news of his escape created, to put it mildly, some apprehension among the public.
During the twenty-four hours or so Brailsford was on the loose, media sensationalizing transformed Toronto into a modern-day Sleepy Hollow, with panicked Ichabod Cranes trying to evade a ghoulish headhunter. Quite naturally, many people wondered why Brailsford was left in a position where he could so easily vanish—it was the second time he’d gone AWOL from the centre within twelve months.
In the decade I worked at CAMH and its predecessor, the Queen Street Mental Health Centre, up until 2004, I saw some of the workings and causes of this type of dilemma. It was a period that saw controversy and conflict over the opening of CAMH’s Medium Secure Forensic Units, which house, in the middle of a crowded downtown neighbourhood, people who have committed horrifying acts upon their fellow humans.
Whenever a forensic-psychiatry patient at CAMH or elsewhere doesn’t return from an approved outing, senior staff are sent into a scramble. Managers are placed in the unenviable position of having to protect the patient’s privacy while trying to reassure the community of its safety. It’s a task made all the more difficult when media and police stoke public fears by highlighting the appalling reasons the escapee was locked up in the first place.
Take the case of George May. Within two weeks of Brailsford’s attempt at freedom, May, a man with paranoid schizophrenia, didn’t return to the Ontario Shores Mental Health Centre in Whitby, Ontario. He had privileges to leave the facility, but media headlines cited his “long history of violence” and called him a “killer psych patient.” In 2001, May strangled a woman to death and was found not criminally responsible. Like Brailsford, it wasn’t the first time he’d fled; in 2012, he briefly went missing from CAMH.
What’s often forgotten, or overlooked, is that the goals of forensic psychiatry, which deals with people who were deemed “criminally insane” in times past, are very different than those of the prison system. Both the criminal justice and forensic-psychiatry systems confine people who’ve committed crimes in order to protect the public. But that’s the only similarity. Prisoners have defined sentences; forensic patients are treated until they are no longer deemed a threat to the public.
While punishment is a major factor in the imprisonment of convicted criminals, treatment and reintegration into society are the goals of forensic-psychiatry centres. For reintegration to be effective, it has to be done gradually. This means that forensic-psychiatry patients eventually have to be let out on day passes, first with supervision and eventually without. These incremental increases in their privileges only occur when psychiatrists are confident that they come with minimal risk to the public. It’s not only public safety and the patient’s welfare that concern medical staff. The psychiatrist’s own reputation, and that of the institution, are both on the line. It looks bad for everyone when a killer or a rapist considered trustworthy enough to be let out on a day pass goes missing.
But what makes the perception of medical irresponsibility unfair is that psychiatrists are mandated to put patients like May and Brailsford in a position where they can abuse trust. Casuistic crime reporters may frighten us with tales of rampaging maniacs, but in countless cases we never hear about, those boundaries of trust are honoured. Despite the occasional panic over a missing patient, the peaceful end result of these episodes is, in a way, an ironic testament to the efficacy of their treatment. Just as in the cases of Brailsford and May, every such walkabout I know of ended with no violence, a big sigh of relief, and the patient’s return to hospital.
Obviously, these sorts of occurrences need to be discouraged and prevented, but the melodramatic fear-mongering that accompanies them is unfounded. The general public actually faces very little risk. As disturbing and inexplicable as it sounds, when the severely mentally ill commit acts of horrific violence, such as dismemberment, they are most often directed at the people they love, rather than strangers.
Of course, there are rare exceptions. By far the most notable, forever vivid in the Canadian public’s mind, is the 2008 beheading and cannibalization of Tim McLean on a Greyhound bus travelling through Manitoba. Vince Li, a man unknown to the victim, was found not criminally responsible for McLean’s death. Li was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and later said he believed McLean was an alien and that voices had told Li to kill him. When Li was granted unsupervised day trips from the Selkirk Mental Health Centre in 2014, public uproar ensued. But doctors have said Li has responded well to treatment, and believe he is at a low risk of reoffending. There’s been no news of any violence Li has committed since the grisly attack.
The term Catch-22, from Joseph Heller’s novel of the same name, partially explains why forensic-psychiatry patients on the road to recovery sometimes get the urge to go AWOL. In Heller’s book, he describes how a shell-shocked Air Force captain can theoretically stop flying dangerous missions if he claims to be mentally unfit. But in practice, the claim would be denied because someone so cognizant of his condition is clearly mentally fit enough to continue.
The Catch-22 we often see played out in forensic psychiatry is that many severely mentally ill patients who have responded well to treatment fail to appreciate the reason they have come to feel “normal”—the medication they’re taking. So, believing that they’re better, they feel they should have the same rights to freedom as other people. After gaining enough trust from staff, when the opportunity arises, they might take that freedom without permission and use it for things they’ve been denied, such as an evening stroll.
In order to encourage people who need psychiatric help to get sufficient treatment, mental health professionals and advocates have been working hard to remove stigmas from mental illness. But to be convincing, it’s not always helpful to try to banish stigma from all manifestations of madness.
On the spectrum of mental illness, there’s a qualitative difference between someone with depression and someone who decapitates a Greyhound bus passenger. If our mental-health advocates want to be credible, it’s important for them to make those not-so-subtle distinctions. Indeed, most psychiatrists do and, when describing patients in private conversation, are even known to sometimes use the impolitic word “crazy.” Whenever possible, we want people to seek out treatment before they reach that stage. But there are the professional, strident activists and advocates within the mental-health industry, both among the pro- and the anti-psychiatry camps, for whom any suggestion of a gulf between the mentally ill and mentally healthy is a sacrilege.
I remember a quiet young woman from my time working at the centre. If she were sitting next to you on the subway, you’d never imagine she was a veritable Lizzie Borden out on a day pass. Years earlier, acting on instructions from voices she heard coming from a piece of furniture in her family home, she picked up an axe and tried to hack her parents to death while they slept. Following care and treatment, she hasn’t committed an act of violence since. That sort of success points to the commitment psychiatrists have to their profession.
Many people experience mental illness and never commit violence, whereas prisons are filled with vicious criminals who are completely mentally responsible for their crimes. Many people who are not considered mentally ill pose a far greater risk to the public than those who have received a diagnosis and treatment for their mental health issues.
With some balance and perspective, the public might find reassurance learning that, rather than allowing insane criminals to roam the streets, psychiatry is helping many people who need it, while making the community safer for everyone.T-ara's Eunjung expressed her excitement at becoming the MC for 'Show! Champion'.
Eunjung and f(x)'s Amber have been chosen as the new MCs for the show after Shindong and Kim Shin Young. The show was originally pre-recorded and aired on Tuesday, but starting from the 30th, the show will be changing their format to air live every Wednesday.
Eunjung has long been close with MBC because she was on 'We Got Married' and had previously MCed for 'MBC Gayo Daejaejeon'. Amber was chosen because she had shown off her characteristic brightness and wit through variety shows as well.
On her appointment as MC, Eunjung said, "This is my first time in a while since our music promotions that I'm going on the show, so I'm looking forward to it and I'm nervous. Since it's a live program, it's a little nerve-wrecking, but I'm going to work hard to excel after the first season MCs Shindong and Kim Shin Young."
Even though Eunjung will be going to Japan at the end of February to promote T-ara's album in Japan, she will be going back and forth for her MCing duties.Will multi-millionaire Stephen Cloobeck run for governor and change everything in the race?
Will the Republican-backed recall of three female state lawmakers be stopped in court?
And which direction are Nevada voters leaning, after national races this week indicated a backlash against President Trump?
Political columnist Jon Ralston, publisher of online’s Nevada Independent, joins us.
DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS:
On Stephen Cloobeck:
Stephen Cloobeck has been a long-time donor to the Democratic Party nationally and here. He used to be the head of a company called Diamond Resorts, which was timeshares and shopping centers and some other stuff that his dad started. He made the company incredibly successful and then sold it. And now he’s playing the role – very successfully – of the bored rich guy.
He’s not going to run. I don’t see him actually getting into the race. I think he’s enjoying being on MSNBC once in a while. They love him because he’s irreverent. He’ll say basically anything that comes into his head.
On the response to the Oct. 1 shooting:
The only candidate for statewide office who has talked about background checks is Adam Laxalt, who’s running for governor, who has been part of the state government’s refusal to implement what passed by the voters saying its unenforceable. The governor has agreed with him.
Support comes from
Laxalt came out after the largest mass shooting in modern American history and said the background checks initiative would not have stopped what Stephen Paddock did because presumably, he obtained his guns legally.
We’ve seen this before. It’s the same thing we’ve seen before which is ‘now is not the time to talk about gun control.’ And so, there is no real discussion. And even though the Las Vegas one was the largest one in numbers, if you weren’t going to have this discussion in some way… whether it is effective or not… but have the robust discussion after a bunch of little kids were slaughtered at Sandy Hook when are you ever going to have this discussion.
On the recall of State Senators Joyce Woodhouse, Nicole Cannizzaro, and Patricia Farley:
They just submitted the signatures for the Patty Farley recall. They already submitted ones for Joyce Woodhouse, which appear to have been just over the threshold they needed but Democrats are going to challenge the signatures.
They obviously gave up on Farley. They submitted just over 2,000 signatures to the Election Dept. today. They needed more than 7,000. So that’s done. There’s going to be no recall against Farley. That’s the least important one frankly. She’s not running for re-election. The other districts have Democratic senators and they believe they can win those recall elections.
This is going to be decided by a judge. There are going to be two different legal avenues that are going to be pursued. One has already been filed, which is a massive federal lawsuit that evokes the Voting Act and other federal issues that have nothing to do with the state Constitution, which is very permissive on recalls.
The Republicans are doing this for one reason and one reason only: They can’t take back the State Senate, which they trail 12 to 9 if you include Farley, who caucused with the Democrats. All the Democrats running next year are safe. They’ve come up with this stunt. They’ve ginned up these reasons for it. Some of which are ludicrous and others are hypocritical.
On TV reporter turned candidate Michelle Mortensen:
I think it is fairly astonishing that somebody that has been in the news business would announce her candidacy by attacking the media, which is what she did. They’re typical Republican talking points trying to go after the so-called liberal media. Apparently, she left Channel 8 because she was so disgusted with the liberal media and how they go after people. Remember she was in the media.
She probably has better name recognition, even though I had never heard of her. I don’t watch a lot of local news. She is a consumer report. There is a lot of goodwill towards consumer reporters. They help people.
The bottom line is she’s in a three-way primary with State Senator Scott Hammond and former Assemblywoman Victoria Seaman. They’re not that well known either. Although, Seaman has a conservative base. She was able to knock off a sitting assemblyman in a primary for the State Senate eventually lost in the general election in 2016.
I think there is going to be a lot of money spent in that primary. The person who is happiest is Democrat Susie Lee. She’s going to love to see them spending all that money beating each other up.
You need a moderate to win in that district. It’s a swing district. Very difficult for a far-right conservative to win in a swing district, doesn’t mean he couldn’t win in Mark Amodei’s district for instance which is heavily dominated by Republicans. But in CD 3, you would believe that a moderate would have a better chance in the general election.Two weeks after the utterly delusional Gov. Sam Brownback proclaimed in a radio interview that Kansas' experiment in supply-side economics was "working," the latest batch of numbers from the Sunflower State further put the lie to the utterly delusional governor's assertion.
State figures released Tuesday showed that tax revenue came in $11.2 million below expectations in March, the latest in a string of lower-than-expected tax receipts.
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Lawmakers must fill a $344 million revenue shortfall by June, and Brownback has moved to plug Kansas' fiscal hole by slashing education funding, gutting the state's pension fund, and cutting infrastructure. Additionally, the governor has proposed new sales taxes, which disproportionately impact the poor, in order to proceed full steam ahead with his income tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy.
While personal income tax revenue was above expectations last month, the Topeka Capital-Journal reports that revenues from oil and gas, sales, and corporate income taxes were well short of what analysts had projected, largely owing to a state economy whose performance is less robust than the Brownback administration had predicted. Given that Brownback aims to eventually eliminate income taxes, the state will depend on those other sources of revenue in the years to come.
The administration's spin is that things aren't quite as disastrous as a year ago, when Kansas began attracting national attention amid its revenue freefall. Revenue Secretary Nick Jordan rejoiced that revenue is now $40 million higher than it was at this point a year ago; his analysts, however, had forecast that it would be more than $50 million higher.
“Kansas continues to bleed revenue as is evident by this month’s numbers," Democratic House Minority Leader Tom Burroughs told the Capital-Journal. "How we resolve this issue remains unknown as the legislative session is nearly over and we haven’t seen a comprehensive balanced budget.”
Brownback's latest effort to clean up the mess his tax created came last week, as he signed an education funding bill that will reduce contributions to poor districts and cut $51 million in aid to districts overall. Prior to Brownback's most recent round of education cuts, Kansas had already imposed some of the largest cuts in the nation.
Those 423,666 votes to re-elect Brownback sure are looking great right now.Let’s finish off our discussion of how the Seattle-area real estate market may be affected next year by the changes to the tax code. In yesterday’s post we discussed the doubling of the standard deduction, and concluded that it is likely to have very little effect. Today let’s look at the other two big changes: The reduction of the mortgage interest deduction cap from $1M to $750k and the capping of local sales, income, and property tax deductions at $10k.
The limit on the maximum amount of mortgage interest that can be deducted has been reduced from a loan amount of $1M down to $750k. A home buyer would have a loan of around $750,000 if they purchased a home priced about $950,000 with a 20 percent down payment.
To get an idea of how many home buyers is the new limit is likely to affect in the Seattle area next year, I pulled down some sales stats for the last six months from Redfin. Here are the total sales of single-family, condos, and townhomes over the last six months, and the sales over $950k.
Region Total Sales Sales $950k+ Percent Seattle 7,449 1,205 16.2% King County 23,555 3,595 15.3% Snohomish County 8,700 209 2.4% Pierce County 10,900 110 1.0%
As you can see, the new limits are not likely to have much effect at all in Sonohomish and Pierce counties. Even in King County and Seattle, the vast majority of sales come in under the limit.
In order to afford a $950,000 home, your income would need to be around $180,000 at a minimum, which puts you well within the 24 percent tax bracket. The interest paid in the first year of a $750,000 30-year mortgage with a 3.9% interest rate comes to around $29,000. Any amount over that is not deductible, so the maximum tax benefit from the mortgage interest deduction is around $6,960.
Prior to this change, the limit was already $1 million. The interest paid in a year on a $1 million home comes to around $38,682, which would be a tax savings of $9,284. So the biggest difference here is a loss of up to $2,324 in tax savings for people probably earning $200,000 or more.
In other words, we’re talking about around fifteen percent of home buyers in King County paying around one percent of their income in additional taxes. Will this have some effect on the housing market? Sure, probably. But given the fact that over 90 percent of Puget Sound home buyers will be completely unaffected, I doubt the difference will be very noticeable.
Finally, let’s look at how the $10,000 limit on state income tax, sales tax, and property tax will affect us.
According to an article in today’s Seattle Times, the average taxpayer who itemized their taxes in Washington state deducts about $2,650 in sales taxes. Since we have no state income tax, that leaves $7,350 in property taxes that can be deducted before hitting the cap. With the average effective property tax rate in King County at around 1 percent, that means that anyone with a home worth more than about $735,000 will start to hit the limit. Around 28 percent of homes sold in King County in the last year (4,488 out of 15,840) sold for $750,000 or more, so it’s probably safe to assume that about a quarter of home owners in King County will bit hit by this limit.
Here’s a look at how a buyer making around $180,000 and in the 24 percent tax bracket (previously in the 28 percent bracket) would be affected by the combination of the lower mortgage interest deduction limit and the $10,000 local tax deduction limit. The table below looks at the tax savings in 2017 and 2018 from deducting mortgage interest and state sales+property taxes.
With just the standard deduction (which doubles in 2018) and personal exemptions (which go away in 2018), a married couple earning $180,000 a year would pay around $31,500 in 2017 and around $26,250 in 2018. So before we even look at the changes in the deduction limits, it’s important to keep in mind that the new tax brackets and standard deduction changes are saving them $5,250 right up front.
Home Price 2017 MID 2017 Sales+Prop. 2017 Total 2018 MID 2018 Sales+Prop. 2018 Total Difference $750,000 $6,500 $2,800 $9,300 $5,550 $2,400 $7,950 -$1,350 $1,000,000 $8,500 $3,500 $12,000 $6,960 $2,400 $9,360 -$2,640 $1,250,000 $10,750 $4,200 $14,950 $6,960 $2,400 $9,360 -$5,590 $1,500,000 $10,750 $5,000 $15,750 $6,960 $2,400 $9,360 -$6,390 $2,000,000 $10,750 $6,250 $17,000 $6,960 $2,400 $9,360 -$7,640
It’s not until a home price of around $1.25 million that the difference starts to exceed the baseline savings from the new brackets. So if our hypothetical couple buys a $2 million home, the net effect of the tax changes in 2018 will be a bump up of about $2,390 in their taxes. Again, about one percent of their income.
In short, I doubt that the changes will have much effect on Seattle-area home buyers at all. Yes, a few wealthy home buyers will see slightly higher tax bills next year, but for the vast majority of home buyers and existing home owners, the changes will have zero effect.Hillary Clinton speaks about the results of the South Carolina primary to supporters at a primary night party in Columbia, South Carolina. REUTERS/Randall Hill Hillary Clinton on Saturday scored a blowout victory over rival Bernie Sanders in the South Carolina Democratic primary on Saturday.
Clinton was on her way to beat Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont, by a very large margin in the state. With 98% of precincts reporting, Clinton had taken more than 73% of the vote.
Exit polls showed how she built her impressive victory: Clinton won big with black voters (at an even bigger clip than Barack Obama in 2008) and older voters. She also did well with less-educated voters and people who make less than $30,000 a year.
Sanders had a good showing with young people, who comprise his main voting base. But Clinton swept every county in the state.
Here are some of the notable results from exit polls, according to CNN:
Clinton did well with men as well as women. She won an overwhelming share of both the male and female vote — 68% of men and 79% of women voted for her. But women comprised a much larger share of South Carolina primary voters — 39% of voters were men, and 61% were women.
She won an overwhelming share of both the male and female vote — 68% of men and 79% of women voted for her. But women comprised a much larger share of South Carolina primary voters — 39% of voters were men, and 61% were women. Sanders won with young people — albeit by a smaller margin than in other states. Among voters between the ages of 17 and 29, 51% voted for Sanders and 46% voted for Clinton. Sanders also won big among first-time voters — 63% of first-time voters went with Sanders, while 83% of people who had voted in a primary before went with Clinton.
Among voters between the ages of 17 and 29, 51% voted for Sanders and 46% voted for Clinton. Sanders also won big among first-time voters — 63% of first-time voters went with Sanders, while 83% of people who had voted in a primary before went with Clinton. Clinton did well with older voters. Clinton won by 75% or more with voters between ages 30 and 64, and she won 89% of voters aged 65 or older.
Clinton won by 75% or more with voters between ages 30 and 64, and she won 89% of voters aged 65 or older. Clinton won big with black voters. She won 87% of the black vote — a higher percentage than what President Barack Obama won in South Carolina in 2008.
She won 87% of the black vote — a higher percentage than what President Barack Obama won in South Carolina in 2008. Clinton had strong support across all education levels, but did particularly well among less-educated voters. She won 87% of voters with a high school education or less, and 69% of voters with undergraduate or postgraduate degrees. She won 77% of voters with no college degree. Clinton and Sanders split the vote among white college graduates.
She won 87% of voters with a high school education or less, and 69% of voters with undergraduate or postgraduate degrees. She won 77% of voters with no college degree. Clinton and Sanders split the vote among white college graduates. Clinton also did well with low-income voters. She won 82% of voters who earn less than $30,000 a year. Clinton did well among other income levels, too — she won 66% of voters who earn between $50,000 and $100,000 a year, and 70% of voters who make more than $100,000.
She won 82% of voters who earn less than $30,000 a year. Clinton did well among other income levels, too — she won 66% of voters who earn between $50,000 and $100,000 a year, and 70% of voters who make more than $100,000. Clinton won across ideologies. She grabbed 70% of the vote or more from liberals, moderates, and conservatives.
She grabbed 70% of the vote or more from liberals, moderates, and conservatives. Finally, she captured voters in a category considered a big weakness. Among voters who said their top quality for a candidate was honesty and trustworthiness, she won 51% of the vote.Should I stay or should I go?
At some point in their professional careers, many female soccer players from North America debate whether to play closer to home in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) or head to Europe.
Over the past year, Europe giants such as France's Olympique Lyonnais have flexed their financial muscle to bring stars like Canada's Kadeisha Buchanan across the pond.
But just because the grass can look greener (and the money bigger) overseas, the decision isn't such a no-brainer.
Money talks
Buchanan is one of the players who chose the prestige of a European club and the chance to play in the women's Champions League over staying in North America.
After another standout season at West Virginia University, Buchanan won the 2016 MAC Hermann Trophy as the NCAA's top female soccer player. The 21-year-old defender from Brampton, Ont., was projected to be a high pick in the NWSL draft, but elected to play in Europe.
"It's more about my development than becoming the face of a franchise," says Buchanan. "Here [at Olympique Lyonnais] it's just about soccer, and if I was a franchise player [in the NWSL] it would've been more things other than soccer."
There's also the money. European clubs are usually able to outbid their NWSL counterparts for top players.
"It was a major factor," says Buchanan. "You're only in this game for about 10 to 15 more years so it's important when you retire that you are financially stable. Being from a huge family, I have to provide for myself and help my family."
John Herdman, who coaches the Canadian women's national team, understands the attraction.
"Professional football is a short career. If you can earn triple, quadruple [in Europe] what you're earning in the U.S., then people will move and that's fair game," he says. "As a coach, it's difficult to tell someone that's probably got a shelf life of 10 years, 'You can |
Here's an interesting fact: for the last five years in UK universities, foreign postgraduate students have outnumbered British ones. International student numbers have grown by 90% in the past decade while the number of homegrown students has fallen by 12% in the past three years. And this despite the best efforts of the government and the Border Agency to dissuade students from coming to the UK.
The disproportionate growth in foreign postgraduates is good news for UK universities (because overseas students pay hefty fees), but bad for the society that supports those institutions. And it looks as though the situation will get worse. Many of those who work in higher education are worried that enrolment of home postgraduates will decline even further in 2016 when students graduating with debts of £27,000 from their undergraduate degree courses ponder whether they can afford to opt for further study. The situation is further exacerbated by the Research Councils' policy of cutting grant support for UK-domiciled postgraduate students.
As usual, there's an inequality angle to this too: there are some indications that poorer UK students are becoming less likely to apply for further study because of a lack of financial support; privately educated students are 25% more likely to apply for postgraduate courses than those from state schools.
But this isn't just about money. Culture plays a role in it too. For years, educators (and some government ministers) have been agonising over the decline in the number of secondary-school pupils studying the stem (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects at A-levels. Why this should be so is a mystery. The most common explanation is that these subjects are perceived to be difficult (which they are) and therefore a bit risky for students wanting to ensure a place at a university of their choice.
But here again there's an inequality angle. The Russell Group (which comprises leading UK research universities) says: "State school pupils are significantly less likely to take separate sciences and other stem subjects, despite the fact that studying these subjects increases a student's future options. They are also far less likely to be taught stem from teachers with a degree in the subject.
For example, 80% of physics teachers in independent schools had a degree in physics, compared to only 30% of those in state schools. Just under half of all science A grades at A-level are from independent schools." So the school pipeline that feeds the undergraduate courses that eventually feed postgraduate studies is producing far fewer stem students than the country needs and a disproportionate number of them come from private schools.
Why does the decline in UK postgraduates matter? Basically because, in a knowledge-based economy, having a primary degree is a necessary but not sufficient condition for employment in some of the fastest-growing sectors. You need a master's degree and, in some cases, a PhD. So a decline in the numbers of UK students with these qualifications points towards a growing competitive disadvantage for UK plc. Especially in a political climate that seems hellbent on preventing equivalently qualified foreigners from coming to the UK to work.
The statistics for overseas postgraduate students are staggering. According to the Higher Education Statistics Agency, the data for 2011-12 (the latest I could find) show that 69% of all full-time taught postgraduate (mostly master's degrees) and 48% of full-time PhD students in UK universities were from overseas.
The vast majority of those students will return to their homelands, armed with the skills and knowledge that they have acquired in excellent UK universities and that their societies will put to good competitive use.
The strategic implications of these trends are keeping some people awake at night. One of them is Philip Greenish, the chief executive of the Royal Academy of Engineering (the body that is for the engineering profession what the Royal Society is for scientists). In a recent letter to the Financial Times he laid out the scale of the challenge.
"We need about 1.25m science, engineering and technology professionals and technicians by 2020," he wrote, "including a high proportion of engineers, to support the UK's economic recovery. However, the real problem lies predominately in the productive manufacturing and innovative technology businesses across the country that are struggling to recruit the stem talent they need. Indeed it is often the smaller companies that are experiencing the lack of stem skills more keenly, rather than the high-profile global institutions."
Why are the stem subjects important? Basically because the next surges in innovation are going to come from them. Contrary to what many people think, innovation generally doesn't come from lone geniuses brooding in laboratories, but from combining technologies that already exist or have recently evolved. A good example is the Google self-driving car, which is made possible not by some startling breakthrough in artificial intelligence but by putting together massive processing power with machine-learning software, detailed mapping and new kinds of sensor technology. The societies that will be best at harnessing this kind of combinatorial innovation will be those most richly endowed with people who understand the component sciences and technologies involved, that is, people with stem backgrounds.
Britain ought to be such a society. It's a country stuffed with talent that has traditionally punched way above its weight in the IQ stakes, especially in the stem subjects.
A single British university (Cambridge), for example, has had 90 Nobel laureates, which is more than France's tally. It would be absurd to allow a society so rich in human capital to become a laggard in the new world economy. But that's what will happen if current trends in British higher education continue.
Instead of obsessing about things such as HS2, a really far-sighted government would treat the decline in stem subjects in secondary and higher education as one of the greatest threats facing the country and act accordingly.
It would boost the status and pay of teachers in these subjects in state schools, provide massive incentives to students to study them at university (halving the tuition fees, for example) and pour resources into postgraduate studentships in strategic disciplines. It would, in other words, realise that the best way to predict the future is to invent it.10 March 2009 | wtxx
10 | Best movie I've seen in a long time
Firstly, I have not read the graphic novel. This was deliberate, since I knew there was going to be a movie, and reading any book tends to ruin the movie. I'm sure there are a whole bunch of things in the graphic novel that they left out or changed, and it's hard for those who have read it to imagine how people could understand the subtleties of the story without it. But trust me, the morally complex, multi-layered characters and plot were very well delivered by the movie alone. There was nothing that seemed like it didn't make sense or wasn't quite explained. The movie was just about perfect.
I'm surprised to hear a lot of reviews saying that this is just an action movie for teenage boys; I thought quite the opposite. There was much less action than I expected, the movie centered mostly on emotions and ideas conveyed through dialog, narration and character flashbacks. The action scenes were all fairly short, though when there was action it was delightfully innovative. There were a lot of nasty and unexpected twists like limbs snapping, guts sticking to the ceiling, bones audibly crunching... Every time something violent happened, they made it interesting and shocking rather than recreating the generic ho-hum violence of every other movie. (And there was no obligatory 30-minute-long final action scene culminating in the conclusion of the plot... oh joy! Those get so boring.) Plus, many of the scenes were rather bold for a mainstream film, and showed certain things that are normally hidden off-screen or completely avoided. The only example I feel I can give without spoiling anything is the full frontal male nudity, something that is rather conspicuously hidden in almost every Hollywood movie. This movie isn't concerned about hiding little things like that, just as it isn't concerned about hiding certain subjects that most movies wouldn't show.
This movie definitely isn't for everyone. People expecting another Dark Knight will be disappointed (or, as in my case, thrilled), as this movie is completely unique. People who want an action movie and don't want all that talking and thinking will be disappointed. But to those looking for a long, complicated, deeply moving epic that will really make them think about the very concepts of right, wrong, and heroism (and who haven't read the book, which based on other reviews seems to ruin it): Do NOT miss this movie!UNDER PRESIDENT Barack Obama’s leadership, the world finally began addressing one of the greatest challenges human beings have ever faced, a multi-generational struggle to keep the planet temperate and accommodating to human life. President Trump’s move to rip up Mr. Obama’s climate policies are beyond reckless. Children studying his presidency will ask, “How could anyone have done this?”
Climate science is complicated, but the basics are easy enough for those schoolchildren to understand. When humans burn fossil fuels, they emit heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere. Releasing vast amounts of these gases for decades changes the atmosphere’s chemistry, creating an ever-thicker blanket. The world has therefore warmed and will continue to warm; the more fossil fuels burned, the hotter the planet will get.
The human species still has time at least to moderate the trajectory. But on the course Mr. Trump set Tuesday, the prospect will be for sharp environmental disruption. Among many other things, scientists have predicted more and more intense heat waves, more volatile weather, more abrupt changes in the landscape, more destruction from invasive pests, more illness from microbes flourishing in warmer fresh water and more urban flooding. Americans alive today will saddle future generations with the costs of acting too late, when addressing the issue sooner would have been cheaper and far less destructive.
Even as climate science has steadily improved, the U.S. climate debate has descended into a partisan mess, with a once-great American political party embracing rank reality-denial. The nation has now reached an anti-intellectual nadir, elevating a man who called climate change a “hoax” to the presidency and a climate-change denier to head the Environmental Protection Agency. The country reaped the fruits of this decision Tuesday, when Mr. Trump signed an executive order to unwind Mr. Obama’s Clean Power Plan and several other important climate rules.
The practical effects will be serious though not immediate. The Trump administration will have to rewrite federal regulations, which takes time and will encounter stiff resistance from environmental groups with many lawyers. Between now and 2020, other federal policies will continue to put some downward pressure on emissions. After 2020, the absence of the plan will be felt. According to an Energy Information Agency assessment released in January, energy-related greenhouse-gas emissions would have declined significantly between 2020 and 2030 — not by enough, but it would have been a decent start. Without the plan, these emissions will stay roughly the same over that crucial decade. And, by the way, energy experts predict no coal renaissance in Appalachia, despite Mr. Trump’s campaign promises, because the economics simply do not make sense in a country awash in cheap natural gas.
The nation had a climate policy. Now it does not. If Mr. Trump has a plan that would significantly cut greenhouse emissions in a smarter way than Mr. Obama’s Clean Power Plan — indeed, a few senior Republican statesmen offered one just a few weeks back — he should propose it. Instead, the president has put the country on a know-nothing path to an endangered planet.Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called for efforts to restore calm to neighboring Afghanistan, hailing the Kabul government’s vigilance against divisive enemy plots in the region.
In a Thursday phone conversation with his Afghan counterpart Ashraf Ghani, President Rouhani expressed sorrow over the deaths of Afghan people in terrorist attacks in the country.
“Fortunately, the Afghan government has adopted prudent positions in line with maintaining unity and neutralizing the plots aimed at sowing discord in the region.”
“The Islamic Republic of Iran calls for peace, stability and sustainable security in Afghanistan and considers it in line with promotion of its own security and to the benefit of the regional peace and stability,” he added.
Rouhani underlined the need for an all-out campaign against narcotics production and trafficking, calling for extensive international cooperation to eradicate the phenomenon.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (R) and his Afghan counterpart Ashraf Ghani meet in Tehran, Iran, August 5, 2017. (Photo by AP)
The Iranian president stressed the importance of the promotion of Tehran-Kabul economic ties.
He added that the inauguration of the Port of Chabahar in southeastern Iran in the near future and connection of Iran-Afghan railway networks together and later to the International North–South Transport Corridor will enhance trade ties among the regional countries.
The North–South corridor is a 7,200-km-long multi-mode network of ship, rail, and road route which connects India, Iran, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe.
The Afghan president, for his part, underscored the importance of stronger unity among Shia and Sunni Muslims in Afghanistan and noted that Kabul will never allow the enemies to create division in his nation.
He also stressed Afghanistan’s determination to counter narcotics and called for the enhancement of relations with Iran in all areas.Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump offered an unapologetic defense of his travel ban during a joint news conference Monday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, saying the US "cannot let the wrong people in."
Trudeau, meanwhile, made clear that he holds a different view of the issue but said it was not his place to come to the US and "lecture" Trump on the controversial policy.
Both leaders, though, were careful not to critique each others' fundamentally divergent approaches, and instead sought to focus on their shared goal of improving cross-border trade.
Trump called his executive order -- now stalled in court -- "common sense," adding he would continue to fight to keep "the wrong people" out of the US, even at the risk of casting too wide a net. Trudeau, meanwhile, touted Canada's acceptance of tens of thousands of Syrian refugees and made clear he differs with Trump on the issue.
But he stated it was not his place to come to the US and "lecture" Trump on the controversial policy.
"I'm just doing what I said I would do," Trump said, referring to his hardline immigration policies.
The two leaders, who are ideologically at odds on a range of issues, played a delicate dance Monday as they sought to focus on the commonalities between their two countries, rather than the chasm between their personal philosophies and politics.
"There have been times where we have differed in our approaches and that has always been done firmly and respectfully," Trudeau said. "The last thing Canadians expect is for me to come down and lecture another country on how they choose to govern themselves."
Trudeau said he would focus on governing "in such a way that reflects Canadians' approach."
His comments came after Trump defended his action to ban citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries and put a stop to the entry of refugees into the US -- a ban that has been stalled by a federal court.
"We cannot let the wrong people in and I will not allow that to happen during this administration," Trump said. "We're going to give ourselves every bit of chance."
Both Trump and Trudeau said they hoped to continue strengthening the relationship between their two countries and both remarked on the important trading relationship the two countries share.
Referring to his pledge to renegotiate NAFTA, Trump said the two leaders would be "tweaking" their trade relationship, but he emphasized that the US's bones with the free trade deal were mostly centered on the US trading relationship with the third country in the deal: Mexico.
"It's a much less severe situation than what's taking place on the southern border," Trump said, after calling the US-Canada trading relationship "very outstanding."
Trudeau made clear that the Canadian economy is "very dependent" on its relationship with the US and sought to draw closer to Trump's populist rhetoric by noting that both men were "elected on commitments to support the middle class, to work hard for people who need a real shot at success."
JUST WATCHED Who is Justin Trudeau? Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Who is Justin Trudeau? 02:05
The remarks came after the two leaders shared their first in-person meetings together at the White House Monday, which included a roundtable discussion with women business executives -- which included Trump's daughter Ivanka -- and the launching of a joint council to advance female entrepreneurship and leadership in business.
Their first in-person meeting came amid Trump's first series of diplomatic forays, following his weekend bonding session with Japan's prime minister and just two days before the Israeli prime minister arrives at the White House.
In his previous US visits, Trudeau found a leader almost exactly aligned with his liberal worldview and youthful image. In return, then-President Barack Obama met with Trudeau often, counseling his younger ally on how to best advocate for the progressive agenda he championed.
Trudeau has arrived to a very different White House. He sought to balance the need to maintain close ties with a mandate from anxious Canadians to press Trump on his more controversial views.
The meeting is Trump's third official visit from a head of government at the White House. In his first three weeks in office, he's also welcomed the British and Japanese prime ministers, and will host Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu Wednesday.
Trump's previous bilateral sessions were marked by comity and a focus on shared priorities. But in Trudeau, Trump encountered a leader further apart from him in both age and global outlook than his previous two visitors.
Aides both in Washington and Ottawa insisted Trump and Trudeau sought to emphasize neighborly bonds during their first face-to-face meeting, but their stylistic approaches were on full view during the midday news conference.Say President George W. Bush " ‘borrowed’ $1.37 trillion of Social Security surplus revenue to pay for his tax cuts for the rich and his war in Iraq and never paid it back."
Evoke George W. Bush, his income tax cuts and the war in Iraq, and you’re sure to arouse some liberal ire. Suggest that Bush financed those projects by plundering Social Security’s retirement coffers, and you’ve got yourself a popular meme.
"Next time a Republican tells you that ‘Social Security is broke,’ remind them that Pres. Bush ‘borrowed’ $1.37 trillion of Social Security surplus revenue to pay for his tax cuts for the rich and his war in Iraq and never paid it back," reads one version of the meme, which appeared on the Facebook pages of Occupy Democrats and Americans Against the Republican Party.
A number of readers asked us to check out the claim, so we decided to take a look. The meme seems to extrapolate a point made in a 2009 newsletter post by Allen W. Smith, a professor of economics emeritus from Eastern Illinois University.
"Bush spent every dime of Social Security surplus revenue that came in during his presidency. He used it to fund his big tax cuts for the rich, and much of it was spent on wars," Smith wrote.
The meme’s claim and Smith’s argument circle back to how Social Security funds are managed. Experts say words like "borrow" and "raid" don’t really capture how the system works.
Bonds, ‘borrowing,’ and Bush
For about 50 years, Social Security was a "pay-as-you-go" system, meaning annual payroll taxes pretty much covered that year’s benefits checks. Then in 1982, President Ronald Reagan enacted a payroll tax hike to prepare for the impending surge of retiring baby boomers, and a surplus began to build.
By law, the U.S. Treasury is required to take the surplus and, in exchange, issue interest-accruing bonds to the Social Security trust funds. The Treasury, meanwhile, uses the cash to fund government expenses, though it has to repay the bonds whenever the Social Security commissioner wants to redeem them.
In this broad sense, Bush technically did "borrow" Social Security surplus to pay for the income tax cuts and the Iraq war. But even if we use this loose definition of the word, we still run into a few issues.
First, the amount of surplus Bush "borrowed" is actually around $708 billion, a little more than half of the $1.37 trillion claimed in the meme. While around $1.52 trillion in bonds was added to the trust funds from 2000 to 2008, the Treasury only has access to the cash revenue collected every year, not the interest accrued on the entire surplus.
Second, Bush didn’t exclusively spend on the war, which has an estimated cost of $1.7 trillion. Other big costs include the financial bailout in 2008.
"Since all money is green, the cash that the Treasury received from the Social Security surplus was not earmarked for any specific government program," said Andrew Eschtruth, a former Social Security research analyst at the U.S. Government Accountability Office and current spokesperson for the Center on Retirement Research at Boston College.
The larger question is whether the existence of the surplus influenced Congress’ spending decisions, but Eschew pointed out that no one can prove what was on the lawmakers’ minds.
"The idea that lawmakers consciously thought, ‘We can only go into Iraq because of the surplus’ is a stretch," he said.
Third, if we characterize the entire trust fund system as the government borrowing from Social Security, Bush is by no means the only debtor.
"That’s how the Social Security trust fund has worked ever since the program started, so there’s no point in focusing on Bush," said Andrew Biggs, an economist at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. "You could focus on pretty much any president."
That being said, some nonetheless contend that Bush’s case is unique. Smith, a self-described progressive, told us in an interview that the tax cuts wouldn’t have been possible without the surpluses funded by payroll taxes.
Maintaining payroll taxes (everyone pays the same rate) while cutting income taxes (rates are much higher for the rich) effectively streams the money from lower- and middle-income earners into the pockets of millionaires, according to Michael Hiltzik, a financial reporter with the Los Angeles Times.
"Bush was able to do whatever he wanted without raising income taxes," he said.
Replenishing the coffers
As for the claim that Bush "never paid back" what he reaped, experts told us that doesn’t really make sense.
The meme’s language implies that Bush bailed on a loan, but no one was really pressing him for repayment. During his presidency, the Social Security trust fund was still running surpluses (which stopped in 2010), enough to cover the benefits checks, and had no need to cash in their bonds (which won’t happen until 2020).
The larger question posed by critics of the trust fund system is if and how the government will provide cash for all the bonds, now totalling $2.8 trillion. These bonds are a special class of securities unique to the Social Security fund that can’t be sold. Because they’re not-marketable, some contend that they’re "worthless IOUs."
"These special-issue things, they’re all in a filing cabinet in West Virginia. That’s the entire trust fund," Smith said in an interview. "There’s no trust, and there are no funds."
Experts told us there's no question that the Treasury will repay the Social Security surplus (including what was accumulated during the Bush years) when the trust fund starts redeeming the bonds in 2020. Otherwise, says Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times, "you’d have to march 40 years worth of Treasury, Labor, Health and Human Services secretaries, Social Security commissioners, and public trustees -- Republicans and Democrats -- into prison."
To Paul Craig Roberts, the assistant Treasury secretary under Reagan, the bonds are harbingers of more tax hikes and more public borrowing to come.
Biggs said the bonds are like money that we owe ourselves. "The bonds are worthless to the taxpayer as a way of actually paying for Social Security, since those bonds must be paid off by the taxpayer," he said.
Hiltzik, though, dismisses these concerns as alarmism. He pointed out that taxpayers who would foot most of the bill for surplus repayment are those who pay higher income tax rates and who reaped the benefits of the Bush tax cuts. As for borrowing to cover the bonds, doesn’t the meme suggest that’s what the government's been doing the whole time?
"You’re not actually increasing the public debt. If you have to redeem $100 million bonds and you do it by borrowing $100 million, the net change is 0," Hiltzik said.
Our ruling
A Facebook posts says, "Bush ‘borrowed’ $1.37 trillion of Social Security surplus revenue to pay for his tax cuts for the rich and his war in Iraq and never paid it back."
By law, the Social Security surplus is converted into bonds, and the cash is used by the Treasury to pay for government expenses. If we agree that this is "borrowing," every president since 1935 has done it, to fund all sorts of things. Even if Bush "borrowed" from the surplus, the amount is more like $708 billion, and the borrowing wasn’t earmarked for a special purposes.
As for not "paying back," the bonds won’t need to be repaid until 2020.
Overall, the claim is misleading and confuses many points. So we rate it Mostly False.Is there Yiddish photography? This may seem like a simple question, but it will become knotted as I attempt to untangle its strands. The question is about the meaning of Yiddish, and specifically the methodological possibility—or advisability—of categorizing as “Yiddish” things that are not obviously so. After all, Yiddish is a language. So, can non-linguistic things—i.e. photography—be Yiddish? But here my one simple question becomes two complicated questions. First: why ask about the “Yiddishness” of photography as opposed to its “Jewishness”? And second: why ask about photography, and not also painting, or architecture, or music?
Let’s look at a picture before I begin to answer my question, which has now become two. The image reproduced here is a two-page spread from Moyshe Vorobeichic’s 1931 photo book, Yidishe gas in Vilne (The Jewish Street/Neighborhood in Vilna). Vorobeichic took the pictures in his native Vilna as part of his final project at the Bauhaus, where he studied photography under László Moholy-Nagy. They were published by the Swiss Orell Füssli Verlag as part of their popular Schaubücher (“look-books”) series. This spread is exemplary of the entire book, which contains a total of sixty-five images: a complex interplay between word and image, and between manipulated and “straight” photos.
So why Yiddish rather than Jewish? The question of the Jewishness of photography—or, in fact, any cultural product—has been often asked. The answers are by and large unsatisfactory, because they inevitably rely on one or another form of essentialism, whether ethnic, religious, or thematic.Moreover, the dangerous ends to which the search for the connection between Jewishness and art has been put is never far from mind. One thinks, for example, of Wagner’s essay “Das Judenthum in der Musik” (“Judaism in Music”).
Additionally, we talk about German and not “Lutheran” photography, so why not Yiddish, instead of Jewish? The problem is that when we talk about German (or French, or Spanish) art, say, we are talking about much more than the language. The strange alchemy of identity going back to Herder is a fusion of language, Volk (people), Geist (spirit), and eventually culture, and nation or body politic. In the context of a continental European nation/culture/Volk/language, it’s easy to avoid the problematic aspects of this discursive network, because you can simply lay the weight here or there as needed—a form of strategic essentialism, if you will. Entering the category “Yiddish” problematizes things considerably. There never was a Yiddish nation, or Volk, or state. The very idea of such Yiddish things is an artifact of century-old discourses and ideologies. Moreover this brand of Yiddish identity is uncomfortably close to equivalent notions of Jewishness: the logical outcome of Wagner’s indictment of Jewishness and culture in “Das Judenthum in der Musik” was the Nazis’ infamous Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art) exhibition, which featured a wall caption that read “deutsche Bauern—jiddisch gesehen” (German peasants seen Yiddishly). Here the pretense of a distinction between Yiddish (jiddisch) and Jewish (jüdisch) is gone—they are ciphers of each other.
With Yiddish, the one handhold that offers any stable purchase is the obvious and axiomatic essentialism, namely its root status as a language.No one would contest that. But here it is even clearer that we can’t say “Yiddish photography” the way we say “German photography”: when we say “German” photography, we don’t mean that its verb comes in second position or that it has prepositions that take both the dative and the accusative. So if Yiddish is nothing more than a language, how can its linguistic features appear in a photograph?
This, in fact, is where the specificity of photography as opposed to any other cultural medium or technology might be of help. It is by now an accepted feature of the study of photography that the particular ways in which photography makes meaning—its semiotic functioning, or even its “grammatology”—bring it closer to language than perhaps any other medium of cultural production, and thus closer to the root—or only—meaning of Yiddish. But while the scholarship has explicated at great length the meaning and functioning of the photograph as text, of the semiosis of the image, it has not, to my knowledge, addressed this matter regarding a specific language. If photography is textual, can it be a text in a given language? What might a Yiddish photograph look like? Might it look like Vorobeichic’s pair of images from the Yidishe gas in Vilne? The textuality of the images is clear: the page on the left consists of a photograph cut out in the shape of an exclamation mark—a sign bridging the oral and the written. But, even considering that punctuation is not a linguistic feature, exclamation points are not particularly Yiddish. Yet this one does, in fact, signify Yiddish, a Yiddish phrase to be precise—dos pintele yid. This phrase literally means “the point/dot of a Jew” and idiomatically refers to the essence of Jewish identity. The Jew pictured in the image on the right-hand side is stooped by the vertiginous camera angle, and perhaps also by poverty. On the facing page the same image is scaled down and cut out to form the point of the exclamation mark: the pintele yid—stooped, standing in a puddle in the middle of goles (exile)—becomes the pintele exclamation.
The problem, it seems to me, is that one could do this for any language. It happens to refer to a Yiddish idiom, but if the idiom were German or Hebrew it would still work. With that, we have run out of options. So we have an answer to the question with which I opened: there is no such thing as Yiddish photography, just as there is no German or French photography. But although such a category of photography does not exist for the purposes of scholarly work, we must recognize that it did exist (and perhaps still does) for many photographers, perhaps even including Moyshe Vorobeichic. Although comprehension of Vorobeichic’s work is not restricted to speakers of Yiddish, one layer of its interpretation is directed at them. And although Vorobeichic’s image shows a man who might or might not be a Jew and develops its joke by means of a non-Yiddish punctuation mark, the tropes it engages (e.g. the suffering of goles) and the language inhabiting it (the idiom dos pintele yid) are associated with Yiddish, the language and its speakers. And it is here, if anywhere, that Yiddish photography (or culture in general) might emerge as a viable category: not in any work of art, but in the people who produced it, read it, viewed it, bought it, sold it, exhibited it, and so on. It may be difficult (if not impossible) to identify any core characteristic of such people, except that many of them spoke Yiddish, or thought about what Yiddish is or might be, or were otherwise caught in the web surrounding the question of what is Yiddish. So what is Yiddish photography? It is photography that asks the question: What is Yiddish?Seven members of Antifa were arrested at a Portland rally yesterday, after "anti-fascist" protesters attacked police, hurling smoke bombs and projectiles at law enforcement who were there to protect the "Rally and March Against White Nationalism."
Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson had planned to hold a rally in Portland on Sunday, but moved the event to Vacouver, Washington instead, at the last minute, after the group got wind that Antifa was planning violence.
Antifa held their counter-protest against Joey's "fascism" anyway, and still got violent — only this time they attacked police and other, more peaceful, demonstrators. Police tried to confiscate as many potentially harmful items as possible before the protests, but Antifa still had plenty of surprises in store for the cops who were there to protect the marchers.
Tensions thicken at the corner of SW Salmon and 3rd @fox12oregon pic.twitter.com/qnyhf7Tru7 — Amber Diaz (@AmberDiazFOX12) September 10, 2017
Two officers were treated for minor injuries. Seven members of the black-clad Antifa group were arrested. Portland Police took to Twitter to document their tussle with protesters, and to warn peaceful protesters to vacate the area, else they might be arrested alongside their more violent colleagues.
Antifa is throwing irritant smoke and projectiles at police. — Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) September 10, 2017
Officers are reporting that photographers are being attacked by protesters. — Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) September 10, 2017
If you are a peaceful protester, leave now. If not, you are subject to arrest. (2) — Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) September 10, 2017
The mainstream media played off the incident as a "violent clash" between right-wing and left-wing protesters, creating the impression that a small group of Patriot Prayer supporters, who showed up at the Portland rally site even though the official Patriot Prayer group had moved its event, were just as violent as the Antifa protesters who attacked police.
It's not immediately clear whether the "right-wing" rabble-rousers were, indeed, white supremacists (Gibson, for his part, says he rejects the toxic ideology, as well as the alt-right in general) but what is clear is that not only were the right-wing protesters vastly outnumbered, but that police in Portland saw Antifa as the threat, not the Patriot Prayer group or its (official and unofficial) affiliates.Republican presidential candidate and former reality TV star Donald Trump was called one of the sexiest men alive by a supporter on Thursday — a label Trump apparently agrees with wholeheartedly.
Trump retweeted a post by Twitter user @HoustonWelder saying he is “one of the sexiest men on this planet” and added his own two cents: “So true!”
“@HoustonWelder: Donald Trump is one of the sexiest men on this planet. Every woman dreams of a good man who tells it like it is.” So true! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 16, 2015
An avid supporter of Trump, @HoustonWelder’s feed contains a steady stream of messages commending the presidential candidate for his wealth, directness, and pro-America rhetoric.
Trump negotiated 10 BILLION $$ for himself, obama negotiated NOTHING in 8 years. I’m voting #Trump unless you can prove I’m wrong. The End! — Houston Welder (@HoustonWelder) July 16, 2015
Trump’s a billionaire & I bet he would help me carry groceries @ the supermarket because he’s a nice guy like that. I trust him. That’s sexy — Houston Welder (@HoustonWelder) July 16, 2015
I see women understand what I’m saying. Trumps wealth is nice but it’s his intelligent nature & direct approach that makes him desirable. — Houston Welder (@HoustonWelder) July 16, 2015
Trump is known for his colorful and prolific Twitter feed. He frequently retweets complimentary posts from other users, and engages in spirited back-and-forth with critics.
This week alone, he’s started a Twitter feud with Republican political consultant and Fox host Karl Rove and asked the FBI to look into threatening tweets he said were directed at him by escaped Mexican druglord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.Firefox OS on the ZTE Open
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There was a period where it appeared that the smartphone industry would be dominated by closed products and non-free software. Android has done a lot to change that situation; it is now possible to own a hackable device that runs mostly free software. But it would be nice to have some viable alternatives, preferably even more free and more Linux-like. Among the many would-be contenders for the title of leading alternative, Firefox OS offers a special appeal. It is, after all, a Linux-based system built by an organization that has a history of looking out for the interests of its users. So when the opportunity came along to try out Firefox OS on real hardware, your editor did not hesitate for long.
The ZTE Open
The device in question is the ZTE Open, a Firefox OS handset that can be had for a mere $80. That is a low price for a smartphone, but it is consistent with Mozilla's apparent strategy of targeting the cheaper end of the market. Cheap is nice, but, as one might expect, some severe compromises had to be made to arrive at that price. The phone uses an oldish Qualcomm MSM7225A processor with only 256MB of memory. The camera offers a two-megapixel sensor, which is low by contemporary standards. Internal storage is minimal, but the phone comes with a 4GB MicroSD card.
Visually, the device is smaller than many current devices. It is also bright orange; it looks a lot like a Nexus One that has been outfitted for hunting season. The 480x320 HVGA screen is decidedly low-resolution by current standards. As one might expect, the device is often slow to respond, especially |
ically if you can't get the key character, then you probably decide you can't do a story.”
Big, headline-grabbing stories are the exception, Corvo said. As an example, the field producer pointed to a recent two-hour Dateline episode about the serial killer Andrew Cunanan — which was, no doubt, capitalizing on the buzz surrounding FX’s upcoming installment of the American Crime Story miniseries, based on the murder of fashion designer Gianni Versace, Cunanan’s last victim, in 1997. For such episodes, field producers like Gable have to work around a key character’s refusal to participate. “Of course that's like five murders in one case. It's a 20-year-old story, and there were important people along the way that we would have loved to have spoken with and they're just over it — they don't want to do it anymore. So you find other people that have the same experiences and the same responsibilities and get those people instead,” Gable said. “Stories have so many people involved that it might take you two other bookings to be able to fill that slot with a credible and appropriate person, and it can still can be done.” To finish cobbling that episode together, producers used contemporaneous footage from Dateline and NBC News and Gable enlisted Versace’s friend Hal Rubenstein, “the first person to really show Gianni Versace South Beach” by driving him around Miami’s most famous neighborhood. “Really, he was the reason Versace fell in love with South Beach, so we put Keith and Hal in the car — in a convertible, so we could see them — and had them go down that strip and point out all the key places that Versace fell in love with. I think it really takes you back into the moment of the action,” Gable said. She emphasized that Dateline doesn’t “re-create” scenes, but illustrates them: “We don't have actors or people that pretend to be doing something — but having someone take you somewhere and show you a key moment in the story I think is just great storytelling.” How has Dateline avoided the backlash against true crime productions like Serial, Making a Murderer, and The Jinx? EP Corvo told BuzzFeed News the show has dodged some criticism because of its more “traditional” and “straightforward” reporting under the NBC News banner. Moreover, while Serial and Making a Murderer have been accused of one-sided storytelling because the families of murder victims Hae Min Lee and Teresa Halbach declined to participate, most of Dateline’s stories are told “through the eyes of the friends and families of the victim,” Corvo said. “They cooperate because they have a story they want to tell, and we help them tell it. The causes and consequences of crime, more than the criminal act itself, is at the heart of Dateline.” Instead of making the accused killer the focus, Corvo said, “the search for justice for those left behind is often the driving force of our storytelling.” Still, “it's up to us to execute and tell that story in a way that reveals that in both an organic and natural way but also in a way that pays off,” Cole said. How does Dateline maintain suspense and keep the audience guessing? Dateline fans expect a payoff, which means withholding some information from viewers early on in the episode to maximize the impact of a surprise twist or gotcha moment — “something you didn't see coming at the beginning of the story that people really react to strongly online or social media,” Cole said. “People tend to look for that in a Dateline story — that there's going to be something new coming that they didn't see early on.” Though Dateline doesn’t alter or omit facts, it does rely on a certain amount of staging. The many jailhouse interviews for Dateline take place while the suspect is awaiting trial or after they are convicted, but the show doesn’t broadcast the location to viewers. Dateline’s amateur detectives have learned to study these sit-downs for “tells”: Is the defendant wearing a standard-issue tee or sweatshirt? Do they have a buzz cut or frizzy hair from cheap commissary shampoo? Is that a brick wall behind them? As Mankiewicz noted drily about prison uniforms, “If the person is wearing orange, that tends to mean something.”
NBC Correspondent Josh Mankiewicz and a sampling of his signature pocket squares.
Morrison admitted that producers will try to camouflage their surroundings to avoid spoilers: “We nudge it just a little bit sometimes. … You don’t want to know the ending before the ending happens, so we do try to minimize those prison-looking shots.” When a person has been acquitted, sometimes they shoot the interview in a nondescript locale. “If we show someone walking their dog,” for example, Mankiewicz said, “you can deduce he's not in custody.” Whether a murder suspect has been found not guilty or is still proclaiming their innocence from prison, most are happy to play along with producers’ efforts to make their wardrobe seem ambiguous and maintain suspense about the verdict. Mankiewicz said one enthusiastic exoneree even showed up for his final interview in a plain white T-shirt resembling those worn by inmates, to help throw the audience off: “He said, ‘I've seen your show — I know what's coming!’” “We’re not trying to mislead people,” Morrison said with a laugh, but “for the duration we’d just like them to hold back their knowledge until the appropriate time in the story. But it’s not something you go out of your way to do very often, for sure.” Mankiewicz regaled a rapt CrimeCon audience with one extreme exception. On one shoot, confronted with a strict prison policy and a very obvious institutional brick wall, his crew improvised a creative camouflage: On the morning of the shoot, he took a painting off the wall of his hotel room and took it to the prison, causing a few raised eyebrows as they passed their equipment through the security screening. “It was probably a crime against art, but they let it go through. I took off my blazer and gave it to him.” But Mankiewicz drew the line at his signature pocket square: “I'm not going to allow an inmate to wear my pocket square.” In another case, Mankiewicz said, his producer loaned her own scarf and earrings to an inmate at a women’s prison. “That part of what we do is fun, leading you down the road and around the corners, mimicking what the investigators do,” Mankiewicz said. Why are police so willing to reconstruct their investigation for the Dateline cameras?
NBC Police review a murder investigation in an October 2014 Dateline episode.
Turning over the pages of a case file. Reviewing the evidence. Driving to the crime scene. That’s all in a day’s work when detectives originally investigate their cases, but for Dateline, they play to the cameras. Gable pointed out that there is a huge difference between these scene shots and the cheesy reenactments that are de rigueur for pulpier true crime shows like Snapped. “If you're asking them to go break down the door of an apartment one more time, then absolutely, that is a reenactment. We would not do that. But if they're pulling out an existing file … they're just showing you a body of work, or showing you evidence … that the public can see anytime if they wanted to go ask.”
Similarly, ride-alongs “need to have a reason,” Gable said. “And some police departments are great — they love to do that with you.” But not all police departments have the budget to spare their officers for a shoot, “so you have to think of other ways to get that material,” Gable said. “Generally they trust us with the story,” Corvo said about law enforcement participation on Dateline. “They're very cooperative.” Getting the second half of the law and order equation — the prosecuting attorneys — can be a little trickier: “Some of them have policies about not really going on television about their stories. But we've been on the air for 25 years, so they know our work,” he added. “We even keep up with prosecutors and police and defense lawyers who we've covered in the past.” Also, because producers regularly attend hearings and professional conferences for prosecutors, defense attorneys, and law enforcement, “they know a lot of our folks by name, and by reputation, and so we come in as a known entity. And they either want to play ball or they don't.” Cole also thinks Dateline earns the access because “they know that we work really hard to get it right, which helps them with our trust, and when we come back they're willing to work with us.” Morrison and his colleagues have a genuine respect for people in law enforcement. “They have a really difficult job,” Morrison said. “They get awakened at very inopportune times, their family events get blown up on a regular basis, it always seems that they’re called out in the middle of the night on the very day that they’re supposed to, or the night before, that they’re supposed to be at some important event, in their child’s life.... They say that they work for the dead, they work for the victims of crime. And they take these things so personally, so to heart, that it’s very encouraging to see that kind of behavior.” What about wrongful convictions?
NBC Ryan Ferguson, who served nearly 10 years for murder based on false testimony, was profiled on Dateline before his release from prison.
Morrison acknowledges that some law enforcement interrogation tactics and overzealous prosecutors have resulted in the incarceration of innocent people. “Every once in a while, you’ll encounter a situation where somebody may have gotten a little too enthusiastic in an interview and produce a false confession or something like that,” he said. But those are rare, he insisted, and Dateline’s coverage of wrongful convictions could suggest they happen more frequently than they actually do. False convictions are unusual, Morrison said, and “therefore you tend to focus on more of them than you might otherwise.”
“And that’s the only troublesome part, because frequently prosecutors and detectives and others will work so hard to defend a conviction, even when the evidence is pretty clear it wasn’t a good conviction," Morrison said. But he believes that’s changing, with justice reform task forces charged with reexamining previous convictions. “We've covered a few of those cases, and those can be quite remarkable too.” How does Dateline use its old footage to capitalize on headline-making crimes?
NBC Dateline revisited the Steven Avery case in an episode airing Feb. 17.
When an older case makes headlines, the Dateline teams quickly dust off and supplement their own original coverage — as they did with Versace’s murder, Robert Durst’s arrest the weekend of The Jinx's finale, and the scrutiny on the Steven Avery case as a result of the 10-part Making a Murderer documentary on Netflix. “We had already done three hours on that over the years,” Corvo said about Avery’s case, “before they ever did it.” A Dateline episode might conclude with the arrest of a suspect, but it doesn't necessarily end there: Follow-up episodes might cover trials, verdicts, appeals, or even an inmate’s release from prison. “We rely on producers and reporters to track the cases that they cover, that they know might develop,” Corvo said. “We like those stories because they're actually not difficult. In a way, we already have a lot of material on them, we're familiar with it, so we generally know that story is one that's appealing to the audience. So we're happy to develop the next two chapters or something like that.” What’s it like to interview convicted killers in prison?
NBC Morrison interviews a prisoner in "After the Storm" (September 2016).
“It’s certainly an intriguing experience,” Morrison said. He recalled an unsettling prison interview with a death row inmate who was suspected of a number of other killings that remained unsolved. Dateline worked with families of the victims to finally learn the truth about what happened to their loved ones. “Here was a man who had committed a number of murders, and sitting in front of me, and discussing almost the way we’re having a discussion now, dispassionately and specifically, these truly horrific things that he did, and confessing to the murders which the family had suspected him of participating in,” Morrison said. As he shared details about the particular victims, the killer would fill in the missing pieces: “It was just the strangest thing, as if you’re having a conversation over the backyard fence with your neighbor about something mundane. And he’s talking about killing.”
“Strange things like that are what happen to you in this job,” Morrison said.
NBC Morrison tapes a stand-up shot for an episode of Dateline.In 1966, [Gene Roddenberry] introduced fully manual doors powered by a stagehand on Star Trek. The fwoosh sound of the door was later dubbed into each show, but progress marches on, and now [Alex] created his own Star Trek-style automatic doors for his house.
The build includes a ‘control panel’, and [Alex]’s door operates in three modes: Open, and stay open; Close, and stay closed; and Automatic. The control panel itself is fairly remarkable. A small puck interacts with a magnetometer underneath [Alex]’s counter. If the puck is pointed towards ‘Open’, the door stays open. If the door is pointed towards ‘Closed’, the door stays closed. If the puck isn’t near the magnetometer, the door operates in automatic mode with the help of a few IR sensors to detect someone trying to get in or out of [Alex]’s kitchen.
For the mechanical portion of the build, [Alex] used a One meter long piston with the quietest air compressor he could find. We can’t tell from the video after the break if the compressor ever kicks in, but [Alex] says it’s about the same volume as his fridge. As a small added bonus, the new automatic door does have a fwoosh sound, just like [Gene] would have wanted.Recent Submissions
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Hello, everyone. It's been a while, but I recently finished my exams and now have more time to work on the site.
Over the last few days I have been working on smaller updates aimed at improving the user experience. These include improved tags, emoji support, new submission pages, several bug fixes, and more. You can see a full list in the changelog.
I also wanted to inform everyone that I created a Discord server. In addition to channels for the chatting, the server also has an automated channel for new submissions so you can see screenshots and videos as they are approved.
Finally, I wanted to mention that May 17th was our 6th month anniversary. I have really enjoyed working on this project over the past six months and want to thank everyone who has taken the time to post on the site.
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Happy New Year!Despite only being public for a little over a month, we managed to get more than 100 submissions in 2017. The quality of the screenshots and videos submitted has been really impressive.After taking a brief hiatus from development, I plan to begin again next week and start working on a proper notifications system.I'd like to give a big thanks to everyone who has posted on the site.Looking forward to an awesome 2018!Earlier today, the Android N Developer Preview 5 dropped and brought with it a new Easter Egg, if you can call it that. At first glance, we brushed it off as being nothing more than a Nougat colored “N” set atop an emoji line-up that evoked Hodor and his name origin. If you say “No Cat” enough, you can see how that could become “Nou-gat” in the same way (SPOILER ALERT ON GAME OF THRONES) that “hold the door” became “Hodor.” Get it?
Oh, but it appears to be much deeper than that. There may be Pokemon GO-inspired happenings here.
If you enter the DP5 Easter Egg area (tapping Android 7.0 in the About Phone section until the “N” appears), tap on the “N” a few times before long-pressing, you’ll see a cat? emoji appear below. If you long-press on it again, a no entry? or “no” sign appears. As it turns out, that’s more than “No Cat” and is instead toggling on and off a new notification quick setting for…cat catching!
This is what we know for now, but we probably need your help in solving this completely.
If you go into the Easter Egg and long-press to get the cat to appear, you will then want to pull down your notification quick settings edit menu. Assuming you pulled up the cat, you should see an emoji with a cat head and the text “???? Android Easter Egg.” Move that into your list of quick settings tiles and back out of the edit screen.
Once you have done that, tap on the cat or the “Empty dish” that appears in its place. If you tap that, you’ll then see a pop-up box that offers you choices of Bits, Fish, Chicken, and Treat. Tap on any of them and they will take the place of the Empty Dish.
Confused? Probably hilariously.
We haven’t been able to catch anything yet, but our understanding is that those food items will help you lure in a feline friend. The reader who pointed out the Easter Egg said that he was prompted with a notification that said he had caught a cat, which was then listed in an Android Easter Egg UI as “Cat #196.” See below.
Also, if you long press on the quick setting tile for this Easter Egg, it opens up a similar UI to that listing his captured cat.
Unfortunately, our tasty treats haven’t been picked up yet by any cats and we have tried them all. We don’t know if it’s just a random game inside of Android that offers you no controls other than setting out a treat, if there are other actions you can perform to help you catch cats, etc. Can there even be anything more to it than just Google planting a silly cat catching game inside of the latest Developer Preview?
We don’t know! We need your help. Help us catch cats, dammit.
UPDATE 1: Here is Cat #196 from above. Apparently, you get to share your cats.
UPDATE 2: This is what it looks like when you catch a cat and receive a notification. Also, by tapping on the cat, you can then share it. Oh, and that’s a reference to “Android Neko,” aka Android Cat.
UPDATE 3: We caught our first cat! Cat #110!
As you catch cats, which happens by putting treats out for them in your quick settings tiles, you receive a notification telling you that you have done so. After tapping on that notification, you will be taken to the UI you are seeing below that lists out your captured cats. You can tap on each cat to rename them or long-press to either share or remove them. If you choose to share them, a big 512×512 image of the cat will be created and save to your phone for sharing. How fun.
UPDATE 4: As some have noted, this could also just be a play on Neko Atsume, a kitty collector game. I have no idea what that is, hence the comparison to another popular collector game of the moment. But hey, Neko Atsume makes a lot of sense too!
We’ll continue to update this post.
Cheers Brian!Participants at the VHP’s Virat Hindu Mahasabha in New Delhi on Sunday. (Express photo by Amit Mehra )
BJP leader Subramanian Swamy said that a Hindu majority is a requisite for maintaining “democracy” and “secularism”. He said that the BJP-led Modi government must take up the issue of temple-mosque disputes saying, “who says a mosque can’t be demolished”.
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Swamy was speaking at the Virat Hindu Mahasabha to mark the VHP’s golden jubilee. Initially intended to be a show of strength, organisers prepared the compound at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi to accommodate around one lakh people. But the VHP said that the rain throughout the day played a spoiler, with many people leaving the venue before the event finished.
Swamy advocated the need for a Hindu majority and said that the population of Hindus must remain above 80% of the country’s total population at all times. “When there is a Hindu majority — democracy and secularism reign. Whenever Muslims are in majority — whether it’s the Kashmir ghati or Malappuram in Kerala – there is no democracy or secularism. Hindus are in danger in such places,” he said.
[related-post]
He specified three temple-mosque disputes that the BJP-led Modi government must look into — the Ram Janmabhoomi and Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, the Kashi Vishwanath temple and Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi and Krishna Janmabhoomi and Shahi Idgah mosque in Mathura.
“Who says mosques can’t be demolished? In Saudi Arabia, they do it for the construction of roads or schools. We can do it here. Our government should give notice to those in Mathura and let them know that this is Krishna Janmabhoomi,” Swamy said.
Speaking at the event, VHP’s international working president Pravin Togadia said Congress president Sonia Gandhi and SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav should ensure passage of a Bill in Parliament to prevent religious conversions. “Are they against conversions or are they against Hindus? There is nothing wrong with ‘ghar wapsi’. Let there be no conversions, but say yes to ‘ghar wapsi’,” he said addressing the gathering.
Togadia claimed that Hindus weren’t safe in India and warned that states like West Bengal, Assam and Kerala would soon be “devoid” of Hindus. Togadia also slammed US President Barack Obama for his recent “religious intolerance” remarks, without naming him. “We don’t need sermons from those who failed to prevent an attack on a Hindu temple in their country,” he said.
RSS reiterates call for law against conversions
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New Delhi: Amid the raging row over Mohan Bhagwat’s remarks on Mother Teresa, RSS Sunday reiterated its demand for an anti-conversion law to check the “rising incidents” of religious conversions in the country. Suhasrao Hiremath, the Akhil Bharatiya Saha Seva Pramukh of RSS said: “We have nothing against people who convert voluntarily. But considering rising incidents of such conversions, government should enact a law,” he said. (PTI)U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen insisted yesterday she doesn’t plan to follow the Elizabeth Warren playbook for beating Scott Brown, but experts say she took a page from it in the fledgling Granite State Senate fight, slamming the Republican prospect as a corporate “apologist” — echoing some of Warren’s favorite attacks.
Shaheen told reporters after a University of New Hampshire Law School event yesterday that she’s not yet thinking of whether she’ll bring Warren, the party’s progressive darling, on the campaign trail with her, and indicated she’ll chart her own course apart from tactics the Massachusetts Democrat used in her 2012 Senate victory over Brown.
“I think New Hampshire is different than Massachusetts,” Shaheen said. “We’re the live-free-or-die state. We are independent, we have different issues that have been important here. I intend to talk about what’s important to New Hampshire.”
But when asked what are the biggest differences between her and Brown, who announced last week he’s exploring a run against New Hampshire’s senior senator, Shaheen went straight to Warren’s tried-and-true Brown jabs.
“What we saw in his time in Washington is that he was an apologist for Wall Street. … He was an apologist for the oil and gas industry,” Shaheen said, adding that Brown took “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in campaign donations from those popular Democratic whipping boys.
UNH political science professor Dante Scala said it’s part of an expected Shaheen strategy: to “meld” Warren’s winning hits with her own attacks on Brown as a carpetbagger.
“I don’t think anybody is going to mistake her for Elizabeth Warren,” Scala said. “Her biggest worry is to energize the Democratic base in New Hampshire. This was a huge problem four years ago. Republicans turned out, Democrats did not.”
A solution to that could be bringing in Warren to rally donors and activists, experts say. Warren, for her part, sent out an email last week after Brown made his intentions official, urging her supporters to get behind Shaheen.
Harvard professor Marty Linsky said, “In some ways, the more she takes from the Warren playbook the better it is for Brown because his strategy is to push her as far to the left as possible.”
But expect Shaheen’s hits to keep coming.
“She’s historically run very negative, hard-hitting campaigns,” said Andy Smith of the UNH Survey Center.
“She will use whatever she thinks is best from Elizabeth Warren’s campaign and use those attacks on Brown here.”Posted by coltsindianapolis on December 14, 2013 – 8:52 am
The Indianapolis Colts today elevated wide receiver Griff Whalen from the practice squad to the active roster and waived cornerback Jalil Brown.
Whalen has played in six games for the Colts this season, catching nine passes for 102 yards. He was originally signed by the Colts as an undrafted free agent on April 30, 2012 and was signed to the practice squad on October 2, 2013. Whalen was elevated to the active roster on October 28 and waived on November 19. He was then signed back to the practice squad on November 21.
Brown was signed by the Colts as a free agent on October 22, 2013. He played in five games this season and made two solo tackles and one special teams stop. For his career, Brown has appeared in 34 games (two starts), totaling 26 tackles (24 solo), two passes defensed, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and 14 special teams tackles.
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Posted in Colts BlogESSAM AL-SUDANI / AFP / Getty Images An Iraqi labourer works at an oil refinery in the southern town Nasiriyah on December 14, 2009.
Related A Brief History of BP
Iraq has a dream: it wants to be bigger than Saudi Arabia. In seven years, Baghdad envisions itself overtaking its neighbor to the south as the world's largest petroleum producer. That means Baghdad must ramp up output from the current 2.4 million barrels per day to more than 12.5 million. To do that, it is seeking billions in investment from foreign oil companies among them BP, the British company fighting to contain an oil spill in another gulf halfway across the globe.
To help promote the cause, the U.S. government organized a field trip last week to the deserts of southern Iraq, where the landmines of 20th century wars are being cleared and massive modern rigs are being brought in. This is the region that produces 80% of the country's oil. Major General Vincent Brooks, commander of U.S. forces in southern Iraq, towered over dozens of fellow visitors on a recent dusty morning in the Rumaila oil field in Iraq's oil capital Basra province. With U.S. Ambassador Christopher Hill nearby, Brooks chatted up the president of Iraq operations for BP. In November BP signed a contract along with Chinese partners to develop the field. Rumaila was first drilled by BP a half century ago, but the company, along with other foreign oil companies, was kicked out in the 1970s when Iraq nationalized its oil sector. (See a video of the road to Basra.)
BP, like many major oil companies, has been providing training for free to Iraq since 2003. Now, with a contract signed to develop the country's largest field, the company has opened an office within the British consulate on the U.S. base in Basra and is preparing to open a full-fledged work camp at the Rumaila field itself. (See where Iraq and Iran meet uneasily.)
Other companies who were on the field trip included Shell and Italy's Eni, as well as representatives of the British, Japanese, Italian and Dutch governments. The tour caught up with a rig in Rumaila as giant drill bits were being packed up, having days earlier hit the pay zone: oil untouched for millions of years ready to be brought to surface. Iraq boasts the world's third largest proven reserves, with many more to be found, if foreign oil companies pour in money.
As the U.S. continues its troop withdrawal, it is using its remaining days to ensure that Iraq's only cash crop maintains enough growth to help sustain the country. "Is it the only thing that's important? Of course not," said Hill. "They need infrastructure, they need electricity, they need agriculture. But this would give the country the means to deal with these other issues. That's why there should be this added focus on making sure this happens."
Oil earned Iraq $39 billion last year and $20 billion so far this year 95% of state revenue. It is still not enough, however, to cover the country's basic budget needs. But it is the only real resource the country has to sell at the moment. "One should never talk about any one thing being the savior of anything," said U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Christopher Hill. But, he adds, "if you do the math, you can see [oil] is a complete game changer for Iraq in terms of its national income."
The Oil Ministry has just signed its 11th contract with international oil companies since November; the companies include BP, Shell, Eni, Exxon Mobil, Chinese National Petroleum Corp., and Russia's Gazprom. It is now getting ready to auction three natural gas fields to the highest bidder in September. All of this bolsters the need for improved security in a country still struggling to form a government after the disputed March elections. "There is a need for sufficient security so that economic development can take root. Once it does, it creates security" via jobs and added revenues, said Brooks.
There are numerous technical and political obstacles in the way. Recent closed door meetings on a U.S. base in Basra involving officials from foreign governments, oil firms and Iraqi state oil and private business companies highlighted issues such as inadequate entry points for massive oil industry cargo, inconsistent customs procedures, and the inability for non-Iraqi experts and laborers to get work visas. Meanwhile, OPEC members, led by rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, will soon demand Iraq rejoin the quota system that helps the cartel manage the price of oil. Iraq has been absent from OPEC for 30 years due to wars and sanctions. At the same time, Iraqi nationalists are wary of too strong a foreign presence, and the possibility that the oil efforts will take funding away from other crucial sectors of the economy and social programs. There are estimates that more than $50 billion is needed to repair and expand the oil infrastructure to support the government's envisioned oil boom money that could otherwise be used for electricity, housing, hospitals and sewage.
Nationalists are also wary that the oil blessing may also be a curse if the benefits do not trickle down to the people of Iraq. They point to Nigeria, where oil deals benefit everyone but the average citizen, foreign investment is sabotaged and workers kidnapped.Researchers in British Columbia say they've found empirical evidence linking immigration to real estate prices for the first time.
A study spearheaded by business professor Andrey Pavlov of Simon Fraser University looked at a now-defunct federal program designed to entice investor immigrants to Canada and the impact its suspension had on the housing market in neighbourhoods popular with newcomers.
Communities favoured by Chinese immigrants in Vancouver saw a drop in housing prices over about a year relative to the overall housing market after the termination of the Canadian Immigrant Investment Program in 2014, Prof. Pavlov said.
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"This is as good evidence as we can get on the impact of foreign ownership on the real estate market. And the conclusion is: yes, there is an impact," Prof. Pavlov said in an interview.
"It's sort of intuitive and common sense, but in my view up until now we have not had direct evidence that this is the case."
Housing affordability is a hot topic across the Lower Mainland as its notoriously overheated real estate market continues to surge, pushing the average price of a single-detached home in Vancouver to $1.5-million.
While the study zeroed in on spending made by new arrivals to Canada, Prof. Pavlov argued foreign investment has the same impact, despite the difficulty in separating the two for research purposes.
"People and money tend to go together when it comes to real estate," Prof. Pavlov said. "So I don't know if it matters all that much whether we can or cannot say which one it is."
Tsur Somerville, a business professor at the University of British Columbia who collaborated on the study, was more hesitant about treating foreign money and immigrant investment as one and the same.
"The foreign capital is by connection. We're looking at immigrants who have wealth. So therefore they come with capital. But it's not foreign capital separate from immigrants," he said.
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"Since we don't really actually measure the foreign money, it's kind of really hard to test that."
Still, Prof. Somerville said the argument that the two can be treated similarly is bolstered by the fact that higher-end neighbourhoods were more affected by the cancellation of the federal immigration program than lower-end areas.
"That, I think, is consistent with this [foreign] capital story rather than just people."
Another conclusion from the study is that the so-called spillover effect of foreign investment, that housing-price changes in areas popular with immigrants bleed into surrounding communities, isn't necessarily as big as people have speculated, he added.
Prof. Somerville described the study as "a very small piece of a large puzzle."BlackBerry pulled a surprise move this morning when it announced that it’s purchasing mobile device management vendor Good Technology for $425 million in cash.
It signals that BlackBerry, which has lost most of its worldwide handset marketshare, is shifting its focus by expanding its mobile enterprise security platform.
In a way, this shift makes sense, as BlackBerry has always been about delivering secure mobile solutions. It’s easy to forget now that BlackBerry was once the undisputed leader in enterprise mobility, but when Apple and Android came along, BlackBerry quickly lost its dominant position.
To give you a sense of how far it has fallen, according to comScore, in September, 2009 BlackBerry led US mobile marketshare with more than 42 percent. In the most recent report from July, it had plunged to 1.5 percent. Clearly, it’s not going to be a player in the handset market.
Although it may seem like this move comes out of the blue, in a company blog post, BlackBerry COO Marty Beard said it was really just a logical extension of BlackBerry’s existing strategy to expand into enterprise mobility across platforms.
“But when you look more closely, you see that we share a common heritage in security and our strengths complement each other incredibly well,” Beard wrote.
CEO John Chen said in a press conference that the two companies fit well together, especially given that Good’s strength is in iOS, where BlackBerry is not as strong.
Chen also pointed out that the company wants to switch to a subscription business, and the vast majority of Good’s revenue comes from subscriptions, giving Blackberry an existing platform to make this transition.
He indicated that the purchase was part of a broader acquisitions strategy as it tries pivoting to an enterprise mobile security platform. BlackBerry bought German voice encryption firm Secusmart last year. It snagged WatchDox, an enterprise file security company, back in April.
Good Technology target="_blank" href="http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1089196/000119312514198867/d520327ds1.htm"> filed an S1 in May of 2014, but it never pulled the trigger on the IPO. There were rumors of layoffs and the S1 shows substantial debt of over $24 million.
R Ray Wang, founder at Constellation Research, says that while that debt ultimately hurt the company, it has some of the “best enterprise mobility management” products on the market.
It’s not just a pure mobility play, however as both companies have also begun focusing on Internet of Things technology.
Wang said that this was a smart move for BlackBerry, enabling it go cross-platform into iOS and Android. “The result is a powerhouse EMM offering with 70+ security certificates, but the real gold here is the ability to get to a platform to support Internet of Things,” he said.
But one industry insider saw it differently with two struggling companies that might just work better together. “These are both embattled firms that are trying to stay relevant in this day and age of mobile management,” the insider said.
Overall, this looks like it could be a good deal for both companies, giving Good Technologies a soft landing without having to risk the dangers of IPOing in an increasingly hostile market, while filling out BlackBerry’s growing security platform without putting out a huge amount of cash.Sensors, cognitive computing and robots — how will the technological innovations taking place rapidly all around us also change one of the most intimate human behaviors?
Sex bots have been a science fiction staple since the genre began. But could realistic robotic sex dolls ever be a real thing?
They already are, and it’s not just robots that are infiltrating this market; several kinds of new technology are changing the landscape, and perhaps even our behaviors.
Smart sex toys
Berkley-based Lioness is producing a sex toy for women that not only provide a pleasurable experience, but also allow the woman to learn more about her sexuality and physical body.
The product has five built-in sensors that connect to a smartphone app and measure user’s individual muscle responses, body temperatures, and other physical factors to make suggestions about the best way to use the device based on individual and aggregate (private!) data. It lets users discover patterns in both their sex drive and experiences which can be correlated to conditions like time of day, mood, menstrual cycles, and stress levels.
The startup, which is almost entirely women run, is focused on problem |
the Internet. It is your site. However, I won’t be linking to you unless you have some kind of emotional awakening about the harm caused by pornography to the male (and female) psyche. Not likely, I know, but drop me a line if that happens. And good luck finding another long-term romantic relationship. That is not a bitchy statement; I am being sincere.
Take care, waiter. I am sorry to not help another server, but my gut churned over this one. I just can’t do it.
-idespisemyjob
Oh boy. Someone’s running low on Prozac.
Jen, whatever opinions you have about pornography are yours and that’s ok. Mentioning, however, you are an attractive woman in your email makes me suspect you harbor an inflated opinion about your own appearance. Those secure in their self image don’t need to flaunt it.
You are a really pissed off chick. The crack about my love life was gratuitous and cruel. You not only despise your job – you probably despise yourself. Get some therapy or ask the doctor to increase the dosage. Hey – I’m just being sincere.
Hey if you like my site you like it. If you don’t you don’t. I will keep the link for idespisemyjob.com up. Why?
‘Cause I’m not an asshole.
Now I feel better.A couple of days ago, an article appeared in Bloomberg that was so misinformed, so short-sighted, so petty, so ignorant, and so utterly ridiculous that to let it go unchallenged would be irresponsible.
The article came from Manuela Hoelterhoff, the Pulitzer Prize-winning executive editor for Bloomberg Muse and author of Cinderella & Company: Backstage at the Opera With Cecilia Bartoli. Clearly, a capable and decorated writer who has been in the business for many years and deserves respect from this lowly radio host.
HOWEVER…
Earlier this week, Hoelterhoff decided to take on the labor dispute at the San Francisco Symphony. She proceeded to rail against the SFS musicians for “sulking,” saying they “have stopped working because they don’t like doing what they are meant to be doing.” As if a labor stoppage is ever about enjoying one’s job.
“What do we want?”
“A more enjoyable way to pass the time between paychecks!”
“When do we want it?”
“Now!”
But this is only a simple misunderstanding of intent. The musicians of the San Francisco Symphony have clearly stated fair wages are the primary purpose for the strike. It has nothing to do with how much they enjoy playing classical music.
Hoelterhoff errs even further, though, when inelegantly brings herself into the story.
“That a bassoonist could actually make a nice living playing oompah-oompah is thrilling to know. I begrudge bassoonists nothing. Long ago, I played second bassoon in the Nyack High School Band. That I might wish to continue playing oompah-oompah filled my parents with dread (so here I am in another endangered profession).”
With all due respect, the comparison between playing second bassoon in a high school band and in a world-class orchestra is about the equivalent of saying, “I once drove the bumper cars at a carnival; therefore I fully understand what it takes to be a champion at Le Mans.”
Hoelterhoff declares that “running an orchestra is actually a tough job.” She is correct. I have immense respect for the great orchestra CEOs of the world–chief among them, the LA Phil‘s Deborah Borda, who I know quite well and about whom I cannot say enough positive things. In the very next breath, Hoelterhoff goes on to level her biggest insult yet to professional musicians. She says, unlike musicians, “[Orchestra CEOs] don’t just rehearse, play and go home.” Again, this is a fundamental misunderstanding of what it takes to be an orchestral musician.
One reason Borda and her predecessor–Ernest Fleischmann, who I was also fortunate to get to know before he passed away in 2010–presided over more than 40 years of labor peace at the LA Phil, is they recognized the contribution of their orchestra’s musicians to the ultimate artistic and box office success. Treat your musicians well: you will attract the best and they will commit to making your organization a success.
The San Francsico Symphony has done this…and they’ve been rewarded with Grammy Awards, a huge endowment (2nd-largest of any American orchestra), and considerable cachet on the world stage. The average salary of a musician in the San Francisco Symphony is $165,000. They are the third-highest paid orchestra in the United States, behind Chicago and the LA Phil. Certainly, $165k is a paycheck most of us would thrilled to see come our way each year. (As a public radio lifer, I’ll never see that kind of scratch.)
But did most of us begin training for our vocation as a five or six-year-old, like most top-level musicians did? Have we been slaving away in practice rooms several hours a day for decades? Do we have thousands of people scrutinizing every minute detail of how we do our job day in and day out, offering up snap opinions over a glass of bubbly at intermission? Do we have to pay six-figure sums just to obtain the materials necessary to do our jobs? Do we have multiple media outlets critiquing the articulation of our sixteenth-note runs, the intonation of that high b-flat, or whether or not we were in exact ensemble with the cello section on that passage in the slow movement? Is our professional benchmark perfection? When we achieve perfection, but fall short of transcendence, are people disappointed?
Oompah-oompah, this is not.
(Aside: further education about the artistry involved in great bassoon playing can be found here, courtesy of SF Sym principal bassoonist, Stephen Paulson.)
The San Francisco Symphony is one of the top orchestras in the world. Their musicians are some of the best in the world. Management admits as much:
“The performance of classical music at the highest level of excellence demands a lifetime commitment. The pursuit of perfection in performance requires extraordinary emotional fortitude, physical stamina, and tremendous innate talent.”
So, when Hoelterhoff suggests there are plenty of musicians–recent Juilliard grads, she says–who could fill the roles of the current SF Symphony musicians with no artistic depreciation, she betrays an ignorance of what it takes to be a great artist. Quite simply, there is not a world-class orchestra out there just waiting to be created.
(Remember the replacement refs?)
Juilliard, by the way, costs about $55,000 a year. Roughly the same as medical school. Multiply that by four years (Bachelor of Music), six years (Master of Music), or eight years (Doctor of Musical Arts) and it means you have young musicians graduating into the job market with hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loan debt.
We pay our recent medical school grads six-figure salaries straight out of residency. But the route from conservatory to top-tier orchestra generally runs through a regional per-service or part-time orchestra. A place like the Tuscon Symphony, where salaries are about $17,000 a year–or about $93 per concert.
Even in full-time orchestras, wages aren’t much better. The principal bassoonist of the Louisiana Philharmonic in New Orleans makes slightly more than $25,000 a year. The Alabama Symphony musicians make $39,485.90 per year. Base pay in the Buffalo Philharmonic is $43,134. Management of the Minnesota Orchestra wants to cut their salary by 34%. (Source.)
Part of the problem facing musicians is their skill set is so highly specialized From a management perspective, then, why not just cut pay? It’s not like there are that many principal bassoon jobs out there. Where are they going to go?
But that’s precisely why these musicians deserve a fair wage. Out of 313 million people in this country, they are literally one of probably 100 people who can do this job. They’ve been training their entire lives to do it. These musicians uniquely possess the talent, the artistry, and the dedication to skillfully and movingly execute the intricacies of the music of Mozart, Stravinsky, and John Adams. They deserve to be paid like the superstars they are.
They do not deserve public ridicule at the hands of a misinformed writer.
[Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly listed the Louisiana Philharmonic as a per-service orchestra.]
AdvertisementsGUWAHATI: Seven outfits of Assam, Manipur and Meghalaya, who proclaim themselves as pro-China, have jointly called for a boycott of the Independence Day celebration. They said India’s plans to celebrate the 70th Independence Day in a grand way is a sign of nervousness due to the standoff with China at Doklam.The NSCN (K), which has been leading the umbrella of NE outfits have this time given the boycott call separately last week.The joint call has been given by anti-talk Ulfa(I) and United People’s Liberation Army from Assam, Coordination Committee (CorCom), the conglomerate of four outfits of Manipur, and Garo National Liberation Army of Meghalaya.“This year, India under the premiership of Mr. Narendra Modi who boasted that he confronts the world “Eye to Eye”, is getting ready for the 70th Independence Day Celebration with a grand display of its’ military power and hardware, perhaps attempting to outdo the Chinese PLA's 90th Anniversary Celebration on 30 July 2017 which was indeed very impressive. Or Perhaps, it is also a sign of nervousness or apprehension of the Indian government at the border fracas at Drok La or Drong Lam, the tri junction of our close international border with China; and hence to hide the same,” the joint statement sent to TOI said.They added, “India’s policy towards neighbour China is now wide open as the facts of the Drong Lam (Drok La) impasse is vivisected by the experts exposing her weakness and helplessness of the situation to the full view of the world to see.”They also slammed the NDA government saying that it is working to “saffronise the region with its’ slogan of “One Country, One people, One culture”WASHINGTON -- More than one-third of the nation's highest-paid CEOs from the past two decades led companies that were subsidized by American taxpayers, according to a report released Wednesday by the Institute for Policy Studies, a liberal think tank.
"Financial bailouts offer just one example of how a significant number of America's CEO pay leaders owe much of their good fortune to America's taxpayers," reads the report. "Government contracts offer another."
IPS has been publishing annual reports on executive compensation since 1993, tracking the 25 highest-paid CEOs each year and analyzing trends in payouts. Of the 500 total company listings, 103 were banks that received government bailouts under the Troubled Asset Relief Program, while another 62 were among the nation's most prolific government contractors.
Many of the companies appeared multiple times on the annual top 25 list, with Bank of America appearing 18 times, Citigroup appearing 15 times, while Morgan Stanley and American Express each secured 12 slots. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has landed on the list twice since the bank received $10 billion under TARP, and American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault has appeared three times since his company accepted $3.4 billion in bailout money. Goldman Sachs received $10 billion under TARP, and made the list seven times in the past two decades, once after receiving its bailout. Washington Mutual and Lehman Brothers, both of which failed in 2008, also appeared on the list, with Leman making eight appearances before filing for bankruptcy.
Banks piled on financial risk in the years leading up to the banking crash, fueling record profits from their investments. Those high profits translated into strong "performance-based" bonuses and stock compensation. But when the risk backfired in 2008, companies either collapsed or were rescued by taxpayers.
Citigroup, Goldman, American Express and JPMorgan declined to comment for this article. Morgan Stanley emphasized that the company has not appeared on the list of the 25 highest-paid CEOs since receiving TARP money. Wells Fargo told HuffPost that its CEO pay packages were necessary to retain top talent; the bank received $25 billion from TARP.
"We take a disciplined approach for determining compensation based on four principles: pay for performance, promote a culture of risk management that avoids unnecessary or excessive risk taking, attract and retain highly qualified executives with competitive pay, and align executives' interests with those of stockholders," Wells Fargo spokesman Michael McCoy said.
"Sky-high CEO pay purportedly reflects the superior value that elite chief executives add to their enterprises and the broader U.S. economy," IPS wrote. "But our analysis reveals widespread poor performance within America's elite CEO circles. Chief executives performing poorly -- and blatantly so -- have consistently populated the ranks of our nation's top-paid CEOs over the last two decades."
About 12 percent of the 500 CEOs listed comprised executives who ran firms that did extensive business with the federal government. IBM landed on the top CEO pay list 11 times, securing about $11 billion in total government contracts during those years, while General Electric appeared on the annual list eight times, with $16.5 billion in contracts. GE also has a large banking wing, which issued more than $70 billion in debt guaranteed by the federal government at the height of the financial crisis, making it one of the biggest beneficiaries of the bank rescue.
"Approximately 4 percent of GE's annual revenues come from sales to the U.S. government, primarily work to support the U.S. military," GE spokesman Seth Martin told HuffPost. Martin emphasized that none of its government-backed debt defaulted, and that the company paid taxpayers $2.3 billion in guarantee fees as part of the program.
Major government contractor United Technologies has appeared on the annual highest-paid CEO list six times, bringing in $32.8 billion in government business, while Lockheed Martin has scored five appearances, generating a total of $125 billion from government contracts from those years.
"Competitive executive compensation is critical to attracting and retaining key talent. The objective of our compensation program is to align pay to performance," said a Lockheed Martin spokesperson. "The program is designed to provide employees with a competitive compensation package that rewards performance against specific identified financial, strategic, and operational goals that the compensation committee and the board believe are critical to the corporation's long-term success and the achievement of sustainable long-term total return to our stockholders."
Executive pay has steadily increased relative to average worker pay for several decades, but has exploded since 1993. That year, CEOs of companies in the S&P 500 Index made an average of 195 times as much their average worker. By 2012, that ratio had ballooned to 354 to 1.
Even corporations that do not do business with the government or receive bailouts receive subsidies for CEO pay. All companies are currently able to deduct unlimited amounts in CEO pay from their federal tax bills, so long as the pay takes the form of "performance-based" compensation such as bonuses or stock payments.
The 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform bill required all corporations to disclose more information about executive pay, and publish a simple ratio comparing the pay of a company's CEO to the pay of its average worker. The bill also directed regulators to bar any pay scheme that "encourages inappropriate risk." Regulators have not finalized those rules in the ensuing three years since the bill's passage.From the Rio Grande to Cape Horn, nothing unites Latin America like the threat of U.S. military intervention.
Washington's past support for dictatorships in Argentina, Brazil and Chile in the 1960s and 1970s ushered in one of the darkest periods of the continent's recent history. Now President Donald Trump's talk of a "possible military option" for Venezuela has gifted President Nicolas Maduro the opportunity to pose as the continent's pre-eminent anti-imperialist.
"Trump out of Latin America," read the banner carried by Maduro during a recent appearance on state TV.
Even America's strongest ally in the region is unhappy. Standing alongside Mike Pence on Sunday at the start of his visit to the region, Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos said the U.S. should never consider military action in Venezuela or anywhere else in Latin America.
It doesn't matter that Trump's threat baffled observers at home and abroad and was quietly walked back by the Pentagon. What matters for Venezuela and its suffering people is that Trump has now made it harder for America's allies to isolate Maduro.
And he has strengthened the position of a leader who looks more and more like a dictator.WASHINGTON — The war authorization that Congress passed after 9/11 will be needed for at least 10 to 20 more years, and can be used to put the United States military on the ground anywhere, from Syria to the Congo to Boston, military officials argued Thursday.
The revelations came during a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee and surprised even experts in America’s use of force stemming from the terrorist attacks in 2001.
“This is the most astounding and most astoundingly disturbing hearing that I’ve been to since I’ve been here. You guys have essentially rewritten the Constitution today,” Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) told four senior U.S. military officials who testified about the 2001 Authorization to Use Military Force and what it allows the White House to do.
King and others were stunned by answers to specific questions about where President Barack Obama could use force under the key provision of the AUMF — a 60-word paragraph that targeted those responsible for the 9/11 attacks.
“I learned more in this hearing about the scope of the AUMF than in all of my study in the last four or five years,” said Harvard Law professor Jack Goldsmith, who was called by the committee to offer independent comments on the issue. “I thought I knew what the application [of the AUMF] meant, but I’m less confident now,” he added later.
Concerns emerged largely from questions by senators who approve of an aggressive strategy to combat terrorism, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who asked if the AUMF gave Obama the authority to put “boots on the ground” in Yemen or the Congo.
Robert Taylor, the acting general counsel for the Department of Defense said yes, as long as the purpose was targeting a group associated with al Qaeda that intended to harm the United States or its coalition partners.
“Would you agree with me, the battlefield is anywhere the enemy chooses to make it?” asked Graham.
“Yes sir, from Boston to FATA [Pakistan’s federally administered tribal areas],” answered Michael Sheehan, the assistant secretary of defense who oversees special operations.
Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) later raised the specter of the AUMF being used to intervene in Syria, where the group Al Nusra, believed to be affiliated with Al Qaeda, is active. Al Nusra has not been linked to 9/11.
Sheehan said yes, if defense officials determined the group was becoming a threat. The same criteria applied to other groups, even if they were locally focused and operating in other nations. Taylor confirmed that AUMF also would cover individuals, even those who had not been born by 9/11, if, as Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) asked, they someday were to “become associated with a group that associates with Al Qaeda.”
When asked about an expiration date for the war authorization, Sheehan said it would be when al Qaeda had been consigned to the “ash heap of history.” “I think it’s at least 10 to 20 years.”
While none of the senators suggested dialing back efforts to stop terrorists, they were clearly disturbed at the power being asserted by the military.
“I’m just a little old lawyer from Brunswick, Maine, but I don’t see how you can possibly read this to be in comport with the Constitution,” King said, arguing that the defense officials’ interpretation of the AUMF makes the war power of Congress “a nullity.” “Under your reading, we’ve granted unbelievable powers to the president and it’s a very dangerous precedent.”
Kaine found the suggestion that the AUMF could be used to go into Syria especially disturbing. “The testimony I hear today suggests the administration believes that they would have the authority to do that,” Kaine said. “But I don’t want us to walk out of the room leaving an impression that members of Congress also share the understanding that that would be acceptable.”
The DOD officials repeatedly defended the authority they’ve claimed, noting that al Qaeda is not a traditional enemy, and that it shifts locations and changes its tactics. The broad interpretation of the AUMF, they argued, gives them the flexibility to deal with the changing threat in a lawful, effective manner.
But even Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who generally agrees with Graham in pursuing a vigorous war on terror, said the AUMF has been stretched past the breaking point.
“This authority … has grown way out of proportion and is no longer applicable to the conditions that prevailed, that motivated the United States Congress to pass the authorization for the use of military force that we did in 2001,” McCain said.
“For you to come here and say we don’t need to change it or revise or update it, I think is, well, disturbing,” McCain said, noting that the AUMF also is used to justify things like drone strikes that were never contemplated by Congress. “I don’t blame you because basically you’ve got carte blanche as to what you are doing around the world.”
No one suggested specific solutions, but did say the Senate will deal with the problem later this year when the committee takes on the National Defense Authorization Act for 2014.
The broad assertion of authority by the military is likely to disturb civil libertarians on the left and right who have complained that the AUMF and a previous version of the NDAA give the military power to indefinitely detain U.S. citizens. Obama has issued orders banning such practices, but DOD officials apparently believe the law grants them the power to act anywhere.KATY (Covering Katy) – A straight-A seventh grade Katy Independent School District student says she and her classmates were instructed that God is not real, and those who disagreed had their grades docked. According to the child, the examination on the existence of God was administered Monday, Oct. 26, 2015, in a West Memorial Junior High School reading class.
“We were asked to take a poll to say whether God was fact, opinion or a myth, and she (the teacher) told anyone who said God was a fact or an opinion that they were wrong,” said seventh grade student Jordan Wolley.
According to the student’s mother, the exam accounts for about 40 percent of her daughter’s grade in the reading class, but her daughter and several other students were not willing to disavow God even if it hurt their grades.
Mom Chantel Wooley told Covering Katy she had no idea how a reading teacher could inject God into the curriculum unless it was because the teacher had her own agenda.
“This did not come from a workbook. The kids don’t have workbooks in this class,” Wooley said.
Jordan Wooley took her concerns to the Katy ISD school board on Monday night. At the Monday night meeting she said, “Today I was given an assignment in school that questioned my faith and told me that God was not real.”
“Another child had asked the teacher if we could try to put what we believe on the paper, and she (the teacher) said you can if you want to get it wrong,” Wooley said.
Wolley spoke during the public comments portion of the school board meeting; she was not an invited guest. Wooley wanted the board and Superintendent Alton Frailey to hear what she says happened earlier in the day. The soft spoken, polite seventh-grader did not use a script. At times she looked at her cellphone where there were notes, but she later told her mother that she could not see what she’d written because of a glare from the glass.
“She wanted to say more,” her mother said.
Wooley says her class was not the only group that received the lesson that God is not real. She says the same teacher taught several other classes on Monday which included the same instructions about God.
It appears the teacher was not following Katy ISD’s curriculum, because West Memorial Junior High students who have a different reading teacher said God was never mentioned in their class, according to Wooley.
“I know it wasn’t just me that was effected by it. My friend went home and started crying,” Wooley told the school board.
“I’m truly sorry that you feel that your faith was questioned,” said superintendent Alton Frailey.
“What’s going on is that the principal was made aware of this today and is going to have a chance to work on that as per district policies and procedures. We definitely will look into that. Thank you very much. It was very brave of you. Thank you, honey. Good job,” Frailey added.
By 8 a.m. Tuesday, Chantel Wooley said her daughter was called into the principal’s office to presumably talk about what transpired Monday. The mother was not invited to be with her daughter during the questioning, so at the time she spoke with Covering Katy there was no word on what was discussed at the meeting.
Chantel Wooley says the teacher is very intimidating.
“She (the teacher) told the kids from day one that she has a ballistic side that they don’t want to see,” she said.
“It makes me sick,” she said.
Click below for the unedited video of seventh grade student Jordan Wooley’s address to the Katy ISD School Board.Twitter has initiated a purge of the accounts of major alt-right supporters, The Daily Caller reports.
The wiping of the accounts began just one week after Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election, according to the news site.
Richard Spencer — president of the National Policy Institute, a think tank that studies white identity and similar policy issues — said his account was yanked on Tuesday and told The Caller:
"This is corporate Stalinism. Twitter is trying to airbrush the Alt Right out of existence. They're clearly afraid. They will fail!"
The National Policy Institute's official account and its online magazine were also reportedly axed.
Other suspended alt-right users include Pax Dickinson, Ricky Vaughn and John Rivers, The Daily Caller said.
In a statement to The Caller, Twitter officials said:
"Our hateful conduct policy prohibits specific conduct that targets people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or disease."AP Residents look at a building in Concepción, Chile, that collapsed during the Feb. 27 earthquake.
The 8.8-magnitude earthquake that hit Chile early on Feb. 27 was 500 times stronger than the 7.0 quake that killed an estimated 200,000 Haitians last month. And yet the number of casualties in Chile appears to be exponentially smaller, with the official death toll still in the hundreds. Far fewer people were rendered homeless than in Haiti, and much of the telephone service in Santiago and parts of central Chile had been restored within five hours. (Read a TIME reporter's firsthand account of the earthquake in Chile.)
Comparisons between the two countries will no doubt be much discussed when the U.N. hosts a conference in New York City on March 31 to hash out how best to help Haiti rebuild. Donor governments already know why there was so much less destruction in Chile: it's because the government there forces builders to adhere to rigorous codes, while Haiti's incorrigible corruption and carelessness left such regulation all but nonexistent. On the global corruption index put out by Transparency International, a Berlin-based nonprofit that lists countries from the least to most corrupt, Chile ranks 25th and Haiti 168th. And while Chilean President Michelle Bachelet hit the streets on Saturday reassuring citizens about her government's earthquake response, Haitian President René Préval has been seemingly AWOL for weeks.
Both Chile and Haiti sit atop large, volatile fault lines. In recent decades, Chile has mandated earthquake-proofing for new structures, requiring that materials like rubber and features like counterweights be built into the architectural designs to allow buildings to bend and sway rather than break during temblors. Haiti, by contrast, lets its buildings rise with little if any input from engineers and plenty of bribes to so-called government inspectors. Structures have scant reinforcement and are often set on weak foundations. That's why 13 of 15 federal ministry buildings pancaked in the Jan. 12 earthquake and why, in 2008, 91 students and teachers died when their school in a Port-au-Prince suburb collapsed. The school's owner was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after admitting he barely even used mortar to hold its concrete blocks together. (See pictures of the Chile earthquake aftermath.)
The Chile quake provides all the more reason to demand that, in return for billions of dollars in aid, Haiti must agree to terms that will force it to improve its abysmal governance. "The Chilean example will encourage donors to make the case that this is an opportunity to do things differently in Haiti and do them right for a change," says Michael Shifter, vice president at the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington, D.C.
To be fair, Haiti has had far less experience with earthquakes, and therefore earthquake preparedness, than Chile has. (Before Jan. 12, the last major quake to hit Port-au-Prince was in 1751.) There will, of course, be the apologists who insist it's unfair to compare a basket case like Haiti, the western hemisphere's poorest country, with a showcase like Chile, which has Latin America's highest per capita GDP and is set to become the first South American member of the exclusive, Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Chile can do things right, Haiti defenders argue, because it's more developed.
Wrong. It's the other way around: Chile is more developed because it's doing things right. The same goes for Brazil, Uruguay, Costa Rica and a handful of other Latin American and Caribbean nations that have decided in the 21st century to stop running their societies like medieval fiefdoms. They've conceded that niceties like rule of law, accountability, education, entrepreneurial opportunity and administrative efficiency actually have merit. And they've stopped making worn-out excuses, like the threats of communism or U.S. imperialism, for not modernizing their political and economic systems. (See TIME's complete coverage of the Haiti earthquake.)
Granted, Haiti, a republic founded by former slaves who won their independence from France in 1801, has long been at a disadvantage thanks to lingering discrimination in the hemisphere and the world. (The U.S. wouldn't recognize Haiti until 1862, and Nicolas Sarkozy's visit there two weeks ago was, remarkably, the first ever by a French head of state.) As a result, the international community needs to give the country more comprehensive help than it's offered in the past. But such aid should not be delivered without an acknowledgment by Haiti's ultra-venal political and economic élite that the benighted way of doing things has got to end. Even Haiti's Prime Minister, Jean-Max Bellerive, conceded to TIME recently that reform "has to be a part of Haiti's rebuilding process."
Bellerive wouldn't go as far as to blame Haiti's élite for the more than 200,000 earthquake deaths. But those who doubt Haiti's ability to transform its government should note that Chile wasn't always an OECD candidate it spent 17 years, from 1973 to 1990, under a brutal military dictatorship and that Haitians are more than capable of emulating Chileans if given the chance.
Anyone in need of a dose of optimism about Haitians' ability to succeed should look at the Haitian diaspora, Shifter says, "which has proven to be remarkably entrepreneurial and resourceful" in ways it couldn't be under the corrupt, ossified system in their homeland. One of these émigrés is Serge Jean-Louis, a thriving Haitian-American construction contractor in South Florida. "I'm eager to fly back and help rebuild Haiti," he told TIME shortly after the quake. And chances are, he'll surpass Haiti's dismal standards and help rebuild more to the modern specs of Chile.
See what causes a tsunami.The summit meeting was also shadowed by concerns about the state of the military campaign against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, which Mr. Obama has said is at too early a stage to say whether the United States and its coalition allies are winning.
Mr. Obama denied reports that he had ordered a formal review of the strategy against the militants in Syria. He said that while the White House was constantly reviewing its tactics in both Syria and Iraq, the basic elements of the strategy remained in place.
Rebuffing a growing chorus of skeptics of his strategy, the president said the United States would never make “common cause” with President Bashar al-Assad of Syria in the campaign against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, because that would alienate the country’s Sunni Muslim population.
“We have communicated to the Syrian regime that when we operate, going after ISIL in their air space, that they would be well advised not to take us on,” Mr. Obama said. “Beyond that, there’s no expectation that we are in some ways going to enter an alliance with Assad. He is not credible in that country.”
At the same time, he said, the United States was not exploring ways to remove Mr. Assad from office — a recognition that the campaign against the Islamic State fighters had given Mr. Assad breathing room. Any lasting political settlement in Syria, he said, would have to involve Iran and Turkey, as well as the Assad government’s primary patron, Russia.
While Mr. Obama continued to rule out the use of American ground troops in the campaign — and said the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, had not recommended using them, either — he said there were cases in which troops might be necessary. After declining to speculate about those scenarios, he did just that.
“If we discover that ISIL had gotten possession of a nuclear weapon,” Mr. Obama said, “and we had to run an operation to get it out of their hands, then yes, you can anticipate that not only would Chairman Dempsey recommend sending U.S. ground troops to get that weapon out of their hands, but I would order it.”The N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist ketamine is one of the most attractive antidepressants for treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (MDD). Ketamine (or RS (±)-ketamine) is a racemic mixture containing equal parts of R (−)-ketamine and S (+)-ketamine. In this study, we examined the effects of R- and S-ketamine on depression-like behavior in juvenile mice after neonatal dexamethasone (DEX) exposure. In the tail suspension test (TST) and forced swimming test (FST), both isomers of ketamine significantly attenuated the increase in immobility time, seen in DEX-treated juvenile mice at 27 and 29 h respectively, after ketamine injections. In the 1% sucrose preference test (SPT), both isomers significantly attenuated the reduced preference for 1% sucrose consumption in DEX-treated juvenile mice, 48 h after a ketamine injection. Interestingly, when immobility times were tested by the TST and FST at day 7, R-ketamine, but not S-ketamine, significantly lowered the increases in immobility seen in DEX-treated juvenile mice. This study shows that a single dose of R-ketamine produced rapid and long-lasting antidepressant effects in juvenile mice exposed neonatally to DEX. Therefore, R-ketamine appears to be a potent and safe antidepressant relative to S-ketamine, since R-ketamine may be free of psychotomimetic side effects.280 SHARES Facebook Twitter Linkedin Reddit
Oculus has now confirmed the launch the ‘Rift Core 2.0’ update in public beta; it’s hitting Rift headsets December 6th. The anticipated updated will bring a major overhaul to ‘Home’—the place you see in the headset when you’re not inside of a VR game—as well as ‘Dash’, a revamped universal menu which also lets you run traditional desktop PC apps in VR.
Update (12/03/17): Oculus has confirmed in a recent tweet that it’s Core 2.0 beta is officially coming to Rift December 6th. Follow the instructions below to download the beta branch, which should automatically update on Wednesday morning Pacific Time. You can revert tot he stable branch at any time by toggling off the option.
Original article (11/28/17): Oculus announced today on their official blog that the Rift Core 2.0 beta is coming “soon,” and with it will come an updated Oculus Desktop app which the company says offers an improved layout, now with a Wish List feature for marking games and apps that interest you. The Wish List will offer notifications when saved apps go on sale.
Those excited for the virtual desktop functionality, which promises to allow users to run traditional desktop PC apps inside the Rift at any time, even while inside VR apps, will need to update to Windows 10. Users still running Windows 7 and 8 will still be able to use Dash to browse their VR app library and for some other functionality, but won’t be able to use ‘Oculus Desktop’ virtual computing function, or run Dash as an overlay on top of VR apps, the company says. Oculus indicates this is for performance reasons.
Players will be able to download the Rift Core 2.0 beta automatically once it’s available by opting into the ‘Public Test Channel’ through the current Oculus Desktop App (Settings > Beta > Public Test Channel switch). The company also suggests updating your video drivers for optimal performance with the update.
The blog post also shared several new images showing various Home spaces:
1 of 5
The Rift Core 2.0 experience is built primarily around Touch, and while Oculus says “most, but not all” previously support functionality will work with the gamepad, the company says you should use Touch if you want to “take full advantage of all the features in Rift Core 2.0,” including customizing your Home space.Friends and co-workers of a 29-year-old nuclear scientist in Idaho have paid tribute to the “beautiful, young, loving mother” after she was fatally shot by her two-year-old son in Walmart.
Veronica Rutledge was legally licensed to carry the handgun she was shot with, which was concealed in her purse at the time.
Police in Kootenai County said the “tragic accident” involved the young boy, who had been left inside a shopping trolley, reaching into his mother’s purse and firing the small-caliber weapon a single time.
We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view. From 15p €0.18 $0.18 $0.27 a day, more exclusives, analysis and extras.
Rutledge worked at the Idaho National Laboratory |
There was some resistance from the studio to casting Ray Liotta, who today seems —
WINKLER: — perfect, yeah.
GALLOWAY: Born for that part.
WINKLER: Well, not only there was the studio: I didn’t want him.
GALLOWAY: Who did you want?
WINKLER: Anybody but.
[LAUGHTER]
WINKLER: I really hesitated. I really thought he was not the right guy, and Marty said, “I really want him,” and I kept putting it off, putting it off. I said, “Why don’t you check out this guy?” I don’t remember who, but check out [someone], and he would check him out and he would say, “I still want Ray Liotta,” and I said, “Nah, let’s find somebody else.” I just kept putting it off. And my wife and I were having dinner with actually my dear friend who passed away, Dick Zanuck, out in a restaurant in Marina del Rey, and sitting in the restaurant was Ray Liotta. And he came over to me. He said, “Can I talk to you for a few minutes?” So I excused myself, and I got up and we walked outside. And he said, “Look, I know you don’t want me for the role,” and then he spent, like, 15 minutes telling me why he can do it, and he convinced me. And the next morning I called up Marty and I said, “You’re absolutely right, he’s perfect for the role.”
GALLOWAY: What did he say?
WINKLER: I don’t remember what he said, but he convinced me.
GALLOWAY: You just sued Warner Brothers over the profits of Goodfellas.
WINKLER: I’m suing them now, yeah.
GALLOWAY: Does that affect your relationship with them, or is it just understood, well, this is business-as-usual?
WINKLER: No, I’m not happy with them. They really cheated me.
GALLOWAY: Wow.
WINKLER: Yeah.
GALLOWAY: So do you then take your movie projects to other studios?
WINKLER: No, no, we just did Creed with them. We kind of separate the production from the lawyers. And they’re very litigious and I hire litigious attorneys as well.
GALLOWAY: Right. Hope you win. [LAUGHS]
WINKLER: I hope so too. Well, just if you’re curious about what my claim is —
GALLOWAY: Sure.
WINKLER: I had a contract that said 100 percent of video sales goes into the pot that we share. And they had a clause in the contract that said if they license it to a third party, whatever that third party reports to them is what goes into the pot. So what they did is they licensed it to a company called Warner Home Video.
GALLOWAY: Oh. [LAUGHS]
WINKLER: And Warner Home Video took 80 percent and reported 20 percent. They said, ‘Well, that’s all we got.’ But all the employees of Warner Home Video were hired by Warner Bros. The profits went to Warner Bros… so it’s obvious, you know, they cheated.
GALLOWAY: So studio accounting is still —
WINKLER: Yeah, it’s still going on.
GALLOWAY: You made this extraordinary move in your very late 50s, around the age of 60, of actually directing yourself. And you’ve directed several films.
WINKLER: Seven.
GALLOWAY: Seven at this point. I want to show a clip from one of them, which I find particularly interesting, which you did about the McCarthy era and the blacklist. Let’s take a look at a clip from Guilty by Suspicion.
[CLIP]
GALLOWAY: What made you decide you wanted to direct?
WINKLER: I had done a few films as a producer that I wasn’t happy with — I thought the scripts were quite good and the director didn’t do as good as a job as I thought he could have. And I decided to take a shot and do it on my own. And this all came out of ’Round Midnight in Paris. We were shooting and we had in the cast an expatriate American director as a nightclub owner in Paris. And he started telling me stories about the blacklist. I had no idea about the blacklist, and I started doing research, and I got interested in it. Then we hired Abe Polonsky, who was a blacklisted writer/director, to write a script. I was very, very unhappy with the script. I then wrote a script on my own, which is what this film is, and I had a lot of encouragement from, actually, the first female head of a studio, Dawn Steel, who was a very good friend of mine. She was heading Columbia at the time. And I started writing the script, and I gave it to her, and she said: “This is really good. Do you want to direct it?” And I said, “You know what? Yes.” And then Marty read it, and he encouraged me to direct it. So I had encouragement from a lot of friends.
GALLOWAY: I thought the issue with Polonsky was, he was adamant that the De Niro character, who is a blacklisted writer, be a communist, and you didn’t want him to be a communist.
WINKLER: Exactly, exactly.
GALLOWAY: Why was that so important?
WINKLER: I felt that the people that suffered from the blacklist didn’t necessarily have to be communist, that basically if you were in a room with communists, that was enough for you to be called before the committee [the House Un-American Activities Committee] and for them to say, “Who was in that room with you?” whether you were a waiter or a guest. And if you named those people, they were blacklisted, and they lost their livelihood. So I thought it was more important to tell the story about somebody who was basically an innocent, and then because he won’t betray friends who might have been innocent of anything — of everything— got blacklisted himself. Also, Polonsky just felt that the character had to be greater than thou. His picture of the De Niro character was one who is just a god, and I didn’t feel that that’s what I wanted to do either. And he was thinking about himself, really.
GALLOWAY: Do you think there could ever be another blacklist in America?
WINKLER: I think there — yes. I think Donald Trump is very capable of having a blacklist of anybody he doesn’t like.
GALLOWAY: What was the hardest thing for you about transitioning to directing?
WINKLER: The physicality is trying. I think, probably, the disappointment. When you devote yourself for a year, year and a half, to doing one thing, and it becomes your obsession, and also your escape from reality, and then if it’s (a) not well received, (b) unsuccessful, because it’s not well received — usually, the downside initially is very, very debilitating.
GALLOWAY: You mean emotionally debilitating?
WINKLER: Yeah, yeah. In the long run, you find you made something out of nothing, and it’s always there, just like you see this scene, and as I’m watching the scene, I remember I was producing Music Box at the time, and I was in Budapest. We were shooting the ending, and [I was] sitting at the airport in Budapest, waiting for a plane, when I wrote that suicide scene. I don’t feel the same way about the films I produced. There is a different ownership or authorship with the films that you direct than the ones you produce. It’s very easy to look at that great scene that Marty shot in Goodfellas, or the one that we saw here in Raging Bull, but they’re Marty’s scenes. This scene that you just saw, that’s my scene. So there is that difference.
GALLOWAY: It’s much more personal.
WINKLER: It’s ownership, really. It’s authorship.
GALLOWAY: You mentioned Music Box, which you did with Joe Eszterhas. You both walked away from Basic Instinct at one point. Why was that?
WINKLER: I stayed away. He came back.
GALLOWAY: Right, yes.
WINKLER: What happened was, I had just directed and written Guilty by Suspicion, and I was exhilarated from the process. For your first film to have Robert De Niro and Annette Bening, that’s pretty damn good. And Marty Scorsese playing the film director. And then while the editor was putting together a first cut, I went off on holiday. Joe and I had had some success both with Betrayed and with Music Box, and he sent me this script. I had no intention of reading it. I didn’t want to be a producer again. And then my wife read it and said, “You know, this is a pretty good script. You should read it.” And I liked it, and I said, “OK,” I would do it. And then I couldn’t stand Paul Verhoeven. I thought he was really a jerk.
GALLOWAY: Why?
WINKLER: We had a meeting at my house, and he said to me, “What I want to do with this movie is show nudity, sexual acts that you’ve never seen on the screen before.” And I said, “Excuse me, I’m going up to my bedroom, and I’m going to take a shower, because I feel dirty. And when I come down, I expect you to be gone.” And that’s how I left the film.
GALLOWAY: Wow. Was he gone?
WINKLER: Yeah, oh, yeah. [LAUGHS] Never saw him again.
GALLOWAY: You said I didn’t want to produce any more. Why not?
WINKLER: I was, as I said, exhilarated by the process of directing. I really liked it a lot. It was a wonderful experience. My film was equally wonderful. It was Night and the City, again with a great, great cast. Barry [Primus] was in that one as well. I really liked doing it, but I never could quite get away from producing. There was always something about it that I found comfortable. I found I was very capable of doing it, and it always came around; even while I was directing, I ended up producing some films. But I always had good people working. I had a partner for 17 years by the name of Rob Cowan, who was my co-producer, and he was great, great. And for the last six or seven years, I have two sons — Charles, who is here, and David — who have been producing with me. So when it came to Creed, Charles spent his time in Philadelphia, really nurturing Ryan Coogler, because Charles directed a great deal in his time, too.
GALLOWAY: Let’s take a look at a clip from Creed, our final clip.
[CLIP] [APPLAUSE]
GALLOWAY: Stallone, you must know pretty well at this point.
WINKLER: Yeah, 40 years’ worth.
GALLOWAY: What would surprise us about him?
WINKLER: I don’t know if it surprises anybody any more, but I guess people either don’t realize or forget that he is an extraordinarily talented man in many, many ways, almost a renaissance man. He’s a wonderful painter, a real artist. He wrote all these scripts. He directed a whole bunch of movies. He’s an Academy Award best actor nominee from 40 years ago, and I think he was underappreciated because of all the action films he’d done. But the truth of the matter is it isn’t easy to do all those action films either. And there’s a lot of acting there, but it’s not considered serious, just the way most comics are not considered serious actors as well, and that’s certainly an art. I think what people would be most surprised about really is his ability to act, and he really is good at it.
GALLOWAY: You haven’t done many action films.
WINKLER: No, mostly dramas interest me. The closest we came to an action film, I guess, is The Mechanic, which we did with Charlie Bronson, and we re-did. But mostly dramas attract me. I haven’t done many comedies either, by the way.
GALLOWAY: Is it harder to get the dramas off the ground today?
WINKLER: It’s always been hard. It’s always been hard. Is it harder now? Probably.
GALLOWAY: Do you still like the film business?
WINKLER: Yeah. I like it when it works. I’m disappointed when it doesn’t.
GALLOWAY: What do you like?
WINKLER: I got a great deal of enjoyment out of working on The Wolf of Wall Street with Marty. It was a wonderful set. DiCaprio was just wonderful to work with, and going on the set every day with Marty is literally a joy. I mean, it’s really, really fun. And I felt the same way about Silence. Schlepping to Taipei sounds like a schlep, but once you get there, again, [there’s] the excitement of being on a set like that, and with not that much responsibility, because if it doesn’t work, it isn’t your problem. [LAUGHS] I still get a kick out of that, and Creed was kind of special, inasmuch as we had a young man who was basically inexperienced, dealing with a great, great big star, who knew the franchise better than anyone else, and nurturing that aspect of Ryan Coogler, who is very, very tough — yes, this 27-year-old young man knew what he wanted and got his way every time, to his credit and our credit, because he came out so good.
GALLOWAY: How do you mean, tough?
WINKLER: Charles will tell you, who was on the set. That scene where he did the fight in one shot and the continuous Steadicam shot: we argued with them. Charles was on the set saying, “Do some coverage, do some coverage, even just at the end.” “No.” And he believed in it, and he was right.
GALLOWAY: How did you do that shot? Was it at all digital?
WINKLER: No, no. It’s all shot with a Steadicam.
GALLOWAY: That’s extraordinary… What’s been your toughest moment as a producer?
WINKLER: Toughest moment was Goodfellas, when we previewed the film to a recruited audience out in Woodland Hills and we had 42 walkouts in the first scene, when Joe was putting that big knife in the corpse.
GALLOWAY: The corpse in the car.
WINKLER: Yeah. Forty-two people walked out of there. It was a disaster. And by the time the picture was over, the theater was empty. People just left in droves.
GALLOWAY: I thought Scorsese didn’t like to test his films.
WINKLER: Studios don’t don’t care whether you like it or not. You don’t have much of a choice. We didn’t test Raging Bull, but we tested New York, New York, and that was one of the great disappointments. What happened was in New York, New York, we took it up to San Francisco to test, and Liza Minnelli came up and so did Bob De Niro, and as the audience was walking in they spotted both De Niro and Liza. So the film got an incredible rousing send-off, and we thought we had the biggest hit in the world. As it turned out, they were just fans and the picture never really did great business.
GALLOWAY: With Goodfellas, did you do anything in the editing after that?
WINKLER: No, we did a great producing job then. What happened was the studio wanted to really cut the film to ribbons. And Marty was great, and he would say, “You know, that’s not a bad idea, let me try that.” And they would come up with the most [absurd things]: “Take out the shooting of Spider, that’s too violent,” which was the whole focal point of the movie. “Take this out, take that out.” And Marty would say, “Well, I’ll think about that. Let me try that. That’s not a bad idea.” And we played this game basically for nine months, and then we turned over the film, they had a release date, they were too late, they couldn’t do anything, and it was gone.
GALLOWAY: Wow.
WINKLER: So it was a really, really manipulative job on our part. It’s part of producing, by the way. That’s part of it.
GALLOWAY: We’re going to take questions. Just before we do, for the younger people here, what single piece of advice would you give them if they want to become a producer?
WINKLER: Read a lot. Really, really. It’s about literature, it’s about knowing how to understand character, how to really know what a story is. And anybody can become a producer if they have a really, really good script. That’s really the secret of it all, a good script.
GALLOWAY: Questions.
QUESTION: You’ve been in the film industry for so long, and obviously continue to work, and so you’ve seen the rise in quality of television. Is that something that you’re interested in producing?
WINKLER: Some of the television that I’ve seen lately is a lot better than the movies I’ve seen. I really am very, very impressed with what goes into television. We have tried to get into television, and have not had any success at all. As much as the studios have control in films, the networks have much more control in television. The process of getting anything made in television requires an immense amount of experience and influence, so that your vision can have a say. They are very, very demanding about what they want, especially the broadcast networks, where they have basically a formula. You know, the teaser in the beginning is somebody gets killed, usually it’s a pretty girl, and then the first act is who did it? The second act is, we found out who is doing it, and the third act is: that was the wrong person, and now we found out who really did it. That’s television. And I’ve never been able to get beyond that, but yet there’s Homeland, there’s great, great television. I’m watching this Billions show — I don’t know if you’ve seen it — which is terrific. And some people really know how to get it done. I haven’t figured it out yet.
QUESTION: I was hoping you could talk about your experience working on The Wolf of Wall Street. Specifically, what was your creative role in deciding what parts of the true story were put into the movie and what parts were left out and changed?
WINKLER: I think my principal creative role in Wolf of Wall Street is really spending time with Marty, and I wouldn’t say convincing, but I would say influencing him into doing it. He was a bit hesitant about doing it; he’s hesitant about doing most things and careful about it. He thought it was a bit too much like Goodfellas, which I said is not a bad thing.
GALLOWAY: Right. [LAUGHS]
WINKLER: And I think I had a bit to do with the scene you saw here from Raging Bull. It is reflected somewhat in The Wolf of Wall Street, in the scene where Leo chases after Margot Robbie and belts her out. That’s a version of this. And I think I was kind of influential to some extent there. But, you know what, it’s the process. You look at a four-hour cut, and you say to Marty Scorsese, “We’ve got to take an hour out.” And that whole process of getting it done, there’s not one day you can say, “Well, that was me.” It’s not that way. It’s just the process of being influential and being helpful when you can be, and some time probably the director will tell you you’re being obstructive to what the director wants to do. It’s a balance of finding your way.
GALLOWAY: Contractually, he’s a final cut director. Does he have to bring it in within two hours and 30 minutes or something to get that final cut?
WINKLER: Not really. He’s Marty Scorsese. There are a few directors — I’m sure [Christopher] Nolan has the same thing with Warner Brothers. Probably, you know, Todd Phillips, when he made the Hangovers, had complete control. There are those examples. I’m sure Ridley Scott has complete control over what he does. There are some directors that have that kind of control.
GALLOWAY: Who have you not worked with that you would have loved to work with?
WINKLER: Ridley Scott, who I think is terrific. I would have liked to have done another film with Sydney Pollack. I think he was one of the most unsung directors of the last 30 or 40 years. Sydney Pollack made probably one of the best comedies in Tootsie. He made certainly the best spy film in Three Days of the Condor. He made the great love story in Out of Africa. And as far as a drama is concerned, They Shoot Horses was as good as they come. And Sydney, I would have liked to direct — though it turned out that we made a good picture, or the director was great — The Right Stuff. I wanted Sydney to do The Right Stuff. He was a pilot, and I tried to talk him into it, and I couldn’t get him to do it. But Phil Kaufman ended up doing a great, great job.
QUESTION: Thank you for being here. It’s a huge honor. I wanted to ask you: all your films have been such blockbusters, when you’re reading a script, what is it about that script that tells you that this is going to be a hit? Is there a certain pattern that you look for or certain elements in that script?
WINKLER: Well, first of all, I have to correct you, not every film was a blockbuster, by any stretch of the imagination.
GALLOWAY: [LAUGHS] I had a feeling you’d say that.
WINKLER: There were more failures in there than successes, believe me. Some of them look good 20 or 30 years later, but not all of them, believe me. No, just a story that moves me in some way. I can’t really be more specific than that. But usually I can tell within 20 pages whether I want to go on and the script interests me. When I went to NYU, as a young man, I was very influenced by the middle 1900s writers in American literature, the John Dos Passos, the Steinbecks, the Hemingways, that whole group of writers. And I found all of them very emotional, basically. Faulkner. They were emotional writers. And although I think we did a fine job with the Tom Wolfe, with The Right Stuff, it’s harder for me to grasp into the sense of realism that some of the writers have. So when I pick up a script and it moves me, that’s when I know it’s something I’d be interested in doing.
GALLOWAY: Is there any script you passed on that you really regret?
WINKLER: [LAUGHS] A friend of mine was living in London, and he asked me to help get him a job. And I helped him get a job as a vice president at Columbia Pictures back in the ’70s. And I got two manuscripts that came in, and I gave them to my friend, who is now a top executive at a studio, and I got him the job. And I said, “These are two films I want to do,” and he turned them both down. So that I regret. I regret I got him the job, because one of them was Jaws, and the other one was The Towering Inferno.
GALLOWAY: Oh, no. Wow.
WINKLER: So, yes, I regret I got him the job. I don’t regret anything else.
GALLOWAY: He does. He regrets saying no.
WINKLER: Yeah.
QUESTION: You’ve produced an incredible number of films, but you’ve remade only a select few, like The Gambler and The Mechanic. My question is, what is it that compels you to remake a film that you’ve already done, and do you agree with the opinion, or belief, I suppose, that remakes are never quite the same as the original, nor as good?
WINKLER: That’s a good question, because you’re right, most of them aren’t as good, which is probably why we don’t do more them. The Gambler is a good case in point. The original, written by Jim Toback, and staring Jimmy Caan, directed by an Englishman by the name of Karel Reisz, I thought was a terrific film. And the script of The Gambler that Mark Wahlberg did, that was absolutely wonderful. I don’t know if it was as good as the original, because I think the original was original. Times change, some of the ideas in the original script don’t quite translate into modern sensibility. Again, I think there was a certain attitude in the ’70s that existed. But by the same token, we’ve done seven Rockys, all of them successful. So sometimes, more so when the character is somebody people are interested in, you can carry on, but very often you can’t. I can’t see remaking Raging Bull. There are some that just don’t allow themselves to be remade. But if the character is interesting, then there’s a shot. Then there’s a shot.Islamists decapitated a university student in Afghanistan’s Faryab province and then used his body as an IED.
Khaama.com reported, via Religion of Peace:
The Taliban insurgents have beheaded a young university student in northern Faryab province of Afghanistan and used his corpse a Body-borne Improvised Explosive Device (BBIED).
According to the local officials in Faryab, the corpse of the university student was left on a roadside after placing a remote controlled Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in his body.
Provincial governor’s spokesman Javid Bidar said the university student was taken out of the vehicle on a highway in Faizabad district and was decapitated by the Taliban insurgents.
He said the Afghan forces discovered and defused the IED planted in his stomach before the Taliban insurgents manage to detonate it and target the Afghan forces.
Bidar further added that the move by the Taliban militants is apparently aimed at discouraging the university students from pursuing their higher education.
According to Bidar, an operation is underway to find and arrest the perpetators of the horrific incident.As the UK’s General Election looms, we take a look at manifesto pledges and public statements relating to drug policy that have been put forward by the main political parties in England, Scotland, and Wales.
There is an ongoing rise in opioid-related deaths in this country, as Release - the UK’s national centre of expertise on drugs and drugs law – has publicised. The number of heroin and/or morphine deaths increased by 91 per cent between 2012 and 2015; there were 1,201 deaths involving heroin and/or morphine in England and Wales in 2015 - the highest on record. Despite this, among the manifestos of the seven major parties listed below, not even one makes explicit reference to the UK’s mounting opioids crisis.
Conversely, during the US presidential election last year, both main contenders described how they would reduce the number of people dying from opioid overdoses, as their country experienced a similarly significant rise in opioid deaths.
Most manifestos and party leaders have made reference to other issues relating to drug policy though, and some have referred to the potential for cannabis law reform.
The Conservative Party
The Conservative Party’s manifesto (PDF) briefly addresses drug use, and frames it primarily within a criminal justice context.
In its manifesto, Prime Minister Theresa May’s party pledges the creation of a “national community sentencing framework that punishes offenders and focuses on the measures that have a better chance of turning people around and preventing crime, such as curfews and orders that tackle drug and alcohol abuse”.
The document also suggests a more prominent role for law enforcement in drug treatment services; “we will ensure that [police and crime] commissioners sit on local health and wellbeing boards, enabling better co-ordination of crime prevention with local drug and alcohol and mental health services”, the manifesto outlines.
As TalkingDrugs reported last year, Theresa May has supported maintaining the prohibitionist approach to drug policy since serving as home secretary.
More recently, May voiced her opposition to the introduction of medical cannabis:
“What we've seen is stronger forms [of cannabis] now being used - I think it can have a real impact on people in terms of their mental health. But it can also of course lead to people going on to harder drugs,” she told ITV News in May, alluding to the so-called gateway theory.
The theory that cannabis use is a gateway to using “harder drugs” has been consistently debunked by research. In fact, the opposite may be true; a 2014 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found there to be "significantly lower... opioid overdose mortality rates" in US states that had introduced medical cannabis.
The Green Party
While the Green Party’s manifesto (PDF) does not make explicit reference to drugs, the party has long-been in favour of reform.
In a 2006 policy document outlining their approach to drug use, the Green Party calls for the immediate decriminalisation of the “possession, trade and cultivation of cannabis … with a view to establishing a fully legalised, controlled and regulated trade”, as well as the decriminalised possession of all other drugs.
In 2011, Caroline Lucas, the party’s only MP, described the importance of recognising that "the so-called 'war on drugs' has failed". In a 2014 Question Time appearance, she called for "an evidence-based approach" and said that the "decriminalisation of the personal use of drugs would be a good place to start".
In 2016, Lucas, who is now co-leader of the party, described the case for legalising medical cannabis as “overwhelming”. “Doing so would give immediate relief to people in pain,” she said, “and the evidence from around the world shows that it can be done without increasing drug-related harms.”
The Labour Party
The Labour Party’s manifesto (PDF) seems to advocate the reduced criminalisation of people who use drugs, but provides little information on the matter.
The manifesto states that “prison should always be a last resort – the state’s most severe sanction for serious offences. It should never be a substitute for failing mental health services, or the withdrawal of funding from drug treatment centres”.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has supported the reform of cannabis legislation. In 2000, Corbyn was one of 14 Labour MPs to sponsor a bill that would have decriminalised cannabis. In August 2016, he said he would "decriminalise medicinal uses of cannabis".
The Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats’ manifesto (PDF) explicitly denounces the “war on drugs [as] a catastrophic failure” and claims that “our current approach to drugs helps nobody except criminal gangs”.
The document outlines an array of drug policy reforms that the party hopes to implement; most prominently, the introduction of a legally regulated cannabis market, and a repeal of the Psychoactive Substances Act (oft-referred to as the “legal highs ban”).
The Liberal Democrats call for an end to the imprisonment of people “for [the] possession of illegal drugs for personal use” and for a diversion of people arrested for drug possession to treatment and education.
Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru’s manifesto (PDF) does not provide analysis of current drug policies, however, it states that the party “has worked closely with the Police and Crime Commissioners in an attempt to decriminalise cannabis for medicinal use”.
As drug policies are currently controlled by the national government in Westminster rather than local authorities, Plaid Cymru supports further devolution of power to the Welsh Assembly. Their manifesto calls for the creation of “a Welsh legal jurisdiction … that reflects the needs of Wales”; if this were to take place, it could lead to Welsh officials being able to create different drug policies to those set by Westminster.
Leanne Wood, leader of Plaid Cymru, has publicly supported "the decriminalisation of cannabis for medical use and to free up police time".
The Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party’s manifesto (PDF) does not refer to drug use or drug policy. This is despite there having been 706 drug-related deaths in Scotland in 2015 - the highest on record.
At the party's annual conference in October 2016, delegates overwhelmingly backed a resolution in favour of medical cannabis. “Where appropriate, cannabis should be decriminalised for medical use and available on prescription”, the resolution read, “[the] conference calls on the UK Government to devolve the power to decriminalise cannabis for medical use to the Scottish Parliament”.
The party's leader Nicola Sturgeon has said "there is a specific case for medicinal use".
The UK Independence Party
The UKIP manifesto (PDF) vows to “rigorously enforce current [drug] legislation”, and asserts that legalising drugs could have “catastrophic” social consequences.
The document suggests that prisoners should be tested for illegal drugs, and – if found positive – face strict punitive measures to dissuade them from using again. Those testing positive, the manifesto outlines, “will be limited to ‘closed’ visits from friends or family for six months, meaning they will be separated from their visitors by glass”.
Paul Nuttall, leader of UKIP, has warned that “drugs wreck lives”, and that “we are failing in our duty to protect our children if we do not warn them about the dangers and do everything in our power to prevent them having access to illegal drugs”.
The manifesto also calls for the “identifying [of] drug users” and “families in which there is a high incidence of addiction” so that targeted support can be provided. The document does not provide detail on how such individuals and families will be identified.
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The election takes place on 8 June.Earlier this month when I interviewed Karl Larson, who is selling Fighting Sioux parody merchandise at NewSioux.com even as UND engages in an epic and often slapstick effort to transition to a new nickname, he told me he plans to keep selling despite legal threats from the university.
Today in the Grand Forks Herald we learn that Larson responded to a September 23 “cease and desist” letter from UND asserting that his merchandise is legally protected satire:
The cease and desist letter from UND dated Sept. 23 states Larson’s logo is an “unauthorized reproduction,” and is likely to cause confusion, constituting copyright infringement. “While your website includes a self-serving reference to ‘parody,’ we do not believe that there is any legal authority that would even remotely suggest that the minor, almost imperceptible modification to the work here qualifies as permissive use,” the letter stated. Larson, working through the company Drip Forward, which he created in 2014 to conduct freelance design work, enlisted the help of Fargo attorney Sean Foss of O’Keeffe O’Brien Lyson Foss Attorneys. Foss penned an Oct. 5 rebuttal arguing the use of the logo and changes made to it is parody and therefore legal. “All of these changes produce an effect that is both a comedic commentary on the seriousness of controversy surrounding the Fighting Sioux logo, as well as ridicule of the university’s struggles to select a replacement nickname and logo,” the letter states.
What’s interesting is that it’s been nearly a month since that response was sent, and so far UND hasn’t responded. Which doesn’t mean they won’t, but given how abysmally the nickname transition process is going do they really want to open up another front against a guy selling parody shirts?
Time will tell, but for now you can still get your Fighting Sioux parody merchandise right here.
In related news, I spotted this on Facebook last night, and it’s pretty much the UND nickname process in a nutshell (relevant background here):
Update: You can read the response to UND from the NewSioux.com attodney below, and the original cease and desist here.
Letter to Assistant Attorney General Jason R. Jenkins 10-5-15
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TumblrCharlie Jacobs is a rookie CEO. Cam Neely is an emotional and angry ex-player.
They are a combustible combination. Peter Chiarelli felt the burn.
Jacobs and Neely decided to fire their general manager on Tuesday. They told Chiarelli on Wednesday. Later in the day, they held a decaf news conference at TD Garden. Neither of the leaders atop the Bruins’ masthead saw fit to illuminate their decision to their customers, who were likely left scratching their heads over future ticket, apparel, and television investments amid the absence of direction, answers, and confidence.
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“Cam, do you want to help me on this one?” Jacobs asked his employee when pressed about the firing.
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It required between-the-lines reading to conclude why, a year after the Bruins won the Presidents’ Trophy, Jacobs and Neely determined Chiarelli had to go. Jacobs and Neely were not happy with the team’s style of play. They didn’t like the club’s snugness against the salary cap. They weren’t satisfied with the next wave of young players to occupy spots once filled by Jarome Iginla and Johnny Boychuk. Chiarelli’s draft whiffs from 2007-09 are catching up.
These are worthwhile concerns. The Bruins couldn’t score because they didn’t have enough players who could play with skill and pace. They carried nearly $5 million of dead money because of their bonus overage, mostly because of how they signed Iginla. Out of training camp, their youngsters couldn’t even push to make the fourth line, which was begging for overhaul. Picks from 2007-09 are core players around the league. These are the GM’s responsibilities. For one season, Chiarelli came up short.
But ultimately, the firing was about Neely’s power — and how he’s itching to use it.
As all organizations pledge to go |
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